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

20VC: Are VCs Still “Open For Business”, How VCs Attitude To Risk Has Changed & The 2 Most Valuable Assets To Founders Today with Fred Destin, Founding Partner @ Stride VC

Apr 8, 2020

Fred Destin, Founding Partner at Stride VC, shares his journey from Accel to launching one of Europe's largest seed funds. He discusses the current state of venture capital amid economic uncertainty, debating if VCs are genuinely 'open for business.' Destin reflects on how risk perceptions have shifted and why Stride paused investments. He emphasizes the importance of clear communication and support for founders, especially during challenging times, and ends with insights on maintaining positivity in the face of adversity.

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ANECDOTE

From Derivatives to Venture

Fred Destin's venture capital journey began unconventionally in derivatives at Goldman Sachs.
He transitioned to entrepreneurship and seed investing, finding his passion in risk management.

INSIGHT

VCs in a Recession

While some VCs claim to be "open for business," the venture landscape has significantly changed.
Founders must understand the shift in VC behavior during a recession and expect decreased deal volumes.

INSIGHT

Unprecedented Downturn

The current economic downturn is unprecedented due to the simultaneous shock to trade, globalization, travel, and social fabric.
While government intervention differs from the Great Depression, concerns remain about excessive quantitative easing and potential inflation.

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Fred Destin is a Founding Partner @ Stride.VC, one of Europe's newest and largest early-stage seed firms. Prior to co-founding Stride, Fred was a General Partner @ Accel where he was the lead investor and board member at Deliveroo, Pillpack (acq. AMZN for $1BN) and Carwow. Prior to Accel, he was a partner at Atlas Venture (now Accomplice) where he invested in and served on the board of Pillpack, Zoopla (IPO), Secret Escapes, Integral Ad Science (partial exit to Vista at $850M) and TheCurrencyCloud to name a few. Fun fact, his portfolio has a total enterprise value of more than $10BN and he generated in excess of $700M in exit value to investors.

In Today’s Episode You Will Learn:

1.) How did Fred make his way into the world of venture and come to co-found one of Europe's newest and largest seed funds in Stride.VC?

2.) If you look to Twitter, all VCs are "open for business", does Fred really believe the market is still open for business? How will deal volume be affected? How bad does Fred think this could get? How does this downturn compare to that of the dot-com and 2008?

3.) Why did Stride decide to take the decision to pause on investing at this moment in time? How does Fred respond to the suggestion of better pricing and less competition at this time? How does Fred believe venture investors view of risk evolves at this time? What is the first to change?

4.) With many new funds deploying their first fund in 18 months, does Fred think we will see a gravyard of new fund managers out of cash and with cash hungry portfolios? What advice does Fred give to newer managers of other elements they have to be minfdul/aware of?

5.) How does Fred think about the right way for managers to communicate with their LPs at this time? What has Stride done that has worked? Does Fred believe we will see many LPs defaulting on their initial commitments? How does Fred think emerging managers can navigate this?

Items Mentioned In Today’s Show:

Fred’s Fave Movie: Mulholland Drive

Fred’s Most Recent Investment: Collective Benefits

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