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Immad Akhund

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72
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2025-05-12
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2025-05-12
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  1. “I mean, you know, one thing is this is a rich person's game, sadly. Like, I didn't start investing until I had made an exit. And I think doing like one or two is not going to make a difference. So mostly I say to people, hey, if you have enough money, I mean, we're not talking about a ton of money, but if you have enough money to do at least 20 or 30 investments, that's when you start entering the game because you learn a lot by like doing subsequent ones. And if you're only doing like five, you're not going to have this kind of iteration. B, you need a diversified portfolio to have any return in this space because what we're really doing is seed investors is unicorn hunting or I would say even like at these current evaluations like you're hunting for decacorns and that doesn't yeah even if you're great at picking and you have a great network etc you're not going to get to them with like five pets like you need a portfolio of pets”

    2025-05-12 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC Exclusive: Mercury Founder Launches First $26M Fund | Why Founders Should Take the Highest Price | Why Serial Entrepreneurs are Better | Why AI Is So Overhyped | The Future of Venture Capital with Immad Akhund · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  2. “Actually, like I talked about it earlier, you know, looking at young founders and saying, why don't they have these things figured out? Yeah, I looked. I was a part-time partner at the time, so I saw scale AI. And I was like, okay, you know, good idea, but these people are so young. I think they were like 19 and 20 at the time or something. I was like, I think I could run this company better if I was doing it and I don't see how they're going to figure it out. And I was just so wrong because obviously they proved me wrong. But also like I think there is like some power to that youth that like I think it's like hard to judge to be honest. Like you kind of have to yourself suspend belief to say, okay, you know, this person's going to figure out how to run like a huge company.”

    2025-05-12 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC Exclusive: Mercury Founder Launches First $26M Fund | Why Founders Should Take the Highest Price | Why Serial Entrepreneurs are Better | Why AI Is So Overhyped | The Future of Venture Capital with Immad Akhund · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  3. “I think both can work, but my preferences on naivety, I feel like when I did Mercury, I didn't know anything about FinTech or banking. And yeah, I knew that entrepreneurs would use this product and I would use the product, but I was like, how does one go set up a neobank? And that's what most of my first kind of one year of education was, was just going super deep on like, how do you even do this? But I genuinely think, actually my seed round in recent Horowitz invested, but it was very hard, even after Andreessen had come in with a lead check, it was so hard to get any fintech fund to invest alongside them because all fintech funds saw was like all the problems that were like, this doesn't work for this reason and that reason. And I was like, I was like, I really wanted them as well because I was like, oh, yeah, they're going to have like this deep fintech expertise that I really am lacking, but super hard to get them on board. I mean, I did get a bunch of fintech entrepreneurs on board, but could not get a fintech kind of dedicated seed fund on board, which in hindsight is ironic.”

    2025-05-12 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC Exclusive: Mercury Founder Launches First $26M Fund | Why Founders Should Take the Highest Price | Why Serial Entrepreneurs are Better | Why AI Is So Overhyped | The Future of Venture Capital with Immad Akhund · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  4. “Oh, yeah, 100%. I mean, our exit was 45 million, but it was a real struggle. We pivoted four times. And for me, I just really wanted to build a big company. I've been an entrepreneur forever. I want to have the biggest impact possible. But it is irrational. Being an entrepreneur is a rational, but being a zero entrepreneur is especially rational because at least the first time you can kind of blame your naivety. That's actually one of the qualifying criteria, right? Like a zero entrepreneur knows how hard it's going to be, but they're willing to do it again, right? That is like so unusual by itself that you have to kind of go, okay, you know, like they must really want to do this.”

    2025-05-12 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC Exclusive: Mercury Founder Launches First $26M Fund | Why Founders Should Take the Highest Price | Why Serial Entrepreneurs are Better | Why AI Is So Overhyped | The Future of Venture Capital with Immad Akhund · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  5. “I mean, I just profess Zero Founders. Like, I have such a bias towards them. A serial founder with a chip on their shoulder. I don't think it works if it's a serial founder where they've had a unicorn exit and they've kind of like, if the other choices, hey, I could just retire and have $100 million anyway. I think that doesn't work. But if it's a serial founder where they have something to prove.”

    2025-05-12 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC Exclusive: Mercury Founder Launches First $26M Fund | Why Founders Should Take the Highest Price | Why Serial Entrepreneurs are Better | Why AI Is So Overhyped | The Future of Venture Capital with Immad Akhund · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  6. “And if I should say the exact multiple, but more than like 30x. It was a great multiple, and it was a short time period, like 2016 to 2021.”

    2025-05-12 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC Exclusive: Mercury Founder Launches First $26M Fund | Why Founders Should Take the Highest Price | Why Serial Entrepreneurs are Better | Why AI Is So Overhyped | The Future of Venture Capital with Immad Akhund · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  7. “The biggest kind of win that's returned me money was True Bill. I mean, the reason it was a win in the end is like, I'd say two things. Number one, those founders are just incredible. Like, that's super hard business. Like, we're talking about fintech, consumer business, where you have to really fight for every user acquisition. Can I be blunt?”

    2025-05-12 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC Exclusive: Mercury Founder Launches First $26M Fund | Why Founders Should Take the Highest Price | Why Serial Entrepreneurs are Better | Why AI Is So Overhyped | The Future of Venture Capital with Immad Akhund · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  8. “Yeah, I think that is also a mistake of the VCs. Like their VCs are like, hey, go spend the money. Make sure this return happens. But a lot of the returns come from the anomalies, right? So it's from the Imads and Parkers of the world that you're going to get the decawns or whatever. So that's what VCs care about. Like they really want to go for the home run. So I think the reality is younger founders, most founders will do it. So I think we have to set up frameworks for like how you can do it, but still be successful. Which is tricky.”

    2025-05-12 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC Exclusive: Mercury Founder Launches First $26M Fund | Why Founders Should Take the Highest Price | Why Serial Entrepreneurs are Better | Why AI Is So Overhyped | The Future of Venture Capital with Immad Akhund · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  9. “So, this is what I was going to say. I think the mistake is to not raise enough money. Like every now and then someone gets like a billion dollar valuation, they raise like 50 million. I think that's a mistake. You want to raise enough money at that high valuation. And then number two, don't spend the money, which is really hard. But when I raised 120 million, I was like, I don't know how I'm going to spend 120 million. Like we had like a 40% company. But I was like, we'll raise enough that either I'll never need to raise again or if I'm growing really aggressively, then I can spend into it. But that was our thinking at that time. But it does take a lot of kind of confidence to not spend the money once you raise it.”

    2025-05-12 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC Exclusive: Mercury Founder Launches First $26M Fund | Why Founders Should Take the Highest Price | Why Serial Entrepreneurs are Better | Why AI Is So Overhyped | The Future of Venture Capital with Immad Akhund · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  10. “I have a little bit of a contrarian take on this. I think it is very hard as an entrepreneur not to chase the highest valuation. So this whole thing about like, oh, you know, if someone gives you 100x revenue, you don't do it. Like, you know, we did our series B at 120x, which was not rational. This is 2021. But we did it, and I would do it again. I think the actual thing I would.”

    2025-05-12 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC Exclusive: Mercury Founder Launches First $26M Fund | Why Founders Should Take the Highest Price | Why Serial Entrepreneurs are Better | Why AI Is So Overhyped | The Future of Venture Capital with Immad Akhund · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  11. “Yeah, in the end it was, but I probably would have taken it if it was a little lower. But most of the time the good firms are willing to match or beat like whatever is the highest offer. And it's going to sound lame, but it's not a story about the money for either side at that point. I want to have a fair valuation and I want to have the best firm too that's focused on the long term.”

    2025-05-12 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC Exclusive: Mercury Founder Launches First $26M Fund | Why Founders Should Take the Highest Price | Why Serial Entrepreneurs are Better | Why AI Is So Overhyped | The Future of Venture Capital with Immad Akhund · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  12. “So much work after that meeting. So that was actually kind of surprising to me that they got so much conviction just in the first meeting. Most of the time, by the time you get to the partners meeting, there's been so much work done that Roloff is not like making the decision. It's kind of like the lead partner and a lot of the work has already been done.”

    2025-05-12 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC Exclusive: Mercury Founder Launches First $26M Fund | Why Founders Should Take the Highest Price | Why Serial Entrepreneurs are Better | Why AI Is So Overhyped | The Future of Venture Capital with Immad Akhund · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  13. “Well, number one, something I'm impressed by the top firms is like, Sequoia does not take their position lightly. Like they did the most work, right? I'm talking about like I pitched a bunch of people. I pitched more than 20 funds as part of the CRC. Sequoia did the most work. They did the most diligence with customers. They did the most work in the data room. Like they just really put their effort into it. And like, and they asked really good questions. And I like that. I don't want someone to make this decision lightly. I don't like, I don't want to get a term sheet just because someone's like FOMOing. Like I want them to really believe in Mercury and feel like they've done their diligence before they make that decision. So A, that's one thing. Number two, I had a conversation kind of later. So Sonia is our kind of partner at Sequoia. And she said, you know, she had conviction in that first meeting. She said 95% she was in after like that initial meeting, which I was like, okay, you know, because they're.”

    2025-05-12 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC Exclusive: Mercury Founder Launches First $26M Fund | Why Founders Should Take the Highest Price | Why Serial Entrepreneurs are Better | Why AI Is So Overhyped | The Future of Venture Capital with Immad Akhund · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  14. “I've been entrepreneur since 2006, and like Sequoya has always been the top brand, right? And I've always wanted to get Sequoia as an investor on a personal level. So finally, and I pitched them many, many times and got a no from them, both for this company and my previous company. So for me, it was a needle moving event because it was just like something I've always wanted to get. And they invested in Series C”

    2025-05-12 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC Exclusive: Mercury Founder Launches First $26M Fund | Why Founders Should Take the Highest Price | Why Serial Entrepreneurs are Better | Why AI Is So Overhyped | The Future of Venture Capital with Immad Akhund · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  15. “Event with some Sequoia companies. Like, these people have valuable networks, and the best VC firms do make situations where founders can connect with each other. And I've always found that valuable.”

    2025-05-12 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC Exclusive: Mercury Founder Launches First $26M Fund | Why Founders Should Take the Highest Price | Why Serial Entrepreneurs are Better | Why AI Is So Overhyped | The Future of Venture Capital with Immad Akhund · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  16. “I think depends what type of company. I mean, I would say in recent Horowitz was a seed investor, so they invested basically on a deck for mercury. And a lot of their kind of value add wasn't super useful. At the end of the day, I think the two most valuable things from any VC firm is who's the partner, right? Like, is this someone that every conversation you have? I've been talking to Alex Rampel as our partner over Andrees and Horizon. I've been talking to him since 2017, like once a month-ish, right? So imagine doing that with someone who's not value add or annoying to talk to. Whereas, you know, he's smart. I love hearing his take on things and riffing off ideas of him. So those are the types of people you want as investors. And I think that is by far the biggest thing you're choosing as an entrepreneur. And then the second thing, which I think is underunderstood by people, is you do get like a founder network with the portfolio companies of that VC firm. In recent Horowitz and I guess NAS Sequoia, I actually was just at a founder networking.”

    2025-05-12 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC Exclusive: Mercury Founder Launches First $26M Fund | Why Founders Should Take the Highest Price | Why Serial Entrepreneurs are Better | Why AI Is So Overhyped | The Future of Venture Capital with Immad Akhund · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  17. “I mean, they definitely don't need me. I think it's very rare. And, you know, I have at Mercury, I had like seven or eight kind of unicorn founders that invested in Mercury. And, you know, I didn't need them, but because there were active entrepreneurs and every now and then I have a question. I'm like, I'm hiring a CFO. How do I hire a CFO? I've never done this before. Or like when I series B, I was like, I don't know, what are the multiples in Series B spaces? And tell me about it. So I did contact them. And this is kind of how I see my role as an investor. It's like, you don't need me, but I'm an active entrepreneur. I've got a big company. I've dealt with a lot of issues. If something comes up, you know, send me a text if I have time. I'll talk to you.”

    2025-05-12 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC Exclusive: Mercury Founder Launches First $26M Fund | Why Founders Should Take the Highest Price | Why Serial Entrepreneurs are Better | Why AI Is So Overhyped | The Future of Venture Capital with Immad Akhund · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  18. “So, this is actually another mistake I made. I think sometimes we, if you're a second time entrepreneur and you have experience, when you talk to an entrepreneur investor, you're like, yeah, what the fuck are you talking about? This is obviously wrong for these reasons. But there's a lot of young entrepreneurs out there that have great ideas, right? I have actually not invested in companies because I was like, okay, you know, these people are not pushing back on me and they're not, you know, they're not coming up with like a ton of experience and ideas. And actually, yeah, they were just young entrepreneurs and they were often as young entrepreneurs you're intimidated by investors. So you have to kind of judge people by what their life situation is and like, you know, how they are approaching the situation. And you do have to kind of cut some slack to kind of people who knew to their career rather than saying like, oh, you know, they didn't push back on me and they should have, et cetera.”

    2025-05-12 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC Exclusive: Mercury Founder Launches First $26M Fund | Why Founders Should Take the Highest Price | Why Serial Entrepreneurs are Better | Why AI Is So Overhyped | The Future of Venture Capital with Immad Akhund · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  19. “Actually, Rappi was one of my first investments. Rappi is like a DoorDash for Lad Am. And I literally invested and they did not talk to me again. Like they were just so busy and they grew that thing like crazy and it was unicorn within a year and a half I invested at like a 20 million cap. And I was like, okay, what is the point of being an investor if my best investments don't even talk to me? And that's what I want, right? In terms of like a capital returner, like, you know, if someone like I invested, they just do their thing and I have a big return, that's great.”

    2025-05-12 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC Exclusive: Mercury Founder Launches First $26M Fund | Why Founders Should Take the Highest Price | Why Serial Entrepreneurs are Better | Why AI Is So Overhyped | The Future of Venture Capital with Immad Akhund · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  20. “Number one, I think this is kind of something that entrepreneurs, especially if you're active entrepreneur, but once you become an investor, you're used to running a company, used to having your ideas. And what you do at the start is you're like, okay, yes, you're talking about something really interesting, but here's another idea that I think is way better. And then the other entrepreneur, especially if they're young, they're like, yeah, I love this. Yeah, you know, Emmad, like, please invest. We love your ideas. And then you invest. And obviously, like that's not their idea. And it's not even fair to push an idea on other people. But you really have to actually remove your ego and your ideas and really listen to what they want to do. And you're much more along for their journey rather than a major part. And actually, when I first started investing, so I sold my company in 2016 and I was like, hey, maybe I want to be a VC, right? And I started investing. And that's kind of what was my approach. I was like, oh, I'll be really hands-on. I'll be really helpful. And then I really...”

    2025-05-12 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC Exclusive: Mercury Founder Launches First $26M Fund | Why Founders Should Take the Highest Price | Why Serial Entrepreneurs are Better | Why AI Is So Overhyped | The Future of Venture Capital with Immad Akhund · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  21. “Yeah, I finally closed on my first institutional fund. We raised $26 million. I'm partnering with a friend of mine, actually he invested in Mercury seven years ago. His name is Yash Doshi. He was at EQT Ventures. I've been doing Angel Nursing actually since 2016. So I've done about 350 investments. I've been working with him for the last year and I was like, hey, I just need to bring him on full-time and gonna do this a little more properly. I've so far been investing mostly on Angelist. So I had an Angelist Rolling Fund. I actually just closed it, I think last week or the week before and already have invested in five or six companies.”

    2025-05-12 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC Exclusive: Mercury Founder Launches First $26M Fund | Why Founders Should Take the Highest Price | Why Serial Entrepreneurs are Better | Why AI Is So Overhyped | The Future of Venture Capital with Immad Akhund · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  22. “Sequoia does not take their position lightly, like they did the most work. I think it is very hard as an entrepreneur not to chase the highest valuation. We did our Series B at 120x, which was not rational. This is 2021, but we did it, and I would do it again. I mean, I just prefer Zero Founders. Like, I have such a bias towards them. A serial founder with the chip on their shoulder. Oh yeah, 100%.”

    2025-05-12 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC Exclusive: Mercury Founder Launches First $26M Fund | Why Founders Should Take the Highest Price | Why Serial Entrepreneurs are Better | Why AI Is So Overhyped | The Future of Venture Capital with Immad Akhund · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source