Jeff Richards, Managing Partner at GGV Capital, discusses chasing Ryan Dennehy's IT support startup Electric.ai before leading their Series B.
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“We actually met Ryan in the Series A. We offered lead the Series A, and he Politely chose Bessemer Venture Partners.”
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More from Jeff Richards
AssertionNot checkable as stated
Most startups that raised at peak 2014-2015 valuations missed growth targets
“But, you know, two or three years later, some of those companies, and by the way, probably the majority of those Didn't hit their plans that they had given to those investors, and then they're coming back out to the market to try and raise money, and they're s…”
Jeff RichardsMar 4, 2019▶ 20:4820VC: The Transition From Founder To CEO, How To Determine When To Stretch On Price in Venture & The Benefits of Attribution for Partnership Dynamics with Jeff Richards, Managing Partner @ GGV Capital
What-if
A VP of People should be among a startup's first 10 hires
“If I were starting a company tomorrow, a VP of people would be one of my first five or 10 hires because I could delegate so much of, or not delegate, but I could rely on somebody who is senior in that role and to help me put the right infrastructure in place, …”
Jeff RichardsMar 4, 2019▶ 15:4820VC: The Transition From Founder To CEO, How To Determine When To Stretch On Price in Venture & The Benefits of Attribution for Partnership Dynamics with Jeff Richards, Managing Partner @ GGV Capital
AssertionSupported
The 2014-2015 VC boom generated 40x and 20x revenue valuation multiples
“And in particular today, I think we've got a little bit of a hangover from the funding cycle of 2014, 2015, where there was a huge boom in venture capital funding, and a lot of companies raised money at very high valuations. And, you know, these are ten millio…”
Jeff RichardsMar 4, 2019▶ 20:2920VC: The Transition From Founder To CEO, How To Determine When To Stretch On Price in Venture & The Benefits of Attribution for Partnership Dynamics with Jeff Richards, Managing Partner @ GGV Capital
Opinion
New Relic's Lou Cirne prioritized trusted partners over maximizing round valuation
“Lucerne, a new relic is a great example. You know, a multi-billion dollar public software company today But if you ask Lou, he took money from people that he knew and trusted in Peter Fenton and Dan Skolnick, and he did evaluations that worked for him, but als…”
Jeff RichardsMar 4, 2019▶ 21:4220VC: The Transition From Founder To CEO, How To Determine When To Stretch On Price in Venture & The Benefits of Attribution for Partnership Dynamics with Jeff Richards, Managing Partner @ GGV Capital
Insight
Founders must shift to executive manager roles at 50 to 70 employees
“What I've seen is it usually happens around 50 employees. When a company gets to about 50 employees, maybe 60 or 70, where the founder has to start transitioning into more of a professional manager type role.”
Jeff RichardsMar 4, 2019▶ 10:2620VC: The Transition From Founder To CEO, How To Determine When To Stretch On Price in Venture & The Benefits of Attribution for Partnership Dynamics with Jeff Richards, Managing Partner @ GGV Capital
Insight
Hiring senior executives is the biggest struggle for first-time founders
“I think being aggressive and hiring senior executives is probably the single biggest area where I see first-time founders struggle, and I would also add to that that it's the area where we see repeat founders really excel.”
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