David Barrett
20 statements across 2 episodes · 1 bullish · 12 bearish · 1 people on the record · first statement Jan 8, 2018 by David Barrett · across every show →
On the record as a speaker too: David Barrett's record, appearances and statements → this page counts the times other people say the name.
Everything said about David Barrett, oldest first
Jan 8, 2018 positive
Jan 8, 2018 negative
Barrett: A predatory executive class exploits startups with false credentials
“There's a whole class of people out there preying upon startups that will just come in with amazing credentials and a willingness to obliterate whatever's in their way and because it's not their company in the first place.”
Jan 8, 2018
Barrett: Reaching $1M revenue is the startup valley of death
“It is just a brutal, awful slog in the start, and so as much of this conference is about getting to that hundred million, really, I mean, the hard part is getting to that, that one million. Like, that is the valley of death that basically will wipe out probabl…”
Jan 8, 2018
Barrett: The best startup ideas face the most board pushback
“And in fact, the better the idea is, the worse it looks on the surface. And I think that's where it manifests itself in the board dynamic, is when you believe in something, when you truly believe in the best of possible ideas, you should expect the biggest pus…”
Jan 8, 2018 negative
Jan 8, 2018
Barrett: The greatest companies are built on controversial decisions, not boardroom consensus
“The greatest companies don't happen because suddenly, miraculously, everyone in the boardroom always agreed on every single decision. That's never happened. The way it happens, great decisions are always controversial.”
Jan 8, 2018
Barrett: Continuous dialogue with investors reduces the need for frequent board meetings
“The more successful you are in having a strong dialogue with your investor, the less necessary it is to have frequent board meetings. If, on the other hand, you haven't really established that rapport, then maybe actually more frequent could be helpful.”
Jan 8, 2018 negative
Barrett: Startup complexity is invented by people who profit from it
“Starting a business is so much easier, ah, than it's made out to be. It's so much easier than, it's like all the complexity is invented complexity. It's a complexity, I would say, being sold to you by Primarily with people who profit from that complexity. Who …”
Jan 8, 2018 negative
Jan 8, 2018
Jan 8, 2018
Barrett: Consult dozens of informal advisors instead of adding expert board members
“If I wouldn't pick one person, I'd pick 50 people, and I'd call them all the time and I wouldn't, and I would consolidate their knowledge, and then I would present that consolidated answer to my actual board, people that have, like, some influence over me.”
Jan 8, 2018 negative
Independent board members brought in by investors aren't truly independent
“And I think they're brought in by the board, and if they're brought in by the board, that means that they're not really independent. They actually just kind of work for the board. Now not really, it's not quite the same, but it's similar.”
Jan 8, 2018 negative
Nov 17, 2021 negative
Barrett: Silicon Valley overwhelmingly operates on selling to a bigger sucker
“There's like, build a viable business which you care about things like profit margin, things like this, or you just sell to a bigger sucker. Overwhelmingly, Silicon Valley is based upon the latter of those, and like, the reality is at no point relevant in actu…”
Nov 17, 2021 negative
Nov 17, 2021 negative
Nov 17, 2021 negative
Barrett: Hiring outside VC executives caps internal talent and drives them away
“How many of those same people just brought in some kind of outside executive from their VCs? Yeah, you just fucked your entire company. Because by doing that, you just indicated to every one of your employees, you cannot grow here. That we value skills that yo…”
Nov 17, 2021 bearish
Barrett: High startup valuations are bullshit caused by excess stimulus money
“I just think it's all bullshit. Like, I think the reason the valuations are high is because there's a shit ton of money in the markets, and it has no place to go. Like, there's, we just printed, what, three and a half trillion dollars of stimulus money out of …”
Nov 17, 2021 neutral
Barrett: Seed and Series A rounds are driven by storytelling, not meaningful numbers
“This, like, the seed and A are primarily just about, like, you and the story you tell. Like, especially the seed. A, it's like you have to have some evidence that, like, you know, the story has some anecdotal evidence of some kind of traction. And then, like, …”
Nov 17, 2021 bearish
Barrett: High-Funded SaaS Startups Rely on Burning Cash, Not Acquisition Innovations
“Most of the companies rating it as shit tons of money, they, they're not using, like, novel customer acquisition techniques that couldn't have worked 20 years ago. They're just willing to lose more money on it. And then the VCs are willing to allow them to los…”