Insight certainty 4/5 debate potential 2/5

VCs should not haggle over valuation for exceptional teams in massive markets

Arif Jan Mohamed · 20VC: Lightspeed's Arif Janmohamed on Why Market Risk Is The Most Dangerous Risk To Underwrite As A VC, How To Determine When to Stretch vs Not on Price Today & The $TRN of Market Cap Up For Grabs Today In Enterprise · Oct 21, 2019 · at 12:06

Arif Janmohamed, Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, explains why price sensitivity should be secondary when investing in top-tier founders addressing large markets.

0:00 / 0:12exact quote · 12.6s
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“If it's a team that has shown ability to execute, that has clarity of vision, that has an incredible product or product vision, and can execute in a very, very large market, it's not worth trying to optimize on the edges for valuation.”

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