Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom challenges traditional venture capital strategy in a discussion with 20VC host Harry Stebbings, asserting that sector trends matter far less than founding teams.
“This is gonna be heresy to a VC's ears, but like, I think investing in verticals and spaces is BS. Like, yes, in general, generative AI is gonna produce something pretty cool, Like, yes, the stuff, like, these verticalized, like, the sharing economy, it's like, okay, cool. That was a while ago, but I'm just naming these trends that have come and gone throughout the years. A hundred percent of this is team. A hundred percent.”
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More from Kevin Systrom
Insight
Systrom: Every successful social app begins as a utility before scaling
“Every app that is successful in social starts off as a utility, and it becomes a large social behemoth over time.”
Kevin SystromFeb 22, 2023▶ 35:11Kevin Systrom & Mike Krieger: The Founders of Instagram Reveal their New Project "Artifact" | E981 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Insight
Systrom: Believing friends share content interests was social media's biggest mistake
“And the fundamental thesis is that your friends are kind of into the stuff that you're into, and I would argue it is the greatest mistake Of social networks in the last 20 years, is to believe that is true.”
Kevin SystromFeb 22, 2023▶ 38:28Kevin Systrom & Mike Krieger: The Founders of Instagram Reveal their New Project "Artifact" | E981 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Opinion
Systrom: Social networks must become less social and rely on behavioral affinity
“So, long time, like, long story short, I think that social networks need to become less social, and I think that something that will make up for it is this idea of learned association or learned affinity through your behavior.”
Kevin SystromFeb 22, 2023▶ 40:10Kevin Systrom & Mike Krieger: The Founders of Instagram Reveal their New Project "Artifact" | E981 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Disclosure
Systrom: Early Instagram mistakenly prioritized 'mission hipsters' over top talent
“As a small company, one of our mistakes in Instagram is hiring too many, like, mission hipsters that wore plaid and really liked drinking bourbon. Like, that was stupid. Like, we should have just been hiring the greatest people out there.”
Kevin SystromFeb 22, 2023▶ 59:37Kevin Systrom & Mike Krieger: The Founders of Instagram Reveal their New Project "Artifact" | E981 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
PredictionOpen · timeframe Feb 2028
Systrom: San Francisco will rebound as top startup center within five years
“But like, mark my words, look back five years from now, and I, you're even seeing the glimmers of it now. Just all these companies getting started. If you look at history, history, what is it? It's like it never repeats perfectly, but it rhymes. And there's no…”
Kevin SystromFeb 22, 2023▶ 1:06:48Kevin Systrom & Mike Krieger: The Founders of Instagram Reveal their New Project "Artifact" | E981 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
What-if
Systrom would not work 16-hour days if he were in an office
“And if I were working this hard elsewhere, first of all, I wouldn't work this hard in an office. It just wouldn't happen.”
Kevin SystromFeb 22, 2023▶ 18:20Kevin Systrom & Mike Krieger: The Founders of Instagram Reveal their New Project "Artifact" | E981 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
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