Ep 033 - Rebecca Kaden, General Partner at Union Square Ventures

This is the ultimate masterclass for building relationships with VCs!

In my many episodes of New to Venture, no one has been applauded as much as the illustrious Rebecca Kaden, General Partner at Union Square Ventures. It was such an honor to have her on the show to delve into VC relationships. Whether it is with a co-investor, board member, or friend, episode 033 will help take your relationships to a deeper level!

Key Takeaways:

1️⃣ A productive conversation amongst VCs has a high degree of trust, respect, and differing ideas! Young people in venture tend to have more transactional conversations, where sharing opportunities is the main priority. Push yourself to have conversations about ideas, interests and thinking. Hopefully, a conversation may sway your opinion on a company you’re looking at.

2️⃣ Networks get more valuable over time by what people contribute to them. The VC/tech ecosystem is a network. The more you put in, the more you’re going to get back 🙂

3️⃣ It's the natural course of a VC to start their network broad and then slowly find the people they can count on. Don’t feel the pressure to create your trusted circle, just let it happen naturally.

4️⃣ Although it may be nice to have co-investors who are low maintenance, have a good track record, and can follow on at high valuations, the best co-investors are believers, decision makers, and those who do the work!

5️⃣ Great board members “agitate when the water is calm, and calm when it is agitating.” When there is chaos surrounding the company, a strong board member will alleviate that stress. When things are calm, they push and help move the company forward.

6️⃣ Ultimately, deals are the currency of the VC world. If you want a fast-track to the top, get good deals done that your firm wouldn’t have seen if you weren’t there.

7️⃣ As a young VC, it's okay to have unoriginal thoughts. Just keep mashing and combining those thoughts with learnings from amazing investors until it sounds like yours! Simply put, that is what learning is.

8️⃣ Founder-VC calls shouldn’t be a VC bashing a founder’s idea. It should be two educated individuals sharing their hypothesis on the world and seeing if they are aligned!

9️⃣ A lot of VC investing is understanding the balance between patience and impatience. It's a hard, delicate, and nuanced dynamic. When is the right time to take things slow? When is the right time to throw the kitchen sink? Think about that balance as you grow your career.

Timestamps:

(00:00) - Introductions

(02:03) - Holiday traditions!

(05:00) - What makes a productive conversation amongst VCs?

(10:04) - Collaboration vs competition

(11:58) - Rebecca’s learnings from the legendary Bill Campbell

(13:55) - Collaboration vs competition pt 2

(16:16) - Good practices for finding your network

(22:04) - Good practices for being a good co-investor or board member

(26:47) - Rebecca’s origin stories

(32:57) - Building theses + original thoughts

(35:02) - Maveron → USV

(36:54) - Rebecca’s secret sauce

(39:51) - Ceremonial final Qs