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May 8, 2017 · 23m · 20vc

20VC: Harry Stebbings on The Biggest Takeaways From Interviewing The World's Best Investors, What Makes A Truly Great Interview & Some Big News... with Mattias Ljungman, Co-Founder & General Partner @ Atomico

Harry Stebbings · 19m spoken Mattias Ljungman · 2m 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 a special reverse-interview episode of The 20 Minute VC, guest host Mattias Ljungman interviews creator Harry Stebbings about his entrepreneurial journey, key lessons distilled from interviewing over 800 top venture capitalists, and his announcement of departing Atomico to launch a new stealth project.

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 87% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Harry as informed peer 6.8 Guest teaching 0.8 Guest disagreement 0.0 Harry pushing back 0.0
05100:0010:0020:002:50–5:43 · Harry as informed peer 6/10 Harry's Entrepreneurial Beginnings and Founding The 20 Minute VC Harry recounts his early entrepreneurial ventures and founding of the podcast, sharing specific listener retention metrics and commute statistics. Mattias acts as a supportive interviewer, offering warm encouragement without any friction.5:43–10:19 · Harry as informed peer 8/10 Key Trends and Shifts in the Venture Capital Market Harry demonstrates deep venture capital knowledge by synthesizing lessons from over 800 interviews, quoting leaders like Pat Grady and Peter Fenton. Mattias agrees fully, reinforcing Harry's observations on ecosystem dynamics.10:19–14:48 · Harry as informed peer 7/10 Elements of a Great Interview and Unreleased Tapes Harry provides specific editorial metrics, disclosing that 40% of recorded episodes remain unreleased due to strict quality benchmarks. The dynamic remains entirely collegial as Harry explains his rationale for joining and leaving Atomico.14:48–16:58 · Harry as informed peer 6/10 Personal Memories and Academic Learnings at Atomico Harry reflects candidly on his internal learnings at Atomico, noting how colleagues challenged his early deal flow pitches to focus on depth over volume. Mattias warmly praises Harry's impact on the team.16:58–21:36 · Harry as informed peer 7/10 Quick-Fire Question Round with Harry Stebbings In a rapid-fire format, Harry delivers detailed, knowledgeable answers regarding market differentiation in VC and specific content recommendations. Mattias steers the questions with enthusiasm and positivity.2:50–5:43 · Guest teaching 0/10 Harry's Entrepreneurial Beginnings and Founding The 20 Minute VC Harry recounts his early entrepreneurial ventures and founding of the podcast, sharing specific listener retention metrics and commute statistics. Mattias acts as a supportive interviewer, offering warm encouragement without any friction.5:43–10:19 · Guest teaching 1/10 Key Trends and Shifts in the Venture Capital Market Harry demonstrates deep venture capital knowledge by synthesizing lessons from over 800 interviews, quoting leaders like Pat Grady and Peter Fenton. Mattias agrees fully, reinforcing Harry's observations on ecosystem dynamics.10:19–14:48 · Guest teaching 1/10 Elements of a Great Interview and Unreleased Tapes Harry provides specific editorial metrics, disclosing that 40% of recorded episodes remain unreleased due to strict quality benchmarks. The dynamic remains entirely collegial as Harry explains his rationale for joining and leaving Atomico.14:48–16:58 · Guest teaching 2/10 Personal Memories and Academic Learnings at Atomico Harry reflects candidly on his internal learnings at Atomico, noting how colleagues challenged his early deal flow pitches to focus on depth over volume. Mattias warmly praises Harry's impact on the team.16:58–21:36 · Guest teaching 0/10 Quick-Fire Question Round with Harry Stebbings In a rapid-fire format, Harry delivers detailed, knowledgeable answers regarding market differentiation in VC and specific content recommendations. Mattias steers the questions with enthusiasm and positivity.2:50–5:43 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Harry's Entrepreneurial Beginnings and Founding The 20 Minute VC Harry recounts his early entrepreneurial ventures and founding of the podcast, sharing specific listener retention metrics and commute statistics. Mattias acts as a supportive interviewer, offering warm encouragement without any friction.5:43–10:19 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Key Trends and Shifts in the Venture Capital Market Harry demonstrates deep venture capital knowledge by synthesizing lessons from over 800 interviews, quoting leaders like Pat Grady and Peter Fenton. Mattias agrees fully, reinforcing Harry's observations on ecosystem dynamics.10:19–14:48 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Elements of a Great Interview and Unreleased Tapes Harry provides specific editorial metrics, disclosing that 40% of recorded episodes remain unreleased due to strict quality benchmarks. The dynamic remains entirely collegial as Harry explains his rationale for joining and leaving Atomico.14:48–16:58 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Personal Memories and Academic Learnings at Atomico Harry reflects candidly on his internal learnings at Atomico, noting how colleagues challenged his early deal flow pitches to focus on depth over volume. Mattias warmly praises Harry's impact on the team.16:58–21:36 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Quick-Fire Question Round with Harry Stebbings In a rapid-fire format, Harry delivers detailed, knowledgeable answers regarding market differentiation in VC and specific content recommendations. Mattias steers the questions with enthusiasm and positivity.2:50–5:43 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Harry's Entrepreneurial Beginnings and Founding The 20 Minute VC Harry recounts his early entrepreneurial ventures and founding of the podcast, sharing specific listener retention metrics and commute statistics. Mattias acts as a supportive interviewer, offering warm encouragement without any friction.5:43–10:19 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Key Trends and Shifts in the Venture Capital Market Harry demonstrates deep venture capital knowledge by synthesizing lessons from over 800 interviews, quoting leaders like Pat Grady and Peter Fenton. Mattias agrees fully, reinforcing Harry's observations on ecosystem dynamics.10:19–14:48 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Elements of a Great Interview and Unreleased Tapes Harry provides specific editorial metrics, disclosing that 40% of recorded episodes remain unreleased due to strict quality benchmarks. The dynamic remains entirely collegial as Harry explains his rationale for joining and leaving Atomico.14:48–16:58 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Personal Memories and Academic Learnings at Atomico Harry reflects candidly on his internal learnings at Atomico, noting how colleagues challenged his early deal flow pitches to focus on depth over volume. Mattias warmly praises Harry's impact on the team.16:58–21:36 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Quick-Fire Question Round with Harry Stebbings In a rapid-fire format, Harry delivers detailed, knowledgeable answers regarding market differentiation in VC and specific content recommendations. Mattias steers the questions with enthusiasm and positivity.

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

0:00 · Harry 91.8% · guest 8.2%0:00 · Harry 91.8% · guest 8.2%3:00 · Harry 68.7% · guest 31.3%3:00 · Harry 68.7% · guest 31.3%6:00 · Harry 92.1% · guest 7.9%6:00 · Harry 92.1% · guest 7.9%9:00 · Harry 93.2% · guest 6.8%9:00 · Harry 93.2% · guest 6.8%12:00 · Harry 77.5% · guest 22.5%12:00 · Harry 77.5% · guest 22.5%15:00 · Harry 89.4% · guest 10.6%15:00 · Harry 89.4% · guest 10.6%18:00 · Harry 94.2% · guest 5.8%18:00 · Harry 94.2% · guest 5.8%21:00 · Harry 89.8% · guest 10.2%21:00 · Harry 89.8% · guest 10.2%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 16:56 Mattias takes control for quick-fire round

In an exceptionally friendly interview, Mattias asserts light authority over the conversation structure to transition into the quick-fire segment.

 Hardest push from Harry ▶ 14:48 Harry gently bifurcates Mattias's compound question

Harry politely corrects Mattias's prompt by pointing out that academic and sentimental takeaways are two distinct questions before answering them separately.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 16:56 Mattias emphasizes raising the bar

Mattias briefly pauses to instruct on the importance of constantly raising standards before enforcing the strict rules of the quick-fire round.

 Harry holds his own ▶ 17:58 Harry breaks down VC entry strategy via specialization

Harry displays sharp expertise by detailing a blueprint for prospective investors to build domain authority in overlooked markets like gaming and medtech.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicHarry as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementHarry pushing backWhy
Harry's Entrepreneurial Beginnings and Founding The 20 Minute VC 6000 Harry recounts his early entrepreneurial ventures and founding of the podcast, sharing specific listener retention metrics and commute statistics. Mattias acts as a supportive interviewer, offering warm encouragement without any friction.
Key Trends and Shifts in the Venture Capital Market 8100 Harry demonstrates deep venture capital knowledge by synthesizing lessons from over 800 interviews, quoting leaders like Pat Grady and Peter Fenton. Mattias agrees fully, reinforcing Harry's observations on ecosystem dynamics.
Elements of a Great Interview and Unreleased Tapes 7100 Harry provides specific editorial metrics, disclosing that 40% of recorded episodes remain unreleased due to strict quality benchmarks. The dynamic remains entirely collegial as Harry explains his rationale for joining and leaving Atomico.
Personal Memories and Academic Learnings at Atomico 6200 Harry reflects candidly on his internal learnings at Atomico, noting how colleagues challenged his early deal flow pitches to focus on depth over volume. Mattias warmly praises Harry's impact on the team.
Quick-Fire Question Round with Harry Stebbings 7000 In a rapid-fire format, Harry delivers detailed, knowledgeable answers regarding market differentiation in VC and specific content recommendations. Mattias steers the questions with enthusiasm and positivity.

Statements from this episode (13)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Harry Stebbings claims 20VC is the world's largest independent VC podcast
“I'm the founder of the 20 Minute VC, the world's largest independent VC podcast with guests including Brad Feld, Andy Ratcliffe, Peter Fenton, just to name a few.”
Harry Stebbings May 8, 2017 ▶ 0:38
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Stebbings raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity at age 14
“We did our own, kind of, fashion line of bracelets and accessories. That actually became really very successful, and we sold many thousands and generated many hundreds of thousands of pounds for the charity.”
Harry Stebbings May 8, 2017 ▶ 4:05
Assertion Contradicted
Harry Stebbings: 87% of commutes are under 30 minutes, driving podcast churn
“87% of single unit commutes are under 30 minutes, and there's an 82% churn if you don't listen to the full episode”
Harry Stebbings May 8, 2017 ▶ 5:22
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Harry Stebbings: Micro funds have become a dominant LP capital allocation
“Purely, actually, over my time, I've seen massive trends, be it the emergence of, ah, micro funds as a strong and dominant allocation of LP capital.”
Harry Stebbings May 8, 2017 ▶ 6:05
Insight
Harry Stebbings: Portfolio founders are VC's most underutilized asset
“I always think that founders and the portfolio is the most underutilized asset.”
Harry Stebbings May 8, 2017 ▶ 7:06
Insight
Pat Grady: The value of operational experience in VC decays rapidly
“Pat Grady said to me that never has the rate of decay on operational experience been greater.”
Harry Stebbings May 8, 2017 ▶ 7:48
Insight
Kent Goldman: Use valuation pricing as a litmus test for deal conviction
“Kent Goldman at Upside in stating to me that the best way to use pricing to your advantage is to use it as a litmus test. It's a leading indicator almost to determine your desire to do a deal. If you believe this is going to be a truly game-changing, transform…”
Harry Stebbings May 8, 2017 ▶ 8:57
Insight
Peter Fenton: Great board members are Socratic and focus on fundamental questions
“I remember he stated to me the importance lying in being Socratic, not didactic, knowing when's the right time to interject, and having 15 questions in your head, but having the ability to narrow them down to the two that are fundamental.”
Harry Stebbings May 8, 2017 ▶ 9:21
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Harry Stebbings: 20VC scraps 40% of its recorded podcast interviews
“So for 40% of interviews, we actually don't release them.”
Harry Stebbings May 8, 2017 ▶ 10:42
Insight
Stebbings: Best interviews correlate with pre-recording rapport-building chats
“I found the correlation in terms of the best interviews of those where we've had the longest chats before we press record, where they've taken the time to build that rapport and engagement.”
Harry Stebbings May 8, 2017 ▶ 11:39
Opinion
Harry Stebbings: London's venture capital landscape is shallow with clear winners
“I looked at London's landscape in all honesty. I think you'll probably agree, it's a shallow landscape, and they're clear winners to me.”
Harry Stebbings May 8, 2017 ▶ 12:51
Disclosure
Stebbings announces departure from Atomico to launch stealth venture
“Very sad to be leaving Atomaco, but very excited to be working on a new project in stealth.”
Harry Stebbings May 8, 2017 ▶ 14:18
Insight
Stebbings: Board meetings are opportunities for VCs to add value, not tests
“Board meetings, I always feel entrepreneurs view them as a test, but they're really a chance for VCs to Provide their value.”
Harry Stebbings May 8, 2017 ▶ 20:03
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