StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

Benchmark

also referred to as: benchmark capital

includes Benchmark Israel

230 statements across 90 episodes · 98 bullish · 40 bearish · 60 people on the record · first statement Jun 22, 2015 by Rob Moffat · said 828 times in 251 episodes since 2015 · across every show →

Mentions by year, the whole family

brought up most by Harry Stebbings (419), Shervin Pishevar (23), Jason Lemkin (20), Rory O'Driscoll (19), Michael Eisenberg (17), Mitchell Green (15), Everett Randle (11), Eric Vishria (10)

tap a year for its mentions
001002020040201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026episodesmentions
02040201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026episodes it came up in
00320640201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026episodesmentions per episode
2026 112 mentions in 34 episodes 3 per episode
2025 196 mentions in 35 episodes 6 per episode
2024 101 mentions in 27 episodes 4 per episode
2023 73 mentions in 25 episodes 3 per episode
2022 49 mentions in 20 episodes 2 per episode
2021 32 mentions in 10 episodes 3 per episode
2020 54 mentions in 25 episodes 2 per episode
2019 72 mentions in 19 episodes 4 per episode
2018 26 mentions in 11 episodes 2 per episode
2017 54 mentions in 20 episodes 3 per episode
2016 49 mentions in 19 episodes 3 per episode
2015 10 mentions in 6 episodes 2 per episode

every mention, scene by scene, with the transcript →

Everything said about Benchmark, oldest first

Jun 22, 2015 neutral
Insight
Moffat: VC firms must commit to a distinct organizational model
“And I think all three of those models are valid. And I think every VC has to look at those and work out what makes sense for them, but they do need to make a clear decision on what their approach is going to be.”
Rob Moffat Jun 22, 2015 ▶ 14:17 20 VC 047: 4 Ways Investors Find Great Startups with Rob Moffat, Principal @ Balderton Capital
Sep 6, 2015 positive
Assertion Partly supported
Soltero: Hyperic bootstrapped two years before Accel/Benchmark funding and $420M exit
“We ended up bootstrapping Hyperic actually for two years before we raised money ultimately from Excel and Benchmark who were great investors. And helped us take this thing to you know, ultimately a four hundred and twenty million dollar acquisition by VMware, …”
Javier Soltero Sep 6, 2015 ▶ 5:33 FF 012: Acquired by Microsoft for $200m with Javier Soltero @ Microsoft
Feb 10, 2016 neutral
Prediction Held up
Top VC firms will be forced to adapt to new funding models
“Sequoia, Benchmark, Andreessen Horowitz, they're not going away anytime soon. This isn't like, we're out to beat them and kill them. Not in the same way Airbnb is not going to delete hotels overnight. It's going to change how hotels work. I think that's a bett…”
Dustin Dolginow Feb 10, 2016 ▶ 18:55 20VC: The First Online Venture Fund Built On AngelList with Dustin Dolginow @ Maiden Lane
Mar 21, 2016 positive
Opinion
Benchmark is the best venture firm at managing generational transitions
“And so what it means is, and I think that, you know, right now there's probably, you know, no one that does this better than benchmark in this space where they're continually bringing in young people and growing them from, you know, from, you know, relatively …”
Rob Hayes Mar 21, 2016 ▶ 19:14 Uber's First Investor, First Round Capital's Rob Hayes on How The Deal Of The Decade Originated and Why Product Orientated VC Is The Future
Mar 23, 2016 positive
Disclosure
Kaden: Union Square Ventures and Benchmark prove small fund sizes work best
“I think one of the things I admire about Union Square and Benchmark is they've kept the fund sizes small and focused and we are big proponents of small fund sizes and focus at Maveron too, so I look to them for a lot of guidance.”
Rebecca Kaden Mar 23, 2016 ▶ 18:45 20VC: Maveron's Rebecca Kaden on The Patterns Of Entrepreneurship and Taking A Consumer Product From Niche To Mass Market
May 6, 2016 positive
What-if
Morton: Lyst would not exist without my Benchmark VC experience
“It was an incredibly valuable two years, which, you know, if we, if I hadn't done that, I don't think List would exist today.”
Chris Morton May 6, 2016 ▶ 5:42 20VC: Why VC Is The Perfect Preparation For Founding A Startup & Changing The World Of Online Fashion with Chris Morton, Co-Founder & CEO @ Lyst
Jul 20, 2016 positive
Opinion
Small VC funds succeed by avoiding direct competition with Tier-1 firms
“The nice thing I like about some of these small funds is that they don't compete in their sector, in their geography, in their states. They don't compete with Sequoia and Excel, benchmark, and increase. So they are dominant. They will never lose to them becaus…”
Alex Bangash Jul 20, 2016 ▶ 20:37 20VC: Why The Whole Industry Is Backward Looking, The Best Funds Are Entrepreneur Led and Venture Is All About Access with Alex Bangash, Founder @ Trusted Insight
Dec 19, 2016 positive
Opinion
Lynn: Optimal venture capital fund size is $300M to $400M
“No, I think it's a 300 to four hundred million dollar fund, and the reason is, A, you know, when I look at the people I really respect and admire, the Sequoias and the Benchmarks, I mean, that's what they've proven out, and I've added emergence to that mix in …”
Rebecca Lynn Dec 19, 2016 ▶ 27:08 20VC: Learnings From Mary Meeker & Larry Summers, Missing Out On Uber & The Changing World of VC with Canvas Partner, Rebecca Lynn
Dec 21, 2016 bullish
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Top-tier Series A firms like Sequoia and Benchmark won't change models
“I think if you are a traditional series A and beyond VC, you're probably going to do okay if you're really value-add to the Sequoias and the benchmarks of the world. I don't really see them changing their model much at all, because it works really well.”
Parker Thompson Dec 21, 2016 ▶ 23:21 20VC: AngelList's Parker Thompson on How He Evaluates Startup Founders & Why The Move To Series A Is Harder Than Ever?
Feb 27, 2017
Insight
Belsky: Venture capital is fundamentally a business of exceptions
“Venture capital and investing in general is a business of exceptions, and whenever you talk to any seasoned investor about some of their greatest hits, you know, they'll tell you that the Team didn't look right, or the market seemed too small, or, you know, th…”
Scott Belsky Feb 27, 2017 ▶ 6:21 20VC: Benchmark's Scott Belsky on What Makes Truly The Best VCs? Why Entrepreneurs Must Focus on 'The First Mile' & The Key Ingredients To The Perfect Onboarding Process
Feb 27, 2017 neutral
Insight
Belsky: Angel investing bets on potential; traditional VC demands momentum
“I think as an earlier stage angel seed investor, it's all about investing in the potential of a product or the potential of a team. When you start to do more traditional venture capital And certainly venture capital at the benchmark level level. It's a lot mor…”
Scott Belsky Feb 27, 2017 ▶ 5:26 20VC: Benchmark's Scott Belsky on What Makes Truly The Best VCs? Why Entrepreneurs Must Focus on 'The First Mile' & The Key Ingredients To The Perfect Onboarding Process
Feb 27, 2017 negative
Prediction Open · timeframe Feb 2032
Belsky: I cannot see myself being a traditional VC long-term
“Also realized pretty quickly that I could not see myself being a traditional VC for the next 10 to 15 years.”
Scott Belsky Feb 27, 2017 ▶ 3:24 20VC: Benchmark's Scott Belsky on What Makes Truly The Best VCs? Why Entrepreneurs Must Focus on 'The First Mile' & The Key Ingredients To The Perfect Onboarding Process
Mar 10, 2017 positive
Opinion
Rachleff: Benchmark's Bruce Dunleavy is radically more capable as a business person
“He has unbelievable judgment and is the best influencer I've ever met, and people just adore Bruce, and I try to learn from him as best as I can. He's two years older than I am, but he's radically more capable than I am as a business person, and I have benefit…”
Andy Rachleff Mar 10, 2017 ▶ 18:13 20VC: Wealthfront and Benchmark's Andy Rachleff on Why Delight Is The Greatest Form Of Virality, Why Competition Does Not Matter & What The Future Holds For Automated Personal Finance
Mar 10, 2017 positive
Insight
Rachleff: Equal VC partners must step down if not giving 110%
“The only way to manage an always equal partnership is if you're not willing to go a 110%, you have to opt out.”
Andy Rachleff Mar 10, 2017 ▶ 2:25 20VC: Wealthfront and Benchmark's Andy Rachleff on Why Delight Is The Greatest Form Of Virality, Why Competition Does Not Matter & What The Future Holds For Automated Personal Finance
Apr 14, 2017 positive
Assertion Supported
Kimball: Benchmark operates with equal partner ownership and no support staff
“There's no more opposite approach in the industry than the one that Benchmark takes, for example. And this is a very small VC fund, you know, not necessarily in dollars, although it's not, it's by far not the largest. But, you know, it's a small number of part…”
Spencer Kimball Apr 14, 2017 ▶ 12:15 20VC: How Investors Can Get Into The Best Deals & Why Founders First Point Of Contact Should Be With The Investment Decision-Maker with Spencer Kimball, Founder & CEO @ Cockroach Labs
May 1, 2017 bearish
Opinion
Stebbings: VR is an isolating experience that detracts from social togetherness
“I joined Mitch Lasky at Benchmarks of the World in being very anti-VR. It's some of the very best innovations of the last decade have been those that fundamentally bring people together. And VR for me is an isolated experience that detracts from a feeling of s…”
Harry Stebbings May 1, 2017 ▶ 24:23 20VC: Explosion of First Time Funds, Only 1 Mega Fund Raised: What The Heck Happened in Q1 Venture Markets with Beezer Clarkson, Managing Director @ Sapphire Ventures
May 3, 2017 neutral
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Fifth Wall will not compete with Benchmark, Sequoia, or Lightspeed
“And we're not going to compete, obviously, with Benchmark and Sequoia and Lightspeed.”
Brendan Wallace May 3, 2017 ▶ 16:12 20VC: How LPs Can Add Strategic Value To Portfolio Companies & Why Real Estate Is On Every Whiteboard In Silicon Valley with Brendan Wallace, Co-Founder @ Fifth Wall
Jun 19, 2017
Insight
Fenton: Early-stage VC returns are never determined by entry valuations
“I've never seen ever seen a venture investment from the early stage standpoint become bad because of valuations in the flip side. I've never seen one become great because of valuations going in.”
Peter Fenton Jun 19, 2017 ▶ 15:49 20VC: Benchmark's Peter Fenton on How To Differentiate Between Good & Great VCs, Why Ownership Is A Bigger Determinant Of Returns Than Valuation & What Makes A Truly Exceptional Board Member
Jun 19, 2017 bullish
Disclosure
Fenton: Zenly's low-battery location tech enables a new social layer
“In the case of Zenly, we had a point of view that, you know, we now have ubiquity of smartphones, and there's a set of enabling features inside of those phones that could really change how we interact with people in the world. And in the case of Zenly, it's th…”
Peter Fenton Jun 19, 2017 ▶ 8:45 20VC: Benchmark's Peter Fenton on How To Differentiate Between Good & Great VCs, Why Ownership Is A Bigger Determinant Of Returns Than Valuation & What Makes A Truly Exceptional Board Member
Jun 19, 2017 bullish
Insight
Fenton: The most successful startups launch in narrow or invisible markets
“In many ways, by definition, the startup companies that do the best invest and get going in very narrow, almost ill-defined, if not completely invisible markets”
Peter Fenton Jun 19, 2017 ▶ 19:29 20VC: Benchmark's Peter Fenton on How To Differentiate Between Good & Great VCs, Why Ownership Is A Bigger Determinant Of Returns Than Valuation & What Makes A Truly Exceptional Board Member
Jun 19, 2017
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fenton: VCs can no longer buy 25% of high-momentum early-stage startups
“I think that the notion that you could buy 25% of a early stage company that has some demonstrable momentum is, is gone.”
Peter Fenton Jun 19, 2017 ▶ 17:05 20VC: Benchmark's Peter Fenton on How To Differentiate Between Good & Great VCs, Why Ownership Is A Bigger Determinant Of Returns Than Valuation & What Makes A Truly Exceptional Board Member
Jun 19, 2017 positive
Insight
Fenton: Startup CEOs should replace PowerPoint with prose pre-reads for board meetings
“So a huge part of what I've done is encourage all my CEOs to move to a pre-read that's written in prose format, not PowerPoint.”
Peter Fenton Jun 19, 2017 ▶ 24:58 20VC: Benchmark's Peter Fenton on How To Differentiate Between Good & Great VCs, Why Ownership Is A Bigger Determinant Of Returns Than Valuation & What Makes A Truly Exceptional Board Member
Jun 19, 2017
Insight
Fenton: Ownership stake drives early-stage VC returns more than valuation
“The other variable on, you know, this topic specifically that you'll hear people focused on is ownership stake, and I think ultimately that is a bigger determinant of returns than anything related to the valuation going in, and I say it specifically for early …”
Peter Fenton Jun 19, 2017 ▶ 16:40 20VC: Benchmark's Peter Fenton on How To Differentiate Between Good & Great VCs, Why Ownership Is A Bigger Determinant Of Returns Than Valuation & What Makes A Truly Exceptional Board Member
Jun 19, 2017 positive
Insight
Fenton: Socratic questioning by board members is more effective than being didactic
“Onto a pretty steep learning curve, and I've ultimately concluded the Socratic method is far more effective than being didactic, so meaning Socratic of the form where you're inquisitive, asking questions, but really in your mind synthesizing, what are the two …”
Peter Fenton Jun 19, 2017 ▶ 23:30 20VC: Benchmark's Peter Fenton on How To Differentiate Between Good & Great VCs, Why Ownership Is A Bigger Determinant Of Returns Than Valuation & What Makes A Truly Exceptional Board Member
Jun 19, 2017
Insight
Fenton: Early VCs should refrain from giving founders product strategy
“A bulk of what we try and do at the early or Stages of a company is to not give product strategy, because I think that's something that's really best done by the product authors, but to ensure that the questions are being asked”
Peter Fenton Jun 19, 2017 ▶ 11:27 20VC: Benchmark's Peter Fenton on How To Differentiate Between Good & Great VCs, Why Ownership Is A Bigger Determinant Of Returns Than Valuation & What Makes A Truly Exceptional Board Member
Jul 10, 2017 positive
Insight
Lasky: Small partnership model is essential for effective VC decision-making
“I think there's a sort of small is beautiful approach that really works. You know, we can have one conversation. There's an enormous amount of mutual respect and admiration, and so, you know, it allows, I think, for good decision-making. There's a lot of trust…”
Mitch Lasky Jul 10, 2017 ▶ 3:45 20VC: Benchmark's Mitch Lasky on The Snapchat Journey From Series A to IPO, Why Small Is Beautiful In Venture Partnerships & Why Venture Is Very Much Like Hollywood
Jul 10, 2017 neutral
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Lasky: Benchmark held no champagne celebration following Snapchat's IPO
“I came back from New York after the Snapchat IPO. I was in New York for the pricing and to see the stock open on, on the New York stock exchange floor. And I flew back from, it was on a Thursday on, came back on, on Monday to the partners meeting. And our cele…”
Mitch Lasky Jul 10, 2017 ▶ 19:26 20VC: Benchmark's Mitch Lasky on The Snapchat Journey From Series A to IPO, Why Small Is Beautiful In Venture Partnerships & Why Venture Is Very Much Like Hollywood
Jul 10, 2017 neutral
Assertion Partly supported
Benchmark: Snapchat was 12 people in a dining room at Series A
“When we invested in the Series A, the company was essentially a dozen people camping out in the dining room of Evan's dad's house in Los Angeles.”
Mitch Lasky Jul 10, 2017 ▶ 15:45 20VC: Benchmark's Mitch Lasky on The Snapchat Journey From Series A to IPO, Why Small Is Beautiful In Venture Partnerships & Why Venture Is Very Much Like Hollywood
Jul 10, 2017 neutral
Prediction Partly held up
Lasky: Benchmark partners will retire within the next decade
“Well, I think we have an opportunity as the current group of partners comes to the, in the next decade or so, comes to the end of their careers to really reinvigorate the firm with youth, and I think an increasing awareness of diversity.”
Mitch Lasky Jul 10, 2017 ▶ 20:33 20VC: Benchmark's Mitch Lasky on The Snapchat Journey From Series A to IPO, Why Small Is Beautiful In Venture Partnerships & Why Venture Is Very Much Like Hollywood
Jul 10, 2017 bearish
Disclosure
Lasky avoids VR application startups due to long market trough
“So I've stayed away from investing in, in the application space, primarily because the development teams are really expensive and you'd have to kind of keep them funded through what could be a fairly long trough, maybe three, you know, three to five years.”
Mitch Lasky Jul 10, 2017 ▶ 9:42 20VC: Benchmark's Mitch Lasky on The Snapchat Journey From Series A to IPO, Why Small Is Beautiful In Venture Partnerships & Why Venture Is Very Much Like Hollywood
Sep 18, 2017 positive
Opinion
Volpi: Benchmark proves VC success doesn't require heavy firm services
“I do think that firms like Andreessen and Kleiner and Greylock have done a phenomenal job building services organizations. And there is no question that there is value in doing that. And then there are other firms like say benchmark who have done a terrific jo…”
Mike Volpi Sep 18, 2017 ▶ 16:26 20VC: Index's Mike Volpi on Making The Move From Player To Coach, What It Takes To Build Generation Defining Brands & How Europe Really Stacks Up To The US Venture Market
Sep 25, 2017 neutral
Assertion Supported
Vishria: Benchmark always takes a board seat in its investments
“We take the board seat, we aim and aspire to be the entrepreneur's first call. That's a standard we hold ourselves to.”
Eric Vishria Sep 25, 2017 ▶ 11:32 20VC: Benchmark's Eric Vishria on Why Career VCs Have Advantages Most Under Appreciate, Why We Are In An Infrastructure Renaissance & What Makes The Best VC Partnership
Sep 25, 2017 bullish
Prediction Not checkable as stated
An infrastructure revolution will power the next wave of consumer platforms
“These things are very cyclical, and again, this is overly simplistic, but I think we're in the midst of a infrastructure revolution. Maybe it's around ML, maybe it's around cloud, maybe it's some combination of these things that are coming together, and there …”
Eric Vishria Sep 25, 2017 ▶ 17:47 20VC: Benchmark's Eric Vishria on Why Career VCs Have Advantages Most Under Appreciate, Why We Are In An Infrastructure Renaissance & What Makes The Best VC Partnership
Sep 25, 2017 neutral
Assertion Supported
Vishria: Benchmark relies on a partner advocacy and voting system for investments
“Our investment process is one of advocacy of voting. So basically, there is an advocate. So one of the five of us falls in love with something, is probably the best way to describe it gets really excited about the entrepreneur and the opportunity All five of u…”
Eric Vishria Sep 25, 2017 ▶ 20:35 20VC: Benchmark's Eric Vishria on Why Career VCs Have Advantages Most Under Appreciate, Why We Are In An Infrastructure Renaissance & What Makes The Best VC Partnership
Sep 25, 2017 bullish
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Vishria: Contentful closed six-figure US deals remotely before hiring in the US
“It's a Berlin-based company at the time, but there wasn't a single employee in the US, and yet they had built this incredible enterprise customer base of US companies, and that's just something that doesn't happen very often at all. You don't see companies clo…”
Eric Vishria Sep 25, 2017 ▶ 21:48 20VC: Benchmark's Eric Vishria on Why Career VCs Have Advantages Most Under Appreciate, Why We Are In An Infrastructure Renaissance & What Makes The Best VC Partnership
Sep 25, 2017 positive
Insight
Vishria: Context switching across investment stages hurts VC decision-making
“I think the context switching in terms of like, if you think about how you evaluate seeds or how you evaluate growth or evaluate some of these other things? Or how do you evaluate making a kind of quote unquote active investment where you take a board seat ver…”
Eric Vishria Sep 25, 2017 ▶ 12:34 20VC: Benchmark's Eric Vishria on Why Career VCs Have Advantages Most Under Appreciate, Why We Are In An Infrastructure Renaissance & What Makes The Best VC Partnership
Nov 3, 2017 positive
Insight
Top VCs on a Cap Table Primarily Serve as Hiring Signals
“So, to start, I will say that I think it is very true that one of the most important things that great investors do for you is Is that they make other people want to join your company. And so for better or for worse, if you have miles from thrive or say benchm…”
Jack Altman Nov 3, 2017 ▶ 8:42 20VC: What Is Core To The Best Investor - Founder Relationships, The Biggest Risk For Founders In The Early Days & Why EQ Is The Most Important Trait For Managers with Jack Altman, Founder & CEO @ Lattice
Jan 17, 2018 positive
Opinion
Altman: Benchmark executes the small partnership venture model effectively
“Like, I think it's easy to have three or four really great partners that Work together in one organization, and you see some firms that make the small partnership model work really well, like Benchmark, for example.”
Sam Altman Jan 17, 2018 ▶ 7:16 20VC: Sam Altman, Y Combinator President on What Makes Truly Great Leaders, Why We Will See A Compression of Seed Funding & The Future Scaling of YC
Sep 24, 2018 neutral
Insight
Reaching profitability requires daily discipline and tight prioritization of key tasks
“And getting to profitability takes an incredible amount of discipline. My partner, Mitch Lasky, he describes it as his daily act of will, where, you know, every day it's making the decision to do three things instead of the 10, and that is a muscle that you ha…”
Sarah Tavel Sep 24, 2018 ▶ 17:06 20VC: Benchmark's Sarah Tavel on Why Investing Success Lies In Small Markets Adjacent To Very Large Ones, Why You Have To Be Judicious On When To Pay Up vs Be More Price Sensitive & Why Crypto Investing Is Like The Early Days of AdTech Investing
Sep 24, 2018
Insight
Market physics ultimately dictate startup outcomes over founder quality, says Tavel
“I absolutely agree with Andy. You know, it's so frustrating when you meet a fantastic founder. Like I'm very much someone who my first link reaction to a company is first the founders. Like that is what gets me leaning in on a potential investment. And the har…”
Sarah Tavel Sep 24, 2018 ▶ 11:05 20VC: Benchmark's Sarah Tavel on Why Investing Success Lies In Small Markets Adjacent To Very Large Ones, Why You Have To Be Judicious On When To Pay Up vs Be More Price Sensitive & Why Crypto Investing Is Like The Early Days of AdTech Investing
Sep 24, 2018
Insight
Benchmark targets startups in small initial markets adjacent to massive ones
“When you are going after a small market that is adjacent to a big market that could eventually eat into a bigger market, that is the scene that I think we look for.”
Sarah Tavel Sep 24, 2018 ▶ 13:03 20VC: Benchmark's Sarah Tavel on Why Investing Success Lies In Small Markets Adjacent To Very Large Ones, Why You Have To Be Judicious On When To Pay Up vs Be More Price Sensitive & Why Crypto Investing Is Like The Early Days of AdTech Investing
Sep 24, 2018 positive
Insight
Operating experience improves board governance but not deal picking, says Sarah Tavel
“But I think that most operating experience you know, the experience that you get as an executive, as a founder, as a product leader in a company, I think that experience is really timeless. You know, because what you're learning is how to hire great leaders, h…”
Sarah Tavel Sep 24, 2018 ▶ 6:41 20VC: Benchmark's Sarah Tavel on Why Investing Success Lies In Small Markets Adjacent To Very Large Ones, Why You Have To Be Judicious On When To Pay Up vs Be More Price Sensitive & Why Crypto Investing Is Like The Early Days of AdTech Investing
Sep 24, 2018 bearish
Assertion Supported
2018 crypto startups secured nine-figure valuations based solely on white papers
“And then what's different though, from ad tech is that, and it makes it even harder is that you're often investing in a white paper or a deck. There's no code or traction that you get to invest behind. The company often has, you know, over a hundred million do…”
Sarah Tavel Sep 24, 2018 ▶ 26:58 20VC: Benchmark's Sarah Tavel on Why Investing Success Lies In Small Markets Adjacent To Very Large Ones, Why You Have To Be Judicious On When To Pay Up vs Be More Price Sensitive & Why Crypto Investing Is Like The Early Days of AdTech Investing
Sep 24, 2018
Insight
Winning investments combine great founders with dynamically evolving market opportunities
“The nuance that I'll add, though, is that, you know, markets aren't these static things. They're dynamic. They're constantly evolving. They're being transformed by outside influences like technology disruptions or even secular trends, and so I really end up Fi…”
Sarah Tavel Sep 24, 2018 ▶ 11:44 20VC: Benchmark's Sarah Tavel on Why Investing Success Lies In Small Markets Adjacent To Very Large Ones, Why You Have To Be Judicious On When To Pay Up vs Be More Price Sensitive & Why Crypto Investing Is Like The Early Days of AdTech Investing
Sep 24, 2018 negative
Insight
Easy venture capital diffuses focus and makes pivoting to profitability dangerous
“When companies are able to raise a lot of capital easily, they naturally take on more of a growth orientation. Yeah, I kind of think of it as you can turn the wheel towards growth, and you, or you can turn the wheel towards profitability, and all these compani…”
Sarah Tavel Sep 24, 2018 ▶ 17:31 20VC: Benchmark's Sarah Tavel on Why Investing Success Lies In Small Markets Adjacent To Very Large Ones, Why You Have To Be Judicious On When To Pay Up vs Be More Price Sensitive & Why Crypto Investing Is Like The Early Days of AdTech Investing
Sep 24, 2018 negative
Opinion
Startups raising massive capital struggle to yield positive returns, warns Tavel
“And I worry about what the effect is going to be on returns for our asset class. And also for, you know, the eventual outcomes of these companies that are raising a lot of capital. And it's not clear to me when you raise As much capital as many of these compan…”
Sarah Tavel Sep 24, 2018 ▶ 15:58 20VC: Benchmark's Sarah Tavel on Why Investing Success Lies In Small Markets Adjacent To Very Large Ones, Why You Have To Be Judicious On When To Pay Up vs Be More Price Sensitive & Why Crypto Investing Is Like The Early Days of AdTech Investing
Sep 24, 2018 neutral
Opinion
Crypto investing in 2018 closely parallels the early days of ad tech
“So I think that crypto investing right now is in a tricky place, because it reminds me a lot, actually, of ad tech investing in the early days.”
Sarah Tavel Sep 24, 2018 ▶ 26:08 20VC: Benchmark's Sarah Tavel on Why Investing Success Lies In Small Markets Adjacent To Very Large Ones, Why You Have To Be Judicious On When To Pay Up vs Be More Price Sensitive & Why Crypto Investing Is Like The Early Days of AdTech Investing
Sep 24, 2018 negative
Insight
Crypto investing requires deep specialization and is unsuitable for non-specialized dabblers
“We're still so early in the game in crypto that we don't even know what the ad unit will be, where you will make money in the stack, and so it's a very tricky place to play, and it's definitely not a space for dabblers.”
Sarah Tavel Sep 24, 2018 ▶ 27:42 20VC: Benchmark's Sarah Tavel on Why Investing Success Lies In Small Markets Adjacent To Very Large Ones, Why You Have To Be Judicious On When To Pay Up vs Be More Price Sensitive & Why Crypto Investing Is Like The Early Days of AdTech Investing
Nov 2, 2018 positive
Assertion Supported
USV and Benchmark are rare exceptions to VC fund bloat
“Union Square Ventures, Benchmark, or some other exceptions to what I said.”
Ryan Caldbeck Nov 2, 2018 ▶ 14:05 20VC: Ryan Caldbeck on Why The Business Model of VC is Broken, Who is To Blame, How The Best Funds Will Use Data Intelligently Moving Forward & Whether We Are In A Consumer Bubble Or Not?
Jan 7, 2019
Insight
Belsky: Assess hires and founders by exponential progression in successive conversations
“How do you hire people, and how do you find which teams to invest in, and one of the things I always apply is, is this someone whom every conversation is more interesting than the one before it, or is it a replay? You know, most people we actually meet, I don'…”
Scott Belsky Jan 7, 2019 ▶ 7:26 20VC: Scott Belsky on Why We Must Challenge Our Faith In The Strength of Resources, Why We Must Rethink The Product Creation and Design Process & How To Determine Between The Good and The Truly Great When Assessing Individuals
Jan 7, 2019 bullish
Insight
Belsky: Venture capital is inherently a non-scalable business
“I think one thing I also learned from the team is that it's not a scalable business. I've always admired how the team over the years has defied many of the spotlights of seduction, whether it is building an online database or a website for a Entrepreneurs to u…”
Scott Belsky Jan 7, 2019 ▶ 32:48 20VC: Scott Belsky on Why We Must Challenge Our Faith In The Strength of Resources, Why We Must Rethink The Product Creation and Design Process & How To Determine Between The Good and The Truly Great When Assessing Individuals
Jan 15, 2019 neutral
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Destin: Benchmark Gets Discounted Deal Pricing Due to Brand Prestige
“In fact, I bet you benchmark gets discounted pricing on most of what it does because they're benchmarked.”
Fred Destin Jan 15, 2019 ▶ 24:09 20VC: Stride's Fred Destin on The Acceptable vs Non-Acceptable Risks When Investing, How Startup Founders Can Improve The Quality of Their Decision-Making and Must Play for Batting Average & Why Plans Do Not Matter and No Board Member Should Bash An Entre
Jan 18, 2019 negative
Insight
Wand: Startup boards overweight top VCs' opinions based on brand, not merit
“Usually, if there is a partner from a top fund, there is a tendency to give overweight to his idea and decision point, where it's not substantiated by the merit of his idea, but just rather from the fact that he came from Sequoia, he came from Benchmark, he ca…”
Assaf Wand Jan 18, 2019 ▶ 11:21 20VC: Why Every Company Looks One Round Earlier Than It Should Be, Why Investors Don't Understand Term Sheet Psyche & How The Brand Behind The Investor Can Overweight The Attention Their Opinion Is Given with Assaf Wand, Founder & CEO @ Hippo
Feb 8, 2019 positive
Opinion
Midha: Index, Benchmark, and First Round operate as service providers, not financiers
“And all three of these firms, index, benchmark, and first round operate as if they're being evaluated as a service provider. Not as financiers.”
Anjney Midha Feb 8, 2019 ▶ 17:42 20VC: What Makes The Best Venture Firms Today So Special, The 3 Structural Impediments That Face Venture Today and Why The Debate on AR vs VR is BS with Anjney Midha, Founder & CEO @ Ubiquity6
Jun 24, 2019
Prediction Held up
Gurley: Benchmark will not invest in a startup without a board seat
“We won't invest without a board seat. It's a tenant that we have that a lot of other firms don't.”
Bill Gurley Jun 24, 2019 ▶ 14:27 20VC: Benchmark's Bill Gurley on 5 Traits Benchmark Look For When Adding To The Partnership, Why The Abundance of Capital Is Today's Biggest Challenge in VC & The Right Way To Think About Market Size When Assessing Opportunities
Jun 24, 2019 neutral
Insight
Gurley: Entry price is irrelevant for startups with 100x return potential
“I think the real caveat to it is if this company we're talking about has optionality to be a hundred X or be a fund maker kind of company, then certainly entry price does not matter.”
Bill Gurley Jun 24, 2019 ▶ 11:23 20VC: Benchmark's Bill Gurley on 5 Traits Benchmark Look For When Adding To The Partnership, Why The Abundance of Capital Is Today's Biggest Challenge in VC & The Right Way To Think About Market Size When Assessing Opportunities
Jun 24, 2019
Assertion Supported
Gurley: Benchmark Approves New Investments by Majority Partner Vote
“In that way, I thought that was interesting way she had phrased that, and so we simply have a discussion, and if a majority of the partnership wants to move forward, we move forward.”
Bill Gurley Jun 24, 2019 ▶ 21:02 20VC: Benchmark's Bill Gurley on 5 Traits Benchmark Look For When Adding To The Partnership, Why The Abundance of Capital Is Today's Biggest Challenge in VC & The Right Way To Think About Market Size When Assessing Opportunities
Jun 24, 2019 negative
Opinion
Gurley: Price insensitivity in late-stage venture investing is not smart
“So this isn't, I don't think price insensitivity and high late stage investing is a smart idea, for example.”
Bill Gurley Jun 24, 2019 ▶ 12:13 20VC: Benchmark's Bill Gurley on 5 Traits Benchmark Look For When Adding To The Partnership, Why The Abundance of Capital Is Today's Biggest Challenge in VC & The Right Way To Think About Market Size When Assessing Opportunities
Jun 24, 2019 positive
Assertion Supported
Gurley: Benchmark Provides Equal Financial Economics to All Investment Partners
“Benchmark's structured in a very unique way where our investment partners all have equal economics, and I think that does an amazing job of speaking to the newer members of our team that their voice matters,”
Bill Gurley Jun 24, 2019 ▶ 20:11 20VC: Benchmark's Bill Gurley on 5 Traits Benchmark Look For When Adding To The Partnership, Why The Abundance of Capital Is Today's Biggest Challenge in VC & The Right Way To Think About Market Size When Assessing Opportunities
Jun 24, 2019 negative
What-if
Gurley: Benchmark should have accepted Google's $100M valuation offer
“So I had a meeting or my firm benchmark had a meeting with Larry and Sergey where they said, will you invest at a hundred pre? And we should have said, yes, I would tell myself that.”
Bill Gurley Jun 24, 2019 ▶ 28:42 20VC: Benchmark's Bill Gurley on 5 Traits Benchmark Look For When Adding To The Partnership, Why The Abundance of Capital Is Today's Biggest Challenge in VC & The Right Way To Think About Market Size When Assessing Opportunities
Jun 24, 2019 positive
Insight
Gurley: Venture capital inherently favors younger investors
“I think venture capital bends towards youth. There's a hustle element. There's a curiosity element. There's a lot of these really big outcomes are started by people that are 19 to 21.”
Bill Gurley Jun 24, 2019 ▶ 22:53 20VC: Benchmark's Bill Gurley on 5 Traits Benchmark Look For When Adding To The Partnership, Why The Abundance of Capital Is Today's Biggest Challenge in VC & The Right Way To Think About Market Size When Assessing Opportunities
Jun 24, 2019 bullish
Insight
Gurley: Capture late-cycle market upside rather than playing defensive
“The best way to protect against the downside is to enjoy every last bit of the upside. I've got no incentive to change my operating principles or the way I go about doing the job just because I think one day the cycle might end. And so I'm going to be operatin…”
Bill Gurley Jun 24, 2019 ▶ 26:31 20VC: Benchmark's Bill Gurley on 5 Traits Benchmark Look For When Adding To The Partnership, Why The Abundance of Capital Is Today's Biggest Challenge in VC & The Right Way To Think About Market Size When Assessing Opportunities
Jun 24, 2019
Insight
Gurley: Venture firms must dwell on missed winners, not bad investments
“Because of the asymmetry situation that I talked about, we do dwell on the decision errors that led us to miss big winners. We don't dwell on the decision errors that led us to make a bad investment.”
Bill Gurley Jun 24, 2019 ▶ 29:40 20VC: Benchmark's Bill Gurley on 5 Traits Benchmark Look For When Adding To The Partnership, Why The Abundance of Capital Is Today's Biggest Challenge in VC & The Right Way To Think About Market Size When Assessing Opportunities
Jun 24, 2019
Insight
Gurley: A VC's long-term reputation dictates their future deal flow
“You know, if you're going to be a successful venture capitalist, For two or three decades, you're going to have a reputation, and your reputation is going to be a part of what allows you to win or not win investment opportunities in the future, and so you'd be…”
Bill Gurley Jun 24, 2019 ▶ 18:45 20VC: Benchmark's Bill Gurley on 5 Traits Benchmark Look For When Adding To The Partnership, Why The Abundance of Capital Is Today's Biggest Challenge in VC & The Right Way To Think About Market Size When Assessing Opportunities
Aug 5, 2019
Insight
Puttagunta: Software end-users must become product champions to avoid buyer friction
“Oftentimes if you don't understand that relationship and the user has not become a champion of the product, the buyer then has an enormous decision-making power, whether it's like a procurement process in large enterprises or whether it's a decision-making pro…”
Chetan Puttagunta Aug 5, 2019 ▶ 10:14 20VC: Benchmark's Chetan Puttagunta on The One Question To Ask When Analysing Market Size, How To Compete in Today's War for Talent & Why We Have Seen An Over-Rotation In Running Businesses Based on Metrics
Aug 5, 2019 positive
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Puttagunta: Peter Fenton conducts pre-board calls with startup executives
“He spends an incredible amount of time ahead of every board meeting, diving deep into the materials, having the conversations with founders and executives about questions that arise. In his mind, as he's reviewing the materials, he comes in with this mode of l…”
Chetan Puttagunta Aug 5, 2019 ▶ 5:19 20VC: Benchmark's Chetan Puttagunta on The One Question To Ask When Analysing Market Size, How To Compete in Today's War for Talent & Why We Have Seen An Over-Rotation In Running Businesses Based on Metrics
Aug 5, 2019
Insight
Puttagunta: Assume competitors are smart and have uncovered unique market insights
“And I think the optimal strategy is to assume that everybody that is competing with you has actually had or has found some unique insight as to why the market is addressable in their unique approach. And so to assume that your competitors are all really smart,…”
Chetan Puttagunta Aug 5, 2019 ▶ 11:26 20VC: Benchmark's Chetan Puttagunta on The One Question To Ask When Analysing Market Size, How To Compete in Today's War for Talent & Why We Have Seen An Over-Rotation In Running Businesses Based on Metrics
Dec 9, 2019 positive
Disclosure
Vrionis: Unusual Ventures models its fund strategy and structure after Benchmark
“We model ourselves very much after Benchmark, partly through Andy's influence.”
John Vrionis Dec 9, 2019 ▶ 17:34 20VC: Unusual Ventures' John Vrionis on Why We Need To Raise The Bar In Venture, Why Taking Multi-Stage Money At Seed Is Not In The Best Interest of Founders & Why To Be The Best, You Have To Specialise To Be The Best
Mar 9, 2020
Assertion Supported
Matt Mochary's coaching client list includes partners at Benchmark, Sequoia, and Kleiner
“On the VC side, Matt has worked with the likes of Peter Fenton at Benchmark, Several Sequoia partners, Hemond at GC, and Mamoon at Kleiner, to name a few. As for founders, Matt's worked with the founders of Brex, Coinbase, Plaid, Reddit, Flexport, and many mor…”
Harry Stebbings Mar 9, 2020 ▶ 0:24 20VC: Matt Mochary, Coach To Silicon Valley's Leading VCs & Founders on How To Deal with Imposter Syndrome and Self-Doubt, How To Manage Fear and Anger & Why Board Seats Are The Death of Investors
Mar 9, 2020 positive
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Benchmark's Peter Fenton discloses a genuine personal weakness within five minutes
“The master of this is Peter Fenton at Benchmark. He, within five minutes of any conversation, he will tell you a weakness that he has, and it's not, he's not joking about it. He tells you a real weakness, and my God, it makes me love him, but I'm not unique in…”
Matt Mochary Mar 9, 2020 ▶ 11:33 20VC: Matt Mochary, Coach To Silicon Valley's Leading VCs & Founders on How To Deal with Imposter Syndrome and Self-Doubt, How To Manage Fear and Anger & Why Board Seats Are The Death of Investors
Apr 27, 2020 positive
Opinion
Liu: Peter Fenton excels by combining systems thinking with human empathy
“Yeah, what makes Peter special as a investor, and more importantly, as a thought partner to, I think, the CEOs, the portfolio companies that he gets involved with as a helpful partner, is he's basically, on one hand, very much a systems thinker, right? There a…”
Howie Liu Apr 27, 2020 ▶ 21:17 20VC: Airtable's Howie Liu on Potential Consolidation In The Collaboration Tools Market, The Transition From Peacetime To Wartime CEO & How To Make The Move To Remote Work Successful; The Process Beyond The Tools
May 1, 2020 positive
Assertion Supported
Digits Raised Over $32M From Benchmark, GV, and Angel Founders
“To date, Wayne and Jeff have raised over thirty-two million dollars for Digits, from some of the best in the business, including Peter Fenton at Benchmark, and Jess Verrilli at GV, and then also the most incredible base of angels, with the founders from Box, G…”
Harry Stebbings May 1, 2020 ▶ 0:28 20VC: Framework For Hiring The Best Talent 100% Remotely, Raising $32M From Benchmark and GV Pre-Launch and How To Think Through Capital Efficiency and Runway Today with Jeff Seibert and Wayne Chang, Co-Founders @ Digits
Jun 22, 2020 positive
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Wilkinson: Tiny would raise VC if a portfolio company needed $100M burn
“So I would say that if we had a business that was obviously in need of a large amount of capital, And we needed somebody at the table who was willing to take a big risk where we knew that in order to grow it into a billion dollar business, we'd need to burn a …”
Andrew Wilkinson Jun 22, 2020 ▶ 17:31 20VC: Andrew Wilkinson on Building The Berkshire Hathway of Tech, Sustainable vs Unsustainable Growth and The Relationship Between Money and Freedom
Aug 17, 2020 positive
Disclosure
Summit Peak tracks follow-on investments from top VC brands like Benchmark
“Look, I would be bullshitting you to say that it's not important to us. Those brand names do matter, whether that's Benchmark Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital. They are great funds, and they're great investors at various stages, and you want to se…”
Apurva Mehta Aug 17, 2020 ▶ 29:27 20VC: Why Entrepreneurs Care Less About Firm Brand at Seed, How LPs Should Think About GP Commit & How The World of LPs and Fundraising Will Change Post COVID with Apurva Mehta, Managing Partner @ Summit Peak Investments
Aug 21, 2020 positive
Disclosure
Peter Fenton gave Ben Rubin a Benchmark credit card to explore ideas
“Basically, Peter Fenton was, hire who you need to hire, start hacking around, there is Benchmark credit card, and I trust you, and like, obviously, this sounds a little bit unfair, because it sounds super casual, but we had a plan of This is the space we're go…”
Ben Rubin Aug 21, 2020 ▶ 37:01 20VC: Biggest Lessons From Scaling Houseparty To Millions of Users, Why Today's Metrics Are Insufficient To Determine Product Success & What Breaks with Scale From Team To Product with Ben Rubin, Co-Founder @ /talk & Houseparty
Nov 23, 2020 positive
Assertion Supported
Tavel: Benchmark does not delegate operational work to platform teams
“At Benchmark, our model is that we don't delegate any part of our job. We've tried not to scale our business and just be focused on scaling the founders with whom we work. And so that means that there isn't a talent partner that is doing recruiting calls for m…”
Sarah Tavel Nov 23, 2020 ▶ 30:50 20VC: Benchmark's Sarah Tavel on Why Chasing GMV Will Lead To The Wrong Direction, The 2 Crucial Tipping Points For Marketplace Adoption, Why UGC Plays Are Like Marketplaces & How To Determine Between Existential and Non-Existential Risk
Nov 23, 2020 positive
Insight
Tavel: A great board member functions like a supportive, truth-seeking spouse
“What a great board member is, is similar to when you find the person that you're supposed to marry. If you're always just dating, and then you go on a speed date, and you meet with five people, and then you just decide to get married to one of those people, yo…”
Sarah Tavel Nov 23, 2020 ▶ 8:41 20VC: Benchmark's Sarah Tavel on Why Chasing GMV Will Lead To The Wrong Direction, The 2 Crucial Tipping Points For Marketplace Adoption, Why UGC Plays Are Like Marketplaces & How To Determine Between Existential and Non-Existential Risk
Nov 23, 2020 neutral
Disclosure
Sarah Tavel: Benchmark has announced funding for only two of her six boards
“I'm on six boards, and I've announced two of them.”
Sarah Tavel Nov 23, 2020 ▶ 19:53 20VC: Benchmark's Sarah Tavel on Why Chasing GMV Will Lead To The Wrong Direction, The 2 Crucial Tipping Points For Marketplace Adoption, Why UGC Plays Are Like Marketplaces & How To Determine Between Existential and Non-Existential Risk
Dec 3, 2020 positive
Assertion Supported
Stitch Fix Reached Cash Flow Positivity in 3 Years on $42M Raised
“Prior to their IPO in 2017, Katrina raised just forty two million dollars in venture funding, from some of the very best in venture, including Bill Gurley at Benchmark and Steve Anderson at Baseline, and in just six years, Katrina took the company from foundin…”
Harry Stebbings Dec 3, 2020 ▶ 0:28 20VC: Stitch Fix Founder Katrina Lake on Growth vs Profitability, Her Biggest Lessons From Working with Bill Gurley at Benchmark and The Importance of Mental Flexibility as a Leader
Dec 3, 2020 positive
Opinion
Katrina Lake: Bill Gurley Foresaw Stitch Fix's Future Years in Advance
“Bill's been an incredible, incredible board member. I mean, he's added so much value to our board. There's so many instances where I look back and I'm like, Bill saw the future, you know, years before I saw it.”
Katrina Lake Dec 3, 2020 ▶ 24:43 20VC: Stitch Fix Founder Katrina Lake on Growth vs Profitability, Her Biggest Lessons From Working with Bill Gurley at Benchmark and The Importance of Mental Flexibility as a Leader
Jan 4, 2021 positive
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Gurley: Benchmark portfolio companies with 100+ employees move engineering offshore
“Almost every company we back that gets over a hundred employees is looking to move some of their engineering talent pools somewhere else, and so that's pretty powerful that that can happen, and good for the globe. Maybe not good for the U.S., but good for the …”
Bill Gurley Jan 4, 2021 ▶ 29:08 20VC: Bill Gurley and Howard Marks: What Happened In 2020? What Can We Expect Looking Forward to 2021?
Jan 4, 2021 neutral
Disclosure
Gurley: Top Benchmark companies get funding offers two months post-investment
“Our best companies will be approached two months after we put money in with people trying to put more money in.”
Bill Gurley Jan 4, 2021 ▶ 7:21 20VC: Bill Gurley and Howard Marks: What Happened In 2020? What Can We Expect Looking Forward to 2021?
Feb 8, 2021 positive
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Benchmark partners all invested in Michael Eisenberg's Aleph at launch
“My agreement when Benchmark, as Peter Fenton has so famously said, decided to get out of the imperial era of venture capital and focus locally, the partners at Benchmark were super supportive and went out on my own, so to speak, found a partner, Eden Shohat, a…”
Michael Eisenberg Feb 8, 2021 ▶ 5:31 20VC: Aleph's Michael Eisenberg on Why Generalists Over Specialists, Why Boutique Smaller Firms Over Multi-Stage Firms, Portfolio Construction Theory, Capital Concentration Limits and How To Think Through Reserve Allocations with Market Cycles in Mind?
Feb 8, 2021 positive
Opinion
Benchmark's Bruce Dunleavy is the biggest gentleman in venture capital
“The guy is the biggest gentleman and mensch in this business by a long shot, and has unbelievable wisdom.”
Michael Eisenberg Feb 8, 2021 ▶ 28:09 20VC: Aleph's Michael Eisenberg on Why Generalists Over Specialists, Why Boutique Smaller Firms Over Multi-Stage Firms, Portfolio Construction Theory, Capital Concentration Limits and How To Think Through Reserve Allocations with Market Cycles in Mind?
Mar 11, 2021 negative
Opinion
Sandell: Benchmark would be in trouble without abundant downstream capital
“A firm like Benchmark would be frankly in real trouble if there wasn't enormous amounts of capital because they only do series A and series B deals and they hope other people are going to come along and carry their companies after them.”
Scott Sandell Mar 11, 2021 ▶ 13:51 20VC: NEA's Scott Sandell on SPACS and Why Liquidity is One of the Challenges of our Time, Why We Are At An Inflection Point For Secondaries & Why There Is Nothing To Suggest The Boom Will Not Continue
Mar 29, 2021
Disclosure
Fenton: Benchmark backed New Relic when it was just founder Lou Cirne
“If you look at the Series A, there were four people. Now, of course, we committed to Lou, and it was just Lou.”
Peter Fenton Mar 29, 2021 ▶ 14:02 20VC: Benchmark's Peter Fenton on The Single Question That Defines The Art of Early Stage Venture, Marketing Timing Risk, Why The Oversupply of Capital Is Good & His Biggest Lessons from 12 Years On The New Relic Board
Mar 29, 2021 bearish
Prediction Open · timeframe Mar 2096
Fenton: Benchmark Won't Exist in 50 to 75 Years
“Benchmark won't be around in 50 to 75 years, nor will most of the companies we work with”
Peter Fenton Mar 29, 2021 ▶ 29:33 20VC: Benchmark's Peter Fenton on The Single Question That Defines The Art of Early Stage Venture, Marketing Timing Risk, Why The Oversupply of Capital Is Good & His Biggest Lessons from 12 Years On The New Relic Board
Mar 29, 2021 neutral
Disclosure
Fenton: Benchmark Invested $3.25M for 27% of New Relic's Series A
“We put 3.25 million in to buy 27% of the company with a 20% management pool. That's a series of investment. There was no seed. There was no precede.”
Peter Fenton Mar 29, 2021 ▶ 17:30 20VC: Benchmark's Peter Fenton on The Single Question That Defines The Art of Early Stage Venture, Marketing Timing Risk, Why The Oversupply of Capital Is Good & His Biggest Lessons from 12 Years On The New Relic Board
Mar 29, 2021
Insight
Fenton: Early Venture Converts Latent Demand Into Kinetic Product Traction
“I think so much of the art of early stage venture is to ask the question of, can you unlock consumption? Can you tap into a latent potential energy of demand that can be made kinetic through a product experience that's radically easier to engage with and more …”
Peter Fenton Mar 29, 2021 ▶ 8:35 20VC: Benchmark's Peter Fenton on The Single Question That Defines The Art of Early Stage Venture, Marketing Timing Risk, Why The Oversupply of Capital Is Good & His Biggest Lessons from 12 Years On The New Relic Board
Mar 29, 2021 neutral
Disclosure
Fenton: Benchmark typically maintains board commitments for 12 years
“In the case of New Relic, I was on that board for 12 years. That's a pretty standard commitment for us.”
Peter Fenton Mar 29, 2021 ▶ 19:11 20VC: Benchmark's Peter Fenton on The Single Question That Defines The Art of Early Stage Venture, Marketing Timing Risk, Why The Oversupply of Capital Is Good & His Biggest Lessons from 12 Years On The New Relic Board
Dec 6, 2021 positive
Disclosure
Gurley: Benchmark Maintained Early-Stage Focus as Peers Expanded to Multi-Stage
“So we have notably stayed focused on early stage investing, whereas most people have moved to multi-stage.”
Bill Gurley Dec 6, 2021 ▶ 21:27 20VC: Bill Gurley and Michael Eisenberg on The First Signs of an Impending Bust, What Happens with a Market Crash, How Do Public Markets Impact Private Valuations & The Biggest Lessons from 20 Years Investing in Venture
Dec 6, 2021 positive
Insight
Eisenberg: Equal partnership structures foster safer, more collaborative VC firms
“One of these about the equal partnership is you're not worried about your economics or even negotiating them subconsciously. And that makes the partnership more of a safe space and more of a collaborative space. And I think it's one of the really powerful thin…”
Michael Eisenberg Dec 6, 2021 ▶ 32:14 20VC: Bill Gurley and Michael Eisenberg on The First Signs of an Impending Bust, What Happens with a Market Crash, How Do Public Markets Impact Private Valuations & The Biggest Lessons from 20 Years Investing in Venture
Dec 6, 2021 neutral
Disclosure
Gurley: Benchmark Studies Missed Breakout Deals More Than Portfolio Failures
“I personally, in our firm, we study the great breakouts that we miss the most. So that's not failure in our portfolio. That's failure of us to chase the deal that ends up outside of our portfolio. That's the thing we sweat the most.”
Bill Gurley Dec 6, 2021 ▶ 45:52 20VC: Bill Gurley and Michael Eisenberg on The First Signs of an Impending Bust, What Happens with a Market Crash, How Do Public Markets Impact Private Valuations & The Biggest Lessons from 20 Years Investing in Venture
Dec 6, 2021 negative
Disclosure
Gurley: Benchmark passed on Jack Dorsey's Series A pitch for Square
“Another one that's very similar, and it wasn't me, it was a different partner, but I don't think I was helpful, was Jack That brought Square to us on the A.”
Bill Gurley Dec 6, 2021 ▶ 36:16 20VC: Bill Gurley and Michael Eisenberg on The First Signs of an Impending Bust, What Happens with a Market Crash, How Do Public Markets Impact Private Valuations & The Biggest Lessons from 20 Years Investing in Venture
Dec 6, 2021
Insight
Eisenberg: More startups die of indigestion than starvation
“You know, when I was at Benchmark, they used to say that more companies die of indigestion than die of starvation. I actually think that's still true.”
Michael Eisenberg Dec 6, 2021 ▶ 17:50 20VC: Bill Gurley and Michael Eisenberg on The First Signs of an Impending Bust, What Happens with a Market Crash, How Do Public Markets Impact Private Valuations & The Biggest Lessons from 20 Years Investing in Venture
Dec 6, 2021 negative
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Gurley: Claims of Disrupting Traditional Venture Capital Have Been Proven False
“I think this whole notion that you're going to disrupt and fundamentally take over the business has just been proven false over and over again. AngelList is awesome, but it's not 20% of the industry, you know. Andreessen said, we're going to completely, you kn…”
Bill Gurley Dec 6, 2021 ▶ 43:52 20VC: Bill Gurley and Michael Eisenberg on The First Signs of an Impending Bust, What Happens with a Market Crash, How Do Public Markets Impact Private Valuations & The Biggest Lessons from 20 Years Investing in Venture
Dec 6, 2021 negative
Disclosure
Gurley: Failing to pursue Google at 25 employees was my biggest mistake
“My biggest mistake was clear because I brought Larry and Sergey in to present when there were 25 employees, and we didn't lay chase.”
Bill Gurley Dec 6, 2021 ▶ 35:36 20VC: Bill Gurley and Michael Eisenberg on The First Signs of an Impending Bust, What Happens with a Market Crash, How Do Public Markets Impact Private Valuations & The Biggest Lessons from 20 Years Investing in Venture
Jun 29, 2022 neutral
Disclosure
Eisenberg: Aleph intentionally operates strictly as a single-stage fund
“It informs our investment strategy in general at Olive, which is a lot along the lines of benchmark, which is we like to work with partners. And that means we are a single stage, basically seed and a fund. We're not doing the big, big fund with the multi-stage…”
Michael Eisenberg Jun 29, 2022 ▶ 16:52 20VC: The Memo: Bill Gurley, Doug Leone, Keith Rabois; Investing Lessons from Prior Busts, How Their Investor Psychology Changed, What Can Be Applied To Today's Market
Aug 12, 2022
Insight
Gurley: Trying to call the market top is a VC's biggest mistake
“I think you have to invest as a venture capitalist over the cycle, like over a 20 or thirty-year period, and the biggest mistake you could possibly make is trying to call the top.”
Bill Gurley Aug 12, 2022 ▶ 6:09 20VC: 13 of the Great Investing Minds on When to Pay Up vs When To Remain Disciplined and Walk Because the Price is too High: The Ultimate Guide to Price Sensitivity
Aug 30, 2022 positive
Opinion
Logan Bartlett names Benchmark's Eric Vishria as an A++ board member
“The one that I've internalized the most from and that I just have infinite amounts of respect for is Eric Vishria from Benchmark. Eric and I worked together on the Amplitude board, and now we have a new company Acuity MD together. And Eric is just, A++ as a bo…”
Logan Bartlett Aug 30, 2022 ▶ 44:20 Logan Bartlett: WTF is Happening at Growth Stage Investing? | 20VC #920 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Oct 7, 2022 positive
Opinion
Weil: Ron Conway and Benchmark succeeded with opposite investing philosophies
“In the same way you can look at like what Ron Conway has done and what Benchmark has done. They've both been massively successful and their investing philosophies could not be more different.”
Kevin Weil Oct 7, 2022 ▶ 43:33 Kevin Weil: Lessons from Leading Product at Instagram & Twitter | 20VC #934 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Oct 21, 2022 positive
Opinion
Stebbings: Benchmark's ability to win founder deals is unparalleled
“Benchmark in particular are phenomenal. I'm sure you know a phenomenal list. When they all want to win a deal, their circulation around a founder and their convincing is unparalleled.”
Harry Stebbings Oct 21, 2022 ▶ 16:56 Kyle Harrison: Why 75% of Active Investors Will Disappear in the Next Few Years | 20VC #940 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Oct 25, 2022 bearish
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Emil Michael predicts Benchmark's fixed $435M fund model will fail
“That's why I think Benchmark ultimately is going to, is, has no innovation. Forget the reputation, which most entrepreneurs, if they do their deals, will find out about, but just not innovating stuck at four hundred thirty-five million for the next 10 years is…”
Emil Michael Oct 25, 2022 ▶ 59:40 Emil Michael: How I Negotiated the $4B Uber-China Deal, Why DoorDash Caught Up to Uber | 20VC #941 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Oct 25, 2022
What-if
Emil Michael would have told Travis Kalanick to reject Benchmark's coercion
“Had I talked to him that day, I would have said, Travis, walk out of the room. If you want to rip up the papers in front of them and we'll get, you know, get a lawyer and whatever. This is ridiculous. You know, there's, this is unfair. This is coercive. And we…”
Emil Michael Oct 25, 2022 ▶ 44:32 Emil Michael: How I Negotiated the $4B Uber-China Deal, Why DoorDash Caught Up to Uber | 20VC #941 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Oct 25, 2022 negative
Opinion
Emil Michael: Benchmark Capital lost its nerve ousting Travis Kalanick from Uber
“I was taken out with Travis because benchmark capital lost their nerve.”
Emil Michael Oct 25, 2022 ▶ 38:57 Emil Michael: How I Negotiated the $4B Uber-China Deal, Why DoorDash Caught Up to Uber | 20VC #941 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Oct 25, 2022
Assertion Contradicted
Benchmark turned a $33M Uber investment into $10B in four years
“Bill Gurley was on our board, lost her nerve. And the reality is there's another economic principle called loss aversion, right? If you invest thirty three million dollars in Uber and it looks like ten billion four years later, ten billion on a thirty three mi…”
Emil Michael Oct 25, 2022 ▶ 39:04 Emil Michael: How I Negotiated the $4B Uber-China Deal, Why DoorDash Caught Up to Uber | 20VC #941 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jan 16, 2023
Assertion Partly supported
eBay's original business plan and Benchmark investment focused solely on collectibles
“Jeff Skoll wrote the business plan for eBay with Pierre. And I got a copy of it when I joined the business and they were focused entirely on the collectibles market. Now their argument was collectibles market in in the U S I think was a hundred, you know, it w…”
Jeff Jordan Jan 16, 2023 ▶ 24:20 a16z GP Jeff Jordan: The Ultimate Guide to Two-Sided Marketplaces | 20VC #966 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jan 24, 2023
Assertion Supported
Jordan: Benchmark Originally Invested in eBay as a Collectibles Marketplace
“When Benchmark wrote the joint, Bob Cagle and Benchmark wrote the check, he was investing in a collectibles marketplace.”
Jeff Jordan Jan 24, 2023 ▶ 18:44 The Ultimate Guide for Building a Two-Sided Marketplace | a16z's Jeff Jordan · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
May 29, 2023 positive
Opinion
Besvinick: Benchmark remains the standard among Series A venture firms
“Benchmark. They're still the standard in my opinion. As someone who knows what they're good at, doesn't deviate from it, I have a ton of respect for the people that I know personally over there, and I just think they're outstanding investors.”
Adam Besvinick May 29, 2023 ▶ 57:45 Adam Besnivick: How to Invest in Pre-Seed & Seed Stage Companies; Looking Glass Capital | E1020 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 6, 2023 positive
Opinion
Basu Trivedi: USV belongs in the VC pantheon alongside Sequoia and Benchmark
“I think USV doesn't get the credit that it deserves. I think it should be in that pantheon of greatness that sort of Sequoia and Benchmark are typically put in.”
Nikhil Basu Trivedi Sep 6, 2023 ▶ 1:03:14 Nikhil Basu Trivedi: Why 99% of AI Investments Will Go Bust | E1057 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 18, 2023 negative
Insight
Grimshaw: Venture investments are only complete upon LP distribution
“It's only a great investment in some sense when the, you know, shares are distributed to a broader shareholder base in terms of distribution or the like. I think people forget about, you know, in, in, in the push for forever funds and forever, you know, people…”
Miles Grimshaw Sep 18, 2023 ▶ 17:41 Miles Grimshaw: The 5 Pillars of Venture Capital & Why Co-Pilot is an Incumbent Strategy | E1061 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 18, 2023
Insight
Grimshaw: Slower, high-quality growth beats rapid growth in the wrong ways
“And often cases, I'd rather take less growth in the right ways than more growth in the wrong ways.”
Miles Grimshaw Sep 18, 2023 ▶ 32:36 Miles Grimshaw: The 5 Pillars of Venture Capital & Why Co-Pilot is an Incumbent Strategy | E1061 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 18, 2023 neutral
Insight
Grimshaw: Rapid market shifts can be dangerous for early-stage startups
“First of all, you don't need, as a startup, too much market or too much market changing hands really fast can be dangerous. As a startup, you could only take on so much.”
Miles Grimshaw Sep 18, 2023 ▶ 1:14:10 Miles Grimshaw: The 5 Pillars of Venture Capital & Why Co-Pilot is an Incumbent Strategy | E1061 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 18, 2023
Disclosure
Grimshaw: Almost all Benchmark capital goes into initial investment checks
“If you would hit the spreadsheet of our investments almost all the capital we invest is the very first very first time we partner.”
Miles Grimshaw Sep 18, 2023 ▶ 39:41 Miles Grimshaw: The 5 Pillars of Venture Capital & Why Co-Pilot is an Incumbent Strategy | E1061 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 18, 2023 neutral
Assertion Partly supported
Grimshaw: Benchmark is first institutional capital in 50-60% of deals
“I think it's something like 50 to 60% of all the investments we make, we're the first partner. I might want to use the word real, right? But like first sort of institutional investor, so to speak.”
Miles Grimshaw Sep 18, 2023 ▶ 41:06 Miles Grimshaw: The 5 Pillars of Venture Capital & Why Co-Pilot is an Incumbent Strategy | E1061 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 18, 2023 positive
Insight
Grimshaw: Operating without firm hierarchy makes being yourself the hardest challenge
“In many ways it was you be you, like you be, You totally kind of unfiltered and as authentic as you are, and the best version of you will be the best investor. And I think in many ways, when you get rid of structure in this, there's no like level to be had or,…”
Miles Grimshaw Sep 18, 2023 ▶ 14:55 Miles Grimshaw: The 5 Pillars of Venture Capital & Why Co-Pilot is an Incumbent Strategy | E1061 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 18, 2023 positive
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Grimshaw: Benchmark's equal partnership aligns incentives across all portfolio companies
“We're an equal partnership, so it's a whole firm commitment. No person is incentivized to do more, help more one thing versus another. A founder really gets the whole partnership.”
Miles Grimshaw Sep 18, 2023 ▶ 38:09 Miles Grimshaw: The 5 Pillars of Venture Capital & Why Co-Pilot is an Incumbent Strategy | E1061 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 18, 2023 negative
Opinion
Grimshaw: Waiting for a Perfect Pitch Before Pitching Benchmark Is Silly
“Like some, sometimes there's a, ah, I'll only pitch benchmark when I got the perfect pitch. Like that's silly. That doesn't need to be the case”
Miles Grimshaw Sep 18, 2023 ▶ 20:09 Miles Grimshaw: The 5 Pillars of Venture Capital & Why Co-Pilot is an Incumbent Strategy | E1061 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 18, 2023 negative
Insight
Grimshaw: Relying on vertical benchmarks can undermine startup innovation
“There's moments probably where those metrics are the wrong things, right? Like where benchmarking perfectly to the playbook of that vertical, like you're going to break it in some way. It's going to look different in some way.”
Miles Grimshaw Sep 18, 2023 ▶ 57:55 Miles Grimshaw: The 5 Pillars of Venture Capital & Why Co-Pilot is an Incumbent Strategy | E1061 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 18, 2023 positive
Disclosure
Grimshaw: LangChain Currently Has More Capital Than It Needs
“At LangChain, obviously, like we have more capital than we need right now.”
Miles Grimshaw Sep 18, 2023 ▶ 1:28:26 Miles Grimshaw: The 5 Pillars of Venture Capital & Why Co-Pilot is an Incumbent Strategy | E1061 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 18, 2023 positive
Insight
Grimshaw: Venture investing should be commitments, not bets
“If you think of investing as betting I think you spend a lot more, you know, a lot more energy on the funnel and winning the first, like you're placing chips on a roulette table. And I just don't, I don't think of it that way. I really think of the work we do …”
Miles Grimshaw Sep 18, 2023 ▶ 29:22 Miles Grimshaw: The 5 Pillars of Venture Capital & Why Co-Pilot is an Incumbent Strategy | E1061 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 18, 2023
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Grimshaw: Benchmark uses no deal sheets, memos, or data room presentations
“We have no deal flow list, no sheet, there's no memos there's no data room presentations.”
Miles Grimshaw Sep 18, 2023 ▶ 15:49 Miles Grimshaw: The 5 Pillars of Venture Capital & Why Co-Pilot is an Incumbent Strategy | E1061 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 18, 2023 neutral
Assertion Supported
Grimshaw: Benchmark backs only about three inception-stage startups per year
“The N of that in a given year, even for that percentage is like three companies, right? And so it's not like we're doing 30, ah, that way and again, you know, so, so the N is small.”
Miles Grimshaw Sep 18, 2023 ▶ 42:24 Miles Grimshaw: The 5 Pillars of Venture Capital & Why Co-Pilot is an Incumbent Strategy | E1061 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 18, 2023 positive
Insight
Grimshaw: Key VC gut check is whether you can recruit for startups
“And so the gut check, the real question I think about a lot which gets to that sort of holistic nature of it is how do I imagine recruiting for this?”
Miles Grimshaw Sep 18, 2023 ▶ 33:19 Miles Grimshaw: The 5 Pillars of Venture Capital & Why Co-Pilot is an Incumbent Strategy | E1061 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 18, 2023 positive
Insight
Grimshaw: A founder's rapid rate of learning beats knowing jargon
“The fact that they're willing to say, I don't know, and quickly learn, and grok it is really, I think, like the most important thing, that rate of learning, and in fact, I'd say most of us saw it as a strength.”
Miles Grimshaw Sep 18, 2023 ▶ 22:25 Miles Grimshaw: The 5 Pillars of Venture Capital & Why Co-Pilot is an Incumbent Strategy | E1061 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 18, 2023
Insight
Grimshaw: Investing on normative worldviews without market dislocations is dangerous
“I think it's dangerous in many ways, and this is sort of To think, oh, the world should work this way. And now I'm looking for people who also think the world should work this way, but don't really have the strategy for cracking that open, or there's no disloc…”
Miles Grimshaw Sep 18, 2023 ▶ 36:28 Miles Grimshaw: The 5 Pillars of Venture Capital & Why Co-Pilot is an Incumbent Strategy | E1061 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 18, 2023 positive
Disclosure
Grimshaw: Benchmark invested in LangChain, Cerebras, and ex-PyTorch leads
“Obviously with investment in Langtrain and we have a few others at Benchmark Cerebrus, which is you know, an AI chip for training and inference. We backed a team that worked on and was the leads of PyTorch and has got a new company and some others.”
Miles Grimshaw Sep 18, 2023 ▶ 1:23:12 Miles Grimshaw: The 5 Pillars of Venture Capital & Why Co-Pilot is an Incumbent Strategy | E1061 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 18, 2023 positive
Disclosure
Benchmark won't re-judge founders in future rounds based on early pitches
“We're only early. And so you get sort of a chance of it, but also we're not going to be able to, we're not going to re-judge you in the future based on what you told us now, because whereas other funds might.”
Miles Grimshaw Sep 18, 2023 ▶ 20:24 Miles Grimshaw: The 5 Pillars of Venture Capital & Why Co-Pilot is an Incumbent Strategy | E1061 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 18, 2023
Insight
Grimshaw: Venture investing requires finding market dislocations over market timing
“I don't personally think about it as much from sort of a timing lens, so much as the investigation and the thinking of like, what's different, what's new, what's a dislocation, what's emergent.”
Miles Grimshaw Sep 18, 2023 ▶ 35:38 Miles Grimshaw: The 5 Pillars of Venture Capital & Why Co-Pilot is an Incumbent Strategy | E1061 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 18, 2023 neutral
Assertion Partly supported
Grimshaw: Roughly one-third of Benchmark investments occur at inception
“I think it's something like 30 odd percent. We're like literally the first investment. We don't use the term incubation. I'm sure there's a bunch of things we've done. People would call incubations. We don't use that term, but like, I think probably about a th…”
Miles Grimshaw Sep 18, 2023 ▶ 41:24 Miles Grimshaw: The 5 Pillars of Venture Capital & Why Co-Pilot is an Incumbent Strategy | E1061 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 18, 2023 positive
Insight
Grimshaw: The best entrepreneurs continuously make mistakes, but always new ones
“The very best entrepreneurs are always making mistakes. The really great ones are just making new mistakes each time, and I think there's a lot of truth to that, and so that slope and pace is is the most important.”
Miles Grimshaw Sep 18, 2023 ▶ 23:13 Miles Grimshaw: The 5 Pillars of Venture Capital & Why Co-Pilot is an Incumbent Strategy | E1061 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 18, 2023
Insight
Grimshaw: Product and customer come before data, which should only validate
“We should always start from like product and customer, not data. And data should be in some sense validation, not learning.”
Miles Grimshaw Sep 18, 2023 ▶ 31:58 Miles Grimshaw: The 5 Pillars of Venture Capital & Why Co-Pilot is an Incumbent Strategy | E1061 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 18, 2023 negative
Insight
Grimshaw: Building AI co-pilots is an incumbent strategy
“Most of what we've seen has been co-pilot stuff, and I think co-pilot is an incumbent's strategy. Incumbents own distribution, they own data, they own the UX, and they own a business model that all aligns to a co-pilot.”
Miles Grimshaw Sep 18, 2023 ▶ 1:08:35 Miles Grimshaw: The 5 Pillars of Venture Capital & Why Co-Pilot is an Incumbent Strategy | E1061 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 18, 2023 bearish
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Grimshaw: AI startups building co-pilots won't create massive value
“And so I think the opportunity offered up to a startup being a co-pilot for something else, like probably won't be that amazing. And there might be pockets of it where it can really work, but the opportunity to disrupt is to be orthogonal to the incumbents.”
Miles Grimshaw Sep 18, 2023 ▶ 1:09:58 Miles Grimshaw: The 5 Pillars of Venture Capital & Why Co-Pilot is an Incumbent Strategy | E1061 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 18, 2023 positive
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Grimshaw: Benchmark will accept adoption risk if market behavioral dominoes are falling
“Force of will can do a lot, but you know, it's got to feel like the, you know, you've got to feel like the dominoes got tilted over, you know, you're looking here, But the domino chain is, is sort of happening conceptually in the market or for behavior, whatev…”
Miles Grimshaw Sep 18, 2023 ▶ 37:18 Miles Grimshaw: The 5 Pillars of Venture Capital & Why Co-Pilot is an Incumbent Strategy | E1061 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Oct 9, 2023
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Farquhar: Benchmark declined splitting Atlassian's initial round with Accel
“And actually like we went back to Peter Fenton at Benchmark was, I think the runner up bidder. And we went back to Excel and said, Hey, look, all things considered, maybe we should get two VCs or, you know, in there, even though there was a huge difference in …”
Scott Farquhar Oct 9, 2023 ▶ 14:25 Scott Farquhar: Founding Atlassian; How We Scaled to a $50B Valuation; The 4 Jobs of a CEO | E1070 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Nov 3, 2023 neutral
Assertion Supported
Lemkin: Data shows operator VCs do not outperform professional venture investors
“I remember a few years ago, I forget whose analysis was, there was no advantage, like, to being an operators were no better than professional. That may not include pre-seed, right, or other things. But it wasn't, when I wrote this up a few years ago, that what…”
Jason Lemkin Nov 3, 2023 ▶ 13:20 Roundtable #5 with Jack Altman, Auren Hoffman, Jason Lemkin, Harry Stebbings | E1077 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Nov 24, 2023 bullish
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Grimshaw: AI software will sell work and outcome SLAs rather than seats
“I think the way to encapsulate would be this idea of selling the work, not the software, and that we'll move from a paradigm where you might think of it as moving from what we see right now as a copilot and moving to what I think about as a control center, whe…”
Miles Grimshaw Nov 24, 2023 ▶ 13:55 The Ultimate AI Roundtable: What Happens Now in AI, Why Google are Vulnerable | E1085 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Dec 18, 2023 bullish
Disclosure
Lacaillade: SCS Financial Is Not Invested in Benchmark but Wants to Be
“Yeah, it's a good question. Probably, probably benchmark.”
Peter Lacaillade Dec 18, 2023 ▶ 1:18:37 Peter Lacaillade: Why Now is the Best Time to Invest in Emerging Managers | E1096 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Feb 9, 2024
Insight
Gurley: Trying to call the market top is a VC's biggest mistake
“I think you have to invest as a venture capitalist over the cycle, like, over a 20 or thirty-year period, and the biggest mistake you could possibly make is trying to call the top, and so, unfortunately, I think, you know, have a little, I call it the Thelma a…”
Bill Gurley Feb 9, 2024 ▶ 8:42 20VC: Doug Leone, Bill Ackman, Bill Gurley and Orlando Bravo on "Does Price Matter"; When to Pay Up vs When to Stay Disciplined, The Biggest Lessons on Price Discipline from 8 of the World's Best Investors
Feb 9, 2024 neutral
Assertion Supported
Gurley: Benchmark practices stage discipline, not price discipline
“I think he's misinterpreting price discipline for stage discipline. So we have notably stayed focused on early stage investing, whereas most people have moved to multi-stage. I think that makes the impression look like that your price discipline because you're…”
Bill Gurley Feb 9, 2024 ▶ 9:45 20VC: Doug Leone, Bill Ackman, Bill Gurley and Orlando Bravo on "Does Price Matter"; When to Pay Up vs When to Stay Disciplined, The Biggest Lessons on Price Discipline from 8 of the World's Best Investors
May 6, 2024 positive
Opinion
Tavel: Peter Fenton is the single best VC at developing founders
“I've learned from Peter because his, EQ around people, what motivates us, what drives us what the, what holds people back, and how important that is in the, you know, the arc of any company that we end up investing in, this watching, helping those founders bec…”
Sarah Tavel May 6, 2024 ▶ 4:32 Sarah Tavel: Will Foundation Models Be Commoditised? | E1149 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
May 6, 2024 bearish
Disclosure
Tavel: Benchmark barely reserves capital for follow-on investments
“We don't think about reserves. Period. Barely. We're very oriented towards our initial investment, and in that moment, you know, we are more ownership sensitive than probably most other firms. But then after we invest, we are 100% aligned with whatever objecti…”
Sarah Tavel May 6, 2024 ▶ 55:05 Sarah Tavel: Will Foundation Models Be Commoditised? | E1149 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
May 6, 2024
Disclosure
Tavel: Benchmark waived board seats only once in seven years
“There, in my seven years at Benchmark, I think I've seen one example where we broke the model on, on board, and it was for a small crypto related company.”
Sarah Tavel May 6, 2024 ▶ 52:38 Sarah Tavel: Will Foundation Models Be Commoditised? | E1149 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
May 6, 2024 positive
Disclosure
Tavel: Benchmark's model ensures 100% post-investment alignment with founders
“But more often than not, it creates conflict that's unnecessary, and it's just very different than our model, which is like, okay, now that we've invested, we are 100% on the side of your side of the table, and let's make every round as successful for you as p…”
Sarah Tavel May 6, 2024 ▶ 56:47 Sarah Tavel: Will Foundation Models Be Commoditised? | E1149 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
May 6, 2024
Assertion Supported
Tavel: Benchmark partners make only 1-2 new investments annually
“Our way of thinking of things that benchmark is that each of us makes one or two new commitments a year.”
Sarah Tavel May 6, 2024 ▶ 30:17 Sarah Tavel: Will Foundation Models Be Commoditised? | E1149 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
May 15, 2024
Assertion Supported
Siroker: Top VC funds will break ownership minimums for hot startups
“Yeah, the best investors benchmark and recent, they will invest less than their supposed minimums for the right company.”
Dan Siroker May 15, 2024 ▶ 29:43 Dan Siroker: Second-Time Founders Are More Investable & Why Not To Hire People Out of College |E1153 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
May 15, 2024
Disclosure
Siroker: How he negotiated 8% Series A dilution with Benchmark in 2013
“My very first Series A, I got, you know, I got benchmarked to agree to, you know, I think it was maybe eight percent or something.”
Dan Siroker May 15, 2024 ▶ 31:15 Dan Siroker: Second-Time Founders Are More Investable & Why Not To Hire People Out of College |E1153 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
May 15, 2024
Disclosure
Siroker: Optimizely tried to acquire Amplitude when it had four employees
“I tried to buy Amplitude when there are four people. In fact, they were about to raise their, I remember we're sitting at, I think at Chipotle and Soma with Spencer. And I, to this day, I'm so impressed with, I just, I was offering him insane amounts of money,…”
Dan Siroker May 15, 2024 ▶ 1:06:09 Dan Siroker: Second-Time Founders Are More Investable & Why Not To Hire People Out of College |E1153 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
May 24, 2024 positive
Insight
Sarah Tavel: AI enables software startups to sell completed work outcomes
“What AI enables is actually a very different unit of work that you sell, which is doing the work. And so you're almost a software company that looks like a services business. That is able to sell like the full work product that the outcome, as opposed to selli…”
Sarah Tavel May 24, 2024 ▶ 17:37 Sam Altman, Arthur Mensch and more discuss:Which Startups Are Threatened vs Enabled by OpenAI?|E1156 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
May 24, 2024 positive
Insight
Sarah Tavel: Non-seat-based AI models will disrupt traditional SaaS incumbents
“And this is very disruptive to incumbents because incumbents are used to thinking about selling per seat and pricing per seat based on the cost of the headcount. But if instead you're selling something that doesn't require a seat, that is like a very disruptiv…”
Sarah Tavel May 24, 2024 ▶ 18:02 Sam Altman, Arthur Mensch and more discuss:Which Startups Are Threatened vs Enabled by OpenAI?|E1156 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jun 17, 2024 neutral
Opinion
Sequoia and Accel are Index's primary consumer Series A competitors
“Clearly, clearly the folks at Sequoia are a big fierce competitor, and the folks at Acceler are fierce and, you know, I would say there are a number of different players, but those come to mind for consumer stuff. Certainly Sequoia comes to mind a lot. Benchma…”
Danny Rimer Jun 17, 2024 ▶ 1:18:48 Danny Rimer: The Biggest Lessons from Missing Snap, Airbnb, Spotify and Facebook | E1166 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jul 29, 2024 negative
Assertion Partly supported
Asparouhov: Benchmark cornered Travis Kalanick in a hotel room after mother's death
“Travis committed no crime and they, you know, sort of ousted him despite the fact that, you know, they actually didn't necessarily, you know, have the legal control to do so. They just cornered him in a hotel room, you know, two days after his mother had passe…”
Delian Asparouhov Jul 29, 2024 ▶ 45:21 Delian Asparouhov: Inside the Walls of Founders Fund: What the World Does Not See | E1183 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jul 29, 2024 bullish
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Asparouhov: Founders Fund outperformed Sequoia, a16z, and Benchmark with fewer debacles
“If I were to look over the past sort of five years, I think generally the Founders Fund decision making has led to Generally superior returns and also less gaffes in various ways, whether it's the, you know, sort of FTX type, you know, sort of fraud debacles, …”
Delian Asparouhov Jul 29, 2024 ▶ 32:46 Delian Asparouhov: Inside the Walls of Founders Fund: What the World Does Not See | E1183 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jul 29, 2024 bullish
What-if
Asparouhov: Uber would be a $1T company if Travis Kalanick remained CEO
“But perhaps those benchmark LPs would have made even more money if Travis was still CEO, And the future of self-driving cars lived within Uber rather than living within Google. And maybe Uber becomes a one trillion dollar company over the course of the 20 twen…”
Delian Asparouhov Jul 29, 2024 ▶ 44:28 Delian Asparouhov: Inside the Walls of Founders Fund: What the World Does Not See | E1183 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jul 29, 2024 negative
Assertion Supported
Asparouhov: Tier-one VC firms Benchmark, a16z, and Sequoia ousted founders recently
“There are firms, tier ones that I mentioned, Benchmark, A-sixteen Z, Sequoia, et cetera, all have examples of sort of founder oustings in the past sort of decade.”
Delian Asparouhov Jul 29, 2024 ▶ 43:27 Delian Asparouhov: Inside the Walls of Founders Fund: What the World Does Not See | E1183 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 25, 2024 neutral
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Eric Vishria details Benchmark's unique 1-to-10 investment voting system
“Our voting system is you vote one to 10. You can't vote five. Six and above is yes. Four and below is no.”
Eric Vishria Sep 25, 2024 ▶ 53:38 Eric Vishria: Where is the Value in AI - Chips, Models or Apps? | E1206 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 25, 2024 neutral
Disclosure
Benchmark has met several AI medical scribe startups but passed on all
“I've met several of these companies over the years and we haven't invested in any.”
Eric Vishria Sep 25, 2024 ▶ 18:18 Eric Vishria: Where is the Value in AI - Chips, Models or Apps? | E1206 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 25, 2024 positive
Disclosure
Vishria: Benchmark has written $50M checks despite boutique fund size
“Through, through 30 years of performance, I think we have Unprecedented flexibility in what we do, and so if we want to write a fifty million dollar check, we can write a fifty million dollar check, and we have in cases.”
Eric Vishria Sep 25, 2024 ▶ 34:38 Eric Vishria: Where is the Value in AI - Chips, Models or Apps? | E1206 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 25, 2024
Disclosure
Vishria: Benchmark never considers portfolio construction or fund timing
“You know, I think one of the things that we maybe think about almost not at all Is almost never think about like fun cycle or fun timing or anything else. And we almost never think about or talk about portfolio construction or anything else.”
Eric Vishria Sep 25, 2024 ▶ 35:32 Eric Vishria: Where is the Value in AI - Chips, Models or Apps? | E1206 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 25, 2024 bullish
Disclosure
Benchmark AI startups achieve years of SaaS scale in under a year
“The quickness of the scale is, is, is unlike, it's like three, four, five years of what SAS company, like your traditional SAS companies were doing. We're seeing in under a year and we have a whole portfolio of companies that are like this.”
Eric Vishria Sep 25, 2024 ▶ 27:10 Eric Vishria: Where is the Value in AI - Chips, Models or Apps? | E1206 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 25, 2024
Disclosure
Vishria: Sponsoring partner at Benchmark decides whether to call deal votes
“We have a system where, like, we talk, and then, like, you can call, like, the sponsoring partner basically can call for a vote or not.”
Eric Vishria Sep 25, 2024 ▶ 45:43 Eric Vishria: Where is the Value in AI - Chips, Models or Apps? | E1206 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 25, 2024 neutral
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Vishria: Only sponsoring Benchmark partners see deal vote tallies
“Nobody knows what the votes are except the sponsoring partner.”
Eric Vishria Sep 25, 2024 ▶ 54:41 Eric Vishria: Where is the Value in AI - Chips, Models or Apps? | E1206 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 25, 2024 bullish
Disclosure
Vishria: Benchmark is investing at its highest pace since 2011
“There's a lot of uncertainty, but we've been more active than we've been since 2010 and 2011.”
Eric Vishria Sep 25, 2024 ▶ 0:18 Eric Vishria: Where is the Value in AI - Chips, Models or Apps? | E1206 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 25, 2024
Disclosure
Vishria: Benchmark has no sector specialists and maintains four to six partners
“I am not a sector specialist and nobody at Benchmark is. And I think the fundamental idea with Benchmark is there's a small group of people, a small group of partners who are all equal. And right now it's five of us, but sometimes it's four, sometimes it's six…”
Eric Vishria Sep 25, 2024 ▶ 9:59 Eric Vishria: Where is the Value in AI - Chips, Models or Apps? | E1206 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 25, 2024 neutral
Disclosure
Vishria: Benchmark holds no investments in foundational AI model companies
“In terms of value accrual, like, you know, I think for Benchmark, like, we have a, we have no foundational model investments thus far anyway.”
Eric Vishria Sep 25, 2024 ▶ 31:49 Eric Vishria: Where is the Value in AI - Chips, Models or Apps? | E1206 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 25, 2024
Disclosure
Benchmark made only three new investments during 2021 SaaS boom
“I think in 20, 21, we made like three new investments as a firm. Three.”
Eric Vishria Sep 25, 2024 ▶ 38:50 Eric Vishria: Where is the Value in AI - Chips, Models or Apps? | E1206 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Sep 25, 2024
Disclosure
Vishria: Passes on viable startups if he cannot pitch recruits
“When you look at that, I ask myself that question. And if I answer is like, you know what, I think it's a cool business. It'll probably work, but I just don't understand how I can make that pitch. Then I don't do it. Like, that's my, like, I just, I don't do i…”
Eric Vishria Sep 25, 2024 ▶ 21:01 Eric Vishria: Where is the Value in AI - Chips, Models or Apps? | E1206 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Nov 25, 2024 positive
Disclosure
Discord rejected a higher Series A valuation to partner with Benchmark's Mitch Lasky
“In fact, I got an offer I think our series A, I had one other offer for a little bit of a better valuation, but I really wanted to work with Mitch. So I chose to work with him.”
Jason Citron Nov 25, 2024 ▶ 42:19 Jason Citron, Co-Founder/CEO @Discord: The Untold Story Behind Scaling to 200M Users | E1230 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Nov 27, 2024 positive
Disclosure
Hommels Secured Early Facebook Shares via Benchmark Partner Matt Kohler
“And at that time I needed to figure out how I get into it, and then I, for two months, called everybody I knew in in In the valley, and I ended up with Matt Kohler, like a little coincidence, because I was at Benchmark as a VC, and he was with Benchmark, and s…”
Klaus Hommels Nov 27, 2024 ▶ 56:22 Klaus Hommels: Why "Portfolios are Merely a Construct to Make LPs Happy"? | E1231 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jan 13, 2025 negative
Opinion
Pishevar: Benchmark ousting Travis Kalanick was one of worst VC decisions ever
“I believe that it was, you know, one of the worst venture, ah, decisions ever.”
Shervin Pishevar Jan 13, 2025 ▶ 54:39 Shervin Pishevar: What Really Happened in the Firing of Travis Kalanick | E1245 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jan 13, 2025 bearish
Opinion
Pishevar names Benchmark as the most overhyped VC firm
“Benchmark.”
Shervin Pishevar Jan 13, 2025 ▶ 1:19:57 Shervin Pishevar: What Really Happened in the Firing of Travis Kalanick | E1245 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jan 13, 2025 negative
Assertion Supported
Benchmark sued Travis Kalanick in Delaware court over Uber board seats
“About in early August They then sued in Delaware courts after they had already gotten rid of Travis. They then sued to get rid of him and his two board seats that he had gotten that he hadn't appointed yet. So three board seats. So they wanted, you know, effec…”
Shervin Pishevar Jan 13, 2025 ▶ 42:02 Shervin Pishevar: What Really Happened in the Firing of Travis Kalanick | E1245 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jan 13, 2025 neutral
Assertion Partly supported
Benchmark invested $10M in Uber at $50M valuation in 2011
“Benchmark invested in March, 2011 at a, I believe it was a fifty million dollar pre-money valuation. They put ten million in.”
Shervin Pishevar Jan 13, 2025 ▶ 51:42 Shervin Pishevar: What Really Happened in the Firing of Travis Kalanick | E1245 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jan 13, 2025 positive
Assertion Partly supported
Delaware judge rejected Benchmark's effort to remove Uber board seats
“We make our arguments and the judge finds with us and rejects Benchmark's attempt to get rid of the three board seats.”
Shervin Pishevar Jan 13, 2025 ▶ 43:08 Shervin Pishevar: What Really Happened in the Firing of Travis Kalanick | E1245 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jan 13, 2025 negative
Opinion
Pishevar: Bill Gurley was the wrong VC on Uber's board
“We had the wrong venture capitalists on the board. Unfortunately, in my opinion, it was Bill Gurley at Benchmark.”
Shervin Pishevar Jan 13, 2025 ▶ 0:17 Shervin Pishevar: What Really Happened in the Firing of Travis Kalanick | E1245 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jan 13, 2025 negative
Assertion Contradicted
Pishevar: Benchmark Hired Private Investigators Against Naval Ravikant
“There's a history of VCs who have done this type of thing and in Benchmark's case, they did it against Naval. They hired private investigators and Naval Ravikant. He had a company called eGroups, and he got thrown out of it.”
Shervin Pishevar Jan 13, 2025 ▶ 57:39 Shervin Pishevar: What Really Happened in the Firing of Travis Kalanick | E1245 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Feb 20, 2025 neutral
Assertion Supported
Hiremath: Mercor's board consists only of its co-founders and Benchmark
“It's, you know, Brendan, Suri, and I, and Benchmark on the board.”
Adarsh Hiremath Feb 20, 2025 ▶ 38:18 Adarsh Hiremath @ Mercor: The Fastest Growing Startup in Silicon Valley | E1261 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Mar 26, 2025 negative
What-if
Green: A Benchmark-backed Silicon Valley version of SafeSend would've fetched $500M
“Had that deal, been backed by Benchmark, like Vishra or Fett, Peter Fett, and one of those guys, backed a Benchmark, doing a minority deal based in Silicon Valley, it would have been five hundred million dollars.”
Mitchell Green Mar 26, 2025 ▶ 12:57 Mitchell Green, Founder @ Lead Edge Capital: Why Traditional VC is Broken · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Apr 14, 2025
Assertion Contradicted
Lazarte: Benchmark's current venture fund size is $600 million
“It's actually a six hundred million dollar fund.”
Victor Lazarte Apr 14, 2025 ▶ 1:05:16 Benchmark GP, Victor Lazarte: The 3 Traits All the Best Founders Have · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Apr 14, 2025
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Lazarte: Sierra's Bret Taylor met Benchmark over dinner rather than pitching
“So I think on Brad's case is like, I think he had dinner with the partners. It was more like a conversation than a pitch.”
Victor Lazarte Apr 14, 2025 ▶ 1:06:42 Benchmark GP, Victor Lazarte: The 3 Traits All the Best Founders Have · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Apr 14, 2025 neutral
Insight
Lazarte: Benchmark rounds are defined by founder quality, not check size
“And a benchmark round is when there's a founder that is very capable going after a very big market, and as long as you have that, like, that's a benchmark founder, it doesn't matter if you're raising, like, five million or if you're raising, like, two hundred …”
Victor Lazarte Apr 14, 2025 ▶ 1:04:13 Benchmark GP, Victor Lazarte: The 3 Traits All the Best Founders Have · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Apr 14, 2025
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Lazarte: Benchmark partners can do deals regardless of partnership vote outcome
“Typically, like, you bring the company in, everyone talks to the company, and then people vote, but it doesn't matter what the vote is, if you really want to do it, you can do it.”
Victor Lazarte Apr 14, 2025 ▶ 1:02:04 Benchmark GP, Victor Lazarte: The 3 Traits All the Best Founders Have · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Apr 14, 2025 positive
Disclosure
Lazarte: My first check at Benchmark was $55M into HeyGen
“My first check at benchmark was a fifty-five million dollar check into HeyGen.”
Victor Lazarte Apr 14, 2025 ▶ 1:04:52 Benchmark GP, Victor Lazarte: The 3 Traits All the Best Founders Have · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Apr 14, 2025
Disclosure
Lazarte: Most of my Benchmark deals are sourced via active outbound
“No, so the majority, like the majority of what I do is like outbound. Like the majority of what I do is outbound.”
Victor Lazarte Apr 14, 2025 ▶ 26:11 Benchmark GP, Victor Lazarte: The 3 Traits All the Best Founders Have · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Apr 14, 2025
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Lazarte: Benchmark bans partners from voting 5 on investment opportunities
“So like, we vote from one to 10, and like, you can't vote five.”
Victor Lazarte Apr 14, 2025 ▶ 1:02:41 Benchmark GP, Victor Lazarte: The 3 Traits All the Best Founders Have · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Apr 14, 2025 positive
Opinion
Lazarte: Benchmark's lack of process and small team are key advantages
“And I actually think that this is a big advantage for benchmarks, like, because we don't have any process, and we have a small team, it's easier for us to, like, change things, right?”
Victor Lazarte Apr 14, 2025 ▶ 57:17 Benchmark GP, Victor Lazarte: The 3 Traits All the Best Founders Have · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Apr 14, 2025
Disclosure
Lazarte: I have done four Benchmark deals, co-founding one of them
“Yeah, so I've done, so I mean, I've done four companies since I started at Benchmark. Three have been this way. And then the fourth one, I actually, I'm a co-founder. So I started the company with someone that, that I knew for a long time.”
Victor Lazarte Apr 14, 2025 ▶ 27:17 Benchmark GP, Victor Lazarte: The 3 Traits All the Best Founders Have · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Apr 14, 2025 positive
Insight
Lazarte: Benchmark doubles board meetings for struggling startups instead of walking away
“A lot of venture capitalists would say, hey, like, just cut it loose, you know, like, forget about this thing. It's like, we should double the frequency of the board meetings. It's like, oh, okay. And it's because we're here for as long as the founder wants to…”
Victor Lazarte Apr 14, 2025 ▶ 1:00:41 Benchmark GP, Victor Lazarte: The 3 Traits All the Best Founders Have · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Apr 14, 2025 bullish
Disclosure
Lazarte: Benchmark participated in a funding round for Cursor
“So we made, like we participated in one round of cursor.”
Victor Lazarte Apr 14, 2025 ▶ 51:57 Benchmark GP, Victor Lazarte: The 3 Traits All the Best Founders Have · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Apr 14, 2025 bullish
Prediction Open · timeframe Apr 2035
Lazarte: Ten trillion-dollar companies will be created in the next decade
“There's going to be 10 trillion dollar companies created in the next decade.”
Victor Lazarte Apr 14, 2025 ▶ 1:03:05 Benchmark GP, Victor Lazarte: The 3 Traits All the Best Founders Have · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Apr 17, 2025 negative
Opinion
O'Driscoll: Portfolio construction matters because consecutive bad funds hurt brand-name VCs
“I think it always matters. You know, your people actually lose money as distinct from thinking about losing money, and particularly when they lose money, two funds in a row, even a brand name firm can hit a bump, right?”
Rory O'Driscoll Apr 17, 2025 ▶ 12:25 a16z's $20BN Fund & Founders Fund's $4.6BN & Why Josh Kushner Has Mastered the Game · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
May 1, 2025 neutral
Assertion Supported
Stebbings: Benchmark led $75M round for Chinese AI startup Manus
“Manus raised seventy five million for its last valuation led by Benchmark. It's a Chinese company.”
Harry Stebbings May 1, 2025 ▶ 1:05:25 What Does it Take to Be Good at Series A and B Today? · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
May 8, 2025 neutral
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
O'Driscoll: Benchmark achieved 10% hit rate versus a16z's 2%
“Benchmark did something like 63 series A's and had a 10% hit rate across 15 years. Andreessen did a 454 series A's and had a two percent hit rate across the same period of time. Now in absolute numbers, they had 10 five billion hits and Benchmark had six.”
Rory O'Driscoll May 8, 2025 ▶ 24:38 Benchmark vs a16z: Why Stage Specific Firms Win · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
May 8, 2025 neutral
Assertion Open
O'Driscoll: Historically, a16z captured 10% of top VC outcomes, Benchmark 6%
“In a less competitive time, the best firm in terms of percentage of total outcomes was Andreessen. They got 10% of the good outcomes. Benchmark got six, and everyone else bunches in the two, three, four, five percent rate, right? In other words, when there was…”
Rory O'Driscoll May 8, 2025 ▶ 26:42 Benchmark vs a16z: Why Stage Specific Firms Win · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jul 31, 2025 positive
Prediction Held up
O'Driscoll: Benchmark will hire replacement partners and remain successful
“Benchmark will be fine. So let's start with that. They'll find two other people to fill those slots and they'll be fine because they've been fine for 30 years.”
Rory O'Driscoll Jul 31, 2025 ▶ 2:20 Why Apple Needs a Management Overhaul & Why Google is Catching Up with Hyperscalers · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jul 31, 2025 bullish
Assertion Open · timeframe Jul 2025
Stebbings: Benchmark AI portfolio companies HeyGen, Sierra, and Fireworks hit $100M+ ARR
“McCaw over a hundred million in ARR. Hey Jen hitting a hundred million in ARR. Fireworks a hundred and forty million in ARR. Sierra with Brett Taylor over a hundred million in ARR.”
Harry Stebbings Jul 31, 2025 ▶ 5:24 Why Apple Needs a Management Overhaul & Why Google is Catching Up with Hyperscalers · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jul 31, 2025 bullish
Opinion
Stebbings: Benchmark has executed the best AI strategy of any VC firm
“I don't think any firm has played AI in the last 18 months as well as Benchmark have done, despite the team churn that they've had.”
Harry Stebbings Jul 31, 2025 ▶ 5:10 Why Apple Needs a Management Overhaul & Why Google is Catching Up with Hyperscalers · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Aug 7, 2025 negative
Assertion Supported
Jason Lemkin: Benchmark is no longer in top VC conversations on X
“If you look on social media, benchmark isn't listed the way Andreessen and Sequoia was like it was a generation ago. It's just not, does it matter? Harry, Harry's built a big brand. He's concerned. It matters. You could argue both sides, but when the industry …”
Jason Lemkin Aug 7, 2025 ▶ 1:23:44 Figma's 250% Pop - The Greatest IPO Mispricing Ever? Meta & Microsoft Blowout Quarters: Broken Down · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Aug 15, 2025 positive
What-if
Junestrand: Legora would not have connected with Benchmark without YC
“And so by being in YC, we raised money from Benchmark, who we would have not been introduced to if we weren't in YC.”
Max Junestrand Aug 15, 2025 ▶ 28:43 20VC: 15 Term Sheets in 7 Days and Choosing Benchmark | Harvey vs Legora: Who Wins Legal and How to Play When You Have $600M Less Funding | Are AI Models Plateauing Today | Building a 9-9-6 Culture From Stockholm with Max Junestrand
Aug 15, 2025 positive
Assertion Contradicted
Junestrand: 99% of Benchmark portfolio companies reach Series B
“I think there's some stats that, like, 99% of benchmark companies end up raising a Series B. That's the only stat you need to hear.”
Max Junestrand Aug 15, 2025 ▶ 32:23 20VC: 15 Term Sheets in 7 Days and Choosing Benchmark | Harvey vs Legora: Who Wins Legal and How to Play When You Have $600M Less Funding | Are AI Models Plateauing Today | Building a 9-9-6 Culture From Stockholm with Max Junestrand
Aug 15, 2025 positive
Opinion
Junestrand: Early-stage founders should trade higher dilution for top-tier VCs
“No, because I don't think I would have gotten benchmark at a 10% dilution. And I think the VC that you get in the beginning, at least as a first time founder, is quite important because you don't want to get people in your corner who are going to get you off t…”
Max Junestrand Aug 15, 2025 ▶ 31:58 20VC: 15 Term Sheets in 7 Days and Choosing Benchmark | Harvey vs Legora: Who Wins Legal and How to Play When You Have $600M Less Funding | Are AI Models Plateauing Today | Building a 9-9-6 Culture From Stockholm with Max Junestrand
Aug 15, 2025 neutral
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Legora paused all sales for four months after $25M Series A
“I turned to Redpoint and to Benchmark, and I said, we're not going to sell for the next four months, because if we sell and we start onboarding all these great attorneys, they're not going to have the best experience. And they're going to think that the produc…”
Max Junestrand Aug 15, 2025 ▶ 35:22 20VC: 15 Term Sheets in 7 Days and Choosing Benchmark | Harvey vs Legora: Who Wins Legal and How to Play When You Have $600M Less Funding | Are AI Models Plateauing Today | Building a 9-9-6 Culture From Stockholm with Max Junestrand
Oct 23, 2025 positive
Assertion Supported
Everett Randle joins Benchmark as GP from Founders Fund
“Topic number one, Everett Randall joins Benchmark. Benchmark don't add partners very often. It's a big news announcement that he's joining. Joins Benchmark as their latest GP. He was with Kleiner and he was with Founders Fund before.”
Harry Stebbings Oct 23, 2025 ▶ 0:53 Why VC Today is Worse than 2021 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Oct 23, 2025 positive
Assertion Supported
Benchmark offers backdated carry pools to newly joined General Partners
“I also know Benchmark are extremely generous in terms of like backdated carry and being brought into this carry pool for this fund with fireworks and with McCore and with Legora and with Manus and with many others.”
Harry Stebbings Oct 23, 2025 ▶ 3:04 Why VC Today is Worse than 2021 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Nov 10, 2025 bullish
Disclosure
Randle: Benchmark targets over 5x net returns for LPs
“This is one of the reasons why I'm extremely excited about benchmarks, competitive position in today's market, because we can go to LPs. We can say, Hey, we're shooting for higher than five X net. We have the historical track record to back it up. And we have …”
Everett Randle Nov 10, 2025 ▶ 1:03:36 Benchmark's GP, Everett Randle on Why Mega Funds Will Not Produce Good Returns · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Nov 10, 2025 positive
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Randle: Benchmark constrains fund sizes to survive downturns and retain LPs
“We're like, let's constrain our fund sizes. Let's be careful about what we do. So we don't get too over our skis, where we can easily weather a crash, and LPs aren't going to go fleeing once there's a crash, because we've been very careful with our capital, an…”
Everett Randle Nov 10, 2025 ▶ 1:16:23 Benchmark's GP, Everett Randle on Why Mega Funds Will Not Produce Good Returns · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Nov 10, 2025
Insight
Randle: Initial investment failure relieves pressure for new VC partners
“There's going to be nothing better for you than if your first investment sucks. Because once you do one and it fails and you realize it's not the end of the world and like life goes on and like LP still love us and like you're not fired, then you feel really c…”
Everett Randle Nov 10, 2025 ▶ 1:10:16 Benchmark's GP, Everett Randle on Why Mega Funds Will Not Produce Good Returns · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Nov 10, 2025 positive
Insight
Randle: VC needs a new taxonomy for evaluating AI companies
“AI app companies are meaningfully different than SAS companies in like a dozen different ways. Yet we keep trying to shove all the metrics From these AI app companies into the frameworks that we created for SAS.”
Everett Randle Nov 10, 2025 ▶ 20:32 Benchmark's GP, Everett Randle on Why Mega Funds Will Not Produce Good Returns · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Nov 10, 2025 bearish
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Randle: SaaS business models won't be as relevant over next decade
“And it's such a better intellectual exercise than trying to compare it to SAS, which is just a very, very different business. And it has a very different pricing and business model that, that isn't going to be as relevant, I think over the next 10 years.”
Everett Randle Nov 10, 2025 ▶ 24:00 Benchmark's GP, Everett Randle on Why Mega Funds Will Not Produce Good Returns · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Nov 10, 2025 positive
Assertion Supported
Randle: Tech offers far more $100B opportunities today than 15 years ago
“The outcomes are much, much, much larger in today's in today's technology landscape than they were 10 years ago, 15 years ago, there's more bites at, you know, potential hundred billion dollar, trillion dollar companies.”
Everett Randle Nov 10, 2025 ▶ 39:06 Benchmark's GP, Everett Randle on Why Mega Funds Will Not Produce Good Returns · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Nov 10, 2025
Assertion Supported
Randle: Each Benchmark GP holds a 25% equal stake in the firm
“Like each of us is 25% of benchmark, and we work really well together, and we're a super tight-knit team, but each of us has our own styles.”
Everett Randle Nov 10, 2025 ▶ 46:25 Benchmark's GP, Everett Randle on Why Mega Funds Will Not Produce Good Returns · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Nov 10, 2025 neutral
Disclosure
Randle: Benchmark does not strictly adhere to fixed 20% ownership targets
“I think sometimes people confuse the inputs for the outputs at benchmark where it's like, oh, like they have to have 20% ownership and they only want to invest at a hundred posts. All these things. And I think that's, that couldn't be further from the truth. W…”
Everett Randle Nov 10, 2025 ▶ 39:51 Benchmark's GP, Everett Randle on Why Mega Funds Will Not Produce Good Returns · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Nov 10, 2025 positive
Insight
Randle: AI startup moats remain rooted in technology, not distribution
“I definitely disagree with that. I think the moat is still fundamentally in technology, not in, in distribution.”
Everett Randle Nov 10, 2025 ▶ 31:01 Benchmark's GP, Everett Randle on Why Mega Funds Will Not Produce Good Returns · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Nov 10, 2025 positive
Assertion Supported
Randle: Benchmark's top fund investments outperform all post-ChatGPT OpenAI rounds
“Out of our last fund, our five best investments in that last fund today held at LRP last round price are about a 60 X. We have two 30 X's and we have two 20 X's. Since ChatGPT was released, there isn't an open AI round that touches That return multiple and tha…”
Everett Randle Nov 10, 2025 ▶ 34:15 Benchmark's GP, Everett Randle on Why Mega Funds Will Not Produce Good Returns · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jan 26, 2026 negative
Disclosure
Junestrand: Benchmark offered Legora the lowest seed round valuation
“The round, there was another firm that wanted to preempt us for the A round, and they gave a very competitive term sheet for this series, for the series seed. Much higher price than Benchmark. Benchmark was, I think, the lowest price out of any seed fund.”
Max Junestrand Jan 26, 2026 ▶ 1:00:39 Legora CEO, Max Junestrand: $7M ARR in a Day | Harvey vs Legora: Is a Legal AI Winner Takes All? · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jan 29, 2026 neutral
Insight
O'Driscoll: Small VC firms like Benchmark face higher generational transition risk
“It's harder to be someone like Benchmark, small and brilliant, and manage generational transition, which is why it's awesome that they do it, because the asset is the brains of four or five individual people.”
Rory O'Driscoll Jan 29, 2026 ▶ 54:34 Anthropic Inference Costs Skyrocket |TikTok Deal Closes |The IPO Market:Wealthfront & EquipmentShare · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Feb 26, 2026 positive
Insight
Rory: Benchmark recruits proven GPs with equal partnership over internal promotion
“I think it was a clever move by a very shrewd firm. I think it's been their MO for 1520 years, which is we have a very compelling offering to make to NEGP. We'll make you broadly, we'll make you equal in a very successful partnership with a lot of autonomy. An…”
Rory O'Driscoll Feb 26, 2026 ▶ 1:15:16 Citrini Research Breakdown: Agents, "Ghost GDP", Consumer Spend | Figma Earnings Beat · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Mar 7, 2026 bullish
Opinion
Green: Sequoia, Benchmark, and Index succeed because they excel at recruiting
“I truly think that's why Sequoia and Benchmark are great and Index are great because they help founders and entrepreneurs recruit amazing talent and people want to work for those funds portfolio companies.”
Mitchell Green Mar 7, 2026 ▶ 42:56 Mitchell Green: Why 50% of VCs Should Not Exist · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Mar 16, 2026 positive
Assertion Supported
Rajaram: Benchmark made money on WeWork by investing early
“Even in V work benchmark made money. Genchmark made money at WeWork because they invested early enough.”
Gokul Rajaram Mar 16, 2026 ▶ 49:24 Gokul Rajaram: How to Analyse for Durability and Defensibility in a World of AI · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
May 14, 2026 neutral
Assertion Partly supported
O'Driscoll: Benchmark, Foundation, and Eclipse each hold 8–9% of Cerebras
“Ah, you just, because you see, Harry, you just listen to Twitter, but if you go and you actually look up the S-one, they have eight or nine percent ownership, right? Because I do these things, because every VC reads an S-one the same way, you read the front pa…”
Rory O'Driscoll May 14, 2026 ▶ 53:33 Anthropic Buys Compute From Elon & Commits $200BN to Google | Cerebras IPO | Ramp Raises at $40BN · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jun 11, 2026 negative
Opinion
Lemkin: Uber Leaders Are Justified in Hating Benchmark Capital
“I think the folks that hate benchmark from Uber, I think they deserve to hate benchmark.”
Jason Lemkin Jun 11, 2026 ▶ 33:25 SpaceX Launches Largest Ever IPO | OpenAI Files to Go Public | Uber Cuts 23% of HR · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jun 18, 2026 negative
Disclosure
Randle: Benchmark missing early AI model providers was a complete failure
“No, it fucking sucks. It's terrible. It's a complete and utter failure on, on our part. And I think we, we'd all say that.”
Everett Randle Jun 18, 2026 ▶ 46:01 Anthropic's Fable Banned by US Government | Wix & Adobe Hit All-Time Lows | Mistral Raising at $20BN · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jun 18, 2026 bearish
Disclosure
Randle: Benchmark partner says any pre-AI SaaS liquidity is top-decile performance
“There's a partner here at Benchmark that says any liquidity for pre-AI SaaS companies is top decile performance. Any liquidity at all.”
Everett Randle Jun 18, 2026 ▶ 51:12 Anthropic's Fable Banned by US Government | Wix & Adobe Hit All-Time Lows | Mistral Raising at $20BN · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jun 27, 2026 negative
Opinion
Benchmark Lacks the Platform Resources of Multistage Funds
“I think Benchmark doesn't really have as many resources. Like these multistage funds have so many resources for founders.”
Paul Erlang Jun 27, 2026 ▶ 40:34 How We Got Fred Wilson, Benchmark and Index to Invest $94M | Why Robinhood's Strategy is Wrong · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jun 27, 2026 positive
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Peter Fenton Used FOMO's App Throughout Benchmark's Pitch Meeting
“I remember Peter Fenton was actually on his phone most of it. And I was like, kind of bummed out because I was like, damn, he's not interested. He's focusing on other things. He's doing emails. And I remember as soon as we finished the pitch, the first thing h…”
Paul Erlang Jun 27, 2026 ▶ 17:58 How We Got Fred Wilson, Benchmark and Index to Invest $94M | Why Robinhood's Strategy is Wrong · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jun 27, 2026
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Benchmark Did Not Offer the Highest Series A Valuation
“I think it was close, but not exactly the highest.”
Paul Erlang Jun 27, 2026 ▶ 18:25 How We Got Fred Wilson, Benchmark and Index to Invest $94M | Why Robinhood's Strategy is Wrong · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jul 16, 2026 negative
Opinion
Lemkin: Benchmark's flat partnership model is optimized for profit, not discipline
“This is one of these things we manufacture, like how wonderful it is. Benchmark has a flat partnership. I mean, who cares, right? It's not disciplined. It's optimized to make the most money.”
Jason Lemkin Jul 16, 2026 ▶ 1:23:29 Zuckerberg Back on X Challenging Codex & Claude Code | SK Hynix’s $26BN IPO · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Jul 29, 2026 positive
Assertion Supported
Stebbings: Benchmark returned roughly 640x on Uber versus 25x on WeWork
“Uber made benchmark roughly 640 X versus around 25 X with WeWork.”
Harry Stebbings Jul 29, 2026 ▶ 52:47 Jensen's Open-Weights Letter | Google Cloud Grows 82% But The Market Tanks
Sep 3, 2026 neutral
Assertion Partly supported
Enterprise AI Startup Town Valued at $1B by Index and Benchmark
“Consensus status as well in the B to B world, because town, which is kind of the B to B enterprise alternative has also been funded to the tune of a billion dollar price by index. And I think it was benchmark who co led that round.”
Harry Stebbings Sep 3, 2026 ▶ 34:49 NVIDIA Crushes Quarter | OpenAI Cuts Off Cursor | Instinct Hits $2.5B Valuation
Made with StarZero

Turn any episode into a week of clips.

This entire site, over 1,200 episodes transcribed, diarized, checked and made playable, runs on the StarZero media pipeline. Drop in your own episode and the podcast clipper finds the moments worth sharing, cuts them, captions them, and reframes them for every feed.

Try the podcast clipper Learn more