Mega Funds Can Still Deliver 5
I think David George is one of the great growth investors today. But I also think some of the hardest and most pressing questions have not been asked. - How does a $5BN fund do a 5x? - Why invest $300M into Adam Neumann? - You say, “diamonds in the rough”, and largest positions are SpaceX, Stripe and Anduril… what am I missing? This is one of the spiciest shows we have ever done. Spotify 👉 https://t.co/GeuXHQVji0 Youtube 👉 https://t.co/8H0cGHtu1i Apple Podcasts 👉 https://t.co/iUhYL71UxD My biggest takeaway from @DavidGeorge83 👇 Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:24 Why Everyone is Wrong: Mega Funds Does Not Reduce Returns 07:13 The Biggest Advantage of Staying Private for Longer 11:02 Is Public Market Capital Actually Cheaper Than Private Capital? 22:42 The #1 Investing Rule for a16z: Always Invest in the Founder's Strength of Strengths 30:23 Does Revenue Matter as Much in a World of AI? 30:54 Does Kingmaking Still Exist in Venture Capital Today? 43:48 Do Margins Matter Less Than Ever in an AI-First World? 47:01 My Biggest Miss: Anthropic and What I Learn From it? 48:15 Has OpenAI Won Consumer AI? Will Anthropic Win Enterprise? 52:50 The Most Controversial Decision in Andreessen Horowitz History 55:59 Why Did You Invest $300M into Adam Neumann and Flow? 59:17 Quick-Fire Round
Private Status Shields Firms From Stock Volatility
What is the biggest advantage for companies to stay private today? @DavidGeorge83 " The biggest advantage is the avoidance of volatility in your stock price and employee management. If you can steadily grow or control your stock price in the private...
A16z's David George on the Most Controversial Bet at A16z & Do Margins and Revenue Matter in AI?
David George, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, opened the conversation by framing a16z’s most controversial bet: that a $1 billion growth fund can outperform smaller vehicles. He highlighted the firm’s track record—Databricks delivering 7×, Coinbase 5×, and a roster that...
Fuse Energy Skyrockets 10x Yearly, Europe's Hidden Powerhouse
Fuse Energy is the most under the radar company in Europe. Every year, the company has 10x revenue. First Year: £2M Second Year: £20M Third Year: £200M @alanchanguk is one of the great founders of our time. 🔥 20VC to come...
Fear of Competition Kills Deals; Break Rules for Greatness
Three years ago I made one of the biggest investing mistakes of my life. We turned down the chance to invest in ElevenLabs. It was a $250K check at a $100M post. Today that would be 100x and would have...
Founders Prefer Fear of Losing Over Winning Thrill
The best question to ask: What drives you more, the thrill of winning or the fear of losing? I have asked 100 of the best founders in the world this. 82 said the same thing.
Kieran Turned Down Seed Funding for ElevenLabs.
My face when @matiii reminds me @Kieranleehill turned down the seed for ElevenLabs…. 🤣 https://t.co/R0b3biSsor
VCs Win by Nurturing LP Relationships, Not Pitching
Every week I meet three new LPs. Even when I am not fundraising. And... I never ever sell 20VC to them. The single biggest reason VCs struggle fundraising: they do not build relationships in between funds. This is wrong. You...
Best Show Yet: SpaceX, Netflix, Massive Fundraises
It is midnight and I am working on the final edit for the show tomorrow with @jasonlk @rodriscoll. Holy s***. By far the best show we have done. - SpaceX valued at $800BN - The BFD: Netflix Buys Warner Brothers - Harvey...
Enterprise AI Needs Full‑Service Implementation, Not Just a Sale
Unpopular opinion: You cannot sell AI to large enterprises and expect usage and retention without an FDE model managing implementation and customisation. They will not buy and apply. The art is in implementation.
Listeners Love the Show, yet Few Value Targeted Content
I get 10+ LPs per day email me stating they listen and love our weekly show with @jasonlk and @rodriscoll. Continues to amaze me how few truly see the strategic value of targeted content.
What Makes Alfred Lin Such a Great Investor
The video spotlights Alfred Lin, a partner at Sequoia Capital, and dissects the unconventional traits that set him apart from the stereotypical venture capitalist. Rather than relying on sweeping, simplistic maxims—"great team wins" or "focus on margins"—Lin offers nuanced, data‑driven...
Rivalry Fuels Market Growth and Regulatory Breakthroughs
How @Polymarket @shayne_coplan Made @Kalshi @mansourtarek_ Raise Their Game: " An industry truly becomes an industry when there's a rivalry. Without Polymarket, we wouldn't have pushed our marketing and pushed our product as hard. Without us, they wouldn't have pushed their marketing and...
Lead Investors Must Commit >50% or Appear Uncommitted
Investors, when you put down a term sheet as a lead for the round and you only commit to 50% or less of the round, you are just showing a lack of commitment. That simple. Be bold.
Pre‑seed Investors Should Match Founders with Right‑stage VCs
A role of a pre-seed investor is to guide your founders to VCs that are most likely to do the deal. Throwing them into Sequoia, Accel and Index too early is like throwing SBF into the compliance team, shouting “good...
Alfred’s Contrarian Nuance Keeps Founders Grounded
What Makes @Alfred_Lin @sequoia So Good? "Alfred is a very unique investor in many dimensions 1. He's not the type of investor to make strong, simplistic statements. Alfred's answer to everything is very nuanced, uninteresting and uninspiring. But it tends to be the...
Growth Requires Simultaneous Product and Brand Building
What is @mansourtarek_ biggest execution regret in how he scaled @Kalshi? "I was too product-driven for too long. I was always like ... it needs to grow really fast organically. Then we do more marketing and build a brand. I actually...
Early $7M Bet Turns $10M in Six Months
After 27 mins of interviewing @awxjack on 20VC, I asked in the middle of the show if I could invest in @airwallex. I invested $7M. Today, Jack announced Lee Fixel and Addition, one of the best in the world, have led...
Eric and Karim Master Founder Brand Storytelling
Which founder brand does @mansourtarek_ @Kalshi respect more than any other? "@eglyman @karimatiyeh have done a very good job at building a story and brand around the founders the team and how the company has come to be. I am learning...
Kalshi's $1B Funding Fuels Prediction Market Revolution
Kalshi is one of the fastest growing companies on the planet. Last week: - Raised $1BN at $11BN valuation - Partnered with CNN and CNBC This is Tarek’s only interview post this news. - How Polymarket made @Kalshi better? - Is Kalshi just sports betting with...
Venture Landscape Shifts: Valuations, AI Winners, New Capital Stack
Venture is changing faster than ever. If you are not up to date, you will fall behind. Coming soon next Wednesday 👇 - What’s really happening to valuations - How AI euphoria is reshaping winners and losers - The new capital stack every founder and...
Collaborative Checks on Mega Platforms Drive Venture Success
If you have a mega platform Write super collaborative checks You will absolutely crush the next decade in venture. Distribution matters. 😉
Sequoia Backing Signals Growth; Ignore the BS
One of the most BS statements: You do not want people to join your company because of an investor that led the round. People want to grow and they want to make money. When Sequoia invests, it is a massive stamp...
Coming Soon: Harry Stebbings on the State of Venture
In this episode, Harry Stebbings examines the rapid transformation of venture capital, focusing on shifting valuation dynamics, the impact of AI hype on startup success, and the emergence of a new capital stack that founders and investors must navigate. He...
Media Exposure Turns Angel Interest Into Lighthouse Customers
Today I interviewed a $50BN founder for 20VC. In the post interview chat, I mentioned a company we are leading the seed round for. The $50BN founder asked to angel invest and be a lighthouse customer for them. How media...
AI-Driven Custom Apps Will Eclipse Traditional SaaS
SaaS is Over: " SaaS apps were built at a time when software was relatively hard to build. Now many of these AI applications are easy to build on top of these LLMs. Most companies will start building custom software super easily." @jonsidd Love...
Data Labeling Market Faces Revenue Concentration and Synthetic Threat
Data labelling is a fricking hard market and there are some core questions. 1. Why does no player want to be called a talent marketplace? 2. Is the proclaimed “revenue” real revenue or GMV? 3. What are the margins given the GMV structure...
20VC Newsletter - 30th November 2025
In this 20VC newsletter episode, Harry Stebbings interviews Base44 founder Maor Shlomo, who argues that traditional SaaS will fade as "vibe coding" enables companies to own their tools and data, and highlights Google as the real competitive threat while emphasizing...
That Look When European Seed Funds Lose a Term Sheet
The face every European seed fund sees before they lose the term sheet 🤣 https://t.co/luEqQH95ly
AI Funding Frenzy: Anthropic, NVIDIA, and $10B Valuations
The only podcast you have to listen to every week. No politics. Just tech. - Anthropic Raises $30BN from Microsoft and NVIDIA - NVIDIA Core Business Threatened by TPU - Sam Altman's "War Mode" Analysed - Sierra Hits $100M ARR: Justifies $10BN Price? Spotify 👉 https://t.co/6JKLLkgQVA Youtube...
Investors Don't Outnumber Founders in London, Claim Refuted
@BennettSiegel @endowment_eddie @maxaltman Except it’s not true that investors outnumber founders in London! Just wrong
Early First and Second Close Signals a Bad Deal
The minute I hear first and second close for an early stage funding round; I am out. Never a good sign.
Custom Vibe Coding Threatens SaaS Dominance
Vibe Coding Will Kill SaaS: " In a year or two; you'll get to a place where a lot of the current organizational tools that companies are using, you could build your own version. It would make so much more sense to you...
Model Prices Expected Near Zero, Margins Become Irrelevant
" The margins are the least thing that I'm worried about. We're taking into consideration that the prices of models will go down to zero." @MS_BASE44 How do you think about model costs over time? Right to assume close to zero? @destraynor...
Success No Longer Dependent on Silicon Valley Location
6. Why Base44 Is Helped & Not Hurt by Not Being in Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is no longer mandatory for building important companies or accessing opportunity. The war on talent is tough in Silicon Valley: If you don’t have deep pockets,...
Base44 Lets Anyone Build Products, Outpacing Cursor
5. How Does Base44 Beat Cursor in the End? I started Base44 for non-technical people: no API keys, no Supabase links… As models improve, even developers care less about editing files or seeing code. When you can build whole products inside Base44, most...
Base44’s Founder, Maor Shlomo on Why Vibe Coding Has No Defensibility
The interview centers on Maor Shlomo, founder of Base44, a venture that leveraged large‑language‑model (LLM)‑driven “vibe coding” to let a solo founder build a product that was later sold to Wix for $80 million. Shlomo frames the conversation around why traditional...
Cursor’s $30B Valuation Fueled by Explosive Revenue Surge
Why $30BN for Cursor Is A Good Deal: "The pro side is revenue and revenue growth rate. If something's gone from $1-$100M in a year, and then $100M to $1BN this year, with Newton's laws of motion, it is going to $3BN-$4BN...
Tech Funding Boom: VC Surge, Private Giants Thrive
The only podcast you have to listen to every week. No politics. Just tech. - Cursor Raises $2.3BN: Who Wins the Coding War - Peter Thiel and Softbank Sell NVIDIA: Analysed - Why Venture Capital Will Hit $1TRN and the Opening of Retail - Why...
Replace Legacy Giants: Build Faster, Smarter Service Providers
I have spent the last 14 days inside some of the largest companies in the world. 90% of them will die. Their market cap will slowly erode to innovators over a 20 year period. The lesson though: Their buying processes and...
Entry Price Matters in Uncertain TAM; Winning Dominates Huge TAM
Entry price counts when TAM is unclear. Winning is the only thing that counts when TAM is huge.
Twitter Turns DMs Into $5M LP Deals
Last 24 hours became friends with $10BN+ founder through sending a DM. 24 hours later: He is co-investing in 20VC with 2 companies. Asked to write a $5M LP check. The power of Twitter.
20VC: Europe’s Only Fund Embracing 996 Culture
20VC crushing the 996 London life. Only fund in Europe that works this. 🤷♂️ https://t.co/RkVTlQhcTW
Compute Scarcity and Geopolitics Define AI's Future
“In my career working in AI, I have yet to meet a single AI person that ever felt like they had enough compute.” “Open-weight models is a tremendous source of geopolitical influence” “When China’s government makes an all-nation commitment, it’s a very...
AI Coding's VC Subsidy Mirrors Early Food Delivery Boom
Is AI Coding Like Food Delivery: VC Subsidised and Unsustainable: " I remember the early days of food delivery, it was VC subsidized. We're seeing that right now with AI coding. This can't go on forever... there will be some very valuable businesses...
20VC Newsletter - 16th November 2025
The episode features three separate interviews: Everett Randle of Benchmark explains why mega‑funds prioritize capital velocity, proposes new AI‑company valuation metrics, and shares lessons from Mary Meeker; Rory O’Driscoll and Jason Lemkin discuss a looming Palantir valuation correction, the accelerating...
Biggest Lessons From Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel’s genius, according to insiders, lies more in how he structures his firms than in his individual investments. At Founders Fund, staff who lead deals are required to co‑invest alongside the firm, turning a perk into a test of...
Top VCs Can't Guarantee 5x Net Returns to LPs
Why a16z, Lightspeed and General Catalyst Cannot Go To LPs and Be Confident of a 5X Net: "@ravi_lsvp, @pmarca @bhorowitz cannot go to LPs and say with a straight face that they can do 5x net. If you look at the...
AI Labs Threaten App Companies by Setting Low Baseline
Why AI Labs are the Biggest Risk to App Layer Companies: "The biggest risk for app layer companies is AI labs. The labs are creating apps, they're creating more value via the models and they're giving them directly to users. As an...
AI Success Hinges on Gross Profit per Customer, Not Margins
Why Margins Matter Less in a World of AI and We Should Focus on Gross Dollar Per Customer: "We should not be placing that much emphasis on margin today. We should try to understand what does the terminal gross margin structure...