Quick Coffee

Welcome back to Quick Coffee and welcome to 2024! In this week’s Quick Coffee, we are doing a personal and professional outlook to the year 2024, and we are talking about a product that has recently seen a lot of adoption among our closest friends and colleagues: Arc browser. What is special about Arc? Why is a new internet browser needed? And what can be learned from their approach to product and design? Welcome back to all of you and grab a coffee to listen in! Want to connect with us? We look forward to hearing from you on Twitter at @QuickCoffeeVC or at https://quickcoffee.vc. Find Pat on LinkedIn and Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickhaede/ https://twitter.com/patrickhaede Find Felix on LinkedIn and Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haasfelix/ https://twitter.com/fhaasj

This week’s Quick Coffee is the last one for the year! We are reflecting on a crazy year 2023, the many personal and professional highlights, challenges and learnings and it becomes clear: So much can happen in just 12 months. We are wrapping up the episode with some of our wishes for 2024 and a big thank you to all Quick Coffee listeners. We look forward to seeing you back here in January and for today, grab a coffee and listen in to the last episode of 2023! Want to connect with us? We look forward to hearing from you on Twitter at @QuickCoffeeVC or at https://quickcoffee.vc Find Pat on LinkedIn and Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickhaede/ https://twitter.com/patrickhaede Find Felix on LinkedIn and Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haasfelix/ https://twitter.com/fhaasj

Ben Blumenrose, Co-Director & Managing Partner at Designer Fund, shares his career journey joining Facebook early as a Design Lead, the importance of impact and functionality in design, and the unique support that Designer Fund provides to early-stage startups.

Welcome to this week's Quick Coffee! Today, we dive into the delicate dance between micromanagement and meaningful involvement. It's a topic that often perplexes people managers—should they distance themselves from the day-to-day or follow in the footsteps of successful CEOs who thrive on diving into the minutiae? We'll unravel the mystery behind why some of the most accomplished leaders stay deeply connected to the nitty-gritty details, challenging the conventional wisdom of detachment. Is a thriving product culture directly linked to having a leader deeply immersed in the intricacies? Join us as we explore the art of building a successful product culture while empowering your team to embrace independence. How can you strike the perfect balance? Can a leader be hands-on without stifling creativity and autonomy? Grab your favorite cup of coffee and tune in as we unravel the secrets of effective leadership in the realm of product development! Want to connect with us? We look forward to hearing from you on Twitter at @QuickCoffeeVC or at https://quickcoffee.vc Find Pat on LinkedIn and Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickhaede/ https://twitter.com/patrickhaede Find Felix on LinkedIn and Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haasfelix/ https://twitter.com/fhaasj

In this week’s Quick Coffee, we are chatting about our journey of becoming angel investors. Patrick and I have spent a significant amount of our time into finding and choosing the right founders to invest in and have made major learnings along the way. Everything from what angel investing truly means all the way to shaping your personal brand as an investor and fundamentally understanding what it means to make an investment into a seed stage company. We are truly excited about this episode and hope it can serve as a gate opener for founders and entrepreneurs who are interested in starting their own investment journey. Being an investor to us is less about the financial outcome, but more about the journey of constantly being surrounded by other passionate people who are building remarkable products. Our episode overview (00:00:00) Pat and Felix doing coffee chat (00:07:30) Intro to the topic, what is angel investing? (00:10:40) The legal setup of starting with angel investing (00:15:54) How do you get started and find a deal to invest in? (00:18:14) Minimum investment size & the brand of an investor (00:21:55) The reality of investing and return of investment (00:24:39) Recap of the episode and major learnings Want to connect with us? We look forward to hearing from you on Twitter at @QuickCoffeeVC or at https://quickcoffee.vc. Find Pat on LinkedIn and Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickhaede/ https://twitter.com/patrickhaede Find Felix on LinkedIn and Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haasfelix/ https://twitter.com/felixhaasdv

In this week’s Quick Coffee, we are chatting with Kevin Hartz, Co-Founder and General Partner A* as well as the Chairman & Co-Founder of Eventbrite. Kevin has an incredible story as an entrepreneur, leader and investors. We are going back in time to how he started Xoom and Eventbrite, how it all related to PayPal and his $1B exit from Xoom. We speak about his vision for A* and what kind of investment firm he aims to build. We dive into his thoughts on what makes a great founder and what is important when making the transition from being an early-stage founder to an organisation leader. And we speak about his incredible angel portfolio, as an early investor in SpaceX, Notion, Airbnb, Dropbox, Pinterest and Doordash, just to name a few. An episode full of insights, stories and learnings from an outstanding entrepreneur and investor; grab a coffee and listen in! Our episode overview (00:00:45) Intro to the episode, Felix and Pat are welcoming Kevin (00:01:30) Kevin’s background story and how he got started on his entrepreneurial and investment journey, founding Xoom and Eventbrite (00:14:36) Exiting from Xoom, and the notion of underestimating an up-and-coming market (00:17:10) Kevin’s early angel investments and the vision for his investment firm A* (00:20:00) What does Kevin look for in a founding team? (00:23:10) The early investment in Ramp and why Kevin chose to back the company (00:26:30) How do founders create a culture of being focused on true product excellence? (00:28:40) Transitioning from a founder to a leader or management position (00:32:30) Wrapup and thank you to Kevin! Want to connect with us? We look forward to hearing from you on Twitter at @QuickCoffeeVC or at https://quickcoffee.vc. Find Pat on LinkedIn and Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickhaede/ https://twitter.com/patrickhaede Find Felix on LinkedIn and Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haasfelix/ https://twitter.com/fhaasj

In this week’s Quick Coffee, we are reflecting on our trip to the Bay Area in California. We chat about how we met back in the days on the Stanford campus, our first encounter with the Cybertruck, what we think about it as a product and what is next for the podcast. We are excited about this episode, and to share with you how Quick Coffee is going to evolve. Grab a coffee and listen in! Our episode overview (00:00:00) Intro to the episode, recording our second episode outside (00:02:25) Reflections on one week in the Bay Area (00:03:10) How Felix and Pat met on the Stanford campus (00:09:05) Meeting the Tesla Cybertruck, our impressions (00:18:52) x.ai launches Grōk, their ChatGPT competitor within two months (00:21:10) What’s next for Quick Coffee? Want to connect with us? We look forward to hearing from you on Twitter at @QuickCoffeeVC or at https://quickcoffee.vc. Find Pat on LinkedIn and Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickhaede/ https://twitter.com/patrickhaede Find Felix on LinkedIn and Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haasfelix/ https://twitter.com/fhaasj

In this week’s Quick Coffee, we are chatting about our first ever angel investment: Aware. On Tuesday, Aware launched publicly and we are reflecting on learning about Aware for the first time, the journey of Aware being built and their mission. Why is Aware relevant in today’s world? And how can Aware be the start of one’s longevity journey? Grab a coffee and listen in! Our episode overview (00:00:00) Intro to the episode, Pat and Felix in Palo Alto (00:01:19) The Sonic quarterly co-working (00:01:19) Felix on design recruitment, attitude over skills (00:06:50) Kickoff to the episode, the background story of Aware (00:11:00) There are memberships for everything, why is there none for your health? (00:14:30) Living a healthy life in a world not optimised for health (00:17:40) Felix and Pat’s Aware journey (00:23:20) How to try out Aware and get onto your health journey Want to connect with us? We look forward to hearing from you on Twitter at @QuickCoffeeVC or at https://quickcoffee.vc. Find Pat on LinkedIn and Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickhaede/ https://twitter.com/patrickhaede Find Felix on LinkedIn and Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haasfelix/ https://twitter.com/fhaasj

In this week’s Quick Coffee, we talk about N26, a product both Felix and Pat have been using for many years, but that has changed very little in the past two years. We are diving into the FinTech space with a short introduction, and afterwards look at specific N26 screens and features to discuss how the N26 app has evolved over the years. Why did Pat cancel his subscription? What is he using instead? And who does Felix think is the winner in this space? Grab a coffee and listen in! Our episode overview (00:00:00) Intro to the episode, personal updates from Felix and Pat (00:04:52) A quick overview of the FinTech space by Felix (00:09:30) Which company is the current winner in the space? (00:10:52) Overview by Pat on which banking platforms he is using and why (00:12:17) What is wrong with the N26 app today (00:19:30) Why Pat canceled his subscription with N26 (00:22:50) What happened with N26? Why are they where they are today? And why is there such a big difference to Revolut? Want to connect with us? We look forward to hearing from you on Twitter at @QuickCoffeeVC or at https://quickcoffee.vc. Find Pat on LinkedIn and Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickhaede/ https://twitter.com/patrickhaede Find Felix on LinkedIn and Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haasfelix/ https://twitter.com/fhaasj

Text: In this week’s Quick Coffee, Patrick and Felix are chatting about their product and design review of the new Trade Republic app. The company recently launched a large redesign, and we are sharing our thoughts on some of the things that worked well and not so well. We’ll guide you through the app and share design best practices based on some of the new functionalities. This is one of our first product review episodes, and we are excited to dive into it. Our episode overview (00:00:00) Personal updates from Felix and Pat (04:05:00) Intro to the episode, Trade Republic’s big redesign (05:40:00) Why design is important for a financial product (12:49:00) The problem of not seeing your net worth right away when opening the app (16:35:00) Colour coding and performance mode in the settings page (24:59:00) When does it make sense to redesign? When is the right timing for it? Want to connect with us? We look forward to hearing from you on Twitter at @QuickCoffeeVC or at https://quickcoffee.vc. Find Pat on LinkedIn and Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickhaede/ https://twitter.com/patrickhaede Find Felix on LinkedIn and Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haasfelix/ https://twitter.com/fhaasj