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

20VC: GV's Tom Hulme on Why Investing in Foundation Models is like Investing in "Power Stations", The Conventional Wisdom in VC that is BS & Lessons from a 24x Angel Track Record, 255x on Robinhood and Making Billions on Uber

May 8, 2024

Tom Hulme, Managing Partner of GV, shares insights on angel investing, VC wisdom, and successful strategies. Discusses 4 pillars of VC success, challenges conventional wisdom, and lessons from a 24x Angel Track Record. Emphasizes the importance of speed in startups, navigating remote work, and investing in foundation models like generative AI companies.

01:17:25

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Episode guests

Tom Hulme

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Quick takeaways

Successful angel investors learn from their biggest winners and mistakes, offering advice to new investors.

Venture capital success lies in understanding key components, categorizing investor types, and balancing founder support.

Challenging conventional wisdom in venture capital leads to reevaluating selling winners, fund returner mindsets, and predicting success accurately.

Deep dives

Different Types of Venture Capital Investors

Smart investors adding value and passive investors not interfering are appreciated. Conversely, investors claiming intelligence but hindering should be avoided. Understanding investor types is crucial for successful investments.

Experience Over Technical Strength in AI Investments

00:56

Founders’ unfair advantages don’t need to come from domain expertise

02:04

Uncovering Uniqueness and Timeliness

00:38

The Importance of Being in the Office for Young People

01:20

Introduction

4min

Exploring Childhood Experiences and Developing Empathy

2min

The Dynamics of Angel Investing and Investor-Founder Relationships

19min

Venture Investing Insights

15min

Reimagining Venture Capital Strategy and Outcome Metrics

2min

Discussion on Taking Money off the Table, Product Fit in the Age of COVID-19, and Unequal Team Benefits

2min

The Future of Investing in Foundation Models

17min

Speed of Execution and Feedback in Startups

4min

Navigating the Shift to Remote Work and AGI Existential Risks

10min

10.

Investing in a Stealth Startup and Acknowledging Sponsorships

3min

Tom Hulme is a Managing Partner of GV (Google Ventures), and leads the European team. Today, GV has over $10BN in AUM and Tom has led investments in Lemonade.com (IPO), Snyk, Secret Escapes, Blockchain.com, GoCardless, Blue Vision Labs (exited to Lyft), and Currency Cloud (exited to Visa). Prior to joining venture full-time, Tom was one of Europe's most successful angel investors with a 5x DPI track record and 20x+ TVPI.

In Today's Episode with Tom Hulme We Discuss:

1. Lessons from a 24x TVPI Angel Track Record:

What are Tom's biggest lessons from his biggest winners angel investing?
What are Tom's biggest takeaways from the 0's in his angel track record?
What is the biggest advice Tom would give to angel investors starting out today?
What are the single biggest mistakes Tom sees angel investors make today?

2. The Four Pillars of Venture Capital:

What does Tom believe are the four key components of being successful as a VC?
Why does Tom describe VC as "being a founder on anti-depressants"?
How does Tom categorise the three different types of investors that exist?
Sourcing, selecting, servicing: What is Tom best at and what is he worst at?

3. The Conventional Wisdom in Venture That is Not True:

Why does Tom believe it is BS that you should never sell your winners?
Why does Tom believe he has never had complete conviction in any of the companies he invests in?
Why does Tom believe the "everything has to be a fund returner mindset" is BS?
Why naivety doesn't lead to great founders? Why employees at rocketships are the best founders?

4. AI: Foundation Models, Generative AI, The Incumbents: Where Does the Value Go:

Does Tom believe there is money to be made investing in foundation models?
Why does Tom liken investing in foundation models to investing in power stations?
Where does Tom believe there is value in the application layer?
Why does Tom think that generative AI is largely a sustaining innovation?
Why does Tom think Microsoft will win the next wave of AI? Who else is well-positioned?
Why does Tom believe there is a correlation between those that fear monger around AGI and those that need funding for their businesses?

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

20VC: GV's Tom Hulme on Why Investing in Foundation Models is like Investing in "Power Stations", The Conventional Wisdom in VC that is BS & Lessons from a 24x Angel Track Record, 255x on Robinhood and Making Billions on Uber

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Different Types of Venture Capital Investors

Personal Experiences Influence Business Mindset

Challenges in Venture Capital Decision-Making

Approach to Foundation Model Investments

Investing in AI Businesses

Startup Strategies and Execution Speed

Experience Over Technical Strength in AI Investments

Founders’ unfair advantages don’t need to come from domain expertise

Uncovering Uniqueness and Timeliness

The Importance of Being in the Office for Young People

Get the Snipd
podcast app

AI-powered
podcast player

Discover
highlights

Save any
moment

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

20VC: GV's Tom Hulme on Why Investing in Foundation Models is like Investing in "Power Stations", The Conventional Wisdom in VC that is BS & Lessons from a 24x Angel Track Record, 255x on Robinhood and Making Billions on Uber

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Different Types of Venture Capital Investors

Personal Experiences Influence Business Mindset

Challenges in Venture Capital Decision-Making

Approach to Foundation Model Investments

Investing in AI Businesses

Startup Strategies and Execution Speed

Experience Over Technical Strength in AI Investments

Founders’ unfair advantages don’t need to come from domain expertise

Uncovering Uniqueness and Timeliness

The Importance of Being in the Office for Young People

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