Jenny Lefcourt

Partner, Freestyle · 1 appearance on the record.

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

Jenny Lefcourt is a Partner at Freestyle, where she invests in early-stage tech companies. She previously founded Weddingchannel.com and Bella Pictures, both of which were acquired, and has angel invested in companies like Minted.

13statements → 4claims → 1claims resolved → 3.54/5average certainty → 2.23/5average debate potential → 4.3/5argument clarity · the sources → 33said about them ↓

0 supported 0 partly supported 1 contradicted 3 not checkable as stated how the 4 claims stand · each chip opens the sources

1 prediction · 3 assertions · 2 opinions · 7 insights · every statement was checked. The prediction and assertions are the 4 claims: statements the public record can support or contradict. 1 is 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 Jenny argues and how the claims held up. Everything they said, and everything said about them, is in the tabs below.

Their most notable contradicted claim

Prediction Didn’t hold up

Lefcourt targets leading four to five startup deals annually

“I'll probably lead, call it four or five investments a year”

Jenny Lefcourt May 18, 2016 ▶ 8:58 20VC: How Startups Should React To Today's Funding Environment & Why Big Markets Are More Forgiving with Jenny Lefcourt, Partner @ Freestyle.vc

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

4.3 / 5 directness 4.5 · coherence 4.6 · precision 4.1 · compression 3.7

answered every one of 24 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? →

255 words/min while actually speaking · 6.3 um and uh per 1k words

Measured by listening to the audio itself: 3,965 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 ▾ 2/10

pushed back at the host ▾ 1/10

setup questions received 55%

host pushback: the hardest questions Harry asked, tap to play ▶ 18:12“Quantifiably, what is a big market? Is that a billion dollar? Is that ten billion dollar?” ▶ 19:56“So how does that kind of compete with your market analysis?” ▶ 22:28“Is that something you prescribe to? Is the element of financial kind of savings important to your decision making, too?”

when Jenny pushed back ▶ 14:54“I actually believe that's just a, a change in names, right?” ▶ 22:34“Well, for, not necessarily. It's not that I disagree with Sarah. I read that piece, and I thought it was excellent, but she's consumer facing, or, you know, she's consumer focused …”

What they said13 What others said33 Episodes1

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

Insight

Lefcourt: Lead investors do real due diligence, follow-on investors do not

“In general, I would say, The leads are usually doing a lot of due diligence, or at least enough due diligence work, and the follow-on checks are not.”

Jenny Lefcourt May 18, 2016 ▶ 9:39 20VC: How Startups Should React To Today's Funding Environment & Why Big Markets Are More Forgiving with Jenny Lefcourt, Partner @ Freestyle.vc

Opinion

Lefcourt: Being a VC is a cakewalk compared to founding a startup

“Those of us that have been entrepreneurs know that this is a cakewalk compared to that of being an entrepreneur. That being an entrepreneur is so intense it's amazing, but it is intense, And so as a VC, the highs are not as high, but also the lows are not as l…”

Jenny Lefcourt May 18, 2016 ▶ 5:18 20VC: How Startups Should React To Today's Funding Environment & Why Big Markets Are More Forgiving with Jenny Lefcourt, Partner @ Freestyle.vc

Opinion

Lefcourt: 2014 venture dealmaking pace was irrational and unsustainable

“When I joined Freestyle, deals were going so fast and furious, and I would also say, Argue that I saw a lot of stupid stuff happening, things that I could recognize because I was here in 2001 and I was here in 2008. Right. And so I've seen the downturns and I …”

Jenny Lefcourt May 18, 2016 ▶ 11:30 20VC: How Startups Should React To Today's Funding Environment & Why Big Markets Are More Forgiving with Jenny Lefcourt, Partner @ Freestyle.vc

Insight

Lefcourt: Founder experience is the best preparation for seed investing

“If you're going to be a seed stage investor, there's nothing like having founded a company, right? Walked a million miles in their shoes. Or if you're maybe even going later stage, I would say just operate and operate well and take those learnings to becoming …”

Jenny Lefcourt May 18, 2016 ▶ 24:33 20VC: How Startups Should React To Today's Funding Environment & Why Big Markets Are More Forgiving with Jenny Lefcourt, Partner @ Freestyle.vc

Insight

Lefcourt: VCs experience 'duck syndrome,' serene above but frantic underneath

“VCs have what I call duck syndrome. It looks serene and calm. They glide on top of the water, but underneath they're paddling frantically, and I think that's honestly what's going on.”

Jenny Lefcourt May 18, 2016 ▶ 7:13 20VC: How Startups Should React To Today's Funding Environment & Why Big Markets Are More Forgiving with Jenny Lefcourt, Partner @ Freestyle.vc

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Lefcourt: Seed market in 2016 is calmer and more realistic than 2014

“I feel that right now it feels like a calmer, more realistic time, at least for me, and I would argue my, the, you know, the other seed investors than it did two years ago when I joined Freestyle.”

Jenny Lefcourt May 18, 2016 ▶ 11:14 20VC: How Startups Should React To Today's Funding Environment & Why Big Markets Are More Forgiving with Jenny Lefcourt, Partner @ Freestyle.vc

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Lefcourt: Seed investors are no longer issuing next-day term sheets

“Now I would say that that pace has calmed down, and we're probably all at that pace, meaning that you're not meeting a company and giving them a term sheet the next day, but you're making sure that you really have a good relationship with this team, that you'v…”

Jenny Lefcourt May 18, 2016 ▶ 12:16 20VC: How Startups Should React To Today's Funding Environment & Why Big Markets Are More Forgiving with Jenny Lefcourt, Partner @ Freestyle.vc

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Lefcourt: The bar to secure Series A funding has risen

“That the bar is higher now to get your Series A.”

Jenny Lefcourt May 18, 2016 ▶ 13:02 20VC: How Startups Should React To Today's Funding Environment & Why Big Markets Are More Forgiving with Jenny Lefcourt, Partner @ Freestyle.vc

Insight

Lefcourt: Early-stage startups should target 18 to 24 months of cash runway

“So I know if I wrote a check today, I want to make sure that that team has enough cash to make it at least 18 months, and ideally two years.”

Jenny Lefcourt May 18, 2016 ▶ 13:39 20VC: How Startups Should React To Today's Funding Environment & Why Big Markets Are More Forgiving with Jenny Lefcourt, Partner @ Freestyle.vc

Insight

Lefcourt: Time is the main constraint for seed startups reaching Series A

“The thing that I think matters the most in startups of getting from sort of seed stage to A is time. I've never met an entrepreneur who doesn't say, God, if I just had another six months, right? Because time's the thing that kind of bites you in the ass every …”

Jenny Lefcourt May 18, 2016 ▶ 14:09 20VC: How Startups Should React To Today's Funding Environment & Why Big Markets Are More Forgiving with Jenny Lefcourt, Partner @ Freestyle.vc

Insight

Lefcourt: Modern seed rounds are equivalent to historical Series A rounds

“I just think what used to be called Series A is now called SEED.”

Jenny Lefcourt May 18, 2016 ▶ 15:18 20VC: How Startups Should React To Today's Funding Environment & Why Big Markets Are More Forgiving with Jenny Lefcourt, Partner @ Freestyle.vc

Insight

Lefcourt: Consumer startup products must be 10x better and cheaper

“And I would argue in the consumer market, it does have to be 10 X better and cheaper.”

Jenny Lefcourt May 18, 2016 ▶ 23:19 20VC: How Startups Should React To Today's Funding Environment & Why Big Markets Are More Forgiving with Jenny Lefcourt, Partner @ Freestyle.vc

Prediction Didn’t hold up

Lefcourt targets leading four to five startup deals annually

“I'll probably lead, call it four or five investments a year”

Jenny Lefcourt May 18, 2016 ▶ 8:58 20VC: How Startups Should React To Today's Funding Environment & Why Big Markets Are More Forgiving with Jenny Lefcourt, Partner @ Freestyle.vc

The other half of the tape: Jenny Lefcourt's own voice is left out of every number here. Other people bring the name up 33 times in 7 episodes on 20VC. every mention, with the transcript →

Who brings them up most Harry Stebbings 23 Josh Felser 4 Roseanne Wincek 3 Emily Melton 2 Melody McCloskey 1