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Mar 19, 2018 · 35m · 20vc

20VC: Finding VC Partners That Look Beyond The Numbers, The Black Box of VC Secrets That Needs To Be Shared & The 1,000 Reasons A VC Won't Invest In You When It Has Nothing To Do With You with Leah Busque, General Partner @ Fuel Capital

Leah Busque · 25m spoken Harry Stebbings · 9m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In this episode of The 20 Minute VC, host Harry Stebbings interviews Leah Busque, founder of TaskRabbit and partner at Fuel Capital, to explore her transition from founder to investor, marketplace scaling dynamics, and founder-aligned venture investing.

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 27.5% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Harry as informed peer 3.0 Guest teaching 3.1 Guest disagreement 0.4 Harry pushing back 1.3
05100:0010:0020:0030:002:24–5:16 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Founding TaskRabbit and the Transition to Fuel Capital Harry sets up the interview with friendly context and quotes Mike Maples to ask about TaskRabbit's origin and Leah's transition to Fuel Capital. Leah provides a detailed narrative of the dog food story and joining forces with Chris Howard without any conflict.5:16–8:11 · Harry as informed peer 3/10 Applying Operational Background to Evaluate Founders and Technology Harry cites Sean Flynn to probe how Leah's operational background informs founder selection and follows up with a question on evaluating technical timing. Leah explains her criteria around founder passion and perseverance in an entirely collaborative tone.8:11–14:12 · Harry as informed peer 4/10 VC-Founder Relationships, Board Dynamics, and Pitch Transparency Harry asks insightful questions regarding board dynamics, fast deal cycles, and the 'black box' of VC. Leah offers nuanced perspectives on how board relationships evolve by stage and highlights the need for transparency in venture capital.14:12–17:33 · Harry as informed peer 3/10 Prioritizing Founder Alignment and Looking Beyond the Numbers Harry asks a crowd-sourced question from Leah's husband regarding operator vs investor mindsets and pushes on how to spot VCs who pay lip service to being 'founder friendly'. Leah emphasizes taking a long-term view over squeezing extra basis points of equity.17:33–22:58 · Harry as informed peer 3/10 Venture Capital Surprises, Inclusion Focus, and LP Dynamics Harry asks about early surprises in VC and probes whether investors have a responsibility to explain rejections to founders. Leah educates on the hidden LP dynamics and non-company reasons why funds pass on deals.22:58–27:06 · Harry as informed peer 4/10 Understanding Marketplace Mechanics, Liquidity, and Scaling Readiness Harry demonstrates strong subject knowledge on marketplace dynamics, specifically asking about asymmetric Net Promoter Scores across supply and demand. Leah explains liquidity ratios and candidly notes that pleasing one side often angers the other.27:06–31:50 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Quickfire Round: Influential Books, Mentors, and Working with Spouses Harry guides Leah through a friendly quickfire round covering books, parenthood, mentors, and working alongside her spouse. The dynamic remains purely supportive and conversational.2:24–5:16 · Guest teaching 3/10 Founding TaskRabbit and the Transition to Fuel Capital Harry sets up the interview with friendly context and quotes Mike Maples to ask about TaskRabbit's origin and Leah's transition to Fuel Capital. Leah provides a detailed narrative of the dog food story and joining forces with Chris Howard without any conflict.5:16–8:11 · Guest teaching 3/10 Applying Operational Background to Evaluate Founders and Technology Harry cites Sean Flynn to probe how Leah's operational background informs founder selection and follows up with a question on evaluating technical timing. Leah explains her criteria around founder passion and perseverance in an entirely collaborative tone.8:11–14:12 · Guest teaching 3/10 VC-Founder Relationships, Board Dynamics, and Pitch Transparency Harry asks insightful questions regarding board dynamics, fast deal cycles, and the 'black box' of VC. Leah offers nuanced perspectives on how board relationships evolve by stage and highlights the need for transparency in venture capital.14:12–17:33 · Guest teaching 3/10 Prioritizing Founder Alignment and Looking Beyond the Numbers Harry asks a crowd-sourced question from Leah's husband regarding operator vs investor mindsets and pushes on how to spot VCs who pay lip service to being 'founder friendly'. Leah emphasizes taking a long-term view over squeezing extra basis points of equity.17:33–22:58 · Guest teaching 4/10 Venture Capital Surprises, Inclusion Focus, and LP Dynamics Harry asks about early surprises in VC and probes whether investors have a responsibility to explain rejections to founders. Leah educates on the hidden LP dynamics and non-company reasons why funds pass on deals.22:58–27:06 · Guest teaching 4/10 Understanding Marketplace Mechanics, Liquidity, and Scaling Readiness Harry demonstrates strong subject knowledge on marketplace dynamics, specifically asking about asymmetric Net Promoter Scores across supply and demand. Leah explains liquidity ratios and candidly notes that pleasing one side often angers the other.27:06–31:50 · Guest teaching 2/10 Quickfire Round: Influential Books, Mentors, and Working with Spouses Harry guides Leah through a friendly quickfire round covering books, parenthood, mentors, and working alongside her spouse. The dynamic remains purely supportive and conversational.2:24–5:16 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Founding TaskRabbit and the Transition to Fuel Capital Harry sets up the interview with friendly context and quotes Mike Maples to ask about TaskRabbit's origin and Leah's transition to Fuel Capital. Leah provides a detailed narrative of the dog food story and joining forces with Chris Howard without any conflict.5:16–8:11 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Applying Operational Background to Evaluate Founders and Technology Harry cites Sean Flynn to probe how Leah's operational background informs founder selection and follows up with a question on evaluating technical timing. Leah explains her criteria around founder passion and perseverance in an entirely collaborative tone.8:11–14:12 · Guest disagreement 1/10 VC-Founder Relationships, Board Dynamics, and Pitch Transparency Harry asks insightful questions regarding board dynamics, fast deal cycles, and the 'black box' of VC. Leah offers nuanced perspectives on how board relationships evolve by stage and highlights the need for transparency in venture capital.14:12–17:33 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Prioritizing Founder Alignment and Looking Beyond the Numbers Harry asks a crowd-sourced question from Leah's husband regarding operator vs investor mindsets and pushes on how to spot VCs who pay lip service to being 'founder friendly'. Leah emphasizes taking a long-term view over squeezing extra basis points of equity.17:33–22:58 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Venture Capital Surprises, Inclusion Focus, and LP Dynamics Harry asks about early surprises in VC and probes whether investors have a responsibility to explain rejections to founders. Leah educates on the hidden LP dynamics and non-company reasons why funds pass on deals.22:58–27:06 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Understanding Marketplace Mechanics, Liquidity, and Scaling Readiness Harry demonstrates strong subject knowledge on marketplace dynamics, specifically asking about asymmetric Net Promoter Scores across supply and demand. Leah explains liquidity ratios and candidly notes that pleasing one side often angers the other.27:06–31:50 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Quickfire Round: Influential Books, Mentors, and Working with Spouses Harry guides Leah through a friendly quickfire round covering books, parenthood, mentors, and working alongside her spouse. The dynamic remains purely supportive and conversational.2:24–5:16 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Founding TaskRabbit and the Transition to Fuel Capital Harry sets up the interview with friendly context and quotes Mike Maples to ask about TaskRabbit's origin and Leah's transition to Fuel Capital. Leah provides a detailed narrative of the dog food story and joining forces with Chris Howard without any conflict.5:16–8:11 · Harry pushing back 1/10 Applying Operational Background to Evaluate Founders and Technology Harry cites Sean Flynn to probe how Leah's operational background informs founder selection and follows up with a question on evaluating technical timing. Leah explains her criteria around founder passion and perseverance in an entirely collaborative tone.8:11–14:12 · Harry pushing back 2/10 VC-Founder Relationships, Board Dynamics, and Pitch Transparency Harry asks insightful questions regarding board dynamics, fast deal cycles, and the 'black box' of VC. Leah offers nuanced perspectives on how board relationships evolve by stage and highlights the need for transparency in venture capital.14:12–17:33 · Harry pushing back 2/10 Prioritizing Founder Alignment and Looking Beyond the Numbers Harry asks a crowd-sourced question from Leah's husband regarding operator vs investor mindsets and pushes on how to spot VCs who pay lip service to being 'founder friendly'. Leah emphasizes taking a long-term view over squeezing extra basis points of equity.17:33–22:58 · Harry pushing back 2/10 Venture Capital Surprises, Inclusion Focus, and LP Dynamics Harry asks about early surprises in VC and probes whether investors have a responsibility to explain rejections to founders. Leah educates on the hidden LP dynamics and non-company reasons why funds pass on deals.22:58–27:06 · Harry pushing back 2/10 Understanding Marketplace Mechanics, Liquidity, and Scaling Readiness Harry demonstrates strong subject knowledge on marketplace dynamics, specifically asking about asymmetric Net Promoter Scores across supply and demand. Leah explains liquidity ratios and candidly notes that pleasing one side often angers the other.27:06–31:50 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Quickfire Round: Influential Books, Mentors, and Working with Spouses Harry guides Leah through a friendly quickfire round covering books, parenthood, mentors, and working alongside her spouse. The dynamic remains purely supportive and conversational.

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

0:00 · Harry 98.8% · guest 1.2%0:00 · Harry 98.8% · guest 1.2%3:00 · Harry 16.7% · guest 83.3%3:00 · Harry 16.7% · guest 83.3%6:00 · Harry 16.9% · guest 83.1%6:00 · Harry 16.9% · guest 83.1%9:00 · Harry 12.9% · guest 87.1%9:00 · Harry 12.9% · guest 87.1%12:00 · Harry 28.6% · guest 71.4%12:00 · Harry 28.6% · guest 71.4%15:00 · Harry 22.3% · guest 77.7%15:00 · Harry 22.3% · guest 77.7%18:00 · Harry 8.1% · guest 91.9%18:00 · Harry 8.1% · guest 91.9%21:00 · Harry 19.7% · guest 80.3%21:00 · Harry 19.7% · guest 80.3%24:00 · Harry 14.8% · guest 85.2%24:00 · Harry 14.8% · guest 85.2%27:00 · Harry 18.2% · guest 81.8%27:00 · Harry 18.2% · guest 81.8%30:00 · Harry 7.9% · guest 92.1%30:00 · Harry 7.9% · guest 92.1%33:00 · Harry 68.9% · guest 31.1%33:00 · Harry 68.9% · guest 31.1%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 25:59 Marketplace trade-offs reframe

Leah offers her most contrarian reframe, pointing out that in marketplaces 'no one is ever happy with you' because optimizing for customers usually comes at the direct detriment of suppliers.

 Hardest push from Harry ▶ 15:53 Challenging 'founder friendly' buzzwords

Harry pushes past surface-level VC marketing, noting that 'founder-first is always thrown around' and challenging Leah to detail the real telling signs of genuine alignment.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 21:39 Demystifying LP structures

Leah educates Harry on the layers of venture capital structure, explaining how LPs themselves have LPs and fund-of-funds dynamics that entrepreneurs rarely see.

 Harry holds his own ▶ 25:40 Identifying the asymmetric NPS dilemma

Harry demonstrates keen industry insight into marketplace mechanics by pinpointing the specific structural challenge where one side has high NPS while the other suffers.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicHarry as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementHarry pushing backWhy
Founding TaskRabbit and the Transition to Fuel Capital 2300 Harry sets up the interview with friendly context and quotes Mike Maples to ask about TaskRabbit's origin and Leah's transition to Fuel Capital. Leah provides a detailed narrative of the dog food story and joining forces with Chris Howard without any conflict.
Applying Operational Background to Evaluate Founders and Technology 3301 Harry cites Sean Flynn to probe how Leah's operational background informs founder selection and follows up with a question on evaluating technical timing. Leah explains her criteria around founder passion and perseverance in an entirely collaborative tone.
VC-Founder Relationships, Board Dynamics, and Pitch Transparency 4312 Harry asks insightful questions regarding board dynamics, fast deal cycles, and the 'black box' of VC. Leah offers nuanced perspectives on how board relationships evolve by stage and highlights the need for transparency in venture capital.
Prioritizing Founder Alignment and Looking Beyond the Numbers 3302 Harry asks a crowd-sourced question from Leah's husband regarding operator vs investor mindsets and pushes on how to spot VCs who pay lip service to being 'founder friendly'. Leah emphasizes taking a long-term view over squeezing extra basis points of equity.
Venture Capital Surprises, Inclusion Focus, and LP Dynamics 3412 Harry asks about early surprises in VC and probes whether investors have a responsibility to explain rejections to founders. Leah educates on the hidden LP dynamics and non-company reasons why funds pass on deals.
Understanding Marketplace Mechanics, Liquidity, and Scaling Readiness 4412 Harry demonstrates strong subject knowledge on marketplace dynamics, specifically asking about asymmetric Net Promoter Scores across supply and demand. Leah explains liquidity ratios and candidly notes that pleasing one side often angers the other.
Quickfire Round: Influential Books, Mentors, and Working with Spouses 2200 Harry guides Leah through a friendly quickfire round covering books, parenthood, mentors, and working alongside her spouse. The dynamic remains purely supportive and conversational.

Statements from this episode (10)

Disclosure
Fuel Capital targets pre-seed, seed, and small Series A funding rounds
“So at fuel we tend to get involved at the earliest stages. If you're raising a pre-seed round or a seed round or maybe a small series A round, that's usually our sweet spot.”
Leah Busque Mar 19, 2018 ▶ 11:18
Disclosure
Fuel Capital typically avoids leading investment rounds despite past exceptions
“We don't typically lead deals, although we have in the past.”
Leah Busque Mar 19, 2018 ▶ 11:32
Insight
Venture capital returns flow sequentially from founder and company success
“When the founder is successful, the company is successful, and the venture investor is successful. And it happens in that order.”
Leah Busque Mar 19, 2018 ▶ 15:05
Insight
Venture success is not about squeezing founders for extra equity ownership
“I don't think it's about optimizing the deal and the structure and, you know, squeezing out that extra 50 basis points of ownership. I just don't think it's about that in the long run.”
Leah Busque Mar 19, 2018 ▶ 15:32
Disclosure
TaskRabbit consistently operated with positive contribution margins and fiscal responsibility
“For TaskRabbit, we always operated in a way that we were contribution positive and very, very fiscally responsible”
Leah Busque Mar 19, 2018 ▶ 16:39
Prediction Not checkable as stated
The next billion-dollar business will come from an underrepresented founder
“I believe that the next billion dollar business Is going to come from a woman. It's going to come from a person of color. It's going to come from someone who does not fit the typical mold.”
Leah Busque Mar 19, 2018 ▶ 18:42
Disclosure
Leah Busque meets with between 30 and 100 startups every month
“Now that I meet 30 companies a month minimum, I mean, sometimes it's more, sometimes it's a hundred. You're meeting two or three companies a day.”
Leah Busque Mar 19, 2018 ▶ 19:29
Disclosure
Fuel Capital completes approximately one startup investment deal per month
“We at Fuel do about a deal a month-ish, something like that”
Leah Busque Mar 19, 2018 ▶ 20:25
Insight
Pleasing one side of a marketplace platform usually angers the other
“Okay, so no one is ever happy with you. If you change things on one side and customers are really happy, chances are that on the other side of the marketplace, you've really made someone mad, and that, that is also just the complex nature of a marketplace busi…”
Leah Busque Mar 19, 2018 ▶ 25:59
Assertion Supported
TaskRabbit employees were sometimes unaware Leah Busque's direct report was her husband
“In fact, people at TaskRabbit sometimes did not know that we were married. And Kevin sat in exec meetings. He reported directly to me.”
Leah Busque Mar 19, 2018 ▶ 30:41
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