The Role of Platform Teams and Being a Sounding Board for Founders

This week's episode of Turpentine VC features Benchmark GPs Sarah Tavel and Eric Vishria. We discuss ideas that are central to Benchmark's beliefs in firm-building, including why platform teams exist to help the general partners more so than founders themselves. If you’re looking to improve your sourcing, tracking, and due diligence, check out: https://synaptic.com/turpentine

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SPONSORS:

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If you like Turpentine VC, check out our show The Limited Partner with David Weisburd, where David talks to the investors behind the investors: https://link.chtbl.com/thelimitedpartner

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X / TWITTER:

@sarahtavel (Sarah)

@ericvishria (Eric)

@eriktorenberg (Erik)

@benchmark (Benchmark)

@TurpentineVC

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Episode Preview

(01:29) Benchmark in the history of venture capital

(05:08) The Benchmark DNA

(07:50) Learnings from Benchmark's expansion

(10:53) Sponsor: Synaptic

(11:55) The trade-offs of scaling

(13:00) How Benchmark thinks about macro

(15:08) Comparing the different Benchmark eras

(17:46) Partnership construction and combining skill sets and personalities

(29:38) On the investor and founder relationship

(33:58) Sponsor: Oracle

(39:10) How Benchmark remains one of the most relevant VC firms

(44:30) The right business model for venture scale

(48:24) the hallmark of a Benchmark company

(52:52) Learnings from consumer social

(1:08:43) What types of companies have enduring value or are truly defensible?

(1:15:09) On crypto

(1:23:47) Re-founding Benchmark

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This show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at erik@turpentine.co.