Michael Dearing
Founder and General Partner, Harrison Metal. On 2 shows, 2 appearances. The Shows tab opens the full record on each.
investorfounderexecutiveacademic@mcgd ↗LinkedIn ↗harrisonmetal.com ↗
Michael Dearing is the founder and general partner of the early-stage venture capital firm Harrison Metal. He previously served as Senior Vice President at eBay and taught at Stanford University's d.school.
Everything Michael Dearing said on any show that made the record, most notable first. Each card names its show and opens the statement there.
Dearing: Convertible debt seed market is terribly toxic and undisciplined
“On the convertible debt side of the market, I think it's terribly toxic and about as undisciplined as it could possibly be.”
Dearing: It is a pathetic indictment that basic management makes founders exceptional
“And I also think this checklist of five things that McCallum gave us, if they are good at those five things, they are in the Pathetic indictment of the state of general management that it's that easy to be exceptional, but it really is.”
Dearing: Founder exceptionalism is independent of pedigree or brand-name experience
“That personal exceptionalism, that sense that they are special, that they are destined for really unique outcomes relative to their peer group, I think that shows up early in somebody's life. And it's independent, quite independent of pedigree or brand name wo…”
Dearing: Perfect market timing is impossible, making survival a management challenge
“I would say, though, that if you start with the premise that timing is always slightly wrong, I mean, listen, what are the odds that we invent something, we productize it, and we turn it into a company at exactly the right moment? It's practically impossible. …”
Dearing: Corporate capital allocation fails because CEOs lack true pricing signals
“One of the biggest problems with internal capital allocation inside a company is, Very rarely do CEOs have access to true opportunity cost-based prices. And the market's really good at that. The market's really good at saying, well, if you're going to use my f…”
Dearing: Executives are paid for judgment, not running A/B tests
“And listen, this is what we pay people for is to make judgments. We don't pay people to run AB tests. We don't pay people to do boil the ocean analytics on what is the quote right answer. We pay people for their judgment.”
Dearing: Delivering hard management choices does not require being abrasive
“The decision you're taking can be a difficult and inherently negative one, but the wrapper, the container that you put it in doesn't have to be barbed wire covered with dog poop.”
Dearing: Continuously cultivate career options to avoid being trapped
“It would be about Cultivating those options while you go so that you are never stuck. You never want to be stuck realizing, okay, I work for the wrong person. She or he treats me like garbage. I don't have other options. I have to start cold start cultivating …”
Dearing: Use automated email filters to erase toxic people from your inbox
“Now I use it on other people and I have a robust filter system in my email.”
Dearing: Great founders subject gut intuition to market discipline
“Every human is walking around with two processors running in parallel. One processor is that gut instinct, that intuitive perception of the world, and the other is the analytic, more rational, and reasonable one. Now, the gut perception of how the world works …”
Dearing: Daily software deployments and rapid prototyping are necessary founder markers
“How fast do they release prototypes? How many days a week do they push new software to production? How quickly do they start sketching an idea versus just talking about it in very macro terms? And how quickly does a pen go to paper? Those are markers of people…”
Dearing: Fundamental general management principles have not changed since 1855
“So that checklist of five things is the same today as it was in 1855 when he first wrote that treatise.”
Dearing: Valuation is a VC's primary tool for risk management
“Pricing is the way that we manage our risk. It's the primary tool I have to manage my own risk in the situation. And so as my risk goes up, my price should go down and vice versa.”
Dearing: Seed equity market rounds are priced reasonably
“So I would say on the equity side of the market, I believe for the most part, companies are priced reasonably.”
Dearing: Harrison Metal currently reserves $1.50 per $1 initially invested
“Over time, the way I've funded the reserves pool is varied between taking that ratio all the way up to two to one, back down to now I reserve about a buck 50 for every initial dollar.”
Dearing: Harrison Metal cut reserves over values violations only twice in 100+ deals
“I've rarely come into a situation where I've completely pulled out. I mean, it has happened, but usually for real values violations, you know, dishonesty, and thank God that's only happened, like, you know, two times out of more than a hundred cases.”
Dearing: Initial deal picking drives fund returns, not capital recycling
“I don't consider it a bulk part of the strategy because let's be honest, my numbers call it on a fund are driven by my initial investment picking. So picking is the primary thing I do. If I pick really well, I should generate great multiples and liquidity for …”
The other half of the tape: Michael Dearing's own voice is left out of every number here. Other people bring the name up 45 times in 13 episodes across the shows. every mention, with the transcript →
Who brings them up most Harry Stebbings 21Rachel Carlson 6Andy Pflaum 5David Rogier 4Jenny Lefcourt 3Hunter Walk 2Charles Hudson 2Samir Kaji 1
Every mention by year
tap a year for its mentions
20VC 45
2023 2 mentions in 1 episode
2019 19 mentions in 3 episodes 6 per episode
- 20VC: Guild Education's Rachel Carlson on The Benefits of Scaling Startups Outside of Silicon Valley, Why Mission and Margin Are So Tightly Integrated & Why Mums Are The Most Under-Utilised Asset In The Economy
- 20VC: Why Startup Founders Have One Core Job, How To Reduce Risk & Increase Probability In Your Startup & Why You Should Not Send A Pitch Deck Pre-Investor Meeting with David Rogier, Founder & CEO @ Masterclass
- 20VC: The 3 Stages of Denial For Founders When Scaling, Why You Will Likely Be Unable To Hire Through Your Network & The Interview Question All Founders Must Ask with Olof Mathé, Founder & CEO @ Mixmax
- every mention in 2019, scene by scene →
2018 15 mentions in 3 episodes 5 per episode
- 20VC: The Biggest Growth Opportunities for Young People in Tech Today, Why Distributed Workforces Are The Secret To Beating Incumbents & Why It Has Never Been Easier To Operate A Company Than Today with Andy Pflaum, Founder & CEO @ Astro
- 20VC: Why The Days of Spray and Pray at Seed Are Over, How To Compete In A World of Sequoia Seed Funds & Why Price Doesn't Matter with Dan Scheinman, Angel Investor @ Zoom & Arista Networks
- 20VC: The Fundamentals Of Optimising The Fundraising Process, SAFE's vs Priced Equity Rounds & Why Hiring Is Really A Big Data Problem with Chris Hutchins, Founder @ Grove & Former Partner @ Google Ventures
- every mention in 2018, scene by scene →
2017 1 mention in 1 episode
2016 7 mentions in 4 episodes 2 per episode
- 20VC: How Startups Should React To Today's Funding Environment & Why Big Markets Are More Forgiving with Jenny Lefcourt, Partner @ Freestyle.vc
- 20VC: Raising A Solo GP Fund & Why They Are So Prominent Today with Charles Hudson, Managing Partner @ Precursor Ventures
- 20VC: What It Takes To Raise A VC Fund & Investing in First Time Fund Managers with Michael Kim @ Cendana Capital
- 20VC: Techstars Founder, David Cohen on Scaling Techstars Ventures and Investing In Uber, Twilio and Sendgrid
- every mention in 2016, scene by scene →
One line per show, most statements first. The link opens Michael's full record on that show: the calibration, argument clarity, speaking style and every statement made there.
| Show | Role there | Eps | Statements | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20VCLEDGER | Founder and General Partner, Harrison Metal | 1 | 14 | — | full record on 20VC → |
 a16zLEDGER | Founder and General Partner, Harrison Metal | 1 | 4 | — | full record on the a16z Podcast → |