20VC: Box's Aaron Levie on Predictions for the Next Wave of AI: Will Foundation Models Be Commoditised | How the Business Model of SaaS Changes Forever | Startups vs Incumbents: Who Wins | App vs Infrastructure Layer: Where is the Value?

Jon Staenberg is one of the most experienced venture capitalists in the Pacific Northwest, having made over 250 startup investments and having raised two funds totaling over $100 million. Jon's investments include the likes of AngelList, StubHub, SAPHO, KitchenBowl (through AngelList syndicates) and many more. If that wasn't enough Jon sits on the boards of Class.com, Micropath and even owns his own vineyard! Previously, Jon worked in the marketing area at Microsoft for six years and is a Stanford alum! Items Mentioned in Today's Episode: KitchenBowl Kindara  In Today's Episode You Will Learn: 1.) How Jon started off in the tech industry and then made his move into venture? 2.) Having established 5 companies, what was the hardest element of the process and how did Jon overcome it? 3.) Having invested in over 250 startups what is Jon's investment strategy? What is Jon looking for in startups? 4.) Once invested in a startup, what is Jon's role and what services can VCs bring to a startup? 5.) Whether Jon feels AngelList syndicates are going to change the funding environment? Does it present a challenge to the more traditional VC model? We then finish with a quick fire round where we hear Jon describe the highlight of his glittering career, the biggest tip Jon would give to an aspiring entrepreneur and his most recent investment and why he said yes?

7 Maj 201525min

Quote of the Day: “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard." John F. Kennedy Chris Dark is President International at C2FO, the Union Square Ventures backed company is the priceline for working capital where companies 'name their own price'. Prior to C2FO, Chris was VP at Atomico, the London based venture fund founded by Nicklas Zennstorm. At Atomico, Chris was on the boards of Chemist Direct, Fab, Hailo, Quipper, Wrapp, Knewton, Bebestore, and Gengo. If that wasn't enough Chris has also held roles at AOL, Bain & Co and started his own company GameReplays.org, an early esports community, which Chris built to 1 million uniques per month! Items Mentioned in Today's Show Niklass Zennstorm Kazaa The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Ben Horowitz Supercell   In Today's Show You Will Learn: Where it all began for Chris and how he made his move into venture? What skills Chris learnt from founding his company and how he applied them to the venture industry? What were the hardest aspects of building Chris' company and how did he overcome them? What are the best reasons to want to join the venture industry? What made Chris leave his VP role at Atomico to rejoin the entrepreneurial game with C2FO? Having both invested in startups and raised funds as a startup, what tips would Chris give to founders potentially entering a round of funding? How does Chris feel the tech eco system in London is developing and what Chris believes can be done to further improve it? We finish today's show with a lightning round where we hear Chris' thoughts on whether university is necessary or not, the next 5 years for him and his most recent investment and why he said yes?

4 Maj 201525min

In today's show I am joined by the immensely talented Nicolas Michaelsen, Founder & CMO at AirHelp, the go to place if you have grievances during air travel. Nicolas draws back the curtain on the exclusive world of Y Combinator, this includes the admissions process, the infamous interview, the tutoring available to YC startups, the effects of YC on the valuation of startups and the key takeaways from his time at YC.    Items Mentioned in Today's Show: Kevin Hale: Founded @ Wufoo, Partner @ Y Combinator Paul Buchheit: Creator of Gmail, Partner @ Y Combinator In today's show you will learn: How Nicolas got AirHelp started? At what point did Nicolas realise that Y Combinator was the place to go? Had Nicolas considered other more local incubators? What was the admissions process like? Is there any specific documentation required to apply? How is the YC interview structured? What type of questions do the partners ask? What percentage of the partners need to say yes for a startup to be accepted? How does the tutoring system work at YC? Who did Nicolas receive as tutors for AirHelp? What is a typical day in the life of a YC startup? We then finish today's episode by hearing Nicolas' thoughts on his most valuable takeaway from YC, the impact of YC on the valuation of a startup, what the future holds for AirHelp? If you would like to follow The Twenty Minute VC on Twitter, click here! If you would like to stay up to date with Nicolas and AirHelp, click here!

30 Apr 201517min

Maha Ibrahim is General Partner at Canaan Partners. Maha is renowned in the venture industry for her ability to to spot technology trends extremely early, proven through Maha being one of the 1st investors to recognise the huge potential of social gaming. As a result, Maha led Canaan's early investment in social games pioneer PicksPal (acquired by Liberty Media) and was a seed investor in Kabam, the world's largest developer of massively multiplayer social games. Due to Maha's incredible success in venture, she was included in Silicon Valley the '40 Under 40' award by The Silicon Valley Business Journal and is a regular on Bloomberg TV. Items Mentioned in Today's Show: The Real Real ClusterHQ Lending Club In today's episode you will learn: How Maha made her transition into the world of Venture Capital? As one of the 1st investors in social gaming, what did Maha see that other people did not? With the gaming industry being as fast moving and fickle as it is, shown through the likes of Zynga's troubles, is Maha concerned for her gaming portfolio companies, in their ability to maintain their dominant presence in the sector? Maha is an investor in The Real Real, a company which had revenues of over $100m last year. What does Maha believe is the reason for this incredible success and where does she see the future for The Real Real? Increasing amounts of capital means increasing competition for VCs, what does Maha believe VCs can bring to the table to beat off the competition? What is Maha most impressed by, in terms of entrepreneurs pitching to her? Where does Maha believe the next big forms of disruption are coming from? We finish today's episode with a quick fire round where we hear Maha's thoughts on the hardest part about being a VC, how Maha measures her success as a VC and her most recent investment and why she said yes? You can follow Maha on Twitter here!

27 Apr 201521min

In today's show I am joined by John Taylor, a nationally recognised authority in the venture capital and entrepreneurial finance sector. Currently, John is Head of Research at the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). In 2003, he co-founded the NVCA CFO Task Force which focuses on regulation and emerging issues dealing with a diverse range of Some of the many gems of this conversation include: where venture funds actually obtain their funds from, what is the main difference between an angel and a VC, what investors expect from their VCs, how has the IPO market changed since 2000, what do VCs look for in potential investments, how do VCs manage their time, what is the typical workload of a VC, can University students go straight into the VC industry?   Items Mentioned in Today's Show: Dave McClure | Lean VC | 500 Startups Andreeson Horowitz

23 Apr 201522min

The debate over whether or not we are in a tech bubble is dominating the minds of many in the tech world and today Harry talks to major player, Brandon Lipman, Co-Founder of 3DLT and writer of the recent TechCrunch Article: The Potential Upside To A Technology Bubble. Brandon shares his views on why seed deals have decreased by 300%, following from Scott Nolan's TechCrunch article, Brandon answers Does Burn Rate Really Matter, what sectors will survive or thrive in a tech bubble and why companies are preferring to raise later rounds rather than go public. They also dive into the dogfight between Meerkat and Periscope, the biggest winners from a bubble and the companies Brandon is most excited about. Items Mentioned in Today's Show: Chris Sacca and Tony Hawk with Jason Calacanis on TWIST 500 Startups: Dave McClure on Stanford's Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders MatterMark Complete Report Meerkat vs Periscope

20 Apr 201518min

Keith Teare is the Founder of Palo Alto incubator, Archimedes Labs whose incubated startups include the likes of M.Dot (acquired by GoDaddy), TechCrunch (acquired by AOL) and Ivan Kalanick's Red Swoosh. Keith is also the Co-Founder of TechCrunch alongside Michael Arrington. Prior to TechCrunch Keith founded RealNames Corporation raising more than £130m of venture funding before filing for an IPO with an implied valuation of £1.5bn.  Items Mentioned in Today's Show: Michael Arrington The Lean Startup by Eric Ries Chat Center: Universal Chat for Everyone on the Planet DownTown App: Your Personal Waiter Weendy: Sunshine App What you will learn in todays show: How did Keith get into the tech world at a time when technology was not mainstream? A venture of Keith's, Cyberia was heavily used by women. Does Keith believe that there have been improvements in balancing the gender gap? What Keith believes can be done to reduce the gender inequality that persists throughout the tech sector? How did Keith's Co-Founding of TechCrunch with Michael Arrington come about? Why did Keith try and persuade Michael not to create TechCrunch? What are the benefits of bootstrapping your startup and not raising venture funding? Why Keith was never able to raise venture funding in the UK? How is the valley different from creating a company in the UK? Keith's beliefs on the barbell venture capital ecosystem that persists in the US? We then finish today's episode with a quick fire round where we hear the best advice Keith has ever been given, the highlight of his career so far and the 3 companies that he is most excited about and why?

16 Apr 201529min

Greg Rogers is Managing Director at Techstars, the world’s leading accelerator programme for early stage technology start-ups and is responsible for the Barclays Accelerator. Prior to joining Techstars, he spent eleven years in New York City as an entrepreneur and senior manager. Most recently, he was founder and CEO of Pictela, a super rich media technology company that was acquired by AOL in 2010. An active angel, Greg was an early investor in Schedulicity and has recently co-founded SmartUp, a new ed-tech company with Frank Meehan (Siri), Brent Hoberman (Lastminute.com), and Barry Smith (Skyscanner).   Items Mentioned in Today’s Show: The Fundraising Rules by Mark Peter-Davis Brent Hoberman, Frank Meehan, Jon Bradford LastMinute.com Aire DoPay Squirrel  In today’s episode you will learn:   1.) How Greg got into the TechStars world? 2.) What attracted Greg to the the Fintech space and how has he seen Fintech develop over the last 5 years? 3.) What areas within the Fintech space Greg finds most interesting and why? 4.) What does Greg see the future of Fintech looking like? Does he see any trends arising in the space in 2015? 5.) What does Techstars offer startups and what do they take in return? 6.) What does Greg think are the characteristics of effective mentors? Are mentors necessary for startups in their early growth? 7.) What is Greg’s new venture, SmartUp. Who is involved and what are his plans for the future of SmartUp?   We finish today’s episode with a quick fire round where we hear Greg’s plans for the next five years, what tip Greg would give Fintech entrepreneurs and the 3 companies from TechStars or Barclays Accelerator that Greg is most excited about and why?

13 Apr 201530min