The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

Tim Ferriss: Why I Walked Away From Angel Investing After Uber | How I Accidentally Lost $150 Million

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3600Nov 15, 2024

Tim Ferriss, bestselling author and early-stage investor in Uber, Shopify, and Duolingo, shares why he stepped away from angel investing and lessons from losing $150M in potential gains.

Guest: Tim Ferriss

Doug Leone: Lessons from Building Sequoia Into The Greatest Venture Firm of All Time

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3900Oct 20, 2024

Sequoia's Doug Leone shares insights from backing Google, YouTube, and Airbnb, and what it takes to build an enduring venture capital firm across multiple generations.

Guest: Doug Leone

Bill Gurley: The Art of VC, Why Market Size is Overrated & Lessons from Uber

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

4200Sep 12, 2024

Benchmark's Bill Gurley discusses his investment philosophy, why conventional market sizing is flawed, and inside stories from backing Uber and other iconic startups.

Guest: Bill Gurley

Reid Hoffman: Building LinkedIn, The Art of Blitzscaling & Lessons from PayPal Mafia

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3800Aug 5, 2024

LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman shares the playbook for blitzscaling, lessons from the PayPal Mafia, and how to build network effects businesses.

Guest: Reid Hoffman

Daniel Ek: How Spotify Won Music Streaming & The Future of Audio

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

4000Jul 18, 2024

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek discusses building a $50B company, navigating label negotiations, and why podcasts are crucial to Spotify's future.

Guest: Daniel Ek

Frank Slootman: The Snowflake Playbook - How to Build a $70B Enterprise Giant

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3700Jun 22, 2024

Snowflake CEO Frank Slootman shares his playbook for aggressive growth, why "amp it up" is his mantra, and lessons from taking three companies public.

Guest: Frank Slootman

David George (a16z): How $BN Funds Can 5×, Margins in AI & The Most Controversial Bet at Andreessen

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3500Dec 15, 2024

Andreessen Horowitz's David George discusses growth investing at scale, backing Databricks and OpenAI, and why AI margins will surprise everyone.

Guest: David George

Mike Maples Jr: The OG Seed Investor on Twitter, Twitch & Pattern Recognition

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3600Nov 30, 2024

Floodgate co-founder Mike Maples Jr shares lessons from seed investing in Twitter and Twitch, why pattern recognition is overrated, and how to spot breakthrough founders.

Guest: Mike Maples Jr

Alex Bouaziz (Deel): From $0 to $17BN Valuation - The Playbook for Hypergrowth

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3400Oct 8, 2024

Deel CEO Alex Bouaziz discusses raising $300M+, scaling to thousands of customers globally, and management lessons from Ben Horowitz and Revolut's Nik Storonsky.

Guest: Alex Bouaziz

Alan Chang (Fuse Energy): $0-$260M in Revenue in Three Years - The Revolut Playbook

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3300Sep 25, 2024

Fuse Energy CEO Alan Chang reveals how they scaled to $260M in three years using the Revolut playbook, extreme ownership, and relentless execution.

Guest: Alan Chang

Matt Fitzpatrick (Invisible Technologies): Raising $100M & Accelerating AI Adoption

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3200Dec 29, 2024

Since joining as CEO in January 2025, Matt Fitzpatrick has raised $100M and is accelerating AI adoption across industries from sports to consumer and government.

Guest: Matt Fitzpatrick

Chad Peets: The Sales Saviour from Snowflake to X (Twitter)

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3100Aug 20, 2024

Chad Peets, leading sales at X and former sales leader at Snowflake, shares his playbook for building high-performing sales teams and scaling enterprise revenue.

Guest: Chad Peets

Joe Lonsdale (8VC): TikTok Security, Woke Mind Virus & Investing in Palantir

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

4100Jul 30, 2024

8VC founder Joe Lonsdale discusses national security concerns around TikTok, his thesis on modern culture wars, and lessons from Palantir and Lady Gaga investments.

Guest: Joe Lonsdale

David Fialkow: The Founding of General Catalyst & Building Firms That Stand the Test of Time

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3800Dec 15, 2024

General Catalyst co-founder David Fialkow shares the origin story, why VCs need to give founders permission to dream bigger, and why venture is like tennis.

Guest: David Fialkow

Michael Eisenberg: Foundation Models Are The Fastest Depreciating Asset & China vs US in AI

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3900Oct 27, 2024

Aleph's Michael Eisenberg discusses why foundation models depreciate rapidly, PE's role in M&A, why SaaS is riskier than deep tech, and the US-China AI race.

Guest: Michael Eisenberg

Quentin Clark: Lessons From Bill Gates, Leading Without Authority & Fundraising in COVID

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3400May 15, 2024

General Catalyst MD Quentin Clark shares lessons from working with Bill Gates at Microsoft, how to lead without authority, and navigating fundraising during COVID.

Guest: Quentin Clark

Thomas Plantenga (Vinted): The Ultimate Guide to Scaling Marketplaces & Why Rule of 40 is BS

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3600Apr 12, 2024

Vinted CEO Thomas Plantenga reveals the playbook for marketplace scaling, why Rule of 40 optimization is wrong, and how to think about market sizing.

Guests: Thomas Plantenga, Alex Taussig

Rick Marini: Lessons From Naval Ravikant & Why You Need 30 Investments Before You Know What You're Doing

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3300Dec 31, 2024

Angel investor Rick Marini shares wisdom from Naval Ravikant, why dealflow must be earned, and why new angels need 30 bets before pattern recognition kicks in.

Guest: Rick Marini

Kent Goldman (Upside Partnership): Using Valuation As A Litmus Test & Why Valuation Doesn't Matter At Seed

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3200Dec 8, 2024

Upside Partnership founder Kent Goldman explains why seed valuation shouldn't be your focus, using valuation as a litmus test, and how seed funds can serve founders better.

Guest: Kent Goldman

Tarek Mansour (Kalshi): Announcing Their $1BN Raise at $11BN Valuation

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3100Nov 22, 2024

Kalshi co-founder and CEO Tarek Mansour discusses their massive $1BN fundraise, building prediction markets, and taking on established incumbents.

Guest: Tarek Mansour

Jonathan Siddharth (Turing): Scaling to $300M ARR & The Future of AI-Powered Engineering

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3400Oct 18, 2024

Turing founder and CEO Jonathan Siddharth shares how they reached $300M ARR, the future of remote engineering, and leveraging AI for talent matching.

Guest: Jonathan Siddharth

Jason Lemkin & Rory O'Driscoll: The Big Fat Quiz of the Year - 2024 in Review

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

4200Dec 22, 2024

SaaStr's Jason Lemkin and Scale's Rory O'Driscoll review 2024: Founder of the Year, Fund of the Year, Breakout Company, and predictions for 2025.

Guests: Jason Lemkin, Rory O'Driscoll

Sarah Guo (Conviction): From Greylock to Building Her Own AI-Focused Firm

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3500Sep 5, 2024

Conviction founder Sarah Guo discusses leaving Greylock to start her own AI-focused firm, thesis on foundation models, and backing the next wave of AI companies.

Guest: Sarah Guo

Vinod Khosla: The Immigrant Mindset, Failing Fast & Why Most VCs Add Negative Value

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

4300Aug 12, 2024

Khosla Ventures founder Vinod Khosla shares his immigrant mindset, why failing fast is crucial, and his controversial view that most VCs add negative value to startups.

Guest: Vinod Khosla

Elad Gil: The Solo Capitalist Behind Airbnb, Coinbase & Stripe

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3700Jul 8, 2024

Solo investor Elad Gil discusses his unique approach to tech investing, backing Airbnb, Coinbase, and Stripe, and why he operates without a traditional fund structure.

Guest: Elad Gil

Jeff Jordan (a16z): The Marketplace Playbook from eBay, OpenTable & Airbnb

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3900Jun 14, 2024

Andreessen Horowitz's Jeff Jordan shares the definitive marketplace playbook from leading eBay and OpenTable, and investing in Airbnb and Instacart.

Guest: Jeff Jordan

Mamoon Hamid: From Slack to Figma - Pattern Recognition in Enterprise

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3600May 22, 2024

Kleiner Perkins' Mamoon Hamid discusses backing Slack and Figma, pattern recognition in enterprise software, and why product love trumps everything.

Guest: Mamoon Hamid

Roelof Botha: Leading Sequoia's Next Chapter & Lessons from YouTube, Instagram

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

4000Apr 18, 2024

Sequoia's Roelof Botha discusses taking over from Doug Leone, early bets on YouTube and Instagram, and how Sequoia thinks about long-term value creation.

Guest: Roelof Botha

Brian Chesky: How Airbnb Survived COVID, Product Thinking & The Steve Jobs Playbook

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

4200Mar 25, 2024

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky shares how they survived the COVID crisis, lessons from studying Steve Jobs, and why product thinking beats growth hacking.

Guest: Brian Chesky

Stewart Butterfield: Building Slack & Why He Sold to Salesforce for $28B

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3800Feb 20, 2024

Slack co-founder Stewart Butterfield discusses building Slack from a failed gaming startup, creating category-defining products, and the Salesforce acquisition.

Guest: Stewart Butterfield

Patrick Collison: Building Stripe Into a $95B Payments Empire

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

4100Jan 15, 2024

Stripe CEO Patrick Collison discusses scaling Stripe to $95B valuation, the future of payments, and why infrastructure is the most important layer of the internet.

Guest: Patrick Collison

Michelle Zatlyn: Cloudflare's Journey from Network Security to Edge Computing

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3500Dec 10, 2023

Cloudflare co-founder Michelle Zatlyn shares the journey from protecting websites to building the programmable internet, and lessons from going public.

Guest: Michelle Zatlyn

Tobi Lütke: Building Shopify, The Merchant Obsession & Competing with Amazon

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

4000Nov 18, 2023

Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke discusses building Shopify from a snowboard shop, merchant obsession, and how they compete with Amazon by arming the rebels.

Guest: Tobi Lütke

Mathilde Collin: From Bootstrapped to $800M Valuation - The Front Story

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3400Oct 22, 2023

Front CEO Mathilde Collin shares how they bootstrapped to profitability before raising $200M+, product-led growth strategies, and building a category leader.

Guest: Mathilde Collin

Amjad Masad: Replit's Mission to Bring The Next Billion Software Creators Online

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3600Sep 14, 2023

Replit CEO Amjad Masad discusses democratizing coding, AI-powered development, and why the future of software creation is collaborative and accessible.

Guest: Amjad Masad

Sridhar Ramaswamy: From Google SVP to Challenging Google with Neeva

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3700Aug 8, 2023

Neeva CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy discusses leaving Google to build an ad-free search engine, taking on Google, and why search needs to be reinvented.

Guest: Sridhar Ramaswamy

Frederic Kerrest: Building Okta to $40B & The Future of Identity

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3500Jul 12, 2023

Okta co-founder Frederic Kerrest shares the journey to $40B valuation, enterprise sales lessons, and why identity is the foundation of zero trust security.

Guest: Frederic Kerrest

Melanie Perkins: How Canva Reached $40B Valuation & Democratized Design

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

4100Jun 20, 2023

Canva CEO Melanie Perkins shares the 10-year journey from idea to $40B valuation, democratizing design, and why mission drives everything.

Guest: Melanie Perkins

Howie Liu: Building Airtable Into The $11B Low-Code Platform

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3600May 15, 2023

Airtable CEO Howie Liu discusses building Airtable to $11B, the no-code/low-code revolution, and how they think about product velocity versus stability.

Guest: Howie Liu

Logan Green: The Lyft Journey - From Zimride to Competing with Uber

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3900Apr 18, 2023

Lyft co-founder Logan Green shares the journey from Zimride to Lyft, competing with Uber, regulatory battles, and building a mission-driven ridesharing company.

Guest: Logan Green

Apoorva Mehta: Building Instacart to IPO & The Grocery Delivery Revolution

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3800Mar 22, 2023

Instacart founder Apoorva Mehta discusses building Instacart through 20+ failed startup ideas, the grocery delivery revolution, and navigating the IPO journey.

Guest: Apoorva Mehta

Dustin Moskovitz: From Facebook Co-Founder to Building Asana

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

4000Feb 14, 2023

Asana co-founder Dustin Moskovitz shares lessons from Facebook, why he left to build Asana, and the importance of work management for the future of work.

Guest: Dustin Moskovitz

Ryan Petersen: Building Flexport & Fixing Global Supply Chains

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3700Jan 18, 2023

Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen discusses building a $8B freight forwarding startup, lessons from supply chain chaos, and why logistics is broken.

Guest: Ryan Petersen

Dara Khosrowshahi: Turning Around Uber & Leading Through Crisis

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

4200Dec 12, 2022

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi shares lessons from turning around Uber post-Travis Kalanick, navigating COVID, and building a more sustainable ridesharing business.

Guest: Dara Khosrowshahi

Dylan Field: Building Figma & The $20B Adobe Acquisition That Never Was

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3900Nov 8, 2022

Figma CEO Dylan Field discusses building Figma from YC to design industry leader, the failed $20B Adobe acquisition, and the future of collaborative design.

Guest: Dylan Field

Eric Yuan: How Zoom Became The Video Platform of The Pandemic

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3600Oct 15, 2022

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan shares how Zoom scaled from 10M to 300M daily users during COVID, delivering happiness through video, and competing with Microsoft Teams.

Guest: Eric Yuan

Drew Houston: Building Dropbox, Steve Jobs Rejection & Going Public

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

4100Sep 20, 2022

Dropbox CEO Drew Houston shares the story of building Dropbox, getting rejected by Steve Jobs, competing with tech giants, and lessons from going public.

Guest: Drew Houston

Brian Armstrong: Building Coinbase Through Crypto Cycles & Going Public

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3800Aug 14, 2022

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong discusses navigating crypto winters and bull markets, regulatory challenges, and taking Coinbase public at a $86B valuation.

Guest: Brian Armstrong

Whitney Wolfe Herd: From Tinder to Building Bumble & Becoming The Youngest Self-Made Female Billionaire

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)

3700Jul 18, 2022

Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd shares leaving Tinder, building Bumble with women-first approach, and becoming the youngest self-made female billionaire at IPO.

Guest: Whitney Wolfe Herd