This Week in Startups E1035: SoftBank Managing Partner Jeff Housenbold on deploying the $100B Vision Fund, getting recruited by Masayoshi Son, counseling founders to manage massive capital, creating moats, reasons for shift toward profits, lessons from WeWork & more
Mar 10, 2020
01:33:23
0:40 Jason intros Jeff Housenbold
2:16 What did Jeff do before joining the Vision Fund? How did he help scale eBay & Shutterfly?
4:15 How did he wind up at SoftBank? What was it like being recruited by Masayoshi Son? How did Masa pitch the Vision Fund to Jeff?
13:28 What was the timeframe for deploying the $100B Vision Fund?
18:10 How does SoftBank size their bets and how do they counsel founders to handle massive amounts of capital?
20:07 Coaching founders on using capital to create talent moats & build brand partnerships
22:17 Scaling their diligence alongside their capital deployment, understanding core customers & focusing on positive unit economics
28:30 How did the Uber & Didi deals go down? How close was SoftBank to investing in Lyft instead of Uber?
33:23 How SoftBank looks at investing in adjacent companies and mergers
38:42 Jeff's background & the importance of education in changing your lot in life
46:07 Changing focus from Growth to Profits, the effect of short-term thinking and its impact on Dara and Uber since their 2019 IPO
57:23 Thoughts on VTOL? Will we see VTOL vehicles or self-driving first?
1:02:16 Jeff's take on Coronavirus and its impact on the markets & how founders and CEOs can combat market volatility
1:09:38 Portfolio Review: Zume Pizza
1:11:32 Portfolio Review: Katerra
1:14:03 Jason guesses the toughest 4 industries to penetrate
1:15:03 Portfolio Review: Plenty
1:19:29 Portfolio Review: Memphis Meats
1:23:05 What happened with the WeWork investment? What % does SoftBank now own, and can they turn it around? What are some lessons learned from the entire saga?
1:27:13 Jeff shares some "Jeff-ism's of Business"
1:27:52 How is the Vision Fund II raise coming along?
1:28:36 How the scale of the Vision Fund impacts people's ability to understand their investments
1:32:05 For founders: When is the right time to engage with SoftBank?
2:16 What did Jeff do before joining the Vision Fund? How did he help scale eBay & Shutterfly?
4:15 How did he wind up at SoftBank? What was it like being recruited by Masayoshi Son? How did Masa pitch the Vision Fund to Jeff?
13:28 What was the timeframe for deploying the $100B Vision Fund?
18:10 How does SoftBank size their bets and how do they counsel founders to handle massive amounts of capital?
20:07 Coaching founders on using capital to create talent moats & build brand partnerships
22:17 Scaling their diligence alongside their capital deployment, understanding core customers & focusing on positive unit economics
28:30 How did the Uber & Didi deals go down? How close was SoftBank to investing in Lyft instead of Uber?
33:23 How SoftBank looks at investing in adjacent companies and mergers
38:42 Jeff's background & the importance of education in changing your lot in life
46:07 Changing focus from Growth to Profits, the effect of short-term thinking and its impact on Dara and Uber since their 2019 IPO
57:23 Thoughts on VTOL? Will we see VTOL vehicles or self-driving first?
1:02:16 Jeff's take on Coronavirus and its impact on the markets & how founders and CEOs can combat market volatility
1:09:38 Portfolio Review: Zume Pizza
1:11:32 Portfolio Review: Katerra
1:14:03 Jason guesses the toughest 4 industries to penetrate
1:15:03 Portfolio Review: Plenty
1:19:29 Portfolio Review: Memphis Meats
1:23:05 What happened with the WeWork investment? What % does SoftBank now own, and can they turn it around? What are some lessons learned from the entire saga?
1:27:13 Jeff shares some "Jeff-ism's of Business"
1:27:52 How is the Vision Fund II raise coming along?
1:28:36 How the scale of the Vision Fund impacts people's ability to understand their investments
1:32:05 For founders: When is the right time to engage with SoftBank?