In this episode, James Currier converses with guest Saar Gur about his entrepreneurial journey in Silicon Valley. They discuss Saar's transition from entrepreneur to venture capitalist, his approach to investing, and the importance of emotional connection. They delve into Saar's successful investments in DoorDash and Patreon, the power of creators, and the potential in Patreon. The conversation also covers identifying investment opportunities through Reddit communities and crypto movements, characteristics of successful founders, and a case study on Ring's evolution.
Saar Gur is one of the best investors in Silicon Valley and has a gift of identifying the next big consumer trends earlier than most. As a General Partner at CRV, he was recently highlighted as #34 in the Forbes Midas List of the World's Best Venture Capital Investors In 2021. Saar loves products that consumers and customers love and is passionate about helping his companies succeed.
His early investment in the food delivery company DoorDash was in the 2013 seed round, which eventually resulted in the company going public last December. Gur made a similar early bet on smart home company Ring the same year; Amazon acquired that company for $1 billion in 2018. Gur is also an investor in multiple fast-growing tech startups like Patreon, which is now worth $3 billion, and Classpass, which is worth more than $700 million. Others include Niantic, Bird, and Dropbox.
Today, longtime friend and NFX Partner James Currier talks with Saar to uncover these early investment stories and his pattern recognition in early-stage founders. James also uncovers who he is as a person, what he looks for in early-stage Founders, and how he sees the world as a whole.
(0:00) Introduction to the NFX podcast and guest Saar Gur
(4:55) Saar Gur's entrepreneurial journey in Silicon Valley and the dot com era
(8:32) Saar Gur's transition from entrepreneur to venture capitalist
(15:24) Saar Gur's approach to investing and the importance of emotional connection
(18:12) Saar Gur's successful investments in DoorDash and Patreon
(25:20) The power of creators and the potential in Patreon
(32:36) Identifying investment opportunities through Reddit communities and crypto movements
(36:25) Characteristics of successful founders and the importance of original product thought
(37:48) Case study: The evolution of Ring from DoorBot to a home security company
(39:26) Outro: NFX's mission and call to action for listeners
