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David Fialkow

14 statements across 1 episodes · 2 bullish · 3 bearish · 2 people on the record · first statement May 16, 2022 by David Fialkow · said 17 times in 6 episodes since 2020 · across every show →

On the record as a speaker too: David Fialkow's record, appearances and statements → this page counts the times other people say the name.

Mentions by year

brought up most by Harry Stebbings (7), Brad Gerstner (5), Elias Torres (3), Quentin Clark (1), Hemant Taneja (1)

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0031622020202120222023202420252026episodesmentions per episode
2026 4 mentions in 1 episode
2025 5 mentions in 2 episodes 3 per episode
2024 1 mention in 1 episode
2022 6 mentions in 1 episode
2020 1 mention in 1 episode

every mention, scene by scene, with the transcript →

Everything said about David Fialkow, oldest first

May 16, 2022
Insight
Fialkow: Co-founders must prioritize business needs over protecting their friendship
“Most people who start business with their friends, I think, can make a mistake. They say, let the business never get in the way of the friendship. We said the exact opposite. Let the friendship never get in the way of business.”
David Fialkow May 16, 2022 ▶ 6:52 20VC: The Founding of General Catalyst, What it Takes to Build a Firm That Stands the Test of Time, Why VCs Need to Give Founders Greater Permission to Go For It & Why Venture Capital is Like Tennis with David Fialkow, Co-Founder @ General Catalyst
May 16, 2022
Disclosure
Fialkow was a struggling documentary filmmaker at age 24
“Can I tell you what life was like for me when I was 24? You know, I was a filmmaker trying to make documentary films, and it was like I couldn't make a living. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, and I had a couple of ideas.”
David Fialkow May 16, 2022 ▶ 20:01 20VC: The Founding of General Catalyst, What it Takes to Build a Firm That Stands the Test of Time, Why VCs Need to Give Founders Greater Permission to Go For It & Why Venture Capital is Like Tennis with David Fialkow, Co-Founder @ General Catalyst
May 16, 2022
Insight
Fialkow: Founders unable to endure extreme stress will fail regardless of idea
“The first thing you've got to evaluate is, is this person that's sitting in front of me Capable of the emotional, physical, and mental stress that it's going to take to build a business. Binary. If they're not that person, regardless of how good their idea is,…”
David Fialkow May 16, 2022 ▶ 24:41 20VC: The Founding of General Catalyst, What it Takes to Build a Firm That Stands the Test of Time, Why VCs Need to Give Founders Greater Permission to Go For It & Why Venture Capital is Like Tennis with David Fialkow, Co-Founder @ General Catalyst
May 16, 2022
Assertion Supported
Fialkow built and sold four companies before founding General Catalyst
“Prior to founding General Catalyst with Joel Cutler, David was a serial entrepreneur. Building and selling no less than four successful companies.”
Harry Stebbings May 16, 2022 ▶ 0:26 20VC: The Founding of General Catalyst, What it Takes to Build a Firm That Stands the Test of Time, Why VCs Need to Give Founders Greater Permission to Go For It & Why Venture Capital is Like Tennis with David Fialkow, Co-Founder @ General Catalyst
May 16, 2022
Assertion Partly supported
Fialkow built a multi-hundred million dollar travel company without VC funding
“We built a business with several hundred million dollar business without ever having to raise venture capital.”
David Fialkow May 16, 2022 ▶ 4:16 20VC: The Founding of General Catalyst, What it Takes to Build a Firm That Stands the Test of Time, Why VCs Need to Give Founders Greater Permission to Go For It & Why Venture Capital is Like Tennis with David Fialkow, Co-Founder @ General Catalyst
May 16, 2022 negative
Insight
Fialkow: Poor family relationships signal poor leadership potential
“Somebody who's a loner and somebody that doesn't like to get along with people who has shitty relationships with their family, not as a rule, but it's pretty hard to imagine that they're going to be a great leader.”
David Fialkow May 16, 2022 ▶ 29:33 20VC: The Founding of General Catalyst, What it Takes to Build a Firm That Stands the Test of Time, Why VCs Need to Give Founders Greater Permission to Go For It & Why Venture Capital is Like Tennis with David Fialkow, Co-Founder @ General Catalyst
May 16, 2022 neutral
Insight
Fialkow: Great early-stage startup teams operate like cults
“Great early stage companies are like cults. They all believe, they believe with a capital B.”
David Fialkow May 16, 2022 ▶ 25:13 20VC: The Founding of General Catalyst, What it Takes to Build a Firm That Stands the Test of Time, Why VCs Need to Give Founders Greater Permission to Go For It & Why Venture Capital is Like Tennis with David Fialkow, Co-Founder @ General Catalyst
May 16, 2022 positive
Opinion
Fialkow: New leadership outperforms General Catalyst's original founders
“And in the years since They've all really taken on the day-to-day management of the firm. It's a much better place. I don't hate to admit. They have done a much better job than Joel and I ever did.”
David Fialkow May 16, 2022 ▶ 40:04 20VC: The Founding of General Catalyst, What it Takes to Build a Firm That Stands the Test of Time, Why VCs Need to Give Founders Greater Permission to Go For It & Why Venture Capital is Like Tennis with David Fialkow, Co-Founder @ General Catalyst
May 16, 2022 negative
Insight
Fialkow: Inviting acquaintances to curated dinners ruins group openness and dynamic
“If I bring two people that know each other, they're immediately going to change the dynamic of the group.”
David Fialkow May 16, 2022 ▶ 17:32 20VC: The Founding of General Catalyst, What it Takes to Build a Firm That Stands the Test of Time, Why VCs Need to Give Founders Greater Permission to Go For It & Why Venture Capital is Like Tennis with David Fialkow, Co-Founder @ General Catalyst
May 16, 2022 neutral
Disclosure
General Catalyst launched without a master plan to hatch Boston startups
“We had no plan. We had no strategy. We had no business model. All we knew is that we were going to take some of the money we just made selling our travel business, and we were going to hatch companies in Boston.”
David Fialkow May 16, 2022 ▶ 9:36 20VC: The Founding of General Catalyst, What it Takes to Build a Firm That Stands the Test of Time, Why VCs Need to Give Founders Greater Permission to Go For It & Why Venture Capital is Like Tennis with David Fialkow, Co-Founder @ General Catalyst
May 16, 2022 positive
Insight
Fialkow: Investor value lies in network mobilization over individual expertise
“There's a limited amount that I can bring anybody, but I can bring an enormous amount of people to you as a founder who have skill sets or relationships or desires to help you.”
David Fialkow May 16, 2022 ▶ 14:49 20VC: The Founding of General Catalyst, What it Takes to Build a Firm That Stands the Test of Time, Why VCs Need to Give Founders Greater Permission to Go For It & Why Venture Capital is Like Tennis with David Fialkow, Co-Founder @ General Catalyst
May 16, 2022 negative
Insight
Fialkow: Founders should ignore TAM and CAC/LTV in early pitches
“So the first thing I would say is forget about markets. Forget about TAM. Forget about CAC LTV. Forget about all the things you think traditional people are going to ask you. Paint a picture for me. What do you want to build?”
David Fialkow May 16, 2022 ▶ 26:47 20VC: The Founding of General Catalyst, What it Takes to Build a Firm That Stands the Test of Time, Why VCs Need to Give Founders Greater Permission to Go For It & Why Venture Capital is Like Tennis with David Fialkow, Co-Founder @ General Catalyst
May 16, 2022
Insight
Fialkow: Great founders do not need to be well-rounded
“Building a business is not like playing tennis. To be a tennis player, you have to learn how to head back in. You can't get away with it. Business is not like that. You don't have to be well-rounded. I mean, obviously, I'm a good example of that, right? What y…”
David Fialkow May 16, 2022 ▶ 21:03 20VC: The Founding of General Catalyst, What it Takes to Build a Firm That Stands the Test of Time, Why VCs Need to Give Founders Greater Permission to Go For It & Why Venture Capital is Like Tennis with David Fialkow, Co-Founder @ General Catalyst
May 16, 2022
Assertion Supported
General Catalyst's first $70M fund was structured as an LLC
“Well, the first fund was probably seventy million dollars, and it wasn't even in GPLP, it was an LLC, because of course we were building a company, which is the only thing we thought we knew how to do. It was seventy million, most of it was from us, and then a…”
David Fialkow May 16, 2022 ▶ 10:59 20VC: The Founding of General Catalyst, What it Takes to Build a Firm That Stands the Test of Time, Why VCs Need to Give Founders Greater Permission to Go For It & Why Venture Capital is Like Tennis with David Fialkow, Co-Founder @ General Catalyst
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