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Feb 8, 2019 · 33m · 20vc

20VC: What Makes The Best Venture Firms Today So Special, The 3 Structural Impediments That Face Venture Today and Why The Debate on AR vs VR is BS with Anjney Midha, Founder & CEO @ Ubiquity6

Anjney Midha · 22m 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 Anjney Midha, Founder & CEO of Ubiquity6, exploring structural challenges facing modern venture capital, founder fundraising strategies, and the technological paradigm shift toward real-time spatial computing.

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 30% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Harry as informed peer 1.8 Guest teaching 6.2 Guest disagreement 3.4 Harry pushing back 1.0
05100:0010:0020:0030:003:04–7:09 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Anjney Midha's Origin Story and VR Epiphany Harry introduces Anjney's background using questions fed by mutual connections and shares a brief personal note about leaving law school for podcasting. Anjney warmly explains his boarding school upbringing, his VR epiphany at Stanford, and his transition out of Kleiner Perkins.7:09–16:35 · Harry as informed peer 1/10 Three Structural Impediments Facing Modern Venture Capital Anjney delivers an extended breakdown of structural flaws in VC, drawing parallels to restaurant industry dynamics and media history while arguing that 90% of firms lack focus. Harry largely sits back, egging Anjney on with questions like 'What's the last one?' and admitting he had never considered these perspectives before.16:35–21:51 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Characteristics of Exceptional Venture Capital Firms Anjney details why top-tier firms like First Round, Benchmark, and Index succeed through strict focus, service-provider SLAs, and clear generational transitions. Harry references his partner Fred at Stride to ask how VCs can foster stability and support over judgment.21:51–25:13 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Mind-Melding With Investors and Risk Management When Harry asks about 'mind-melding' with investors during fundraising, Anjney gently reframes the premise, explaining that investors want to see risk management rather than risk elimination. He argues that founders should first mind-meld with star hires, who take significantly more personal risk than VCs do.25:13–28:14 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Debunking the AR vs. VR Debate Anjney dismisses the popular AR vs VR debate as superficial VC talking points, using historical comparisons like VHS vs DVD and Web vs Mobile to show that underlying network experiences matter far more than viewing formats. Harry agrees enthusiastically, laughing off VC soundbites.3:04–7:09 · Guest teaching 3/10 Anjney Midha's Origin Story and VR Epiphany Harry introduces Anjney's background using questions fed by mutual connections and shares a brief personal note about leaving law school for podcasting. Anjney warmly explains his boarding school upbringing, his VR epiphany at Stanford, and his transition out of Kleiner Perkins.7:09–16:35 · Guest teaching 8/10 Three Structural Impediments Facing Modern Venture Capital Anjney delivers an extended breakdown of structural flaws in VC, drawing parallels to restaurant industry dynamics and media history while arguing that 90% of firms lack focus. Harry largely sits back, egging Anjney on with questions like 'What's the last one?' and admitting he had never considered these perspectives before.16:35–21:51 · Guest teaching 6/10 Characteristics of Exceptional Venture Capital Firms Anjney details why top-tier firms like First Round, Benchmark, and Index succeed through strict focus, service-provider SLAs, and clear generational transitions. Harry references his partner Fred at Stride to ask how VCs can foster stability and support over judgment.21:51–25:13 · Guest teaching 7/10 Mind-Melding With Investors and Risk Management When Harry asks about 'mind-melding' with investors during fundraising, Anjney gently reframes the premise, explaining that investors want to see risk management rather than risk elimination. He argues that founders should first mind-meld with star hires, who take significantly more personal risk than VCs do.25:13–28:14 · Guest teaching 7/10 Debunking the AR vs. VR Debate Anjney dismisses the popular AR vs VR debate as superficial VC talking points, using historical comparisons like VHS vs DVD and Web vs Mobile to show that underlying network experiences matter far more than viewing formats. Harry agrees enthusiastically, laughing off VC soundbites.3:04–7:09 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Anjney Midha's Origin Story and VR Epiphany Harry introduces Anjney's background using questions fed by mutual connections and shares a brief personal note about leaving law school for podcasting. Anjney warmly explains his boarding school upbringing, his VR epiphany at Stanford, and his transition out of Kleiner Perkins.7:09–16:35 · Guest disagreement 5/10 Three Structural Impediments Facing Modern Venture Capital Anjney delivers an extended breakdown of structural flaws in VC, drawing parallels to restaurant industry dynamics and media history while arguing that 90% of firms lack focus. Harry largely sits back, egging Anjney on with questions like 'What's the last one?' and admitting he had never considered these perspectives before.16:35–21:51 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Characteristics of Exceptional Venture Capital Firms Anjney details why top-tier firms like First Round, Benchmark, and Index succeed through strict focus, service-provider SLAs, and clear generational transitions. Harry references his partner Fred at Stride to ask how VCs can foster stability and support over judgment.21:51–25:13 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Mind-Melding With Investors and Risk Management When Harry asks about 'mind-melding' with investors during fundraising, Anjney gently reframes the premise, explaining that investors want to see risk management rather than risk elimination. He argues that founders should first mind-meld with star hires, who take significantly more personal risk than VCs do.25:13–28:14 · Guest disagreement 6/10 Debunking the AR vs. VR Debate Anjney dismisses the popular AR vs VR debate as superficial VC talking points, using historical comparisons like VHS vs DVD and Web vs Mobile to show that underlying network experiences matter far more than viewing formats. Harry agrees enthusiastically, laughing off VC soundbites.3:04–7:09 · Harry pushing back 1/10 Anjney Midha's Origin Story and VR Epiphany Harry introduces Anjney's background using questions fed by mutual connections and shares a brief personal note about leaving law school for podcasting. Anjney warmly explains his boarding school upbringing, his VR epiphany at Stanford, and his transition out of Kleiner Perkins.7:09–16:35 · Harry pushing back 1/10 Three Structural Impediments Facing Modern Venture Capital Anjney delivers an extended breakdown of structural flaws in VC, drawing parallels to restaurant industry dynamics and media history while arguing that 90% of firms lack focus. Harry largely sits back, egging Anjney on with questions like 'What's the last one?' and admitting he had never considered these perspectives before.16:35–21:51 · Harry pushing back 1/10 Characteristics of Exceptional Venture Capital Firms Anjney details why top-tier firms like First Round, Benchmark, and Index succeed through strict focus, service-provider SLAs, and clear generational transitions. Harry references his partner Fred at Stride to ask how VCs can foster stability and support over judgment.21:51–25:13 · Harry pushing back 1/10 Mind-Melding With Investors and Risk Management When Harry asks about 'mind-melding' with investors during fundraising, Anjney gently reframes the premise, explaining that investors want to see risk management rather than risk elimination. He argues that founders should first mind-meld with star hires, who take significantly more personal risk than VCs do.25:13–28:14 · Harry pushing back 1/10 Debunking the AR vs. VR Debate Anjney dismisses the popular AR vs VR debate as superficial VC talking points, using historical comparisons like VHS vs DVD and Web vs Mobile to show that underlying network experiences matter far more than viewing formats. Harry agrees enthusiastically, laughing off VC soundbites.

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

0:00 · Harry 97.8% · guest 2.2%0:00 · Harry 97.8% · guest 2.2%3:00 · Harry 29.5% · guest 70.5%3:00 · Harry 29.5% · guest 70.5%6:00 · Harry 26.2% · guest 73.8%6:00 · Harry 26.2% · guest 73.8%9:00 · Harry 2.2% · guest 97.8%9:00 · Harry 2.2% · guest 97.8%12:00 · Harry 0% · guest 100%12:00 · Harry 0% · guest 100%15:00 · Harry 14.7% · guest 85.3%15:00 · Harry 14.7% · guest 85.3%18:00 · Harry 16.8% · guest 83.2%18:00 · Harry 16.8% · guest 83.2%21:00 · Harry 15.4% · guest 84.6%21:00 · Harry 15.4% · guest 84.6%24:00 · Harry 14.7% · guest 85.3%24:00 · Harry 14.7% · guest 85.3%27:00 · Harry 29.8% · guest 70.2%27:00 · Harry 29.8% · guest 70.2%30:00 · Harry 82.6% · guest 17.4%30:00 · Harry 82.6% · guest 17.4%33:00 · Harry 100% · guest 0%33:00 · Harry 100% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 15:00 Forced retirement thesis for successful VCs

Anjney puts forward a contrarian argument that top-performing venture capitalists should be forced to retire because over-indexing on past outlier successes degrades their decision-making quality over time.

 Hardest push from Harry ▶ 10:25 Pressing for specific internal VC dysfunctions

Harry interrupts Anjney's broad historical analysis of media financiers to press him directly for concrete examples of structural dysfunction observed while working inside venture firms.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 22:09 Reframing investor mind-meld and risk ownership

Anjney reframes Harry's question about pitching investors, demonstrating that VCs evaluate risk management rather than risk absence and pointing out that early employees make a far greater risk investment than VCs.

 Harry holds his own ▶ 18:48 Citing Fred at Stride on VC psychological safety

Harry draws on his own venture context by quoting his partner Fred at Stride to explain how elite firms construct environments where founders feel safe raising bad news without fear of judgment.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicHarry as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementHarry pushing backWhy
Anjney Midha's Origin Story and VR Epiphany 2311 Harry introduces Anjney's background using questions fed by mutual connections and shares a brief personal note about leaving law school for podcasting. Anjney warmly explains his boarding school upbringing, his VR epiphany at Stanford, and his transition out of Kleiner Perkins.
Three Structural Impediments Facing Modern Venture Capital 1851 Anjney delivers an extended breakdown of structural flaws in VC, drawing parallels to restaurant industry dynamics and media history while arguing that 90% of firms lack focus. Harry largely sits back, egging Anjney on with questions like 'What's the last one?' and admitting he had never considered these perspectives before.
Characteristics of Exceptional Venture Capital Firms 2611 Anjney details why top-tier firms like First Round, Benchmark, and Index succeed through strict focus, service-provider SLAs, and clear generational transitions. Harry references his partner Fred at Stride to ask how VCs can foster stability and support over judgment.
Mind-Melding With Investors and Risk Management 2741 When Harry asks about 'mind-melding' with investors during fundraising, Anjney gently reframes the premise, explaining that investors want to see risk management rather than risk elimination. He argues that founders should first mind-meld with star hires, who take significantly more personal risk than VCs do.
Debunking the AR vs. VR Debate 2761 Anjney dismisses the popular AR vs VR debate as superficial VC talking points, using historical comparisons like VHS vs DVD and Web vs Mobile to show that underlying network experiences matter far more than viewing formats. Harry agrees enthusiastically, laughing off VC soundbites.

Statements from this episode (9)

Prediction Not checkable as stated
Midha: Late-entrant platforms will disrupt and displace incumbent VC firms
“I think that venture capital is going to go the way of past financiers of creative mediums where usually you have, you know, the early folks end up being pretty comfy execs because they took a risk on the industry and on early creatives when there weren't too …”
Anjney Midha Feb 8, 2019 ▶ 8:58
Assertion Partly supported
Midha: Kleiner Perkins' highest IRR investment was Juniper Networks, not Google
“When I was actually studying Kleiner Perkins' returns history, when I was at the firm in the year, the nineties and the 2000, I think one of the highest IR investments that Kleiner ended up ever making was not Google. It was not Amazon. It was Juniper networks…”
Anjney Midha Feb 8, 2019 ▶ 14:31
Insight
Midha: Top VC investors should be forced to retire to protect decision-making
“Venture capital is a business about outliers, and when somebody succeeds, their opinion, and I think their decision-making gets over-indexed on their successes, which often, as you know, are outliers, and it's hard to generalize from a single outlier, and my b…”
Anjney Midha Feb 8, 2019 ▶ 15:31
Opinion
Midha: Index, Benchmark, and First Round operate as service providers, not financiers
“And all three of these firms, index, benchmark, and first round operate as if they're being evaluated as a service provider. Not as financiers.”
Anjney Midha Feb 8, 2019 ▶ 17:42
Insight
Midha: Startups turn risk into non-risk, requiring VC firm stability
“Startups are vehicles to turn risk into non-risk. The last thing you want is for your venture capital firm to be unstable. Actually, your venture firm should be a source of stability to the company.”
Anjney Midha Feb 8, 2019 ▶ 18:21
Insight
Midha: Early hires invest far more in startups than VCs do
“I do think team members are making early hires are making way more of an investment than investors are because they're investing not just with capital, but their time, their family, their reputation, their resume”
Anjney Midha Feb 8, 2019 ▶ 22:57
Insight
Midha: Real-time 3D multiplayer worlds are the true spatial computing revolution
“My belief is the real revolution that's happening here is in real time, three D rendering and in multiplayer Real-time three D worlds.”
Anjney Midha Feb 8, 2019 ▶ 26:56
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Midha: Winning spatial computing platforms will bridge AR, VR, web, and mobile
“The companies that will end up building massive standalone businesses here will figure out how to leverage the uniqueness of AR and VR and iOS and web and Android to give multiple viewers different viewing perspectives and interactions with the same content.”
Anjney Midha Feb 8, 2019 ▶ 27:55
Prediction Held up
Midha: In five years, most people will spend their time offline
“I believe that most people five years from now will spend the bulk of their time offline, not online.”
Anjney Midha Feb 8, 2019 ▶ 30:22
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