YouSaid · the spoken record

Nico Wittenborn

lines on the record: 87
first: 2023-05-22
most recent: 2023-05-22
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

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“And you need to have this feeling of the collaboration is powerful and works and complementary. And as a person, you get along, there's so many aspects to it. So am I open to it in theory? Yes, for sure, but I have no rush in doing it. And I also know that I give up and give a lot to that person because we're already somewhere. And so giving up flexibility, independence, decision making, all the economics, right? There's a high bar to be crossed for that. So I would assume no, maybe yes, we'll see. But I think the more important is there has to be more data points for consumer subscriptions in five years from now. If there's not, I'll have to reconsider my strategy. And if there are, I think the portfolio will be very good.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I would assume not, but there's probably not a 0% chance. So I'm not operating and I'm also very transparent with you, with LPs about this, is the way that I talk about is that there's a small group of people that I would be interested in exploring this, but it's a very small universe. I wanted to have it organically because my role model, again, Pavel Christopher at point nine was that Christoph was an LP in the 0.9 fund. We co-invested in 30% of the deals of that fund. And then they decided to do the fund together. So there was trust, there was co-investments. So I'm very happy.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, I think the next five years will be very similar to the last four, and that I just keep on doing what I think will be very good.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, yeah, no, no, no. But a few days. Like when we went to Japan, I really for five days. And I think that's important because I come back and I'm so energized, right? And we have to also be able to do that.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Harley, you've had him on. We worked inside together. He's like watching mainstream US TV to get a sense for what the consumer thinks about, hears about it. The advertising. So, I think you find your ways and your style to be creating those theses. And I think for me, it is not being busy all the time. Last one, sorry, I know I'm belaboring this, but I think this is also important, is like I used to always be on all the time. And I still think I'm on most of the time, right? Like I check my emails in the morning and the night. But we had a coaching session at Insight and there was a guy who was like, that's sad. You have to take a view like a athlete, there's three seasons. There's preparation, training, then there is performance, the race, and then there's rest. And I really adopted that where I think that there's sprints where you just have to go, right? Whether it's like the right company comes along and you just jump on it, whether it's a fundraise, right? Whether it's something in that regard, you just have to be there for it. And that is preparation for it. You want to do it in a thoughtful way. You want to be mindful about it. You want to get your ducks in a row. You want to make sure that there's enough to talk about. And then there's also rest, right? I don't feel guilty for going on vacation. And for a week turning off my phone, I mean.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“At least they learn something, right? I think it actually is a medium where people learn because it's a conversation. So I actually think it's beneficial. I learn a lot from it. But then I think that like some of my best ideas or breakthroughs or theses, I get when I'm sitting in my desk and I have no appointments for three hours and I just can let my mind go. Or I'm maybe even not even in the office when I'm taking a walk through London between my meetings. And I see how people are using some kind of gadget”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And actually sitting in their hands is tough. I agree fully with this. And this is also my approach where I think people fall into the trap of being busy”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“But part of the growth is being able to do both, right? Except that you started it and that your self-worth and ego is tied up into the company in a big way, but then also going out of it and being able to drop it and not having it determine your mood and going to your family or your partner or your friends and not having them feel it so much.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It's crazy, right? Think about that. I can't imagine, but he also said it took him many years to learn how to distance his person from the business.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Also being very direct and pushing on things that are not good in his eyes. He has seven kids. He was one of the first people to tell me that it took him years.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Wow Yeah, he's a legend, man. So he bootstrapped the company and sold it for a billion to Foxconn. He was one of the first to do accessories for Apple devices. And this company backbone that I'm working with there on the West Coast, and it's a gaming device for your phone. So you slot your phone into it. And then you have a software there on top of it that you pay a subscription for, which turns your phone into a mobile gaming device. So it's a Nintendo Switch, but it costs $99. And so it's a great product, the hardware angle, and then the software angle. And actually, I invested before they did the subscriptions with the pitch, let's do the subscriptions together. And so now it's both a hardware and a subscription company. And I'm a gamer, so I enjoyed it a lot. I usually have it with me when I travel. And this guy is probably one of the smartest about hardware. What I appreciate is just his operational experience and what you can add in an area that I have no idea about. I learn a lot from it. He's also very kind as a person, very good at sharing credit, giving combinations.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“A couple that come to mind the one that I want to single out because I just really appreciate him as a person and what he can add is actually not a VC, but it's the founder of Belkin, Chad Pipkin, who is sitting on the backbone board with me, which is a company.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Balance on things and like do the exercise and read and have time for my friends and my family and take vacations and just not be fully consumed by this drive we have, but really have the drive be one of the components of my life.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I appreciate that. I do feel content right now. I will say that like every other human, I have faces where I don't. And I think it's something that we have to also talk about more because I think one of the problems with social media is that it has become a highlight reel of, right? And we are social animals that compare ourselves to others. And so let's be real, right? One of the theses for me at least was like, it's kind of cutting through that. And it's like, no, what are you doing right now? I think that is something that I would hope we just are more open about. Some of these changes just don't lead to us being content with ourselves but just comparing ourselves to others all the time and not having real human interactions, but just like digital. And I'm a tech investor, right? So I'm like, I'm pro technology. I just think we have to learn the right way of dealing with it because I was kind of thrown into the 0.9 waters when I was super young, similar to you. I just had to find ways to be good with a lot of things and change and like probably overwhelmed in some ways. And so I just really tried to find the right.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“How many bases? This is personal, but it's having another kid, I think, because it took quite a while to get over the sleep deprivation of And so really just a year ago that we started talking about should we maybe have a second one? And in the end, I think the NCS and everybody says you forget about the first year, maybe two years where it's more difficult and all the law and growth of the child really makes up for it. But that's something.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I would probably say found this fund because I also respect their approach a lot, but I think their founder focused, they are willing to think independently and act on that without too much concerns about what other people think, which can be controversial, but I think overall will serve them well. Also, they're the only ones that cut their fund size in half proactively when the macro changed. So they went from, I don't know, 1.8 to 900 million in two funds, right? So it's a good way to do it, right? Because all of a sudden you operate on different constraints and you still keep the next fund in the back pocket. So I think they're quick to adapt. I think they have a really good way of appealing to founders. And I think they really act with conviction. I know from multiple investments, and this is also public that they've put a very big percentage of their funds to one company.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“USB. I'm a big fan of how they're operating, thesis driven, good people, diverse, not just isolated venture people, small funds, high returns, certainly also a model. Final waves.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“One, I like them. Two, the returns are great. And three, I think they're doing it in a way where it's very found as focused, smart, low ego. I think I was very lucky to start my career with them because I come from a family of artists and I think it's a very unique thing to have people solo ego. Doing so well”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I am also an egoistic person in some ways. And yes, I want to be successful, but I try more and I think kids are one of the ways that this has changed for me to have a broader perspective.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Kits, and this is a bit of a rational way of saying it, but I think kids are a very smart invention by nature or forcing function to force us to think long term. Especially us, right? We're like solo GP, started firm, like, no, no, no, we think a lot about ourselves. We're like, we have a lot of ego. This is everybody, but I think us as well. So it's like learning how to think about other people. It's a process, right? And VCs are not the best at it. And so awareness of we're part of a whole, this is my family, these are my friends. These are the companies I work with. These are all the employers that they have. This is all the customers that we're touching. Like a lot of people's lives indirectly. And there comes a responsibility with that of making sure that we do our part so that all of this doesn't only serve ourselves, but also the broader community of people even beyond that. So I try to think more broadly about how we fit into everything else. Yes.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I actually am quite concerned about people that grow up with too much money. I think that it can be very harmful. For kids to be too pampered. And so I want to provide security for my family and I really enjoy being able to take my wife. We went to Japan recently as a baby moon with her next baby and went to nice hotels. And that's, I feel very grateful that I'm able to do that. And I really appreciate it. It's not that I really don't take that for granted at all. So I'm proud that I achieved that. At the same time, I don't have a number in mind. I don't think that more money will make me any happier. I don't think I need more money to make my kids happier. Like it's really not what's driving me today. And I think what changed with the kids more understanding that I think it makes you think even more long-term in some ways because”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It start And in Germany, right? So, this is also what are we complaining about? I'm a white man that grew up in the Western world, right? So there's very little things. But still, do I have some trauma from how I grew up in my circumstances? Yeah. And it formed me. And that's everybody has those, right? And so I think I don't think for me money is any ultimate goal. I need money to be independent and have the freedom to do the work that I want to sit.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yes, I actually am an optimist and I do believe that people are ignorant and in pain and suffer because of how others have treated them or because of their circumstances. But I don't think it's their fault. I think it's just the product of their environment. And so I think that at the core, we all want to be happy, loved, and grow. Only few people have the ability to do that. I was lucky to escape. I don't want to make it sound like I had everything that I needed. I never was hungry. My mom, I know, loved me and did as much worse upbrings. So I don't want to go there.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Say this way. I now have one kid. I'm expecting a second. It's very important to me to be a good father to the family, both her husband and father to my kids, because I think it really did hurt. I think when your dad leaves at a young age, it just leaves a mark. And I think that's part of where my drive comes from. I don't think it's all of it, right? I think there's genetics and serendipity and how things play out and so on. But we grew up with very little money. My mom had three kids from different fathers by herself. When I grew up, that was also there were limitations. I tried to just have agency and independence.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Why is it? I don't know. I think, I mean, for me, I grew up in my mom and I didn't have a father figure. I did go on vacations and I saw him, he was involved. He was not like an absent absent filter, but he lived many hours away. And I think that made me just find my own path more and be comfortable with my own worldview and decision making. I didn't have so many other role models either, I would say.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“One and a half or something like that billion, which might have been early because I think they're still accelerating. I have a competitor in the portfolio that's building around AI first called Chargeback that I think can take them on. It's a huge market. But I think that there will be a lot of companies that want to own that type of customer relationship, right? They all have millions of subscribers that are heavily engaged with the product in a certain demographic. That's strategic value. I also think Spotify and Netflix potentially are interested in some of those more content focused companies. At one point, maybe even interactive ones are going to gaming more and things like that. So I think that there will be strategic acquisitions. I think there can be financial acquisitions and I think the best of them will have public outcomes. But anyways, this is one of the things I'm worried about trying to navigate, right? It is also clear to me that we have few data points because of what I've seen and because of the thesis that I have formulated over the last eight years, I believe more than others that it will happen, but I will be much more comfortable in five years if there's four more firms we can talk about.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Me too. I agree, but that seems to not have arrived in the general multi stage firm investors mindset. And so my hope is that in a few years we have more examples. And so it will open the door for smaller IPOs, but more IPOs. And so I think that will happen. The best of them will do that. And I have companies in the portfolio. I'm confident we can do it. And so the others, yes, there will be a M&A rollup. In fact, I'm not stupid. I also realized that there will be an opportunity in rolling some of these up because they are reaching, some of them are reaching a ceiling, but they're very highly profitable, right? Yes, 10 million, but 3 million in EBITDA, common. And so you roll up a couple of these. It becomes a very interesting financial thing, right? And so I've invested in three companies that are doing that. I have the best of them. I have the infrastructure. And then I have the hedge, which is, let's take the ones that don't work. And so I think it will happen. I think there will be acquisitions. I think there will be a lot of big firms. One example is rocket money bought Truebill.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Not all, but I mean, let's see, right? I think the best ones will go public. I would just want to stress this in this current macro, they have a much higher multiple on their revenue run rate than comparable SaaS companies. But it surprises everybody else because this build up.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That's the hardest thing. But we discuss a lot of what I'm thinking about, right? It's like, how do we make sure these companies can realize their full potential?”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, I guess I'm European, right? I think it's a little sad that we have this as Europeans this bias towards the US investors are clearly better.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Put five on 25. Okay, so this is also, I guess, true. I'm not a big brand fund, and I'm not trying to be. I, in fact, think that I'm working with the person that actually thinks those firms are the establishment. I actually don't think I should be competing for a seed round where the founder is trying to get a big brand name on board in the seed. It's not their core business. It's a defensive strategy to keep ownership in the companies that will be big outliers, right? It's a strategic part of their game that leads to hopefully the core being most successful. This is all I do, and I'm fully focused on it. I'm the founder of the firm. You only get me, and I move faster. Then it's appealing to a certain type of founder. It's not appealing to all founders. And I accept that. And I don't try to be in all those processes. So it's very rare that I actually come up against one of these firms because I don't think we're shooting for the same type of founder.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Their core existence is in peril, if you describe it like this, right? And so will they come down and just focus all of their energy in competing for seed? Is that really what will save them? No, I need to wait.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That's a good punk. Okay, so this is why I'm not so worried about them being really difficult for us in the seed. They're worried about other things right now.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I guess you have a point that this is happening. At the same time, it's a temporary issue where these funds, they have to also work on their growth funds that are sitting untouched. Otherwise, they're not raising it. I guess they have some flexibility, but at the end of the day.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It's a question of time from an LP perspective to put pressure on these funds that they need to see data that those type of vehicles can create the same type of outcomes. And I'm actually cautiously excited about this period, which is maybe a weird thing to say, but I think it's this is like earning your stripes also, right? It's like, how do you actually navigate this scenario? And I think as small funds investing early, we have a benefit there because I do believe that it's still the best place to be. The risk is the highest, but the opportunity on the upside as well.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It depends on the firm. It's certainly hard to make a blanket statement, but I think that fund sizes will go down. I think people will leave. If you have carry in a $3 billion venture fund, is that worth a lot today?”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“On a high level, I don't have any doubt that there will be innovation. If anything, it will probably keep on accelerating. There will be venture. I think there will be innovation. And I think the model will persist. How the industry is structured? I don't have a crystal ball. From what I'm seeing today, I think the next few years will be pretty difficult for most firms. I think the big ones have become too big.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Is that fair? I don't know. I'm not sure. This is also something I learned from Jeff Hooring. He talks about software in a way that is coded experience. So like most software being workflow solutions are actually an understanding of how you can make processes better in a specific industry or in a specific workflow and then encoding that in something that automates a lot of that. And now the automation of this is coming to the next level with AI. And this will happen both in enterprise application but also in consumer applications. And so I think that a lot of the value that has been built in software over the last 20 years has actually been in the application layer that takes these breakthroughs and just verticalizes them for a specific use case or specific customer demographic and monetizes them. The way I look at AI from an adjacent perspective is we're going to have companies that are already consumer subscription companies that are implementing this to make their products even more sticky, more”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Outcome that is now perceived as happening overnight. And so my belief is that understanding some of those components and where they could lead to actually can give us some understanding of the companies that can be built in the next 10 years or that really benefit from a trend. And this can be technically like the example I just brought, but it could also be behaviorally or socially, like calm for meditation. Meditation was not as mainstream as it was when we invested. OPAL, that's why my thesis with OPAL was that screen time management we're just learning how to deal with these phones they're always in our hands we're talking to each other and we're looking at our phones it's not a healthy behavior right and depressions on the rise in the west i think technology and the way we're using it and the way it's disconnecting us from each other has a role to play in that and so i i try to identify these changes current macro changes and then think about which companies could create a category around that and so i believe that those companies benefit from”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, so this is, I mean, it's one of the reasons the firm is called. And we were three questions deep here. So we might have to go back into the former questions after. I called the firm adjacent because there's this term in evolutionary biology called the adjacent possible. What it says is that evolution happens usually as a combination of the existing phenomena and in a relatively deterministic way. So we're somewhere and based on what is available at this point, the combination of the things usually lead to the next step, right? So like transformers being developed somewhere within Google, somebody taking that, building that up and creating open AI, then that actually becoming consumer subs application that charges 20 bucks a month, which had GPC. Those things altogether create the breakthrough, which if you ask somebody on the street, they're like, overnight, AI was created and it's living in this spot. Certainly this was not the case. There were very specific steps leading to the”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“As opposed to other people, I don't think that everything is set from the beginning. I've invested in founders that told me we want to scale to 10 million and then we'll see, right? Like which nobody else would do that. But because I believe that if I'm right about what I call the JSON possible, which is for me this overarching macro driver for a company that is happening independently of the company and pushing them forward significantly, I think if you're in that rush, you reconsider if you sell at 10 million or if you keep going.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I am happy to mention some names. This is part of why I don't have a framework. I think that is so many different ways of being a good entrepreneur. There is a fit of an entrepreneur with a specific topic or with a specific company.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“First, I have to actually have a hypothesis and have one opinion, right? So this is before I even challenge myself, I think the core of how I operate is that I have a bunch of frameworks and like ways of looking at the world and technology that I've taken from the 12 years that I've been in investing and refined to make it fit my style. And I apply them every single time. For example, founders is actually interesting. I don't think I have a great framework for evaluating founders. At the same time, I think I've worked with amazing founders. I think a more instinctual thing where I'm attracted by certain type of founder and they are attracted by me.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, I guess you have to find your own process. And I think that there's just different types of people. I think there's some that really need to test their conviction with other people. And then there's others. And I think I'm included in that set that really challenge themselves all the time, but also with their opinion on a deal.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Person, I guess, if I have a strong opinion on something and that gets mistreated in some way, whether it's aggressive or just passively, I think that will change my opinion or at least give me a lot of frustrations in some sense. In the early stage where it's a lot about having a pretty unique perspective on something that is not a consensus driven thing, but is really aligned with you believe it and nobody else, SoloGP is for the right person a very good fit for the early stage. And I think most consensus driven models at the early stage, unless it's a very aware and mindful partnership that really supports each other and can all see the complexities of human interaction. I think it's maybe beneficial to just have one opinion. As long as you're right more than you're wrong.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think you're absolutely right that partnerships can be one of the biggest reasons for it not working out, especially if it's a forced partnership, right? And so when I decided to start a firm, it was not I will do it by myself. It was just, okay, I want to start a firm, who do I do it with? There's a small list of people I would like to work with, but one, they're all great firearms. Two, we never really work that closely together. Maybe it's better to co-invest for. So it was not, I want to be by myself, I'm going to go do it. I want to do this and I don't want to rush into anything, start this way, and then see what happens. And so it was a very organic way of getting there. Now I'm quite comfortable with it. I don't even know if it will stay like this forever, to be honest. But what it just shows is that there is people that benefit from being able to fully follow their own thesis. And I will also say that as a person, I've suffered in the past from very negative feedback on my deals. So I'm sensitive as”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yes. And so I think the same for me I've been employed and I'm grateful for the time and the learnings, but I also always operated in a very autonomous way. And I think I'm getting better with the ability to fully find my own style. I need that space.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“The term solo GP, I think also when you started, was not yet a thing. But the way that it happened for me was really that I became confident in what I wanted to do, early stage Europe, US, consumer, heavy, software heavy, Samsa's and some other, but that was what I wanted to do. And I wanted to do it in the way that we've discussed here today. And it was not clear to me where I could do that. And I didn't want to do it somewhere where I felt like it didn't fit the positioning of the institution. And I also didn't feel like earning my place in another institution because you've been at firms and it takes a while. There's hierarchy.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yes, and I'm not saying I've mastered this at all, right? I recognize it, but I'm still trying to get better at it. But I think it's the rigidity of the model needs to be there so that breaking it is actually meaningful. You see?”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I don't want to take the full credit for it, but this is one of the reasons why this is the case. When I was with 0.9 and reinvested in Revolute, it was both outside of the focus. And it's a mobile consumer app. It had just closed the seat round with Balderton. So there was no actionable opportunity. And the only way to get in was actually forcing them to take more money. Had a step up invaluation, which was, I think, at the time the highest valuation we had accepted at 0.9, and also led to the lowest ownership that we had at least for Seed. It was a great decision. So what does it tell you? I think that part of the frameworks that we set for ourselves are a litmus test for the conviction to break them.”
2023-05-22 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Why Your Fund Model Should Not Rely on $10BN+ Outcomes, Why the Large Funds Got Too Large, The Rise of Solo GP's; The Pros and Cons & Is Consumer Subscription Even a Good Sector to Invest in with Nico Wittenborn @ Adjacent · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source