20VC: Clubhouse Founder Paul Davison on What Went Right and What Went Wrong | What Does Clubhouse Do Now To Regain Mindshare? | Why Clubhouse is not a Content Platform? | What is the Next Wave of Consumer Social and Does Web3 Play a Role? |
Paul Davison, Co-founder and CEO of Clubhouse, shares insights from his journey in social audio. He discusses how Clubhouse's rapid growth was tied to its user engagement metrics and the unique value of live conversations. Reflecting on lessons from both success and challenges, he explains why Clubhouse isn't just a content platform. He also dives into the competitive landscape against traditional social media and highlights the potential role of Web3 in the future of social networking.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Clubhouse Founding
Paul Davison and Rohan Seth, after selling Highlight and working at Pinterest/other social apps, reunited to explore new ventures.
Initially considering education and enterprise, they chose audio due to their love for conversations and saw potential in its growth.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Building a Durable Company
Focus on building a durable company with shared values, transparency, and pro-employee practices.
Prioritize a small, experienced team, delaying scaling until necessary, and align on clear operating principles for faster decision-making.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Attracting Talent
Build something you're passionate about, enabling you to tell its story effectively for team building and fundraising.
Focus on the problem and its potential impact to attract like-minded individuals.
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Reality Is Not What It Seems delves into the mysteries of modern physics, explaining complex concepts in an accessible and engaging manner. Carlo Rovelli explores the nature of time, space, and the universe, challenging our intuitive understanding of reality. The book weaves together scientific insights with philosophical reflections, offering a new perspective on our place in the cosmos. Rovelli's writing style is known for its clarity and poetic sensibility, making complex scientific ideas understandable to a broad audience. The book invites readers to contemplate the fundamental nature of reality and our relationship to the universe.
The Information
A History, a Theory, a Flood
James Gleick
In 'The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood', James Gleick delves into the history of information technologies, from the invention of written alphabets and African talking drums to the modern era of digital communication. The book profiles key figures such as Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace, Samuel Morse, and Claude Shannon, and explores how our understanding of information has transformed human consciousness. Gleick discusses the mechanical and meaningful aspects of communication, including the development of telegraphy, telephony, and the internet, and examines the implications of information theory on various fields such as physics, genetics, and sociology.
Paul Davison is the Co-Founder and CEO @ Clubhouse, the startup that believes people are at the centre of every moment, providing a platform to talk with friends and meet new friends. To date, Paul has raised over $310M with Clubhouse from a16z, DST, Elad Gil, Naval Ravikant, and many more. Prior to co-founding Clubhouse, Paul was the Founder of Highlight, a location-based consumer social service backed by Benchmark. Before Highlight, Paul actually spent time at Benchmark as an EiR.
In Today's Episode with Paul Davison We Discuss:
1.) Entry into Startups:
How Paul came to found Highlight in the early days of consumer social?
What elements worked with Highlight that he took with him to Clubhouse? Which elements did not work that he learned from?
2.) Clubhouse: What Worked:
What does Paul believe are the primary reasons that Clubhouse grew so fast?
What metrics does Paul use to determine true product-market-fit and stickiness?
What is good retention on Day 1, Day 7 and Day 30? How important is 12-month retention?
3.) Clubhouse: What Did Not Work:
COVID: Does Paul believe that Clubhouse was the COVID antidote we all needed? How sustainable is that if so? What trends make it more sustainable?
Live Does Not Work: How does Paul respond to Mike Mignano's comments that "live does not work"? Why does Paul believe that Clubhouse is not a content platform?
Quality: Does Paul agree that the quality of live is not as good as the quality of produced content? Is that a problem? If the quality is worse, what is significantly better about live?
4.) The Future of Social:
Does Paul agree that we are seeing the disregard of the once hailed social graph in favour of a new era of recommendation media? What does this mean for Clubhouse?
With the rise of the likes of BeReal, how does Paul think about the importance of authenticity in the next wave of consumer social?
How does Paul forsee Web3 and the next generation of consumer social being interlinked? What will it take for Web3 to break through? What are the core barriers today?
Does Paul agree that the best consumer social tools empower creators with Superhuman powers?
5.) Lessons on CEOship:
What are Paul's biggest lessons on successful company building?
How does Paul manage the criticism and negativity of the press personally?
How does Paul maintain the morale internally when the press cycle is so negative?
How has Paul adapted himself to gain a thicker skin and not pay as much attention?
The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch 
