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

20VC: Mercury Founder Immad Akhund on Why Angel Investing Makes Founders Better Operators, The Right Way For Founders To Discuss and Present Competition To Investors & How To Think About Your Initial Wedge Into The Market and How It Expands Over Time

Sep 20, 2019

Immad Akhund, Founder & CEO of Mercury, shares insights from his journey in the startup ecosystem. He discusses evolving banking innovations and the significance of having an outsider's perspective. Akhund emphasizes the art of fundraising, highlighting how transparency can enhance relationships with investors. He also explores the nuances of presenting competition in pitches and the importance of having a strong vision as a founder. Plus, he reflects on how becoming a parent has shifted his approach to building companies.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Immad's Startup Origin Story

Immad Akhund's startup journey began 13 years ago after a brief stint at Bloomberg in London.
Inspired by TechCrunch and a desire for autonomy, he's been hooked on entrepreneurship ever since.

INSIGHT

Mercury vs. HeyZap

Mercury is Immad's first startup built specifically for his own needs as an entrepreneur.
Unlike his previous venture, HeyZap, which pivoted opportunistically, Mercury follows a strong, consistent vision.

ADVICE

Prioritize Cultural Fit in Hiring

Prioritize hiring for cultural fit, especially in early-stage companies.
Align team members with company values to create a productive and enjoyable work environment.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Immad Akhund is the Founder & CEO @ Mercury, the startup that makes bank accounts that help tech companies scale. To date, Immad has raised funding from some of the best in the business including a16z and CRV on the fund side and then individuals including Elad Gil, Airtable's Howie Liu, Plaid's Zach Perret, Naval Ravikant, Justin Kan and OpenDoor's Eric Wu. Prior to founding Mercury, Immad held enjoyed numerous different roles including being a part-time partner at Y Combinator and then also founding HeyZap, building developer tools for mobile game developers, ultimately acquired in 2016.

In Today’s Episode You Will Learn:

1.) How Immad made his way from studying in the UK to being a YC Partner in 2017 and building one of the valley's hottest startups today in the form of Mercury?

2.) What does Immad want to do differently this time around with Mercury vs his time with HeyZap? What 1-2 mistakes that he made the first time round is Immad looking to avoid? How does being a serial founder impact one's ability to acquire the best talent? What does Immad think is harder the second time around? How has becoming a parent changed the way that Immad thinks about founding and building companies?

3.) How does Immad approach the process of picking the idea? What was the specific process with Mercury, step by step? Why does Immad believe it is an advantage to not have a background or prior career in the space you are looking to innovate in? What advice does Immad have for founders looking to move into highly regulated industries?

4.) How does Immad approach and assess the element of competition? What is the right way for founders to present competition when pitching to investors? Why is a 2x2 matrix the wrong approach? What does Immad advise portfolio founders he has invested in with regards to competition and the landscape in front of them?

5.) What have been some of Immad's biggest learnings from making over 120 angel investments? How has angel investing specifically helped certain parts of how he thinks about operating and being a founder today? What advice does Immad give with regards to investor updates? What makes the best ones? What makes the worst? How often should they be?

Items Mentioned In Today’s Show:

Immad’s Fave Book: The Accidental Superpower: The Next Generation of American Preeminence and the Coming Global Disaster

As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Immad on Twitter here!

Likewise, you can follow Harry on Instagram here for mojito madness and all things 20VC.