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

20VC: Why Great Companies are Defined by How Many Things They Say No To, Why Being First Does Not Matter & Why Market Over Traction or Team is the Most Important Thing with Guillermo Rauch, Founder & CEO @ Vercel

Oct 6, 2023

Guillermo Rauch, Founder and CEO of Vercel, talks about making money online, the importance of being right over being first, and crucial market selection. He also discusses the future of AI, lessons from angel investing, and empowering creators in software experiences.

58:45

Creator website

Episode guests

Guillermo Rauch

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Highlights

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Rejecting ideas is crucial for success in a company.

Simplicity and focused user interfaces are essential in creating great products.

AI solidifies the shift away from per-seat pricing and opens up new business models.

Deep dives

The Importance of Rejecting Ideas

A key point in the podcast episode is the significance of companies rejecting ideas. The speaker emphasizes that what makes a company good is how much they say no to and how many seemingly attractive ideas they rule out. This process of rejecting ideas is considered crucial for success.

The Future of UIs and Surfacing Data

01:20

The Importance of Being Uniquely Positioned to solve a problem

03:12

The Importance of Conceptual Understanding

00:34

The Transition to Agent: What It Takes and Will We See It?

01:07

Introduction

4min

Early experiences and entrepreneurial pursuits

11min

Mistakes on Talent Identification and the Benefit of Second-Time Founders

3min

The Importance of Simplicity in Product Development

8min

The Integration of Front End and AI in UI

23min

Believing in Contrarian Ideas, Predicting the Future of AI, and Lessons from Angel Investing

2min

The Value of Founder Positioning, Importance of Market, and Recognizing Market Opportunities

3min

Empowering Creators and the Future of Software Experiences

4min

Guillermo Rauch is the Founder and CEO @ Vercel, giving developers the frameworks, workflows, and infrastructure to build a faster, more personalized Web. To date, Guillermo has raised $312M from Accel, Bedrock, Greenoaks, GV and more. Prior to founding Vercel, Guillermo co-founded LearnBoost and Cloudup where he served the company as CTO through its acquisition by Automattic in 2013.

In Today's Episode with Guillermo Rauch We Discuss:

1. From Argentina to SF: The Boy Making Money Online:

How did Guillermo first get into computers and start making money online?
Does Guillermo still believe the US and SF offers the same opportunities it did when he came?
Did Guillermo feel the weight of responsibility of providing for his family at a young age?

2. Timing, Markets and Narrative Violations:

Why does Guillermo believe it does not matter being first but being right?
Why does Guillermo believe the most important thing for a company is market selection?
Why does Guillermo believe it is crucial that founders and companies have "narrative violations"?

3. The Future of AI:

What model will win in the future; open or closed?
Where does the value accrue; startups or incumbents?
How will the SaaS business model change in a world of AI?

4. Silicon Valley's Most Successful Angel You Did Not Know:

What are some of Guillermo's biggest lessons from angel investing?
What is his single biggest miss? How has it changed how he thinks?
What have been his biggest hits? How did they impact how he thinks about what it takes to win?

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