EUVC VC | E481 | Etienne on Intuition, Going Deep on Consumer, and What Founders Can Learn from Pro Athletes
Jun 1, 2025
A former professional basketball player shares insights on his transition to venture capitalism, emphasizing resilience and a contrarian mindset. Discover how discipline learned in sports translates to entrepreneurship. The discussion dives into the evolution of consumer investing, particularly amid AI innovations. The speaker critiques traditional VC models and presents a vision for more capital-efficient funds. With a focus on maintaining a small, dedicated team, they explore the nuances of navigating the future of consumer apps in a rapidly changing tech landscape.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Basketball to Startup Journey
- Etienne was a professional basketball player chasing the NBA dream until 20 years old before pivoting to entrepreneurship.
- The discipline and resilience from sports shaped his approach to building startups and venture capital.
Founders Need Pain Tolerance
- Successful founders require extremely high pain tolerance and fast movement.
- Align with a mission bigger than yourself to sustain the difficult zero-to-one startup phase.
Founding First Startup Struggle
- Etienne's first startup journey was grueling with crashes, MVPs, and near acquisition by a huge AI company.
- He learned the brutal nature of founding but loved the intensity and resilience it built.