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

20VC: Why Few Firms Are Doing True Early Stage Investing Today, Why Founders Should Spend Time with Analysts When Raising & The Rise of Pre-Empting Rounds and How To Know When To Engage vs Wait with Anna Khan, General Partner @ CRV

Aug 14, 2020

Anna Khan, General Partner at CRV, shares her rich journey from analyst to a leading role in venture capital. She highlights the critical importance of analysts in the fundraising process, urging founders to engage thoughtfully with them. Anna discusses the rising trend of pre-empted funding rounds, offering her insights on when to capitalize on opportunities versus exercising patience. She also addresses the gender gap in venture capital, advocating for more representation and discussing the barriers faced by women in the industry.

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ANECDOTE

Anna's Path to VC

Anna Khan started her career in finance, then became chief of staff at a mobile advertising startup.
Discovering venture capital as a blend of finance and startups, she joined Bessemer, sourcing companies like Intercom.

ADVICE

Value of Analysts

Founders should spend time with analysts, who are often their strongest advocates.
Analysts can source deals and champion entrepreneurs, as seen with Intercom, Twitch, and Procore.

ADVICE

Filtering Analysts

Reply to analyst outreach and request work like market analysis or introductions.
This reveals their value and helps you filter helpful analysts, assessing their potential future partnership.

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Anna Khan is a General Partner @ CRV, one of the pre-eminent firms of Silicon Valley stretching over what is now an incredible 18 funds. In their portfolio, they have the likes of Airtable, Doordash, Postman and PillPack to name a few. As for Anna, prior to joining CRV, she spent an incredible 6 years at Bessemer investing in the likes of Intercom, NewVoiceMedia, RainforestQA and Zylo. If that was not enough, Anna is also the Founder & CEO @ Launch X Ventures, offering female entrepreneurs an immersive opportunity to learn how to raise capital for their businesses.

In Today’s Episode You Will Learn:

1.) How Anna made her way into venture as an analyst with Bessemer and how that led to her scaling the venture ladder to now being GP @ CRV?

2.) How does Anna feel about the importance of analysts in venture? Should founders spend meaningful time with analysts? How should they determine which to spend time with? What were the biggest lessons Anna learned about venture and people from being an analyst at Bessemer?

3.) With the rise of rounds being pre-empted, how does Anna determine when to lean in and move on a deal vs when to wait? How does Anna determine when to stretch vs be disciplined on valuation? Why does Anna believe very few firms are "doing real early-stage investing" today?

4.) Why does Anna believe that there are so much fewer women in venture? How does Anna respond to the suggestion that it is a "pipeline problem"? How would Anna advise an all-white male partnership looking to truly change how they work? How does carry come into showing commitment?

5.) What advice does Anna give to people on developing your early network? Why does Anna believe VCs spending time with VCs is antithetical? How has Anna's investment decision-making process changed over the last 9 years? How does Bessemer's compare to CRV's?

Items Mentioned In Today’s Show:

Anna’s Fave Book: Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams

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