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Aug 19, 2015 · 29m · 20vc

20 VC 064: Finding Exceptional People with Big Ideas with Nick Beim, Partner @ Venrock

Nick Beim · 22m spoken Harry Stebbings · 5m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In this episode of The 20 Minute VC, host Harry Stebbings interviews Venrock Partner Nick Beim to explore venture capital dynamics, the growth of New York's startup ecosystem, strategies for securing competitive investments, and the future of impact investing and gender equity in tech funding.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Harry holds 19.6% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Harry as informed peer 2.6 Guest teaching 2.9 Guest disagreement 0.3 Harry pushing back 0.6
05100:0010:0020:002:09–4:11 · Harry as informed peer 1/10 Nick Beim's Unconventional Path to Venture Capital Harry asks a standard introductory question about Nick's career path into venture capital. He follows up briefly by asking which VC firm was the better option when Nick was navigating competing offers.4:12–7:33 · Harry as informed peer 3/10 Inside the Dataminer Investment and Real-Time Data Discovery Nick explains Dataminer's real-time data discovery model using Twitter's firehose. Harry displays industry context by chiming in that legacy news terminals like Bloomberg are outdated.7:33–10:18 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Securing High-Competition Deals and Early-Stage Board Strategy Harry asks how Nick wins competitive deals and follows up on the entry stage. Nick outlines early-stage board dynamics and executive hiring support.10:18–14:34 · Harry as informed peer 4/10 Overcoming Gender Disparity and Bias in Startup Funding Harry brings up gender disparity in startup funding and sharpens Nick's point about pattern recognition by noting VCs typically default to young white men. He then pushes Nick on actionable solutions to fix the imbalance.14:34–19:38 · Harry as informed peer 3/10 The Mechanics and Future Growth of Impact Investing Harry probes into impact investing by asking how social return metrics are concretely measured and whether Venrock plans to launch an impact fund. Nick outlines metrics like job creation while clarifying Venrock's current position.19:40–24:42 · Harry as informed peer 3/10 Applied Technology: Comparing New York and Silicon Valley Ecosystems Harry relays a listener question comparing SF and NY startup scenes, prompting Nick to refute a West Coast investor's premise that NY cannot thrive without an engineering anchor like Stanford. Nick explains how reduced infrastructure costs made domain expertise the key driver of applied technology hubs.24:42–28:26 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Quickfire Round: Influences, Ethos, and Stealth Investments Harry leads a rapid-fire session covering formative books, influences, and stealth deals. He chimes in on Peter Thiel's Zero to One to keep the exchange interactive.2:09–4:11 · Guest teaching 1/10 Nick Beim's Unconventional Path to Venture Capital Harry asks a standard introductory question about Nick's career path into venture capital. He follows up briefly by asking which VC firm was the better option when Nick was navigating competing offers.4:12–7:33 · Guest teaching 4/10 Inside the Dataminer Investment and Real-Time Data Discovery Nick explains Dataminer's real-time data discovery model using Twitter's firehose. Harry displays industry context by chiming in that legacy news terminals like Bloomberg are outdated.7:33–10:18 · Guest teaching 3/10 Securing High-Competition Deals and Early-Stage Board Strategy Harry asks how Nick wins competitive deals and follows up on the entry stage. Nick outlines early-stage board dynamics and executive hiring support.10:18–14:34 · Guest teaching 3/10 Overcoming Gender Disparity and Bias in Startup Funding Harry brings up gender disparity in startup funding and sharpens Nick's point about pattern recognition by noting VCs typically default to young white men. He then pushes Nick on actionable solutions to fix the imbalance.14:34–19:38 · Guest teaching 3/10 The Mechanics and Future Growth of Impact Investing Harry probes into impact investing by asking how social return metrics are concretely measured and whether Venrock plans to launch an impact fund. Nick outlines metrics like job creation while clarifying Venrock's current position.19:40–24:42 · Guest teaching 4/10 Applied Technology: Comparing New York and Silicon Valley Ecosystems Harry relays a listener question comparing SF and NY startup scenes, prompting Nick to refute a West Coast investor's premise that NY cannot thrive without an engineering anchor like Stanford. Nick explains how reduced infrastructure costs made domain expertise the key driver of applied technology hubs.24:42–28:26 · Guest teaching 2/10 Quickfire Round: Influences, Ethos, and Stealth Investments Harry leads a rapid-fire session covering formative books, influences, and stealth deals. He chimes in on Peter Thiel's Zero to One to keep the exchange interactive.2:09–4:11 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Nick Beim's Unconventional Path to Venture Capital Harry asks a standard introductory question about Nick's career path into venture capital. He follows up briefly by asking which VC firm was the better option when Nick was navigating competing offers.4:12–7:33 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Inside the Dataminer Investment and Real-Time Data Discovery Nick explains Dataminer's real-time data discovery model using Twitter's firehose. Harry displays industry context by chiming in that legacy news terminals like Bloomberg are outdated.7:33–10:18 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Securing High-Competition Deals and Early-Stage Board Strategy Harry asks how Nick wins competitive deals and follows up on the entry stage. Nick outlines early-stage board dynamics and executive hiring support.10:18–14:34 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Overcoming Gender Disparity and Bias in Startup Funding Harry brings up gender disparity in startup funding and sharpens Nick's point about pattern recognition by noting VCs typically default to young white men. He then pushes Nick on actionable solutions to fix the imbalance.14:34–19:38 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Mechanics and Future Growth of Impact Investing Harry probes into impact investing by asking how social return metrics are concretely measured and whether Venrock plans to launch an impact fund. Nick outlines metrics like job creation while clarifying Venrock's current position.19:40–24:42 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Applied Technology: Comparing New York and Silicon Valley Ecosystems Harry relays a listener question comparing SF and NY startup scenes, prompting Nick to refute a West Coast investor's premise that NY cannot thrive without an engineering anchor like Stanford. Nick explains how reduced infrastructure costs made domain expertise the key driver of applied technology hubs.24:42–28:26 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Quickfire Round: Influences, Ethos, and Stealth Investments Harry leads a rapid-fire session covering formative books, influences, and stealth deals. He chimes in on Peter Thiel's Zero to One to keep the exchange interactive.2:09–4:11 · Harry pushing back 1/10 Nick Beim's Unconventional Path to Venture Capital Harry asks a standard introductory question about Nick's career path into venture capital. He follows up briefly by asking which VC firm was the better option when Nick was navigating competing offers.4:12–7:33 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Inside the Dataminer Investment and Real-Time Data Discovery Nick explains Dataminer's real-time data discovery model using Twitter's firehose. Harry displays industry context by chiming in that legacy news terminals like Bloomberg are outdated.7:33–10:18 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Securing High-Competition Deals and Early-Stage Board Strategy Harry asks how Nick wins competitive deals and follows up on the entry stage. Nick outlines early-stage board dynamics and executive hiring support.10:18–14:34 · Harry pushing back 1/10 Overcoming Gender Disparity and Bias in Startup Funding Harry brings up gender disparity in startup funding and sharpens Nick's point about pattern recognition by noting VCs typically default to young white men. He then pushes Nick on actionable solutions to fix the imbalance.14:34–19:38 · Harry pushing back 2/10 The Mechanics and Future Growth of Impact Investing Harry probes into impact investing by asking how social return metrics are concretely measured and whether Venrock plans to launch an impact fund. Nick outlines metrics like job creation while clarifying Venrock's current position.19:40–24:42 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Applied Technology: Comparing New York and Silicon Valley Ecosystems Harry relays a listener question comparing SF and NY startup scenes, prompting Nick to refute a West Coast investor's premise that NY cannot thrive without an engineering anchor like Stanford. Nick explains how reduced infrastructure costs made domain expertise the key driver of applied technology hubs.24:42–28:26 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Quickfire Round: Influences, Ethos, and Stealth Investments Harry leads a rapid-fire session covering formative books, influences, and stealth deals. He chimes in on Peter Thiel's Zero to One to keep the exchange interactive.

speaking balance: gold is Harry, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Harry 75.6% · guest 24.4%0:00 · Harry 75.6% · guest 24.4%3:00 · Harry 11.3% · guest 88.7%3:00 · Harry 11.3% · guest 88.7%6:00 · Harry 5.8% · guest 94.2%6:00 · Harry 5.8% · guest 94.2%9:00 · Harry 13.7% · guest 86.3%9:00 · Harry 13.7% · guest 86.3%12:00 · Harry 12.5% · guest 87.5%12:00 · Harry 12.5% · guest 87.5%15:00 · Harry 5.8% · guest 94.2%15:00 · Harry 5.8% · guest 94.2%18:00 · Harry 15% · guest 85%18:00 · Harry 15% · guest 85%21:00 · Harry 1.9% · guest 98.1%21:00 · Harry 1.9% · guest 98.1%24:00 · Harry 11.4% · guest 88.6%24:00 · Harry 11.4% · guest 88.6%27:00 · Harry 48.1% · guest 51.9%27:00 · Harry 48.1% · guest 51.9%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 20:05 Rejecting West Coast Ecosystem Skepticism

Nick explicitly pushes back against a West Coast panelist's statement that NY will never be a major tech hub without Stanford or MIT, arguing that tech infrastructure changes favor NY's domain expertise.

 Hardest push from Harry ▶ 18:30 Pressing on Venrock's Impact Fund Intentions

Harry directly questions whether Venrock plans to open a dedicated impact investing arm, forcing Nick to clarify his firm's current strategy versus his personal projects.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 20:30 Explaining the Structural Economics of Applied Tech Hubs

Nick educates the audience on how open-source and cloud computing dropped startup costs from $30M+ in the 90s to under $2,000 today, enabling non-silicon valley urban hubs to flourish.

 Harry holds his own ▶ 12:25 Calling Out Default Demographic Patterns in VC

Harry interjects during Nick's explanation of VC pattern recognition bias to explicitly identify 'young white men' as the legacy archetype investors default to.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicHarry as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementHarry pushing backWhy
Nick Beim's Unconventional Path to Venture Capital 1101 Harry asks a standard introductory question about Nick's career path into venture capital. He follows up briefly by asking which VC firm was the better option when Nick was navigating competing offers.
Inside the Dataminer Investment and Real-Time Data Discovery 3400 Nick explains Dataminer's real-time data discovery model using Twitter's firehose. Harry displays industry context by chiming in that legacy news terminals like Bloomberg are outdated.
Securing High-Competition Deals and Early-Stage Board Strategy 2300 Harry asks how Nick wins competitive deals and follows up on the entry stage. Nick outlines early-stage board dynamics and executive hiring support.
Overcoming Gender Disparity and Bias in Startup Funding 4301 Harry brings up gender disparity in startup funding and sharpens Nick's point about pattern recognition by noting VCs typically default to young white men. He then pushes Nick on actionable solutions to fix the imbalance.
The Mechanics and Future Growth of Impact Investing 3302 Harry probes into impact investing by asking how social return metrics are concretely measured and whether Venrock plans to launch an impact fund. Nick outlines metrics like job creation while clarifying Venrock's current position.
Applied Technology: Comparing New York and Silicon Valley Ecosystems 3420 Harry relays a listener question comparing SF and NY startup scenes, prompting Nick to refute a West Coast investor's premise that NY cannot thrive without an engineering anchor like Stanford. Nick explains how reduced infrastructure costs made domain expertise the key driver of applied technology hubs.
Quickfire Round: Influences, Ethos, and Stealth Investments 2200 Harry leads a rapid-fire session covering formative books, influences, and stealth deals. He chimes in on Peter Thiel's Zero to One to keep the exchange interactive.

Statements from this episode (10)

Opinion
Nick Beim: New York is by far the most exciting East Coast startup hub
“I think Boston is still great at a number of areas, but I think New York has really become, by a significant margin, the most exciting startup hub on the East Coast.”
Nick Beim Aug 19, 2015 ▶ 3:57
Assertion Partly supported
Dataminer detected Bin Laden's death 28 minutes before Bloomberg and NYT
“So for example, they had identified the assassination of Bin Laden 28 minutes before Bloomberg in the New York Times.”
Nick Beim Aug 19, 2015 ▶ 7:05
Assertion Not checkable as stated
A hedge fund beta customer offered Dataminer a $1B fund partnership
“In fact, one of the customers wanted them to build a fund with them, and, you know, a billion dollar fund and split the And, you know, Dataminer didn't do that, but it was a it was an interesting indication of how powerful the technology was.”
Nick Beim Aug 19, 2015 ▶ 9:55
Assertion Supported
Beim: It remains harder for female entrepreneurs to raise VC funding
“In direct answer to your question, I think it still is harder for female entrepreneurs to raise money, and it's sort of an uncomfortable truth in the industry, but I do think it's important to call out”
Nick Beim Aug 19, 2015 ▶ 10:44
Insight
Beim: Venture capitalists invest primarily based on pattern recognition
“Venture capitalists, when you really get down to it, invest primarily on the basis of pattern recognition. They see things working, and they see similar opportunities, and that helps them de-risk their investment.”
Nick Beim Aug 19, 2015 ▶ 12:03
Assertion Supported
Beim: A $60B pipeline of successful female-founded tech companies exists
“There is a pipeline, and I've actually done some research on this and wrote a blog on it, it's about a sixty billion dollar pipeline of very successful female-founded companies, including Epic Systems, Theranos, Eventbrite, Howes, Guild, many others.”
Nick Beim Aug 19, 2015 ▶ 12:31
Prediction Held up
Beim: Major financial platforms will offer social impact funds within five years
“And I, my strong bet is that these Types of metrics will evolve and that say in the next five years, many major institutional investors and every major consumer internet platform like Fidelity or personal capital will offer access to some kind of social impact…”
Nick Beim Aug 19, 2015 ▶ 16:29
Assertion Not checkable as stated
E-commerce startup launch costs fell from $30M+ to under $2,000
“If you wanted to start an e-commerce firm, it would cost 30, forty million dollars. You'd need 30 MIT engineers. Today, you can do it over a weekend for less than 2000”
Nick Beim Aug 19, 2015 ▶ 21:05
What-if
Beim: Gilt Groupe could not have succeeded equally on the West Coast
“Having vested in guilt when it was just three people, I can promise you could not have built that company to the same degree of success in the West Coast, because, you know, all of the fashion brands are in New York, all of the great merchandising talent, desi…”
Nick Beim Aug 19, 2015 ▶ 22:24
Opinion
Beim: Fred Wilson built a top VC firm without West Coast advantages
“I think more recently, I was very impressed with what Fred Wilson had done without the existing platform or assets that, that, you know, some of the, you know, longstanding West Coast firms have had.”
Nick Beim Aug 19, 2015 ▶ 25:07
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