Insight certainty 4/5 debate potential 3/5

Levine: Venture capitalists are not the difference makers in startup success

Daniel Levine · 20VC: Accel's Dan Levine on The Current State of Seed & Series A, The Rise of Pre-Emptive Rounds, Solo Capitalists and Multi-Stage Funds Entering Seed & Market, People and Product; What To Prioritise? · Nov 12, 2020 · at 8:59

Daniel Levine, Partner at Accel, discusses the humility required of venture investors regarding their actual impact on high-performing portfolio companies.

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“I'm trying to do my marginal best, and the company's doing extremely well, and I like to think I'm helping somewhat, but I'm not the be-all, end-all. I'm not the difference maker.”

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More from Daniel Levine

Disclosure
Levine has never invested right around the $1M ARR threshold
“As far as I know, I have not once done a deal right before, right after hitting a million dollars of ARR.”
Daniel Levine Nov 12, 2020 ▶ 15:58 20VC: Accel's Dan Levine on The Current State of Seed & Series A, The Rise of Pre-Emptive Rounds, Solo Capitalists and Multi-Stage Funds Entering Seed & Market, People and Product; What To Prioritise?
Insight
Levine: Investors make the most money in a market's second or third inning
“And so a lot of markets, when people think, oh, that's new, it's interesting, that's actually not when you make the most money as an investor. You often make the most money in the second or third inning or later of a market, because all of a sudden the market …”
Daniel Levine Nov 12, 2020 ▶ 18:03 20VC: Accel's Dan Levine on The Current State of Seed & Series A, The Rise of Pre-Emptive Rounds, Solo Capitalists and Multi-Stage Funds Entering Seed & Market, People and Product; What To Prioritise?
Opinion
Levine: Y Combinator founders' skepticism toward VCs is often merited
“I think the default posture of YC companies and founders is a little bit of fun, fear, uncertainty, and doubt about the venture community, which I think is merited in some cases”
Daniel Levine Nov 12, 2020 ▶ 4:16 20VC: Accel's Dan Levine on The Current State of Seed & Series A, The Rise of Pre-Emptive Rounds, Solo Capitalists and Multi-Stage Funds Entering Seed & Market, People and Product; What To Prioritise?
Disclosure
Levine refuses to invest in unlikable founders despite potential financial returns
“There's a lot of ways to make money backing people you might not particularly like, and I effectively will forego those.”
Daniel Levine Nov 12, 2020 ▶ 14:24 20VC: Accel's Dan Levine on The Current State of Seed & Series A, The Rise of Pre-Emptive Rounds, Solo Capitalists and Multi-Stage Funds Entering Seed & Market, People and Product; What To Prioritise?
Opinion
Levine: Individual personal branding within a VC partnership hurts firm cohesion
“I'm very nervous anytime somebody tries to develop an individual brand at a venture firm, because I really believe that it's a team sport. I really, really, really fundamentally believe that you need a group and a partnership, and it makes everyone stronger.”
Daniel Levine Nov 12, 2020 ▶ 25:17 20VC: Accel's Dan Levine on The Current State of Seed & Series A, The Rise of Pre-Emptive Rounds, Solo Capitalists and Multi-Stage Funds Entering Seed & Market, People and Product; What To Prioritise?
Assertion Supported
Levine: Sequoia's seed deals in Airbnb and Dropbox are history's best
“Two of the best deals of all time were seeds by Sequoia. I think an initial almost 600,000 dollar investment in Airbnb and a million dollar investment in Dropbox to get very large ownership positions.”
Daniel Levine Nov 12, 2020 ▶ 29:27 20VC: Accel's Dan Levine on The Current State of Seed & Series A, The Rise of Pre-Emptive Rounds, Solo Capitalists and Multi-Stage Funds Entering Seed & Market, People and Product; What To Prioritise?
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