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The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC) interviews the world's greatest venture capitalists with prior guests including Sequoia's Doug Leone and Benchmark's Bill Gurley. Once per week, 20VC Host, Harry Stebbings is also joined by one of the great founders of our time with prior founder episodes from Spotify's Daniel Ek, Linkedin's Reid Hoffman, and Snowflake's Frank Slootman. If you would like to see more of The Twenty Minute VC (20VC), head to www.20vc.com for more information on the podcast, show notes, resources and more.
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Now displaying: August, 2025
Aug 29, 2025

Jason James is the Co-Founder of Tezi and one of the leading product minds in the valley. Prior to Tezi, Jason was the VP Product at Instacart and before that was Head of Product and Design at Thumbtack. 

AGENDA:

00:00 Product lessons scaling Instacart to $40B – what really moves the needle

02:15 Why “quick optimizations” won’t build billion-dollar products

04:30 MVPs are dead? How AI is reshaping product development

07:00 Do startups even need PMs anymore in the age of AI?

11:30 The biggest product mistake Jason made building Tezi

16:30 Why most hiring managers fail at recruiting

20:00 The resume trap: how to spot if someone was just “on the elevator up”

26:00 The three roles founders always end up firing

28:00 Are most CPOs actually terrible?

36:30 The myth of startup “culture” – why growth is the only thing that matters

43:00 Did DoorDash actually beat Instacart? The inside take

48:00 Fundraising secrets founders never realize until it’s too late

 

 

Aug 28, 2025

AGENDA:

​​00:00 – Marc Benioff vs Snowflake, Databricks & Palantir: Who Wins the Data Cloud War?

05:10 – Does Benioff Feel The Need to Buy AI Talent Like Zuck Is?

09:00 – What Salesforce has Learned From Palantir on Forward Deployed Engineers?

18:00 – Will SaaS apps disappear in an AI world? Why Satya is Chatting S***

23:40 – Are SDRs really screwed by AI… or just evolving?

26:10 – Benioff on Who Wins: OpenAI or Anthropic?

30:00 – Nat Friedman reports to Alex Wang: Genius move or career downgrade?

34:00 – Anthropic’s $10B round: Have we hit peak AI hype?

47:00 – Klarna’s wild ride: From $45B to $6B to IPO at $15B

55:00 – Inside a16z’s seed machine: 72 bets vs Sequoia’s 27

57:45 – Martìn Casado: Is consensus investing dangerous—or the only game?

01:05:00 – The big lesson: consensus, contrarian, and why investing is harder than ever

 

Aug 25, 2025

Byron Deeter is a Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, and one of the most renowned SaaS investors. Byron has led 19 unicorn investments, including IPO successes like ServiceTitan, Procore, Twilio, Box, Gainsight, Intercom, DocuSign, SendGrid. His portfolio includes eight companies that have gone public. Insane. 

Agenda:

00:00 – Why are the stakes in AI higher than ever before?

05:20 – Is defensibility in AI gone for good?

07:40 – Do margins even matter when backing the next Anthropic or Perplexity?

09:50 – How does Byron think about future dilution when investing in AI today?

12:10 – With 40% of venture money going to 10 deals, is there any point investing elsewhere?

13:40 – Is vertical SaaS dead? Is there any point when the large players can own it?

18:00 – Will AI shift from the tech budget to the human labor budget and unlock trillions?

21:10 – Are we entering the era of billion-dollar businesses built by 10 people?

25:20 – Is treble-treble-double-double now too slow for AI companies?

33:10 – In today’s AI gold rush, is it better to scream the loudest or just build the best product?

41:10 – What specific growth rates are best in class, good and not good enough today? 

55:00 – Is venture now just a game of scale — Chanel vs. Walmart?

 

 

Aug 21, 2025

Agenda:

00:00 – Databricks hits $100B: Bubble or just the beginning?

03:15 – Is Databricks actually undervalued at 25x revenue?

07:40 – Are we on the verge of the biggest IPO wave ever?

11:30 – Can Andreessen’s Databricks bet return $30B+?

18:10 – Who really gets rich when mega-unicorns IPO?

19:30 – Is the return of Chamath’s SPACs the ultimate bubble signal?

28:00 – Should OpenAI staff be cashing out billions in secondaries?

33:30 – Founder raises $130M… then walks away. Is this the new normal?

36:30 – Nubank’s $2.5B profit: The best FinTech in the world?

48:00 – On Running at $15B: Can consumer brands still be VC-backed rockets?

52:00 – CoreWeave takes on $11B in debt: smart bet or ticking time bomb?

1:11:00 – Will AI spend really hit trillions—or is it all hype?

 

Aug 18, 2025

Anton Osika is the Co-Founder and CEO @ Lovable, the fastest growing company on the planet. In just 7 months, they have scaled from $0 to $120M in ARR. They have raised over $200M in funding from some of the best including Accel, Creandum and 20VC. Their latest round priced the company at a whopping $2BN. 

Agenda for Today:

00:00 – Is AI an Arms Race… Or Just a Talent War?

03:45 – How Does Anton Compete with Zuck’s $100M Packages for Talent

07:30 – Founder Mode vs. Structure: Can Chaos Scale?

10:15 – The Brutal Truth About Defensibility in AI Startups

13:20 – Unit Economics: Are AI Companies Doomed to Bleed Cash?

17:00 – GPT-5: Game-Changer or Overhyped Disappointment?

20:10 – How Lovable Hit $100M ARR in Just 7 Months?

25:15 – Replit, Figma, Bolt: Which Competitor is the Best?

30:00 – The Security Bombshells No One Talks About

36:40 – Should Anyone Still Study Computer Science?

40:30 – Work-Life Balance Is Dead: Inside Anton’s 10x Culture

56:00 – OpenAI, Anthropic, or Grok: Who Wins the AI Wars?

 

 

Aug 15, 2025

Max Junestrand is the Co-Founder and CEO @ Legora, the collaborative AI powering the next generation of lawyers. Now this is an insane story for many reasons; first, Max turned down a multi-million dollar career in gaming to build Legora. Second, he has raised from the best of the best including Benchmark and IVP. Third, he has scaled the firm with 1/6th of the capital of his closest competitor, Harvey have raised a reported $800M while Legora have raised just $120M. 

Agenda:

00:03 – From Pro Gamer to AI Founder: How World of Warcraft Shaped Max’s Mindset

04:58 – The $5–10M Gaming Career He Walked Away From

07:55 – Are AI Models Plateauing… or Just Getting Started?

10:02 – Swarms of LLMs: The 100x Cost Bet That Could Change Legal Forever

12:00 – Partnering With the Lawyers You’re “Killing”

15:00 – How He Cracked Sweden’s Hardest-to-Enter Law Firm

21:45 – The $500K Coffee That Saved the Company at YC

30:00 – Closing 15 Term Sheets in 7 Days – Why Benchmark Won

36:00 – Beating a $5BN Rival With a Fraction of the Funding

53:50 – Building a Cult Culture: The 9-9-6 Mentality in Europe

 

Aug 14, 2025

AGENDA:

00:04 – Was GPT-5 the Biggest AI Letdown Yet?

00:17 – Is OpenAI’s Real Target Anthropic’s $6B Revenue?

00:22 – Why Anthropic Might Secretly Be Worried

00:28 – The Hidden Business Strategy Behind OpenAI’s “Underwhelming” Launch

00:32 – Should Perplexity Really Try to Buy Chrome for $34.5B?

00:35 – The $3B N8N Deal: Genius Bet or Bubble FOMO?

00:38 – Why Datadog’s Best Quarter Ever Still Tanked the Stock

00:44 – Palantir’s 50% Growth at Scale – Can It Last? Is Palantir Overpriced?

00:53 – Shopify’s Ruthless Path to 91% Revenue Growth With 30% Fewer Staff

01:01 – Are Seed and Series A Valuations Now at Dangerous Highs?

01:06 – What Does The Highest Levels of Capital Concentration Mean For Early Stage Founders?

01:15 – Could Palantir Hit a $2 Trillion Market Cap by 2030?

 

 

Aug 11, 2025

Martin Mignot is a Partner at Index Ventures, the best-performing fund in the world right now. In the last three months, they have sold Wiz for $ 32 billion, sold Scale for $14.9 billion, and IPO'd Figma as the largest investor. In addition to this, they are the largest or second-largest shareholders in Roblox, Revolut, Adyen and Datadog. 

Agenda for Today:

00:00 – Why Gross Margin is the Biggest Sin in the Early Days

04:50 – Why Most People Shouldn’t Become VCs

07:40 – Why it is BS to Suggest the Future of VC is Boutique vs Mega Fund

09:10 – Do Multi-Stage Funds Really Give a S*** About Seed

13:50 – The Founder Trait That Trumps Market Size Every Time

18:45 – How Spotify Still Haunts Index Ventures & What They Learn From It?

28:50 – The Brutal Truth About European vs. U.S. Founders

34:20 – The Case for a European AI Giant (and Who Might Build It)

40:50 – The Return of the 7-Day Founder Work Week

52:10 – Biggest Lessons from Leading Revolut’s Series A

56:40 – Betting Against Nick Storonsky? Don’t.

1:03:10 – The One Competitor Index Ventures Admires

 

 

Aug 8, 2025

Peter Rahal is the Co‑Founder & CEO of David Protein, the highest protein‑to‑calorie ratio for any protein bar on the market. Peter has raised over $85M from Greenoaks, Dr. Peter Attia and Dr. Andrew Huberman with the latest round valuing the company at $725 million. The company is poised for over $100 million in first‑year revenue. Formerly, Peter co‑founded RXBAR in his mom’s basement with a $10k start, growing it into a household brand and selling it to Kellogg for $600 million. poised for over $100 million first‑year revenue  

Agenda for Today: 

00:04 – The One Piece of Advice from My Father That Made $600M

00:07 – Selling Protein Bars from a CrossFit Gym to $2M in Year One

00:12 – Why Raising Money Early Would Have Killed RXBAR’s Success

00:15 – Product vs Brand: What Every Brand Gets Wrong Today

00:17 – Why Red Bull is the Best Brand in the World? What Can We Learn From It? 

00:20 – Are Brands the New Religion? How Status and Community Really Work

00:27 – The Boiled Cod Stunt: Brilliant Marketing or Massive Waste of Time?

00:35 – Selling RXBAR for $600M: Inside the Decision and the TAM Ceiling

00:40 – $100M Overnight: What Really Changes When You Get Rich

00:44 – The Hidden Costs of Success: Health, Relationships and Obsession

00:47 – Why Peter Doesn’t Care What People Think… and Actually Likes Upsetting Them

00:53 – The $10B Plan for David: From Protein Bars to a Portfolio of Brands

 

Aug 7, 2025

Agenda:

00:00 – The Worst IPO Mis-Pricing Ever: What Really Happened at Figma

02:30 – Fidelity vs Founders: How Important is Fidelity When Going Public

07:00 – Why Founders Secretly Want a Pop, Even If It Makes Them Look Stupid

10:15 – The Truth Behind the $3B Figma "Left on the Table" 

14:00 – Direct Listings vs IPOs: Should Figma Have Gone Direct 

23:00 – CEO Compensation is Broken, Brian Halligan Doesn’t Hold Back

29:00 – The New Normal: Growth Rounds with Elon-Style Moonshot Packages

33:00 – Is Canva Next? Why Founders Should "Run, Forrest, Run" to the NASDAQ

36:00 – The Case for Going Public: VCs Are a Bigger Pain Than Public Markets

44:00 – Can AI Even Work for SMBs? Why No One’s Cracked the Code (Yet)

51:00 – Meta’s Monster Quarter: Growth, Cash Burn, and the Real AI Strategy

56:00 – CEO of the Year? Why Jensen Huang Leaves Zuck & Satya in the Dust

1:00:00 – Cognition's $15B Deal & Mass Layoffs: The Most Savage M&A Move of 2025

1:07:00 – Ramp’s $22B Raise: Genius Move or Suicide Round?

1:09:00 – CRV Shrinks, Benchmark’s Bet, and the Future of Venture Strategy

Aug 4, 2025

Ron Gabrisko is the Chief Revenue Officer at Databricks, where he joined in 2016. Under his leadership, Databricks has scaled from $0 to $3.7BN annualized revenue. He has grown the sales team from 0 to over 1,000 globally, leading expansion into enterprise, government, and international markets. Ron previously held senior sales roles at Cloudera and IBM, bringing deep experience in data and AI infrastructure. His tenure at Databricks has been defined by hypergrowth, multi-product adoption, and world-class GTM execution.

Agenda for Today:

00:04 – The Databricks Origin Story: Ali, Ben Horowitz & 7 PhDs

00:08 – Ali vs JPMorgan: Turning Down $10M to Stay Cloud-First

00:13 – Prospecting Day: How Ron Scaled the GTM Culture

00:16 – Why Databricks’ Pricing Model Was Its Secret Weapon

00:19 – Enterprise vs SMB: The Risky Bet That Paid Off

00:23 – From $2M to $13M ARR: How Ron Built the First Sales Engine

00:29 – Can AI Replace Salespeople? Ron’s Brutally Honest Take

00:36 – How to Get Your First Million-Dollar Rep (and Keep Them)

00:42 – The Culture Secret Behind Scaling to 5,000 Sales Reps

00:45 – Why Databricks Waited Until $500M ARR to Go International

00:52 – What Makes a Great Sales Meeting? Ron’s Gold Standard

00:58 – The Snowflake Wars: Why Ron Says Databricks Is 5 Years Ahead

 

Aug 4, 2025

Miles Dieffenbach is Managing Director of Investments at Carnegie Mellon University, where he helps oversee a $4 billion endowment with a focus on venture capital, private equity, and alternative investments. Under his leadership, CMU’s private book has remained self-funding during some of the toughest years for liquidity. 

Agenda for Today:

00:04 – "I Had Cancer at 26 – It Changed Everything"

07:00 – Inside the $4BN Carnegie Mellon Endowment: The Investment Blueprint

10:45 – Are LPs Getting Screwed in Venture?

13:30 – 90% of LPs Shouldn’t Be in Venture – Here’s Why

16:00 – Seed Funds Are a Trap (And No One Wants to Admit It)

20:00 – The $140BN Problem with Multi-Stage Funds

24:00 – "Index Is the Best in the Game – Here's Why They Win"

29:30 – "The Dirty Secret of LPs: Brand Over Performance"

34:30 – "When Founder-Friendly Goes Too Far"

38:00 – "The OpenAI Bubble – Will It All Go to Zero?"

44:00 – "Ping Pong Diligence & Wildest Fundraising Stories"

 

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