Aug 5, 2021 · 59m · my-first-million
How Venture Capitalists Make Money with Brianne Kimmel | My First Million #206
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
In this episode of My First Million, hosts Sam Parr and Shaan Puri interview solo venture capitalist Brienne Kimmel to discuss fund economics, productivity systems, and standout startup investments, alongside debates on elite education and synthetic AI media.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. The hosts hold 46.1% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
The hosts as informed peer 4.4 Guest teaching 3.5 Guest disagreement 1.1 The hosts pushing back 2.0
speaking balance: gold is the hosts, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 30:17 Brienne leaning into the comp challenge
When Shaan points out that she dodged his question regarding solo capitalist take-home earnings, Brienne pivots directly and takes on the challenge rather than deflecting further.
Hardest push from the hosts ▶ 30:17 Shaan calling out the evasive answerShaan explicitly halts Brienne's high-level platform talk by saying she dodged his core question about how much money an investor actually pockets.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 58:39 Brienne on returning smaller funds vs overextendingBrienne educates listeners and the hosts on why raising a modest $10M fund and returning it via concentrated SPVs is mathematically and reputationally superior to raising an oversized $100M fund too early.
The host holds their own ▶ 35:25 Shaan calculating fund waterfall and carry profitShaan demonstrates firm grasp of VC fund economics by calculating the waterfall on a 5x return on a $25M fund, deriving the exact $20M carry payout to the general partner.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | The hosts as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | The hosts pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introducing Solo Capitalist Brienne Kimmel | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | The hosts introduce Brienne Kimmel and playfully discuss her new HubSpot podcast with comedian Alexis Gay. The dynamic is welcoming, lighthearted, and collaborative. | |
| AI Voice Synthesis, Digital Immortality, and Deepfake Personalization | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Sam and Shaan lead a discussion on AI voice synthesis and personalized deepfake customer videos, referencing the Anthony Bourdain documentary and Black Mirror. Brienne engages constructively on the ethical implications. | |
| Non-Traditional VC Origins and Time-Blocked Productivity | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | The hosts review Brienne's intensely regimented calendar. Brienne explains how structured time-blocking and text messaging enable a solo venture capitalist to maintain high touch with founders without taking endless coffee meetings. | |
| The Economics of Venture Capital and Solo Capitalists | 6 | 7 | 2 | 5 | Shaan drills into the mechanics of venture comp, pressing Brienne when she initially deflects how much solo capitalists earn. Brienne breaks down management fees, rolling funds, SPVs, and secondary purchases. | |
| Emerging Opportunities in Climate Tech and Specialized Investing | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | Brienne highlights shifts into climate tech and frontier technology, noting how specialized solo capitalists collaborate rather than compete. The exchange is collegial and exploratory. | |
| The True Value of Elite Colleges vs. Alternative Education | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2 | Sam and Shaan argue that top-20 universities are completely worth massive debt solely for credentialing and peer networks, while mid-tier schools are obsolete. Brienne agrees and shares her own perspective on the Stanford GSB alumni network. | |
| Work Life Unicorns: Hopin and the Origin of the Pipe Deal | 5 | 7 | 2 | 4 | Brienne narrates landing the seed deal for Pipe on her birthday by wiring money from a Soho House parking lot, as well as returning her fund in 18 months. The hosts press into valuation hype and exact financial outcomes. | |
| Wrapping Up and Where to Find Brienne Kimmel | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | A brief, amicable outro wrapping up the episode and sharing where to find Brienne's content. |
Statements from this episode (15)
Kimmel: Media Training Makes Business Leaders Hard to Interview Authentically
“One of the most challenging parts of the podcast for me is that it's very hard to get business people off script. They've all gone, gone through comms training. They all have, you know, their executive coach to get them to really open up and share vulnerable m…”
Sam Parr: AI voice cloning will be used in future movie production
“That Anthony Bourdain thing, that's obviously, that's gonna happen. That's gonna happen in the future, how movies are gonna come about.”
Shaan Puri: Wants to invest in automated deepfake customer video software
“I want to invest in this company. I saw it. I haven't even had a chance to talk to them yet, but what they're doing is they basically made a version of deep fake that you can do for yourself. So you can thank customers personally for a purchase or for anything…”
Kimmel: Rarely Takes One-on-One Coffees or Standard VC Pitch Meetings
“I actually don't take that many meetings and I rarely do one-on-one coffees with people, which is really interesting and kind of a different strategy from other VCs, but I try to find interesting touch points that Will give me enough of an angle to invest in a…”
Kimmel: Significantly more non-traditional investors will launch solo VC firms
“I think this is just like the very, very early days for what's about to happen, where there will be a lot more people that look like me, and there will be a lot more people that start their own firms, because I think it's one of these things where like the nat…”
Kimmel: Raised Fund Capital From Tech Founders Instead of Institutional LPs
“That's why I chose to raise from a lot of founders and not traditional LPs or, you know, traditional finance financial institutions.”
Kimmel: Solo VCs can charge 2.5% to 3% management fees on AngelList
“If you're raising a five to 10 to maybe even twenty five million dollar fund, if you're doing something on AngelList that's a true solo capitalist fund you can actually take 2.5 to three percent management fees. What I did for mine is I did two percent managem…”
Kimmel: WorkLife's $25M First Fund Is Tracking North of a 5x Return
“Right now it's north of five X.”
Kimmel: High-Earning Tech Talent Is Migrating to Crypto and Climate Tech
“I consistently see a lot of people are moving into crypto and into climate change. I think these are two areas that you can't really ignore. And I'm also seeing people leave very well-paying jobs that have a lot of equity to work on things like climate change”
Parr: Taking on Debt for a Top-20 University Is 100% Worth It
“If you could get into a top 20 university and you have to get go into a ton of debt, it is 100% worth it.”
Parr: Belmont University Provides Zero Value and Current Students Should Quit
“Belmont University, where I went, that cost 50,000 dollars a year, and then they're like, fuck Belmont. I mean, who, no one knows what Belmont is. It provides zero value. Like, there's no point. If you go to Belmont, you should quit right now.”
Puri: EdTech Fails by Fixing Coursework Instead of Credentials and Community
“The problem is that people don't choose to go to college for the classes. They don't choose to go to college for the information they go because they want the stamp and they want the social experience. And then they want, you know, the parents need that as an …”
Kimmel: Work Life Invested in Hopin, Now Valued at $5.65B
“I invested a little over a year ago. They're now valued at 5.65 B.”