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Andrew Parker

General Partner, Spark Capital · 1 appearance on the record.

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

11statements → 5claims → 1claims resolved → 3.91/5average certainty → 2.09/5average debate potential → 4.5/5argument clarity · the sources → 6said about them ↓

1 supported 0 partly supported 0 contradicted 4 not checkable as stated how the 5 claims stand · each chip opens the sources

1 prediction · 4 assertions · 4 insights · 2 disclosures · every statement was checked. The prediction and assertions are the 5 claims: statements the public record can support or contradict. 1 is resolved, and 4 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 Andrew 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
USV's core thesis focused on user networks defensible by network effects
“One is they helped me understand what it takes to develop an investment thesis, which by the time I left could be summarized there as large networks of engaged users, differentiated through user experience, defensible by network effects.”
Andrew Parker Jan 29, 2018 ▶ 5:32 20VC: Investing Lessons From Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham @ USV, How CEO's Can Operationally Utilise Their Board & The Single Most Important Quality of A CEO with Andrew Parker, General Partner @ Spark Capital

Argument clarity: do they answer the question? how? →

4.5 / 5 directness 4.6 · coherence 4.9 · precision 4.4 · compression 4

answered every one of 16 assessed questions directly

This is a score against a rubric. It is not a rank. Every host question → answer exchange is scored with names hidden on directness, coherence, precision and compression, 1–5 each, on meaning alone: disfluencies are ignored, and only raw unedited episodes count. This is the score that measures thought. Every scored exchange, scores shown → · The rubric and its checks →

How they sound: speaking style how? →

245 words/min while actually speaking · 13.1 um and uh per 1k words

Measured by listening to the audio itself: 3,354 words across 1 episode of raw-level tape, transcribed verbatim with every um and uh kept, each one attributed only where the alignment onto our timed stream is unambiguous. These are measurements of speaking style. We do not rank them: across this corpus, fluency and argument quality are nearly uncorrelated (ρ≈0.2), and smooth talking does not signal clear thinking. How it's measured →

How the interview went all their pushback → series average →

Across 1 rated episode:

host pushback ▾ 4/10
pushed back at the host 2/10
setup questions received 65%

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

Prediction Not checkable as stated
Traditional IPOs will change fundamentally as public and private markets converge
“I think that IPOs are going to look very different in 10 years, if not go away entirely, or go away is hard, but, you know, change into a form that really doesn't look like today. You know, the public equity markets and the private equity markets are going to …”
Andrew Parker Jan 29, 2018 ▶ 20:02 20VC: Investing Lessons From Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham @ USV, How CEO's Can Operationally Utilise Their Board & The Single Most Important Quality of A CEO with Andrew Parker, General Partner @ Spark Capital
Insight
Great venture capital deals are definitionally never too expensive in hindsight
“Put it this way, like a great deal definitionally is never too expensive in hindsight.”
Andrew Parker Jan 29, 2018 ▶ 16:28 20VC: Investing Lessons From Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham @ USV, How CEO's Can Operationally Utilise Their Board & The Single Most Important Quality of A CEO with Andrew Parker, General Partner @ Spark Capital
Disclosure
USV hired Andrew Parker in 2006 without a resume or reference checks
“They never asked for my resume. They never checked any references. They just wanted to see my web presence. So I showed them my blog at the time because this is pre-Twitter or pre-Tumblr or anything like that. They brought me in for a 40 minute interview and t…”
Andrew Parker Jan 29, 2018 ▶ 4:28 20VC: Investing Lessons From Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham @ USV, How CEO's Can Operationally Utilise Their Board & The Single Most Important Quality of A CEO with Andrew Parker, General Partner @ Spark Capital
Disclosure
Parker argued mobile internet wouldn't overtake desktop in his 2006 USV interview
“The interview was mostly around one question, which in retrospect, I was like dead wrong. They asked me would the mobile internet be bigger than the desktop internet? And so this was 2006. It was like pre iPhone coming out. State of the art was the Blackberry …”
Andrew Parker Jan 29, 2018 ▶ 4:41 20VC: Investing Lessons From Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham @ USV, How CEO's Can Operationally Utilise Their Board & The Single Most Important Quality of A CEO with Andrew Parker, General Partner @ Spark Capital
Insight
Dogged persistence is the single most important trait for startup CEOs
“I think probably the most important quality and the common theme across all of them is just their dogged persistence. They're going to make a dent in the universe, no matter the hurdles they have to lead.”
Andrew Parker Jan 29, 2018 ▶ 9:09 20VC: Investing Lessons From Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham @ USV, How CEO's Can Operationally Utilise Their Board & The Single Most Important Quality of A CEO with Andrew Parker, General Partner @ Spark Capital
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Venmo's success was enabled by its founders' naivety regarding financial regulations
“It was actually the naivety that helped these founders build a really big company, or at least in terms of consumer impact, which was called Venmo”
Andrew Parker Jan 29, 2018 ▶ 9:33 20VC: Investing Lessons From Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham @ USV, How CEO's Can Operationally Utilise Their Board & The Single Most Important Quality of A CEO with Andrew Parker, General Partner @ Spark Capital
Assertion Not checkable as stated
eShares CEO Henry Ward deputizes board directors to adopt specific business units
“Like, I think Henry's cultivated a relationship with his board very well. In part by deputizing his directors to adopt business units inside of the company and engage with these teams running these units regularly.”
Andrew Parker Jan 29, 2018 ▶ 10:59 20VC: Investing Lessons From Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham @ USV, How CEO's Can Operationally Utilise Their Board & The Single Most Important Quality of A CEO with Andrew Parker, General Partner @ Spark Capital
Insight
Startups should complement VC-heavy boards by adding an independent CEO director
“So when I make initial investment in the company, I always tell the founder exactly that. And I tell him that the best way to compliment me on the board is to add an independent director to the board. That's either a current or recovering CEO. That can help wi…”
Andrew Parker Jan 29, 2018 ▶ 13:46 20VC: Investing Lessons From Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham @ USV, How CEO's Can Operationally Utilise Their Board & The Single Most Important Quality of A CEO with Andrew Parker, General Partner @ Spark Capital
Insight
VC hesitation over valuation usually reflects underlying execution or financing risks
“I just think that that's never the thing that you're really looking at alone. Right. Instead, maybe that vacuum doesn't exist, and you're like, oh man, I really don't like this price, and then you ask yourself why, right, and if you're exploring, like, well, I…”
Andrew Parker Jan 29, 2018 ▶ 16:41 20VC: Investing Lessons From Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham @ USV, How CEO's Can Operationally Utilise Their Board & The Single Most Important Quality of A CEO with Andrew Parker, General Partner @ Spark Capital
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Spark Capital always provides follow-on capital if portfolio companies secure outside leads
“If they're able to recruit outside capital, then we always find a way to be supportive. I don't think we've ever sent kind of a negative signal that you're describing about some other serious cause for concern in the company.”
Andrew Parker Jan 29, 2018 ▶ 19:10 20VC: Investing Lessons From Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham @ USV, How CEO's Can Operationally Utilise Their Board & The Single Most Important Quality of A CEO with Andrew Parker, General Partner @ Spark Capital
Assertion Supported
USV's core thesis focused on user networks defensible by network effects
“One is they helped me understand what it takes to develop an investment thesis, which by the time I left could be summarized there as large networks of engaged users, differentiated through user experience, defensible by network effects.”
Andrew Parker Jan 29, 2018 ▶ 5:32 20VC: Investing Lessons From Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham @ USV, How CEO's Can Operationally Utilise Their Board & The Single Most Important Quality of A CEO with Andrew Parker, General Partner @ Spark Capital

The other half of the tape: Andrew Parker's own voice is left out of every number here. Other people bring the name up 6 times in 2 episodes on 20VC. every mention, with the transcript →

Who brings them up most Harry Stebbings 6

Every mention by year

Appearances (1)

EpisodeDateSpeaking time
20VC: Investing Lessons From Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham @ USV, How CEO's Can Operational Jan 29, 2018 14m
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