Josh Kopelman

Founder & Partner, First Round Capital · 1 appearance on the record.

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investorfounder@joshk ↗LinkedIn ↗firstround.com ↗Wikipedia ↗

Josh Kopelman is the co-founder and partner of early-stage venture firm First Round Capital, where he has backed notable startups including Uber, Square, Notion, Flatiron Health, and Warby Parker. Prior to venture investing, he was a serial founder who launched Infonautics, Half.com, and TurnTide.

22statements → 2claims → 1claims resolved → 4.18/5average certainty → 2.14/5average debate potential → ≈4.5/5argument clarity, estimated → 146said about them ↓

0 supported 1 partly supported 0 contradicted 1 not checkable as stated how the 2 claims stand · each chip opens the sources

2 assertions · 1 opinion · 9 insights · 10 disclosures · every statement was checked. The predictions and assertions are the 2 claims: statements the public record can support or contradict. 1 is resolved, and 1 names 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 Josh argues and how the claims held up. Everything they said, and everything said about them, is in the tabs below.

How they sound: speaking style how? →

208 words/min while actually speaking · 1.1 um and uh per 1k words

No argument clarity score for Josh Kopelman: no usable question→answer exchanges on raw tape (a fair score needs 8+). We do not score a sample that small. Roundtable and news formats yield far fewer direct exchanges than interviews. Their coarse estimate from 30 exchanges on the produced feed is ≈4.5/5, shown at half point precision because the sample is small and produced tape scores higher.

Measured by listening to 5,557 words across 1 episode, but every recording we have of Josh Kopelman is the aired feed, and an editor cleaned that audio before release. Some of the hesitation was cut before we ever heard it, so read these as floors: the true rates are at least this high. These are measurements of speaking style, not scores. How it's measured →

How the interview went all their pushback → series average →

Across 1 rated episode:

host pushback ▾ 0/10

pushed back at the host 2/10

setup questions received 90%

host pushback: the hardest questions Harry asked, tap to play ▶ 7:44“How do you think about your own price sensitivity stay, Josh?” ▶ 12:08“Would you agree that ownership can be built over time, then, given those Examples. Or do you think that really, maybe like me, that it's crucial to build that ownership on first ch…”

What they said22 What others said146 Episodes1

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

Disclosure

First Round lost Twitter and Dropbox seed deals over valuation limits

“First round offered Twitter their first term sheet months before Union Square led their round. We offered Dropbox their first term sheet, and I'd say we lost both of those due to sticking to price.”

Josh Kopelman Jan 28, 2019 ▶ 7:53 20VC: First Round's Josh Kopelman on Why Price Is Both An Art and A Science, Why Ownership Must Be Built on First Check and The Negative Consequences of Attribution in Venture

Disclosure

Kopelman passed on Twitter at $5M and $20M pre-money valuations

“So, we offered Twitter a term sheet at a five million pre-money valuation. We were an investor in Odeo, Eb Prior companies. So I think I was user Twitter user number 275. We were right there. We offered five. Fred came in at 20 a few months later, and to make …”

Josh Kopelman Jan 28, 2019 ▶ 9:25 20VC: First Round's Josh Kopelman on Why Price Is Both An Art and A Science, Why Ownership Must Be Built on First Check and The Negative Consequences of Attribution in Venture

Insight

Kopelman: VC ownership must be established on the initial check

“Our view is that it's pretty important to build it on first check. I think that it just gets so expensive to accumulate ownership in the later rounds that to some degree, I think your ownership is your first check and later investments are more of a cash on ca…”

Josh Kopelman Jan 28, 2019 ▶ 12:18 20VC: First Round's Josh Kopelman on Why Price Is Both An Art and A Science, Why Ownership Must Be Built on First Check and The Negative Consequences of Attribution in Venture

Insight

Kopelman: Startup failure is largely determined at idea selection, not execution

“I believe that a high degree of startup mortality is baked in at the pick and not on the execution.”

Josh Kopelman Jan 28, 2019 ▶ 22:42 20VC: First Round's Josh Kopelman on Why Price Is Both An Art and A Science, Why Ownership Must Be Built on First Check and The Negative Consequences of Attribution in Venture

Insight

Kopelman: Partner selection matters more than company picking for firm longevity

“I believe that when I look back at my career in venture, I would rather be known as a better picker of partners than a picker of companies, because that's what enables a venture firm to scale, grow, and endure just beyond any one person.”

Josh Kopelman Jan 28, 2019 ▶ 26:30 20VC: First Round's Josh Kopelman on Why Price Is Both An Art and A Science, Why Ownership Must Be Built on First Check and The Negative Consequences of Attribution in Venture

Disclosure

Kopelman: First Round treats each new fund as a fresh cap table

“At first round, we really view each new fund as a new cap table so that there isn't that partner tax from the prior generations of partners”

Josh Kopelman Jan 28, 2019 ▶ 29:11 20VC: First Round's Josh Kopelman on Why Price Is Both An Art and A Science, Why Ownership Must Be Built on First Check and The Negative Consequences of Attribution in Venture

Disclosure

Kopelman: First Round does not track or report individual partner IRR

“We don't track individual partner IRR of individual track partner Performance, and nor do we share it with our LPs when they ask us during diligence.”

Josh Kopelman Jan 28, 2019 ▶ 31:22 20VC: First Round's Josh Kopelman on Why Price Is Both An Art and A Science, Why Ownership Must Be Built on First Check and The Negative Consequences of Attribution in Venture

Insight

Kopelman: Platform shifts favor college rookies over Wall Street veterans

“We're seeing it now in crypto, for example, where I'd argue that there are seniors in college who have just more experience in crypto than derivative traders at Goldman Sachs. It's this dislocation in the experience curve. That creates real opportunities for r…”

Josh Kopelman Jan 28, 2019 ▶ 37:59 20VC: First Round's Josh Kopelman on Why Price Is Both An Art and A Science, Why Ownership Must Be Built on First Check and The Negative Consequences of Attribution in Venture

Opinion

Kopelman: AI reduces the competitive gap between rookies and life science veterans

“And when you sit down and look at life science and healthcare companies and their medicinal chemists and their traditional drug discovery flows and all of those assets, I would argue that AI right now is such a disruptive platform that it really is reducing, n…”

Josh Kopelman Jan 28, 2019 ▶ 38:13 20VC: First Round's Josh Kopelman on Why Price Is Both An Art and A Science, Why Ownership Must Be Built on First Check and The Negative Consequences of Attribution in Venture

Disclosure

First Round focuses proactive investor support on companies' first 24 months

“I tend to be far more proactive during that first 18 to 24 months, where I think we've built up a skill set and a competency around those go-to-market muscle movements, around the hunt for product market fit, And then we kind of shift to be a little more react…”

Josh Kopelman Jan 28, 2019 ▶ 19:03 20VC: First Round's Josh Kopelman on Why Price Is Both An Art and A Science, Why Ownership Must Be Built on First Check and The Negative Consequences of Attribution in Venture

Insight

Kopelman: Deal selection takes 10% of VC time, drives 80% of returns

“Maybe when you sort of look at the amount of time we spend in partner meetings and in diligence sort of doing the pick, it's 10% of our time, but it probably drives 80 plus percent of the return.”

Josh Kopelman Jan 28, 2019 ▶ 20:43 20VC: First Round's Josh Kopelman on Why Price Is Both An Art and A Science, Why Ownership Must Be Built on First Check and The Negative Consequences of Attribution in Venture

Disclosure

Experiencing market crashes made Kopelman First Round's most cautious partner

“So, I think that it's probably made me the most cautious of the investors in the first round partnership, and that's not necessarily a good thing.”

Josh Kopelman Jan 28, 2019 ▶ 6:44 20VC: First Round's Josh Kopelman on Why Price Is Both An Art and A Science, Why Ownership Must Be Built on First Check and The Negative Consequences of Attribution in Venture

Insight

Kopelman: Venture capitalists are paid to take risk, not avoid risk

“Having seen the pain that companies went through, that my friends went through, that founders went through in the dot-com bus, I've had to consciously try to remember that we get paid to take risk, not avoid risk, and it's one of the real strengths of having a…”

Josh Kopelman Jan 28, 2019 ▶ 6:53 20VC: First Round's Josh Kopelman on Why Price Is Both An Art and A Science, Why Ownership Must Be Built on First Check and The Negative Consequences of Attribution in Venture

Disclosure

First Round flexed on valuation to back Square at $40M pre-money

“So when Jack was starting square and we met with him, he said, well, you know, if you thought Twitter was expensive, this is going to be even more expensive. And his first round was at a 40 pre and we learned our lesson and we were fortunate enough to be the S…”

Josh Kopelman Jan 28, 2019 ▶ 10:13 20VC: First Round's Josh Kopelman on Why Price Is Both An Art and A Science, Why Ownership Must Be Built on First Check and The Negative Consequences of Attribution in Venture

Disclosure

First Round allocates roughly 50% of capital to initial checks

“Today, we're putting a little more up front. We're kind of back to where we started. We're pretty close to fifty-fifty, primarily because what we've seen is later stage valuations have increased Far faster and far greater than seed stage valuations”

Josh Kopelman Jan 28, 2019 ▶ 11:11 20VC: First Round's Josh Kopelman on Why Price Is Both An Art and A Science, Why Ownership Must Be Built on First Check and The Negative Consequences of Attribution in Venture

Assertion Not checkable as stated

First Round requires two-thirds majority vote for investment decisions

“As a partnership, we decide investments together. It's two-thirds. We don't need unanimity. No partner has a veto, and fundamentally, it's a pretty collaborative process.”

Josh Kopelman Jan 28, 2019 ▶ 12:43 20VC: First Round's Josh Kopelman on Why Price Is Both An Art and A Science, Why Ownership Must Be Built on First Check and The Negative Consequences of Attribution in Venture

Insight

Kopelman: Partner meetings should focus on finding truth, not winning deals

“The goal isn't to sort of win, but rather the goal is to find truth. And a successful outcome could be when I learn something from my partners, and we don't invest in a company that I brought in, and vice versa.”

Josh Kopelman Jan 28, 2019 ▶ 13:16 20VC: First Round's Josh Kopelman on Why Price Is Both An Art and A Science, Why Ownership Must Be Built on First Check and The Negative Consequences of Attribution in Venture

Insight

Kopelman: Founders spend under 10 weeks picking ideas they execute for years

“Most founders spend less than five to 10 weeks picking an idea. But they're going to then spend five to 10 years executing on that idea, and so if I had to give one critique of founders, like, the most common critique I give is I feel like they're rushing thei…”

Josh Kopelman Jan 28, 2019 ▶ 21:04 20VC: First Round's Josh Kopelman on Why Price Is Both An Art and A Science, Why Ownership Must Be Built on First Check and The Negative Consequences of Attribution in Venture

Disclosure

Kopelman: First Round takes pro-rata in 100% of outside-led follow-on rounds

“Like first round, we pretty much tell founders when you get the first round, the second round comes free. We will take our prorata and a hundred percent of outside leads Second rounds.”

Josh Kopelman Jan 28, 2019 ▶ 24:17 20VC: First Round's Josh Kopelman on Why Price Is Both An Art and A Science, Why Ownership Must Be Built on First Check and The Negative Consequences of Attribution in Venture

Insight

Kopelman: Founder community cannot be sprinkled into a venture firm post-hoc

“Virality is really hard to engineer and build in and you have to build it in from scratch. And I think that community is not something that could be Sprinkled in. Like, you really have to work hard, and it has to be part of your DNA, and it has to be part of t…”

Josh Kopelman Jan 28, 2019 ▶ 34:43 20VC: First Round's Josh Kopelman on Why Price Is Both An Art and A Science, Why Ownership Must Be Built on First Check and The Negative Consequences of Attribution in Venture

Assertion Partly supported

Kopelman: Average VC fund and check size tripled between 1991 and 2004

“During that same period of time, the average venture fund had tripled in size, and the average initial investment had tripled in size.”

Josh Kopelman Jan 28, 2019 ▶ 4:07 20VC: First Round's Josh Kopelman on Why Price Is Both An Art and A Science, Why Ownership Must Be Built on First Check and The Negative Consequences of Attribution in Venture

Disclosure

First Round Capital's inaugural 2004 fund was $7M

“Our first fund was just a seven million dollar fund raised in 2004, primarily our capital with some friends.”

Josh Kopelman Jan 28, 2019 ▶ 4:36 20VC: First Round's Josh Kopelman on Why Price Is Both An Art and A Science, Why Ownership Must Be Built on First Check and The Negative Consequences of Attribution in Venture

The other half of the tape: Josh Kopelman's own voice is left out of every number here. Other people bring the name up 144 times in 59 episodes on 20VC. 2 statements on the record name them. every mention, with the transcript →

Who brings them up most Harry Stebbings 61 Phin Barnes 19 Todd Jackson 8 Michael Eisenberg 5 Dayna Grayson 5 Ilir Sela 4 Rory O'Driscoll 3 Mike Maples 3

Statements about Josh Kopelman, by other people (2)

Insight

Kaul: VCs are judged on net returns above 20% IRR, not win rates

“In this business, being conservative is a real problem, because we're in the business of returning 20% or greater net IRR to our investors, and we don't get judged by how many companies succeed out of the number of companies we invest in.”

Samir Kaul Jan 13, 2020 ▶ 6:42 20VC: Khosla Ventures Founding Partner, Samir Kaul on Why Pro Rata Is A Cop Out, Why He Likes Technical Risk and Does Not Take Market Risk & How To Approach Time Allocation Across The Portfolio In Venture

Assertion Partly supported

Four of the top 10 Midas VCs lacked firms 10 years ago

“Four out of the top 10 VCs, Steve Anderson, Chris Saka, Josh Copeland, Peter Thiel, In that they didn't have firms 10 years ago, right?”

Alex Bangash Jul 20, 2016 ▶ 4:51 20VC: Why The Whole Industry Is Backward Looking, The Best Funds Are Entrepreneur Led and Venture Is All About Access with Alex Bangash, Founder @ Trusted Insight