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

20VC: Lessons From Working with Bill Gates, How To Lead Without Authority and The Difference Between Leadership and Management & How Fundraising Changes In A COVID World with Quentin Clark, Managing Director @ General Catalyst

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Dec 28, 2020

Quentin Clark, Managing Director at General Catalyst and former CTO at Dropbox, shares his journey from tech leadership to venture capital. He discusses pivotal lessons from his 20 years at Microsoft, including the art of delegation and the fine line between leadership and management. Quentin highlights how fundraising dynamics have evolved post-COVID, emphasizing trust-building in virtual settings. He also talks about leading without authority and fostering independence among teams, using a collaborative approach likened to an improvisational jazz band.

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ANECDOTE

Debating Bill Gates

Quentin Clark recalls a debate with Bill Gates at Microsoft about an ontology model.
Gates conceded the point but quipped, "Who's the smart person you're going to hire to get it done?"

ADVICE

Delegation and Growth

Delegate tasks, even if you believe you can do them better, to provide learning opportunities.
Focus on desired outcomes and allow some failure for growth.

INSIGHT

Leadership vs. Management

Leadership is about followership and guiding people in a direction.
Management is about creating a functioning system of people.

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Quentin Clark is a Managing Director @ General Catalyst, one of the most prominent firms of the last decade with a portfolio including Stripe, Airbnb, Snap, Anduril, Deliveroo and Cazoo to name a few. As for Quentin, at GC he has led deals in the likes of Kernel, Coda, Commure just to name a few. Before entering the world of venture Quentin was the CTO @ Dropbox and before that he was the Chief Business Officer @ SAP. Finally, before SAP, Quentin spent an incredible 20 years at Microsoft in a variety of different roles play a key part in their hyper-growth.

In Today’s Episode You Will Learn:

1.) How Quentin made his way from CTO @ Dropbox and 20 years at Microsoft to being an MD with General Catalyst today?

2.) What were Quentin's biggest management takeaways from his 20 years at Microsoft? What is his favourite story about working with Bill Gates? How does Quentin think about the art of delegation? How does Quentin differentiate between leadership and management?

3.) How does Quentin believe the world of fundraising has changed with COVID? How does Quentin build relationships of trust in these compressed fundraising timelines? What works? What does not work? How can you really build that relationship off Zoom? How does this change the fundraising landscape moving forward?

4.) What does Quentin mean when he says he likes to "lead without authority"? How does that translate into his management style? How does Quentin evaluate his style of board membership? How does Quentin know whether to wear the investor vs the operator hat on the board?

5.) Does Quentin believe we are really moving the needle in terms of the projects that venture is funding today? What would Quentin like to see more of? What would Quentin like to change about the world of venture? How does Quentin evaluate market timing risk when investing?

Item’s Mentioned In Today’s Episode

Quentin’s Favourite Book: Stranger in a Strange Land

Quentin's Most Recent Investment: Sprout Therapy

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