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Michael Skok: Early-stage startup valuation is a stunningly stupid concept

Michael Skok · 20VC: Why Valuation Is A Stupid Concept, VC Is Ripe For Disruption & Not All LPs Are Made Equal with Michael Skok, Founding Partner @ Underscore VC · Sep 21, 2016 · at 21:54

Michael Skok, Founding Partner at Underscore VC, explains why standard valuation metrics fail when evaluating early-stage companies and founder talent.

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“Well, first of all, valuation is just a stunningly stupid concept. Who on earth can value a person? I can't. And at the stage that we're working at, we're valuing people.”

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Disclosure
Underscore VC runs diligence and deal flow transparently in the cloud
“In fact, our core members, when they're investing with us, get to watch us and participate in a whole cloud based investing program, because the way in which we do our investments is, you know, we eat our own cooking here. So everything is in the cloud because…”
Michael Skok Sep 21, 2016 ▶ 24:12 20VC: Why Valuation Is A Stupid Concept, VC Is Ripe For Disruption & Not All LPs Are Made Equal with Michael Skok, Founding Partner @ Underscore VC
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Skok: Venture capital suffers from poor alignment between founders, VCs, and LPs
“There isn't good alignment, whether people like it or not, between the entrepreneur, their VC, and the VC, and their GPs, and sorry, and their LPs in many instances.”
Michael Skok Sep 21, 2016 ▶ 4:27 20VC: Why Valuation Is A Stupid Concept, VC Is Ripe For Disruption & Not All LPs Are Made Equal with Michael Skok, Founding Partner @ Underscore VC
Disclosure
Underscore VC shares carried interest with community advisors
“First of all, we're going to take a chunk of our carry, and we're going to make it accessible to what we call our community, which is the cause.”
Michael Skok Sep 21, 2016 ▶ 7:16 20VC: Why Valuation Is A Stupid Concept, VC Is Ripe For Disruption & Not All LPs Are Made Equal with Michael Skok, Founding Partner @ Underscore VC
Disclosure
Underscore VC commits $5M Series A checks alongside initial seed funding
“We'll give you a seed check to get the initial team together, but we'll also do something we've called vector funding, which is right. Very clear basis for them, for the entrepreneur to go from seed all the way through to series a and commit to that series a, …”
Michael Skok Sep 21, 2016 ▶ 15:53 20VC: Why Valuation Is A Stupid Concept, VC Is Ripe For Disruption & Not All LPs Are Made Equal with Michael Skok, Founding Partner @ Underscore VC
Insight
Skok: Venture capital is a commodity while founder time is priceless
“Capital is clearly a commodity and entrepreneurs lives clearly aren't.”
Michael Skok Sep 21, 2016 ▶ 3:30 20VC: Why Valuation Is A Stupid Concept, VC Is Ripe For Disruption & Not All LPs Are Made Equal with Michael Skok, Founding Partner @ Underscore VC
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Skok: Underscore VC founders committed 5x traditional GP capital
“I mean, we put five times as much capital in individually as the founders here than would traditionally be the case.”
Michael Skok Sep 21, 2016 ▶ 10:46 20VC: Why Valuation Is A Stupid Concept, VC Is Ripe For Disruption & Not All LPs Are Made Equal with Michael Skok, Founding Partner @ Underscore VC
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