Insight certainty 4/5 debate potential 3/5

Founder vision and instincts matter more than academic pedigree

Bijan Sabet · 20VC: Spark's Bijan Sabet on Investing in Twitter, Tumblr and Foursquare & Why First Time Founders Are So Exciting · Jun 6, 2016 · at 5:54

Bijan Sabet, General Partner at Spark Capital, explains why he rejects traditional VC emphasis on elite university credentials and prestigious corporate resumes.

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“And I also, I've just never bought into this kind of elitist way of thinking about like where you went to school You know, where you work, you know, whether you work at Google or, you know, Apple or something, it's more of, you know, what's your idea? What, why are you doing this? What's your vision for the future? You know, what are your instincts? And, you know, I care more about those things than, and what you're building than, you know, what your GPA was.”

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Insight
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“I don't think anyone's market ready from the get go. I think it's a flawed assumption with VCs where they try to imagine that, that these first time founders or any founders are going to just figure it all out.”
Bijan Sabet Jun 6, 2016 ▶ 13:21 20VC: Spark's Bijan Sabet on Investing in Twitter, Tumblr and Foursquare & Why First Time Founders Are So Exciting
Prediction Not checkable as stated
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“If history is a guide, you know, this year, next year, we're going to see a breakout in a brand new company.”
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Insight
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“I think if your company needs probably, you know, less than a million or two million dollars of deficit financing to accomplish the mission, You know, you shouldn't raise venture capital for that.”
Bijan Sabet Jun 6, 2016 ▶ 19:08 20VC: Spark's Bijan Sabet on Investing in Twitter, Tumblr and Foursquare & Why First Time Founders Are So Exciting
Insight
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“I think first time founders have a level of audacity that, you know, sometimes more experienced people don't have because they, they're just, there's no fear.”
Bijan Sabet Jun 6, 2016 ▶ 5:25 20VC: Spark's Bijan Sabet on Investing in Twitter, Tumblr and Foursquare & Why First Time Founders Are So Exciting
Opinion
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“Yes. I mean, yes. If I have to pick one, I pick VR over AR, but AR, AR is certainly interesting.”
Bijan Sabet Jun 6, 2016 ▶ 20:25 20VC: Spark's Bijan Sabet on Investing in Twitter, Tumblr and Foursquare & Why First Time Founders Are So Exciting
Opinion
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“The idea of backing entrepreneurs that were first-time entrepreneurs after the bubble burst in consumer, you know, right now it seems very obvious, but I can tell you at the time, it wasn't obvious.”
Bijan Sabet Jun 6, 2016 ▶ 4:33 20VC: Spark's Bijan Sabet on Investing in Twitter, Tumblr and Foursquare & Why First Time Founders Are So Exciting
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