The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch 20VC: Mercor: From $1M to $500M in 17 Months: The Fastest Growing Company in the World | How to Think About Margins and Revenue Sustainability in AI | Why Evaluation Benchmarks in AI are BS Today with Brendan Foody
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Sep 15, 2025 
Brendan Foody, Co-Founder and CEO of Mercor, shares insights on scaling his company from $1M to a staggering $500M in just 17 months. He discusses why traditional college education may not be essential in today's job market, especially with the rise of AI. The conversation also dives into the flawed benchmarks for evaluating AI companies and the importance of revenue sustainability. Brendan explains the controversial 996 work culture, arguing that finding balance is key to thriving in the competitive AI landscape.
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Donut Stand Hustle
- Brendan sold donuts in middle school, undercut competitors and moved off-campus to avoid rules.
- His mother feared he'd escalate to selling drugs, so she sent him to Catholic high school to keep him on track.
Early Consulting Paid Off
- In high school Brendan helped sneaker resellers get AWS credits and built websites, making hundreds of thousands.
- That early income made him question the value of college versus building businesses full-time.
From Crowdsourcing To High-Skill Sourcing
- Mercor shifted from low-skill crowdsourcing to sourcing high-caliber professionals for complex model data.
- High-skill contributors enable researchers to interpret and improve model capabilities at frontier levels.