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Adena Hefets

Co-founder & Former CEO, Divvy Homes · 1 appearance on the record.

computed by AI from the episodes · how this works → · full disclaimer →

founderexecutiveinvestoroperator@AdenaHefets ↗LinkedIn ↗adenahefets.com ↗

She is the co-founder and former CEO of Divvy Homes, a proptech company offering an alternative rent-to-own path to homeownership. Prior to Divvy, she helped build Square Capital and worked as an investor at DFJ and TPG.

13statements → 5claims → 2claims resolved → 3.92/5average certainty → 1.92/5average debate potential → ≈4.5/5argument clarity, estimated → 1said about them ↓

1 supported 0 partly supported 1 contradicted 3 not checkable as stated how the 5 claims stand · each chip opens the sources

1 prediction · 4 assertions · 2 opinions · 4 insights · 2 disclosures · every statement was checked. The prediction and assertions are the 5 claims: statements the public record can support or contradict. 2 are resolved, and 3 name no date, number or outcome precise enough to check. Everything else (opinions, insights, what ifs, disclosures) can never be settled by the record, so it carries no assessment.

The record, in short

What the tape says about how Adena argues and how the claims held up. Everything they said, and everything said about them, is in the tabs below.

Their most notable supported claim

Assertion Supported
Hefetz: Square Capital Is a Multi-Billion Dollar Business Within Square
“Today, Square Capital is probably a multi-billion dollar business within Square itself.”
Adena Hefets Mar 13, 2020 ▶ 4:19 20VC: 3 Addictions Of Early-Stage Startup Founders, How Founders Should Strategically Think Through Unit Economics From Day 1 & Why Micromanagement Can Be Beneficial In The Early Days with Adena Hefets, Co-Founder @ Divvy Homes

Their most notable contradicted claim

Prediction Didn’t hold up
Hefetz: Divvy Homes Aims to Acquire 100,000 Homes Within Five Years
“I mean, for our company, we have a singular focus, which is a 100,000 homes for Divi families. The largest read in the U.S. Is about 80,000 homes, so we want to Topple that. And our clear path is just create an easier way to move into homeownership for a large…”
Adena Hefets Mar 13, 2020 ▶ 31:40 20VC: 3 Addictions Of Early-Stage Startup Founders, How Founders Should Strategically Think Through Unit Economics From Day 1 & Why Micromanagement Can Be Beneficial In The Early Days with Adena Hefets, Co-Founder @ Divvy Homes

Expressed certainty vs assessment result

none yet certainty 1
none yet certainty 2
100% certainty 3
0% certainty 4
none yet certainty 5

weighted support: a fully supported claim counts one, a partly supported claim counts half. Each filled bar is clickable and opens exactly those claims; "none yet" means nothing said at that certainty level has resolved yet

How they sound: not measured why? →

We measure speaking style by listening to the audio itself, and a fair number needs at least 2,000 words from one person on tape we have measured. We have 5,141 words of Adena Hefets, and that is not enough to publish a rate. This says nothing about how they speak.

How the interview went all their pushback → series average →

Across 1 rated episode:

host pushback ▾ 3/10
pushed back at the host 2/10
setup questions received 55%

Everything Adena Hefets said on 20VC that made the record, most notable first. Filter by type, assessment or year in the ledger →

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hefetz: Divvy Homes Maintains Positive Unit Economics on Every Home
“At Debbie, we build a really scalable model with positive unit economics for every home that we end up bringing onto our portfolio”
Adena Hefets Mar 13, 2020 ▶ 9:13 20VC: 3 Addictions Of Early-Stage Startup Founders, How Founders Should Strategically Think Through Unit Economics From Day 1 & Why Micromanagement Can Be Beneficial In The Early Days with Adena Hefets, Co-Founder @ Divvy Homes
Insight
Hefetz: Headcount Is a Flawed Vanity Metric for Startup Growth
“Isn't the best case scenario that I've hired no employees and my revenue has 10 X'd? Like, why is the mark of a growing and successful company the number of employees they have? Which to me seems rather off.”
Adena Hefets Mar 13, 2020 ▶ 14:23 20VC: 3 Addictions Of Early-Stage Startup Founders, How Founders Should Strategically Think Through Unit Economics From Day 1 & Why Micromanagement Can Be Beneficial In The Early Days with Adena Hefets, Co-Founder @ Divvy Homes
Opinion
Hefetz: Raising Debt Capital Is Tremendously Harder Than Raising Equity
“So yeah, debt is tremendously harder than equity.”
Adena Hefets Mar 13, 2020 ▶ 19:50 20VC: 3 Addictions Of Early-Stage Startup Founders, How Founders Should Strategically Think Through Unit Economics From Day 1 & Why Micromanagement Can Be Beneficial In The Early Days with Adena Hefets, Co-Founder @ Divvy Homes
Insight
Hefetz: Early-Stage Startups Cannot Afford to Let Employees Learn From Mistakes
“With a startup, you're living year to year. I mean, this isn't a, I have 10 years to build a company, because maybe if you're cash flow positive as a startup, you do, but today with Divi, you know, we're a capital intensive business. We are kind of managing in…”
Adena Hefets Mar 13, 2020 ▶ 23:11 20VC: 3 Addictions Of Early-Stage Startup Founders, How Founders Should Strategically Think Through Unit Economics From Day 1 & Why Micromanagement Can Be Beneficial In The Early Days with Adena Hefets, Co-Founder @ Divvy Homes
Prediction Didn’t hold up
Hefetz: Divvy Homes Aims to Acquire 100,000 Homes Within Five Years
“I mean, for our company, we have a singular focus, which is a 100,000 homes for Divi families. The largest read in the U.S. Is about 80,000 homes, so we want to Topple that. And our clear path is just create an easier way to move into homeownership for a large…”
Adena Hefets Mar 13, 2020 ▶ 31:40 20VC: 3 Addictions Of Early-Stage Startup Founders, How Founders Should Strategically Think Through Unit Economics From Day 1 & Why Micromanagement Can Be Beneficial In The Early Days with Adena Hefets, Co-Founder @ Divvy Homes
Insight
Hefetz: Diminishing Paid Returns Require Startups to Build Proprietary Distribution
“So I'd say paid is hard because I think that there's definitely diminishing returns. And the way you adjust that is by finding a proprietary distribution channel that really lets you scale up with lower costs.”
Adena Hefets Mar 13, 2020 ▶ 12:11 20VC: 3 Addictions Of Early-Stage Startup Founders, How Founders Should Strategically Think Through Unit Economics From Day 1 & Why Micromanagement Can Be Beneficial In The Early Days with Adena Hefets, Co-Founder @ Divvy Homes
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hefetz: Silicon Valley Is Shifting Away From Growth at All Costs
“I think we are starting to feel the switch towards instead of just growing really quickly at all costs, grow more thoughtfully. You still have to grow, but grow more thoughtfully, which I think more and more folks kind of getting their head around.”
Adena Hefets Mar 13, 2020 ▶ 15:51 20VC: 3 Addictions Of Early-Stage Startup Founders, How Founders Should Strategically Think Through Unit Economics From Day 1 & Why Micromanagement Can Be Beneficial In The Early Days with Adena Hefets, Co-Founder @ Divvy Homes
Insight
Hefetz: Investors Help With Networking, Not Solving Operational Problems
“Well, they definitely help with their network introductions and generally just being a cheerleader of what you do on a day to day basis. What maybe people are surprised, or at least my perception of what maybe they're not as helpful with is no one's going to k…”
Adena Hefets Mar 13, 2020 ▶ 30:56 20VC: 3 Addictions Of Early-Stage Startup Founders, How Founders Should Strategically Think Through Unit Economics From Day 1 & Why Micromanagement Can Be Beneficial In The Early Days with Adena Hefets, Co-Founder @ Divvy Homes
Assertion Supported
Hefetz: Square Capital Is a Multi-Billion Dollar Business Within Square
“Today, Square Capital is probably a multi-billion dollar business within Square itself.”
Adena Hefets Mar 13, 2020 ▶ 4:19 20VC: 3 Addictions Of Early-Stage Startup Founders, How Founders Should Strategically Think Through Unit Economics From Day 1 & Why Micromanagement Can Be Beneficial In The Early Days with Adena Hefets, Co-Founder @ Divvy Homes
Opinion
Hefetz: Fintech Lacks Innovation Due to Over-Focus on Unsecured Lending
“And I went back and I looked at the world of FinTech, and I was really disappointed to see that I just didn't think there was as much innovation being made as I would have liked to see. A lot of companies were still focusing on unsecured lending.”
Adena Hefets Mar 13, 2020 ▶ 4:24 20VC: 3 Addictions Of Early-Stage Startup Founders, How Founders Should Strategically Think Through Unit Economics From Day 1 & Why Micromanagement Can Be Beneficial In The Early Days with Adena Hefets, Co-Founder @ Divvy Homes
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hefetz: Divvy Homes Acquires Nearly Half Its Customers Via Agent Referrals
“And so today we get almost half of our customers who close on a home, we get them through real estate agent referrals.”
Adena Hefets Mar 13, 2020 ▶ 11:59 20VC: 3 Addictions Of Early-Stage Startup Founders, How Founders Should Strategically Think Through Unit Economics From Day 1 & Why Micromanagement Can Be Beneficial In The Early Days with Adena Hefets, Co-Founder @ Divvy Homes
Disclosure
Hefetz: TPG Investment Committees Used Red Teams to Stress-Test Deals
“At TPG, when we would go to investment committee, we always had a red team. It's kind of like goes back to journalism when you had someone who said, if you were to take the exact opposite perspective of the argument that's being made by the investment committe…”
Adena Hefets Mar 13, 2020 ▶ 26:50 20VC: 3 Addictions Of Early-Stage Startup Founders, How Founders Should Strategically Think Through Unit Economics From Day 1 & Why Micromanagement Can Be Beneficial In The Early Days with Adena Hefets, Co-Founder @ Divvy Homes
Disclosure
Divvy Homes Was Incubated by Max Levchin's HVF
“So it's interesting, because I would say we were incubated by Max Lovechin. We had an incubator called HVF, and we were incubated within it, and he paid for space for us to be able to ideate, and so I think he's kind of, I guess, would be considered the first …”
Adena Hefets Mar 13, 2020 ▶ 29:04 20VC: 3 Addictions Of Early-Stage Startup Founders, How Founders Should Strategically Think Through Unit Economics From Day 1 & Why Micromanagement Can Be Beneficial In The Early Days with Adena Hefets, Co-Founder @ Divvy Homes

The other half of the tape: Adena Hefets's own voice is left out of every number here. Other people bring the name up 1 time in 1 episode on 20VC. every mention, with the transcript →

Who brings them up most Harry Stebbings 1

Every mention by year

tap a year for its mentions
0011112020episodesmentions
0112020episodes it came up in
000.50.5112020episodesmentions per episode
2020 1 mention in 1 episode

Appearances (1)

EpisodeDateSpeaking time
20VC: 3 Addictions Of Early-Stage Startup Founders, How Founders Should Strategically Thin Mar 13, 2020 21m
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