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Jun 16, 2017 · 20m · 20vc

20VC: Is Series B Really The Hardest To Raise? Should The Only Limiting Factor Post Series B Be Cash & When Is The Right Time To Move To The US with Nicolas Dessaigne, Founder & CEO @ Algolia

Nicolas Dessaigne · 11m spoken Harry Stebbings · 8m 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 Nicolas Dessaigne, co-founder and CEO of Algolia, following their $53 million Series B funding round. Dessaigne discusses startup fundraising mechanics, executive leadership scaling, international expansion strategies between Europe and the US, and the future of AI-driven conversational search.

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 42.4% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Harry as informed peer 2.6 Guest teaching 3.4 Guest disagreement 2.4 Harry pushing back 2.2
05100:0010:0020:002:07–5:50 · Harry as informed peer 3/10 Algolia's Origin Story & Pivot to SaaS Harry cites VC expert Tom Tunguz to suggest the Series B round is always the hardest to raise. Nicolas politely rejects this premise for Algolia, explaining that having strong existing validation made their round surprisingly swift.5:50–8:42 · Harry as informed peer 3/10 Determining Funding Capital & Growth Limiting Factors Harry brings up another Tom Tunguz framework asking if cash is now the sole limiting factor post-Series B. Nicolas counters that cash is not yet the only limiter, as building and optimizing the go-to-market engine remains their primary operational hurdle.8:42–11:54 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Scaling Executive Leadership and Operational Infrastructure Harry asks about building out executive leadership and the timing of relocating to the US with structured options. Nicolas is open and complimentary toward the podcast, keeping the dynamic friendly and conversational.11:54–14:21 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Evaluating Tech Talent Pools and Hiring in Europe vs. the US Harry asks if European sales and marketing talent is desperately lacking compared to the US. Nicolas directly rejects the premise, clarifying that the talent profiles differ rather than European talent being inferior.14:21–18:43 · Harry as informed peer 3/10 Overcoming Misconceptions in the US Startup Ecosystem Harry introduces guest questions from Jason Lemkin and executes a rapid-fire round. Nicolas dispels myths about the US startup market being easy and shares long-term product vision.2:07–5:50 · Guest teaching 4/10 Algolia's Origin Story & Pivot to SaaS Harry cites VC expert Tom Tunguz to suggest the Series B round is always the hardest to raise. Nicolas politely rejects this premise for Algolia, explaining that having strong existing validation made their round surprisingly swift.5:50–8:42 · Guest teaching 4/10 Determining Funding Capital & Growth Limiting Factors Harry brings up another Tom Tunguz framework asking if cash is now the sole limiting factor post-Series B. Nicolas counters that cash is not yet the only limiter, as building and optimizing the go-to-market engine remains their primary operational hurdle.8:42–11:54 · Guest teaching 2/10 Scaling Executive Leadership and Operational Infrastructure Harry asks about building out executive leadership and the timing of relocating to the US with structured options. Nicolas is open and complimentary toward the podcast, keeping the dynamic friendly and conversational.11:54–14:21 · Guest teaching 4/10 Evaluating Tech Talent Pools and Hiring in Europe vs. the US Harry asks if European sales and marketing talent is desperately lacking compared to the US. Nicolas directly rejects the premise, clarifying that the talent profiles differ rather than European talent being inferior.14:21–18:43 · Guest teaching 3/10 Overcoming Misconceptions in the US Startup Ecosystem Harry introduces guest questions from Jason Lemkin and executes a rapid-fire round. Nicolas dispels myths about the US startup market being easy and shares long-term product vision.2:07–5:50 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Algolia's Origin Story & Pivot to SaaS Harry cites VC expert Tom Tunguz to suggest the Series B round is always the hardest to raise. Nicolas politely rejects this premise for Algolia, explaining that having strong existing validation made their round surprisingly swift.5:50–8:42 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Determining Funding Capital & Growth Limiting Factors Harry brings up another Tom Tunguz framework asking if cash is now the sole limiting factor post-Series B. Nicolas counters that cash is not yet the only limiter, as building and optimizing the go-to-market engine remains their primary operational hurdle.8:42–11:54 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Scaling Executive Leadership and Operational Infrastructure Harry asks about building out executive leadership and the timing of relocating to the US with structured options. Nicolas is open and complimentary toward the podcast, keeping the dynamic friendly and conversational.11:54–14:21 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Evaluating Tech Talent Pools and Hiring in Europe vs. the US Harry asks if European sales and marketing talent is desperately lacking compared to the US. Nicolas directly rejects the premise, clarifying that the talent profiles differ rather than European talent being inferior.14:21–18:43 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Overcoming Misconceptions in the US Startup Ecosystem Harry introduces guest questions from Jason Lemkin and executes a rapid-fire round. Nicolas dispels myths about the US startup market being easy and shares long-term product vision.2:07–5:50 · Harry pushing back 3/10 Algolia's Origin Story & Pivot to SaaS Harry cites VC expert Tom Tunguz to suggest the Series B round is always the hardest to raise. Nicolas politely rejects this premise for Algolia, explaining that having strong existing validation made their round surprisingly swift.5:50–8:42 · Harry pushing back 2/10 Determining Funding Capital & Growth Limiting Factors Harry brings up another Tom Tunguz framework asking if cash is now the sole limiting factor post-Series B. Nicolas counters that cash is not yet the only limiter, as building and optimizing the go-to-market engine remains their primary operational hurdle.8:42–11:54 · Harry pushing back 2/10 Scaling Executive Leadership and Operational Infrastructure Harry asks about building out executive leadership and the timing of relocating to the US with structured options. Nicolas is open and complimentary toward the podcast, keeping the dynamic friendly and conversational.11:54–14:21 · Harry pushing back 2/10 Evaluating Tech Talent Pools and Hiring in Europe vs. the US Harry asks if European sales and marketing talent is desperately lacking compared to the US. Nicolas directly rejects the premise, clarifying that the talent profiles differ rather than European talent being inferior.14:21–18:43 · Harry pushing back 2/10 Overcoming Misconceptions in the US Startup Ecosystem Harry introduces guest questions from Jason Lemkin and executes a rapid-fire round. Nicolas dispels myths about the US startup market being easy and shares long-term product vision.

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

0:00 · Harry 85.5% · guest 14.5%0:00 · Harry 85.5% · guest 14.5%3:00 · Harry 29.4% · guest 70.6%3:00 · Harry 29.4% · guest 70.6%6:00 · Harry 32.5% · guest 67.5%6:00 · Harry 32.5% · guest 67.5%9:00 · Harry 25.1% · guest 74.9%9:00 · Harry 25.1% · guest 74.9%12:00 · Harry 20.6% · guest 79.4%12:00 · Harry 20.6% · guest 79.4%15:00 · Harry 31.3% · guest 68.7%15:00 · Harry 31.3% · guest 68.7%18:00 · Harry 77.6% · guest 22.4%18:00 · Harry 77.6% · guest 22.4%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 12:02 Rejecting European talent deficiency premise

Nicolas directly denies Harry's suggestion that European sales and marketing teams are desperately lacking, explaining the nuanced difference in talent availability.

 Hardest push from Harry ▶ 5:05 Harry presses on continuous fundraising

Harry pushes Nicolas on his statement that founders should always be raising, contrasting it with advice that founders should focus on product.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 7:57 Educating on growth limiters beyond capital

Nicolas corrects the host's framework on cash being the sole post-Series B limiter by explaining the operational complexity of building a repeatable sales engine.

 Harry holds his own ▶ 3:48 Citing Tom Tunguz on Series B dynamics

Harry leverages industry insights from VC Tom Tunguz to challenge the guest on how difficult their funding round actually was.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicHarry as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementHarry pushing backWhy
Algolia's Origin Story & Pivot to SaaS 3433 Harry cites VC expert Tom Tunguz to suggest the Series B round is always the hardest to raise. Nicolas politely rejects this premise for Algolia, explaining that having strong existing validation made their round surprisingly swift.
Determining Funding Capital & Growth Limiting Factors 3432 Harry brings up another Tom Tunguz framework asking if cash is now the sole limiting factor post-Series B. Nicolas counters that cash is not yet the only limiter, as building and optimizing the go-to-market engine remains their primary operational hurdle.
Scaling Executive Leadership and Operational Infrastructure 2212 Harry asks about building out executive leadership and the timing of relocating to the US with structured options. Nicolas is open and complimentary toward the podcast, keeping the dynamic friendly and conversational.
Evaluating Tech Talent Pools and Hiring in Europe vs. the US 2432 Harry asks if European sales and marketing talent is desperately lacking compared to the US. Nicolas directly rejects the premise, clarifying that the talent profiles differ rather than European talent being inferior.
Overcoming Misconceptions in the US Startup Ecosystem 3322 Harry introduces guest questions from Jason Lemkin and executes a rapid-fire round. Nicolas dispels myths about the US startup market being easy and shares long-term product vision.

Statements from this episode (8)

Assertion Supported
Algolia raised a $53 million Series B led by Accel
“Just last week, he raised a whopping fifty-three million dollar Series B, led by Excel, with participation from Sasta, Des Trainer at Intercom, Jotty Bansal at AppDynamics, and Carl Valberg at Envision, including Prior Investors .9 Capital and Alvin.”
Harry Stebbings Jun 16, 2017 ▶ 0:15
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Algolia closed its $53M Series B before finishing its pitch deck
“In the case of the build run, I mean, it went super fast. I mean, we actually closed the run before having, even having finished our funding deck, so it indeed went much faster than anticipated.”
Nicolas Dessaigne Jun 16, 2017 ▶ 4:12
Insight
Pitching VCs doubles as business development for SaaS startups
“At least in the context of a SaaS company like ours that could work with any of these investors' portfolio companies, it's actually a very good business development approach as you are Working with these new, like, investors, winning this relationship, it's al…”
Nicolas Dessaigne Jun 16, 2017 ▶ 5:20
Insight
Growth startups should target two years of runway over 18 months
“In our case, I would look more at two years than 18 months, and when you're looking at that, you are like, Working with the assumptions that you are going to be very aggressive on the market, on investment and growth, so that there is no bad surprise.”
Nicolas Dessaigne Jun 16, 2017 ▶ 7:00
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Algolia had more U.S. customers than anywhere else from day one
“From day one, We had more customers in the U.S. Than anywhere else.”
Nicolas Dessaigne Jun 16, 2017 ▶ 10:27
Opinion
San Francisco offers a superior talent pool for senior sales executives
“For a company, like a tech company like ours, definitely the talent pool for sales and marketing talents is San Francisco, especially for the highest positions. If you are looking for VP marketing, VP sales, The talent pool is much better here.”
Nicolas Dessaigne Jun 16, 2017 ▶ 12:11
Opinion
Hiring top engineering talent is easier in Europe than San Francisco
“The concentration of, like, good tech people is probably better In Europe compared to, like, the competition you have here in SF. I mean, you have, like, crazy good people here, but the local industry is startup, so you are going to compete with so many other …”
Nicolas Dessaigne Jun 16, 2017 ▶ 13:12
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Search will shift from keywords to conversational interfaces
“The way really we see things evolving is that tomorrow we are not going to search as we do today with keywords type enter and wait for an answer. It's going to become more and more interactive and then conversational. And so I believe that in the, in a few yea…”
Nicolas Dessaigne Jun 16, 2017 ▶ 17:57
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