Prediction certainty 3/5 debate potential 3/5

Lessin: Future of VC is $3M capital-efficient, profitable startups

Sam Lessin · DEBATE: State of Seed Investing w/ Jason Lemkin, Sam Lessin, Frank Rotman & Harry Stebbings | E1047 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings · Aug 11, 2023 · at 25:22

Sam Lessin, Co-Founder and Partner at Slow Ventures, argues for small-scale capital efficiency over manufacturing mega-cap unicorns during a 20VC debate.

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“I think the future is in these companies. There are a lot of companies you can put three million dollars into and get to a place where like, you're pretty sure it's profitable. It's going to be worth, it's worth a 102 hundred, and you have an option on something much bigger.”

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