YouSaid · the spoken record

Dave Vasen

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32
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2018-12-14
most recent
2018-12-14
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1
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  1. “So Brightwell, as we view it, is the brand of early education. We're the biggest network of early education centers across the globe today with millions of interactions on a daily basis. We're the most trusted and most loved brand in this industry. And that's today. And so I think when you project out then five years, it means that we get to build on that really strong foundation and we get to serve schools and parents in all kinds of new ways and ultimately help revolutionize this industry.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  2. “Yeah, I'd say thought partner, and I would say our investors have been super strong on this dimension. And it's different than another kind of relationship that you could have. It's just, it's constructive. You're working together towards the same goals and you may have different approaches and perspectives, but you're treating each other really as collaborators”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  3. “I mean, that's easy for me. Is it Bezos? I spent several years at Amazon. Expectations are super high. The results are high for hiring, it's for innovation. It's for the customer experience. And the teams continually find a way to hit that. And so I just really admire what they have built. And by the way, he's also investing around $2 billion in early education in our space. So that one's easy.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  4. “Yeah, maybe I'll split it into kind of two different phases. Early on in life, I did a bunch of backpacking on my own internationally, even climbed a few mountains. And I think pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone and then even frankly your physical limits for me was really, really important to get to that point and know that you can then dig in and keep going. And I often look back on that experience. Now, I guess more recently, later in life, I would have to say, you know, marrying my wife, certainly not the meeting, but the actual committing. She's been my rock in many ways through this experience. And then we talked a little about my two girls or just how grounding they are, how simple joy can be with them and how they have changed things in many ways.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  5. “Yeah, so I applied the, I don't know if you heard about it, but the Jeff Bezos Regret minimization framework to start the company, I think that I kind of often lean on at times, but I'd say actually more frequently now, I guess maybe humorously catch myself saying so it goes. It's a curt Vonnegut phrase from Slaughterhouse 5. And I think it's just a really simple phrase that helps give perspective. I think sometimes things are hard or insurmountable. Frankly, the shit just piles on. And so, you know, that phrase, so it goes, it's just a really good, I think, verbal cue to kind of let it go.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  6. “Yeah, and well, first of all, I love something. I mean, honestly, we're kind of in the early days of this, but I do think that companies, especially in the Valley, have to embrace it. We have an office in Denver. We have team members across eight different states right now. For us, first of all, it's just about investing in it. So we're hiring ahead of people to help ensure a great experience for everyone, no matter where they happen to have a desk. And to be mindful about it in our growth. And so we're investing a lot in things like video conferencing and travel and just ensuring that the things that originate with Brightwell in our first office and our small group, that the culture that we talked about, that we are instrumenting it throughout, ensuring that you can feel it and experience it and it can be part of your day wherever you happen to be.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  7. “Yeah, it's funny because I listen to this question on your podcast and I always think about my honest answer, which is I just barely do any reading right now because there's just so little time I think as a founder, husband, a dad. I will tell you the last one I read, which has been a while, but one book I would recommend is called The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. It's just a really good framework, I think, to evaluate the health of any team, a particular kind of executive team. It's super practical, really easy to read, but just gives a sense of some of the dimensions to kind of evaluate yourself and how things are operating.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  8. “Yeah, no, I like the older term. I hadn't thought myself that way. But there's pros and cons. I think ultimately for me, I think it just means I'm going to be more stringent on my time because I have more demands on it. And so I am going to, as we talked about a little bit earlier, I'm just going to find chances and opportunities to say no and kind of put myself and my values first in some ways. And so it can be not taking that meeting or even just leaving the office in order to put Serena and Mia to bed each night, which is something that's super important to me. it forces more strict prioritization. It also frankly just helps after potentially a tough day. It is always really humbling, I think, to come back and just kind of be around your kids and simple joys that comes with that.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  9. “Yeah, so I heard that episode and caught myself nodding. I would tend to agree with Finn. I think I would say it can really work. And I imagine it can help lead to success in many situations. But I also think it can tend to introduce biases. And as Finn said, I think some level of laziness. And, you know, as I look at my own experience, there are no doubt like brands on my resume that help me a lot, but they're also.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  10. “The day-to-day tactical misses. And I think startups are, in my opinion, much more about the climb than the piece. And so there's just so much learning that's bottled up right now because we shower praise and attention and time on the wins that are clearly visible.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  11. “Yeah, I really appreciate this question here. I think the VC and Startup World, it feels like, as you're saying, tend to kind of glorify the founding, the scaling of a company, the big milestones, it feels like to me, like we never hear about the challenges. And the reality, which is that it is really hard. It's really, really hard. It takes a toll on family, on friendships, on health. I personally had to let go of a lot of things that I care about, relationships, things that I enjoyed, in order to do this, in order to make the time available to build this company. And so I think you have to be able to find that motivation when things are really hard. You have to want to fulfill the mission and be genuinely excited about the problems you're going to tackle and the people that are in the trenches with you. And you have to then know also that it's not always going to be peachy. Sometimes it may seem externally. And so I think it just feels like a miss that we don't talk more about the failures. If you scroll tech crunch or Twitter, it's kind of all about the big wins, the funding, acquisitions, a ton of IPOs. And personally, maybe it's my own experience, but I would just much rather read about the product launch that didn't work, you know, the start of the didn't make it.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  12. “The biggest advice that I get is time, time, time. And so when it comes time to do it, then clear your calendar and put in that time and get to know them is the biggest one. And I'd say both formally looking at a pitch deck and talking through it and talking through the numbers, but also informally and going out for a coffee or just getting to know folks on a more personal level. And then backtailing is really important. And I think everyone, just like when you're hiring, everyone's going to offer their own references. But being able to go about finding out other folks who have worked with that VC, you know, the firm in particular, the partner and get to ask tough questions. And I think the easy thing is when something goes really well, when there's a great outcome and everybody's happy, the situations that I think are very telling is when it doesn't go well, when there's an outcome that folks weren't happy about or things turn in the wrong direction, how people act in those situations, I think, is really telling. I've been able to do that diligence on the folks that have come on board on Brightwell and feel really strong, I think, about the character of the people that we have around the table.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  13. “Yeah, that's what I share. I think it's fair in a lot of ways. I think it is a really close, important relationship. But I think the analogy breaks down when it comes to the actual way that you get to know somebody in the time that they put in upfront.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  14. “Future could look like and making sure that that alignment is there. I would say it's probably less true when it comes to a spouse. I never quite hear back channeling on our relationships when it comes to getting to know your spouse.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  15. “I mean, I think it's fair in some ways. And I'd say that the relationship is super important. Your investors are people you're going to lean on, that you're going to rely on. They're going to have a major influence in the trajectory of the company. They're going to be supporting along the way. And they need to be aligned with long-term vision of the company and the values and what the board dynamics will look like. And those are all things that you do need to uncover that do take time to do that. In many ways, you know, would suggest to kind of the intimacy and importance of our marriage. And while I'm trying to clearly thread the needle here, I will stand by my original statement and say, I just think you can condense it more when it comes to an investing relationship maybe more than a personal relationship. I think when it's time to fundraise and you spend the time, you do your diligence, you backchannel, and you think through what are the ways that I can get more data and more information here. And so I think it would appear to me to be more straightforward to do that in a business setting rather quickly just because there is enough information out there to get to an informed decision. And there's scenarios and concrete things that you can talk through with an investor about what”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  16. “It's hard because you want to build relationships, you want to be respectful, and I do admire a lot of folks out there and would love to spend the time. I just don't have it. And I think if I have an extra half hour, an hour, I'm going to put that into the business. I'm going to put that into hiring. I'm going to put that into the thing that I should have been doing yesterday. And so what I try to convey is and what I advise is just the limitations on time and what that means and be able to give a future window potentially when that may change and the time to check back in again and just be polite certainly about it. I'll be clear about it. But it is challenging because I think it is the time and incentive structures are just a little bit different on each side.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  17. “Be getting funded and where financing there is a core part of the job all the time. I just don't think that's the case for the CEO. And so, you know, for a CEO, I would probably change it to something like always be building, put your time where it matters most at that moment. And fundraising is a component of that. But on a day-to-day basis, week-to-week basis, there's a lot of other areas that I think will be more important to have a bigger return in terms of a founder's time.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  18. “Be very honest, I really just like that. I think fundraising is a tactical component of building a company. It's one part of the founder's job. It's important. It's absolutely important. And it's been a big part of my job. But it also takes us away from the product and from the business for frankly extended amounts of time. And so while my approach may be different from others and some may disagree, what I try to do is condense it as much as possible. So this requires planning ahead, knowing what future fundraising is going to be in terms of our plan, ensuring that we know the milestones we have to hit to get to that funding, but focus on hitting those at that time. And then when it comes to the actual time to fundraise, I actually just time box it as much as possible. I try to get it done, get it wired, and then go back to building the business. And I think to me that phrase of always be raising just suggests that fundraising actually is the number one thing that a CEO needs to do and where a CEO adds value. And I just disagree. I think I would imagine that VC's coined that phrase and that makes sense. I think their job is to always be funding to always.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  19. “First of all, and evaluate and understand those. And when they're working, being willing and able to invest in double down.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  20. “Easier to fuel growth with cash. And I think it's pretty damn appealing in some ways. But if the unit economics don't work, you really haven't built much more than a way to actually just spend venture dollars. So if you step back, I guess I fundamentally believe that resource constraints are a good thing. They force creativity. They force teams to prioritize. They force tough decisions. Thinking through how we're going to spend that capital and keeping constraints on us in light of that and looking longer term, it just is something that we have really open and frank discussions about internally. No, absolutely. But we chatted before and you said that approaching the end of 2018, you have the same as before the cash was wired from the raise. I'm super interested then to hear, given that and the thoughtful approach to burn and scaling, how do you think about when's the right time to really put the pedal to the metal and spend? Yeah, for me it's having an idea, first of all, how you're going to spend it. We're not raising for the sake of raising, but we're raising as an instrument of growth. And then it's looking for opportunities to place.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  21. “Usual for the remainder of 2018. Can I ask, how do you think about that? Especially with maybe more growth hungry VCs. How can founders maybe project that more reasonable spend, more reasonable burn approach without annoyance towards maybe a more growth-hungry, aggressive VC looking for continuous uprounds? Yeah, I think what I try to share my perspective with the team is I've now been in this area for a long time and I've seen a lot of fantastic companies die. And it's usually because they ran out of cash. You know, the other scenarios is scaling up really, really fast and then rapidly scaling back and cutting folks back. And so Frightwill is a generational company. And I feel quite strong about that. And we're quite proud about the traction that we're making against that. And ultimately get there. We have to earn it. We have to spend like a series be company as we are today. We have to deploy capital that's going to get us return and be thoughtful about what it means to be the series A or B company versus a C or D or later on. And I think it can become very addictive. It can be, frankly,”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  22. “Sure, but with the fundraising in mind and with your being in the epicenter of the valley, how do you analyze the current sentiment and approach to fundraising today? Yeah, I think I'm somewhat outside of this on a regular basis on a daily basis, but I think from when I pull up and look at it or try to help advise other founders, it feels like every few years we look back and we're always saying that there's more money now in higher valuations. And it tends to be what I'm hearing and just more capital available in general, often funds willing to bet on companies perhaps with less proven than might have been required a few years ago. And so I think in many ways it may be a good time to be a founder, but I also try to encourage founders to think through the implications of arrays, the timing of it, the size of it, and even the necessity of it because of what the expectations will be coming out of it. What was interesting for the team to wrap their head around is that we're actually not going to change overnight and we're not going to turn around and spend that money tomorrow and have actually asked the team essentially to operate as businesses.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  23. “On specific questions against that. And that's in the hiring process. I'd say we also just try to instrument it in other parts of the company. Like every week we give an award for people who embody our culture. Not everyone is going to be successful by Will, just as they may not be a fit for Google or for Airbnb or for some other company. And I think for us it's just wanting to find the right people that will embrace the right will forward strengths will be part of building our culture and ultimately thrive here. No, I love that in terms of the thriving within the organization. But I do have to ask, in terms of the scaling, it's often enabled by the elements of fundraising, a constant topic in the valley and probably propagated by terrible people like me. I have to ask, given your recent race, huge congrats on that, by the way, I appreciate it. I'm excited in Hummel to bring Best Room on board. I can say without hesitation that our investors from any act from GDV know Bessmar have just added a ton of value and they really dug in to help. So it was exciting to get to share that and more importantly, just exciting to bring them on board.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  24. “Where you're starting from. I mean, I love that knowing where you're starting from. So if we have that mindset, when we're hiring, we know the culture, the fit that we're hiring for. I'm super passionate about interview questions. Are there any interview questions which maybe determine or reveal more character about that candidate with regards to whether they are a potential culture fit? Firstly, I learned this a hard way. I've been not investing enough in incorporating it into our hiring. And it is for stepping back and understanding what makes you unique on a values perspective and a behavior's perspective. And so, you know, for us at Brightwell, we're a culture of really open and direct communication. We are very big on collaboration. We borrow from Amazon that we use Docs, for example, to facilitate decision making and writing down narratives. And if someone is going to struggle or hate working in that type of environment, I think it's better for all of us to figure that out at the outset. And so these are things now that more recently I have put into our actual scorecard. And so when folks come through for interviews, we have the scorecard that we are rating against and we have specific areas to focus.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  25. “Mentioned going to that second element of the scaling is forever a process in an education really. But what have been some of your biggest learnings on culture with the scaling of Brightwheel? Yeah, I think when I started the company, I thought culture had to be organic, a mixture of all the best things that the early employees could bring from their prior companies. And I was wrong. I think, you know, one of the biggest lessons that I've learned is that need to actually be prescriptive about culture. These are the values and these are the behaviors that make your company unique, that make it tick. And I actually think it's important to define that and instrument it then throughout the company in hiring and reviews and team meetings to really acknowledge it and be able to look at it and measure it and put it into action. Now, this doesn't mean building a wall and shutting out diverse perspectives. It simply means working from a foundation with a solid understanding. Let me say this. I once heard Reed Hoffman say you want to build culture and not protect it. And I really like that. I think culture can evolve. It should be challenged, but you have to know.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  26. “How do you think about this, and what would your advice be to me and to the wider team and to people listening? Well, first I'd say, I've gotten much, much better at it as part of this experience and just having so little time. I think for me, it's always about being direct and being transparent. And so if I'm saying no to somebody, hopefully usually I have some good reason. And so if I can offer advice, it would be just to help the other side understand that. And I think it can be frankly uncomfortable because we have this inherent need to want to please. And I think what you see that transpire into often is like a soft yes or let's talk about it later. I see it happen within teams. I see it certainly happen with investors who aren't willing to give a firm no. When I look back at my own experience, I think it's always better and the other side is always going to appreciate more having the understanding and frankly even the learning from a direct no. And so I think just getting used to it, getting the practice in place is super important. Well, I intend to take you up on it and I might even BCC you in on a couple of emails. That would be wonderful. But in terms of the culture and the hiring that we”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  27. “Yeah, I think, I mean, part of that is the magic of the early stage to some degree of you're thinking about and probably focusing on something that people haven't thought about yet or haven't thought about in the way that you are. So there is some gamble to that. I think it's then figuring out what measurement, what milestone, in what way you're going to be able to measure your progress and go against that. And I think you can working against the problem, it could be for months, it could be for much, much longer. But being able to understand your core insight around that and then how you're actually going to be able to track if you are able to solve it and able to address it in a unique way. that then spurs a really, really great learning process. Yeah. No, I agree with you”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  28. “I think SARS can move incredibly quickly. And that's usually a strength and it's a desire, I think, to bite off maybe more all the time. And so while that can be great, it also can be a problem. And I think it's just critical to know where to focus and where to put that energy. I think companies really early on in particular, but every stage need to be able to define their customer to understand the problem that they're solving for that customer and then focus relentlessly on that. And, you know, that may change as you learn more. It's not to say that you have one focus and it never adjusts. But I think you have to, first of all, know what you're focusing on to know if you're on the wrong path or if you're on the right path. And so I always advise folks to just really understand and define that up front and be willing to be wrong, but to focus in on that. And I think when you dive in deeper, then what you have to be willing to do and be able to do is to actually say no. And I think there has to be a framework and a language within a company or a no. And so I tell the team here every week to feel comfortable saying it, to practice it. And frankly, saying no is much.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  29. “Folks on the ground. And the key difference for early education versus the other areas is it's all private. And so these folks are not just running a school and a classroom, but they're also running a business. And in doing so, it just means that they're having to band-aid together a bunch of different systems. When you think about enrollment and billing and communication and payroll, all of these different things that they're having to do on the ground every single day. And so in spending time with them and seeing what they were using, a lot of spreadsheets, a lot of paper, he was thinking, why can't this all be in one place? Why can't it be easy to use? Why can't it be in the cloud? And that in many ways was the origination of Bright Wheels. It's just listening to folks and spending a lot of time with them. And fast forward and just very fortunate to say that we are now the largest network of early education providers across the globe.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  30. “Preschool, stay care, after school programs, it's all these really, really influential years of early education that now most studies say those five years of life are perhaps the most impactful of any five years span after that when it comes to growth and development. And so it is a must certainly for young kids and for development. It's also, frankly, a must for working families who rely on various forms of childcare to be able to go to work every day. And these are things that I just didn't appreciate until I was a parent. And as I got deeper into the space, I think the obvious thing from the parent side is that it's really hard to find childcare, to get into childcare. And then once you're in, you have no connection to your child for most of the day. I personally can be connected to anybody on Slack. I can be connected to extended family across the globe, but I'm not connected to my own child. That just felt strange going back five years. And that was, I think, the first insight is just how broken the experiences on the parent side. I would say the inside of the aha moment was really just in spending time with them with the providers.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  31. “Always dream of reinventing the software platforms for preschools with Bright Wheel, and what was that aha moment for you? Yeah, so I'll go way back and just say I'm a first generation American. My parents came to the US with very little. And so education was their bedrock and thereby was my bedrock in many ways has been a focus of my career. So I started my career doing online learning with Cisco. I did strategy work with Teach for America. I built the K-12 education team for Kindle within Amazon. And for me, it's always been about where technology can transform the daily experience for teachers, for parents, and ultimately for students. And so most of that time in my career was spent in K-12, the kindergarten through high school, as we call it in the US. You've fast forward a little bit in just about five years ago now. My first child, our daughter, was born, and I have all of a sudden this little human being in my hand. And it's funny this sounds in hindsight, like I didn't fully appreciate that when a kid shows up for kindergarten at age six, that they've had five years of development before that.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  32. “So thank you so much for joining. Thank you, Harry. I'm a fan and I appreciate the chance to be here. To be honest, it'll be a new experience and I'll be listening to you on double speed, but I'm looking forward to the conversation. Very kind, and what a start to any episode.”

    2018-12-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Founders Should Not Always Be Raising, How To Build Relationships with VCs In A Condensed Timeframe, Why The Founder To VC Relationship Is Not Like A Marriage with Dave Vasen, Founder & CEO @ Brightwheel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source