YouSaid · the spoken record

Michael Treskow

lines on the record
24
first
2015-09-21
most recent
2015-09-21
sittings or episodes
1
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podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

  1. “Yeah, so we just announced an investment in CartoDB, which is a Spanish mapping data processing and visualization engine that we're super excited about. And the reason that we said yes is just a perfect combination of a really strong technical team that is passionate about a really unique product and has a great vision for where they want to take it.”

    2015-09-21 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20 VC 073: Life Inside Accel Partners with Michael Treskow @ Accel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  2. “I think as far as business is concerned, and I'm a fan of the classics, I think Christensen's innovator's dilemma is great. I think crossing the chasm is super helpful. And even Porto's Five Forces is a good one.”

    2015-09-21 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20 VC 073: Life Inside Accel Partners with Michael Treskow @ Accel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  3. “Know, I'm not sure there's going to be one, or I'm not sure there's necessarily for one to emerge. I think London is doing well. Berlin is showing a lot of energy, but you also have Tel Aviv and you have Madrid and Barcelona and you have the Nordics. So there's a lot of them. That's what makes a venture in Europe so exciting.”

    2015-09-21 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20 VC 073: Life Inside Accel Partners with Michael Treskow @ Accel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  4. “Yeah, you know, I think that from what I saw is that they are embracing the role of mobile and distributed workforces in the enterprise, which to me is actually supporting what I was just talking about in the sense that you're introducing more and more consumer-like elements and the importance of mobile for enterprise and its workforce.”

    2015-09-21 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20 VC 073: Life Inside Accel Partners with Michael Treskow @ Accel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  5. “Changes dramatically when they enter the office environment, right? And so, you know, as I would like to consume information on my mobile phone outside the office, it's probably fair to assume that that desire doesn't change significantly when I enter the office. And so, yeah, I think software and enterprise tools are taking more and more a resemblance to the things that we see in the consumer world because ultimately they're targeting the same user base.”

    2015-09-21 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20 VC 073: Life Inside Accel Partners with Michael Treskow @ Accel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  6. “Yeah, I mean, I think look, I think the big picture trend that we see is that Enterprise used to be this monolithic organization where you sold to one person who decided on behalf of that organization what technology gonna go with. And I think the trend has been to really look at the employees and their individual wishes and what it is they are looking for and to enable them to be more productive. And so individual employees, of course, are the same people at work as they are in their leisure time when we call them consumers, right? So it's the same person that shops somewhere or is on the phone in the park that then sits in the office. And so there is no reason to believe that the way that would like to interact with information and technology.”

    2015-09-21 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20 VC 073: Life Inside Accel Partners with Michael Treskow @ Accel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  7. “That's a really good question. And I think it's ultimately for the founders to find what best describes their idea. I don't know if there is a particular word count, but I think for the most part, there are hopefully other ways to do it than refer to an Uber, right? But ultimately, as you think about your vision and what it is that you want to build or what problem you're solving, I think that typically is a good point to get across.”

    2015-09-21 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20 VC 073: Life Inside Accel Partners with Michael Treskow @ Accel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  8. “What I do like is founders who can quickly and succinctly articulate their vision. And I think that's very important. Sometimes You take the shortcut of saying, Oh, we are the x of y, or just draw an example or analogies, right? And I think that's fine case by case, right? I mean, ultimately, I think sometimes it's done to say, oh, Uber is a really successful company, we are going to be a really successful company because we have the same model applied to something else. And I think that may or may not be true in individual cases. So I think you just have to be wary of making the wrong comparison.”

    2015-09-21 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20 VC 073: Life Inside Accel Partners with Michael Treskow @ Accel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  9. “It's a personal network that is increasing in size as I have more experience in the industry. Hiring help with hiring is another important one. And last but not least, it's exposure to a global Excel network, right? So it's other entrepreneurs in that network. potential friends of the firm and just being able to draw on the 30 plus years that we have in the market and the global presence.”

    2015-09-21 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20 VC 073: Life Inside Accel Partners with Michael Treskow @ Accel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  10. “There's a couple of main value adds, right? One of them is to be a trusted advisor to the entrepreneur or entrepreneurs to really have the trust and be able to brainstorm ideas with them and propose strategies and give them feedback. Another one is pattern recognition and strategic insight. And that's clearly something that improves over time, right? So the more I am in particular situations and the more I observe certain things happen, the better I can next time formulate an opinion or draw back on the things that I had seen before. The other couple of things that are important are introductions, of course, right? So partners, customers, useful people to talk to. And that is, again,”

    2015-09-21 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20 VC 073: Life Inside Accel Partners with Michael Treskow @ Accel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  11. “I did. Yeah, I mean, look, I think some of it is a common with regards to sort of sectors and dynamics in it. So we do not look, for example, at cleantech or biotech because I know nothing about that space. So I think all else being equal, I would probably more effective investor into technology. I think”

    2015-09-21 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20 VC 073: Life Inside Accel Partners with Michael Treskow @ Accel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  12. “Is a nuanced insight from the entrepreneurs? What is it that they have understood about the market that is going to enable them to do well and to create a new company where there's probably plenty of existing companies going after the opportunity? Why is now a good time to start this new approach and why will this approach work? I love coming out of meetings and saying, oh wow, I didn't know this. I really learn a lot.”

    2015-09-21 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20 VC 073: Life Inside Accel Partners with Michael Treskow @ Accel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  13. “Yeah, so I mean look, there is the easy things like all else being equal, it helps to have a relevant background in the space that you're going after, right? Especially the more complex and esoteric the space is, the more relevant that is, right? So if you are trying to build an insurance company or sell something to the insurance space, it has enough complexity and regulation in it where it might be helpful for the entrepreneur to be familiar with that space. So I think that's one, I think really a passion or obsession for the topic is important as well, right? That you have a reason to really go after it and you're excited about it. And the other things that I'm looking for”

    2015-09-21 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20 VC 073: Life Inside Accel Partners with Michael Treskow @ Accel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  14. “Yeah, for sure. So I think that's a very important point, especially with innovative ideas, the markets may not be present yet, right? So Facebook is a great example. When we invested early on, what's the size of Facebook's market, right? And you really need to believe in the founder's vision. And you also have to have a degree of imagination, right?”

    2015-09-21 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20 VC 073: Life Inside Accel Partners with Michael Treskow @ Accel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  15. “We want to just be able when I speak to companies to just say, okay, that market feels large enough to build a large company where I don't think that's going to be an issue because it's really hard to build a company to begin with, right? And there are so many issues. And so you just want to be able to get that out of the way and say that we're comfortable that if you do well and you execute, there is plenty of room for you to grow, right? And so that's how you then kind of sort of get to this billion plus mark because then you say, well, some of it is not going to be addressable to you and you're not going to get all of it anyway. But this is then going to be large enough for you to feel comfortable.”

    2015-09-21 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20 VC 073: Life Inside Accel Partners with Michael Treskow @ Accel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  16. “Then what the addressable market is to begin with, right? So, for example, if I want to sell a technology widget to someone, it's not the size of all technology sales in the world, it's what is particularly relevant to my target audience. And then to come a little bit closer to it, it's”

    2015-09-21 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20 VC 073: Life Inside Accel Partners with Michael Treskow @ Accel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  17. “No, no, no. And I think it's a good one. And just to preview, I'm not going to be able to give you a specific number, unfortunately. So it's a couple of things. Let me make this a little bit more long-winded. So one, I think it's so much the size of the market that we care about, but the opportunity ahead of the company, right? So can you build a large company? And the market is a constraint thereof. If the market is not large enough to build a large company, then by definition, the company is not going to be large. So it's more of a necessary condition. And then the real question becomes around how big is your addressable market. So take into account the structure of the market and the competition and the type of customer you're going after and how large is that number. And that typically significantly smaller.”

    2015-09-21 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20 VC 073: Life Inside Accel Partners with Michael Treskow @ Accel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  18. “Yeah, I think philosophically the belief is that We are in the business of trying to identify and partner with the greatest entrepreneurs with the most exciting ideas. And ultimately, that definition does not in it include, and it must be accompanied stage X, Y, Z. So if we meet an entrepreneur that we are excited about her, his idea and We think that they are going to be able to execute upon it. We can't really tell them, oh, I'm sorry, I think you are a little bit ahead or behind of where our sweet spot is. It's much easier to say we are flexible and we want to try to help you.”

    2015-09-21 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20 VC 073: Life Inside Accel Partners with Michael Treskow @ Accel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  19. “You know, I think in general Having spent time in the valley, there is no, you know, there is no secret sauce about that place, right? It's not that the water is different or there's something in the air. It's just people trying to be innovative and then having access to capital. And so I think one of my beliefs and one of the reasons that I made the move to Europe is that innovation certainly is not limited to the west coast of the United States, right? And so if you think about all the channels available today, mobile internet, et cetera, the location is actually becomingly increasingly less important and it puts significantly more emphasis on ideas and the quality of the teams behind it. And so if anything, I would say my takeaway is that the next big entrepreneurs can be anywhere. And I'm excited to be looking for them in Europe.”

    2015-09-21 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20 VC 073: Life Inside Accel Partners with Michael Treskow @ Accel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  20. “Yeah, you know, it's interesting. I do, but I'm also constantly reminded just how difficult it is and how impressed I am with entrepreneurs that I work with.”

    2015-09-21 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20 VC 073: Life Inside Accel Partners with Michael Treskow @ Accel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  21. “If you get that from an entrepreneurial background, that's great, but ultimately it's slightly different skill sets that you need to run a company versus to invest and sort of have pattern recognition, et cetera, et cetera. So that's a long-winded way of saying that I think it's great to have that. I don't think it's a must-have.”

    2015-09-21 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20 VC 073: Life Inside Accel Partners with Michael Treskow @ Accel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  22. “Well, I hope that's not true because I don't have a fonder background, but I think that's a very fair question. So, you know, I mean, the way I think about this is Else being equal, all incremental experience helps. And so if you can have somebody who has had prior entrepreneurial experience, all else being equal, you'd like that, right? And the question is more around to what extent that's necessary, right? Because fundamentally as a VC, I am an investor, not an operator. And so where I work with companies is strategic decisions, introductions, hiring and being a trusted advisor. And so It's that what entrepreneurs want from a partner.”

    2015-09-21 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20 VC 073: Life Inside Accel Partners with Michael Treskow @ Accel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  23. “Yeah, you know, it's a good question. It's surprisingly similar in the sense that there is a ton of ambitious entrepreneurs who are trying to change the world or a subset thereof. And there is venture capital investors trying to partner with these people. The differences are maybe in scale on both sides, but the fundamental principles are fairly similar in the energy and excitement around entrepreneurship is certainly similar as well.”

    2015-09-21 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20 VC 073: Life Inside Accel Partners with Michael Treskow @ Accel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  24. “Yeah, so my backstory is. Really traditional to the point that it's probably untraditional given how sort of random everyone's backgrounds are in BC. So I out of college worked in investment banking doing technology M&A and then from that went to the buy side to a growth stage investing firm Robert Pinkis where I did technology investing as well for a while. I went to business school, came back and then eventually after spending some time with Warwick in San Francisco got the early stage bug and joined Excel.”

    2015-09-21 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20 VC 073: Life Inside Accel Partners with Michael Treskow @ Accel · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source