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Mar 2, 2016 · 24m · 20vc

20VC: Building a Game Changing Consumer Startup and Hunting His 4th Unicorn with Jim Scheinman @ Maven Ventures

Jim Scheinman · 18m spoken Harry Stebbings · 4m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

In this episode of The 20 Minute VC, host Harry Stebbings interviews Jim Scheinman, founder and managing partner at Maven Ventures, about his journey building three unicorn startups and his strategy for identifying the next generation of consumer tech platforms. Scheinman outlines key investment criteria, strategies for navigating saturated markets, and opportunities in emerging sectors like AR/VR, health tech, and e-sports.

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 17.8% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Harry as informed peer 2.8 Guest teaching 3.6 Guest disagreement 1.4 Harry pushing back 1.8
05100:0010:0020:001:29–5:11 · Harry as informed peer 1/10 Jim Scheinman's Entrepreneurial Origins and Early Unicorns Harry asks standard background questions about Jim's early career at Friendster and Bebo. Jim controls the narrative, walking through his transition from law to tech and his early unicorn exits with no pushback or expert interjections from Harry.5:11–9:45 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Evaluating the Social Landscape and the Shift to AR/VR Jim educates Harry on shifting consumer software platforms from internet to mobile to AR/VR. Harry asks straightforward follow-up questions about adoption barriers and shares a brief personal anecdote about trying Oculus.9:45–15:38 · Harry as informed peer 6/10 Navigating Consumer Software Investing and Emerging Sectors Harry demonstrates strong industry context by quoting Fred Wilson on the difficulty of sustaining consumer mobile apps and challenges Jim to name exceptions. Jim acknowledges the premise while defending Maven's seed strategy and highlighting emerging sectors like e-sports and drones.15:39–19:33 · Harry as informed peer 3/10 Maven's Playbook for Building Billion-Dollar Consumer Companies Jim outlines Maven's framework for billion-dollar companies, highlighting that 80% of massive consumer success depends on luck and timing. Harry interjects briefly on Bitcoin, which Jim politely reframes by noting standard fiat currency works sufficiently.19:34–24:12 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Quick Fire Round and Recent Investment in Homemade A quickfire round where Harry asks short question prompts on books, anti-portfolios, and recent investments. Jim provides thoughtful, structured responses regarding Warren Buffett and Maven's deal in Homemade.1:29–5:11 · Guest teaching 3/10 Jim Scheinman's Entrepreneurial Origins and Early Unicorns Harry asks standard background questions about Jim's early career at Friendster and Bebo. Jim controls the narrative, walking through his transition from law to tech and his early unicorn exits with no pushback or expert interjections from Harry.5:11–9:45 · Guest teaching 4/10 Evaluating the Social Landscape and the Shift to AR/VR Jim educates Harry on shifting consumer software platforms from internet to mobile to AR/VR. Harry asks straightforward follow-up questions about adoption barriers and shares a brief personal anecdote about trying Oculus.9:45–15:38 · Guest teaching 4/10 Navigating Consumer Software Investing and Emerging Sectors Harry demonstrates strong industry context by quoting Fred Wilson on the difficulty of sustaining consumer mobile apps and challenges Jim to name exceptions. Jim acknowledges the premise while defending Maven's seed strategy and highlighting emerging sectors like e-sports and drones.15:39–19:33 · Guest teaching 4/10 Maven's Playbook for Building Billion-Dollar Consumer Companies Jim outlines Maven's framework for billion-dollar companies, highlighting that 80% of massive consumer success depends on luck and timing. Harry interjects briefly on Bitcoin, which Jim politely reframes by noting standard fiat currency works sufficiently.19:34–24:12 · Guest teaching 3/10 Quick Fire Round and Recent Investment in Homemade A quickfire round where Harry asks short question prompts on books, anti-portfolios, and recent investments. Jim provides thoughtful, structured responses regarding Warren Buffett and Maven's deal in Homemade.1:29–5:11 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Jim Scheinman's Entrepreneurial Origins and Early Unicorns Harry asks standard background questions about Jim's early career at Friendster and Bebo. Jim controls the narrative, walking through his transition from law to tech and his early unicorn exits with no pushback or expert interjections from Harry.5:11–9:45 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Evaluating the Social Landscape and the Shift to AR/VR Jim educates Harry on shifting consumer software platforms from internet to mobile to AR/VR. Harry asks straightforward follow-up questions about adoption barriers and shares a brief personal anecdote about trying Oculus.9:45–15:38 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Navigating Consumer Software Investing and Emerging Sectors Harry demonstrates strong industry context by quoting Fred Wilson on the difficulty of sustaining consumer mobile apps and challenges Jim to name exceptions. Jim acknowledges the premise while defending Maven's seed strategy and highlighting emerging sectors like e-sports and drones.15:39–19:33 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Maven's Playbook for Building Billion-Dollar Consumer Companies Jim outlines Maven's framework for billion-dollar companies, highlighting that 80% of massive consumer success depends on luck and timing. Harry interjects briefly on Bitcoin, which Jim politely reframes by noting standard fiat currency works sufficiently.19:34–24:12 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Quick Fire Round and Recent Investment in Homemade A quickfire round where Harry asks short question prompts on books, anti-portfolios, and recent investments. Jim provides thoughtful, structured responses regarding Warren Buffett and Maven's deal in Homemade.1:29–5:11 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Jim Scheinman's Entrepreneurial Origins and Early Unicorns Harry asks standard background questions about Jim's early career at Friendster and Bebo. Jim controls the narrative, walking through his transition from law to tech and his early unicorn exits with no pushback or expert interjections from Harry.5:11–9:45 · Harry pushing back 1/10 Evaluating the Social Landscape and the Shift to AR/VR Jim educates Harry on shifting consumer software platforms from internet to mobile to AR/VR. Harry asks straightforward follow-up questions about adoption barriers and shares a brief personal anecdote about trying Oculus.9:45–15:38 · Harry pushing back 5/10 Navigating Consumer Software Investing and Emerging Sectors Harry demonstrates strong industry context by quoting Fred Wilson on the difficulty of sustaining consumer mobile apps and challenges Jim to name exceptions. Jim acknowledges the premise while defending Maven's seed strategy and highlighting emerging sectors like e-sports and drones.15:39–19:33 · Harry pushing back 2/10 Maven's Playbook for Building Billion-Dollar Consumer Companies Jim outlines Maven's framework for billion-dollar companies, highlighting that 80% of massive consumer success depends on luck and timing. Harry interjects briefly on Bitcoin, which Jim politely reframes by noting standard fiat currency works sufficiently.19:34–24:12 · Harry pushing back 1/10 Quick Fire Round and Recent Investment in Homemade A quickfire round where Harry asks short question prompts on books, anti-portfolios, and recent investments. Jim provides thoughtful, structured responses regarding Warren Buffett and Maven's deal in Homemade.

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

0:00 · Harry 53.5% · guest 46.5%0:00 · Harry 53.5% · guest 46.5%3:00 · Harry 9.7% · guest 90.3%3:00 · Harry 9.7% · guest 90.3%6:00 · Harry 4.6% · guest 95.4%6:00 · Harry 4.6% · guest 95.4%9:00 · Harry 17.1% · guest 82.9%9:00 · Harry 17.1% · guest 82.9%12:00 · Harry 13.4% · guest 86.6%12:00 · Harry 13.4% · guest 86.6%15:00 · Harry 8.7% · guest 91.3%15:00 · Harry 8.7% · guest 91.3%18:00 · Harry 15.8% · guest 84.2%18:00 · Harry 15.8% · guest 84.2%21:00 · Harry 4.3% · guest 95.7%21:00 · Harry 4.3% · guest 95.7%24:00 · Harry 81.1% · guest 18.9%24:00 · Harry 81.1% · guest 18.9%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 18:10 Jim pushes back on Bitcoin interjection

When Harry interjects that Bitcoin fits the bill of products that are dramatically better, Jim mildy rejects the premise by noting existing money works fine and Bitcoin did not speak to them.

 Hardest push from Harry ▶ 9:45 Harry challenges consumer mobile app sustainability

Harry directly confronts Jim by quoting Fred Wilson regarding the lack of sustained consumer mobile apps and asks Jim to justify why the sector is viable.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 15:55 Jim explains the role of luck and timing in VC returns

Jim educates the host on consumer VC reality, explaining that internal execution only accounts for 20% of building a breakout startup while luck and timing account for 80%.

 Harry holds his own ▶ 9:45 Harry cites Fred Wilson quote on consumer software

Harry demonstrates strong sector knowledge by directly quoting venture capitalist Fred Wilson's exact critique on consumer mobile app traction to frame his question.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicHarry as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementHarry pushing backWhy
Jim Scheinman's Entrepreneurial Origins and Early Unicorns 1310 Harry asks standard background questions about Jim's early career at Friendster and Bebo. Jim controls the narrative, walking through his transition from law to tech and his early unicorn exits with no pushback or expert interjections from Harry.
Evaluating the Social Landscape and the Shift to AR/VR 2411 Jim educates Harry on shifting consumer software platforms from internet to mobile to AR/VR. Harry asks straightforward follow-up questions about adoption barriers and shares a brief personal anecdote about trying Oculus.
Navigating Consumer Software Investing and Emerging Sectors 6425 Harry demonstrates strong industry context by quoting Fred Wilson on the difficulty of sustaining consumer mobile apps and challenges Jim to name exceptions. Jim acknowledges the premise while defending Maven's seed strategy and highlighting emerging sectors like e-sports and drones.
Maven's Playbook for Building Billion-Dollar Consumer Companies 3422 Jim outlines Maven's framework for billion-dollar companies, highlighting that 80% of massive consumer success depends on luck and timing. Harry interjects briefly on Bitcoin, which Jim politely reframes by noting standard fiat currency works sufficiently.
Quick Fire Round and Recent Investment in Homemade 2311 A quickfire round where Harry asks short question prompts on books, anti-portfolios, and recent investments. Jim provides thoughtful, structured responses regarding Warren Buffett and Maven's deal in Homemade.

Statements from this episode (13)

Prediction Held up
Yahoo will not survive as an independent company for much longer
“It was Yahoo and still around, not for long though”
Jim Scheinman Mar 2, 2016 ▶ 2:51
Disclosure
NBC Internet reached a $6 billion valuation overnight after going public
“And overnight we were a six billion dollar company.”
Jim Scheinman Mar 2, 2016 ▶ 3:09
Opinion
Friendster's social networking concept was a $100 billion market opportunity
“And that really was a hundred billion dollar idea.”
Jim Scheinman Mar 2, 2016 ▶ 4:42
Disclosure
Bebo sold to AOL in 2008 for nearly $1 billion
“We sold that in 2008 AOL for almost a billion dollars.”
Jim Scheinman Mar 2, 2016 ▶ 5:03
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Mobile photo swiping will look primitive compared to VR social by 2021
“I actually, I'll go on record and say, I think in three to five years, and maybe even sooner, we'll look back and laugh at how we thought swiping through pictures on mobile or looking at photos on the internet was social networking.”
Jim Scheinman Mar 2, 2016 ▶ 7:23
Disclosure
Maven Ventures sold mobile app Check to Intuit for nearly $400M
“One called check, which we sold to Intuit last year for almost four hundred million dollars.”
Jim Scheinman Mar 2, 2016 ▶ 8:35
Disclosure
Tango reached a $1 billion valuation with 350 million users
“Tango, we were, I was, you know, I helped name that company. It was the first mobile messaging video conferencing app on the iPhone, Android phone, still has three hundred fifty million customers. We had a billion dollar valuation last year by Alibaba investme…”
Jim Scheinman Mar 2, 2016 ▶ 8:48
Opinion
Facebook and Twitter monopolies make scaling new mobile consumer apps nearly impossible
“But the truth is it's going to be really hard to scale another consumer app in the mobile shop. I mean, it's just mature. It's a mature market. And the big players that have a monopoly like Facebook and Twitter are not opening their platforms anymore.”
Jim Scheinman Mar 2, 2016 ▶ 13:56
Insight
Breakout consumer tech success is 80% luck and timing
“Number 10, which unfortunately you and I have very little control over, is luck and timing. And that's about 80%, right? You have to do all these amazing things, have the right vision, have the right team, have the right culture, have the right marketing, you …”
Jim Scheinman Mar 2, 2016 ▶ 16:18
Insight
Consumer startups fail by only offering incremental product improvements
“Most startups fail in the consumer space when they build something that's a little bit better than what you can do. Because frankly, like, we're lazy. Consumers are lazy. And if I have to learn a new habit, it better be something so great that I need to do, or…”
Jim Scheinman Mar 2, 2016 ▶ 17:49
Disclosure
Maven Ventures passed on Bitcoin because the asset class didn't speak to them
“We're not an investor in Bitcoin and, you know, money works. It could be better. Yeah. We'll see. I mean, I, I'm not a in super opposition to a Bitcoin, but it didn't speak to us.”
Jim Scheinman Mar 2, 2016 ▶ 18:23
Disclosure
Jim Scheinman passed on Waze because Kleiner Perkins drove the valuation too high
“In particular, one that I got there just a little bit too late was Waze. I love Waze. And you know, Kleiner put a bunch of money and it was too expensive for me at that point”
Jim Scheinman Mar 2, 2016 ▶ 21:01
Disclosure
Jim Scheinman missed out on investing early in Airbnb
“As soon as I saw Airbnb, missed that one too, but I thought an Airbnb for food idea was a big idea”
Jim Scheinman Mar 2, 2016 ▶ 23:30
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