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"Turpentine VC" | Venture Capital and Investing

E10: No Process, High Conviction — The Iconoclastic Founders Fund DNA

Oct 17, 2023
Trae Stephens, General Partner at Founders Fund, discusses the importance of independent thinking and debate culture at the firm. They emphasize their unique approach to deal-making driven by individual conviction. They also talk about the governance structure at Founders Fund and their focus on making highly concentrated bets. Additionally, they discuss the challenges and opportunities of investing in government tech and their approach to hiring new talent.
55:09

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • The culture of openness and debate at Founders Fund is crucial to their success, allowing partners to build strong convictions and make better investment decisions.
  • Founders Fund prioritizes doubling down on winners and concentrating investments, aiming to be a less annoying and more hands-off investor.

Deep dives

Founders Fund operates through debate culture and openness

At the core of Founders Fund's success is its culture of openness and debate. Instead of a defined process, partners must develop conviction and defend their ideas in front of other smart individuals. This emphasis on debate and conflict internally helps partners build strong convictions, and it has been more important than the practical aspects of venture capital. The early success of Founders Fund can be attributed to outsized bets on outliers, such as SpaceX and Airbnb, which differentiated the firm.

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