YouSaid · the spoken record

Tony Conrad

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26
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2017-06-14
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2017-06-14
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1
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  1. “Oh, well, teamable, which we talked about, but I'll go one right before that is a company called Milestone, and it's founded by a repeat entrepreneur, our portfolio, Dave Balter. I backed him at a company called Smarter, which had an excellent outcome, was acquired by a company called PluralSight, which is a very large private company that I think is marching towards a public market offering sometime in the next several years. But Dave, he's just such a thoughtful entrepreneurs, entrepreneur, and we were thrilled to back him again.”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  2. “I don't really think that way. You know what I do is, as long as I feel like I'm being helpful, I'll figure out how to be on the board. And if I feel like it's a space where after we've dug in, I'm not as helpful, even with having an excellent rapport with the founder, often we'll suggest, you know, well, let's get an outside person to occupy our seat because they're going to be more effective in helping you to do the things that you need to do now. And I'll still be your phone call away, right? And still able to provide the more human aspects of the equation.”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  3. “Especially from entrepreneurs to entrepreneurs, go get a high valuation, I think, is one of the most detrimental things that happens for these young entrepreneurs. They think it's a game. And the answer is not about just because you can get away with it. You should go get a high valuation. You should figure out what the smart valuation is that's going to help you to build a foundation for your company. My father always said this great quote, be careful that you might get what you ask for. And I think both founders and VCs have to pay attention to that because when the pendulum swings in the favor of the VC, we can be overly aggressive on valuations again or structures. And we just have to be really careful not to do that. The goal was to set the company up, to be successful, set the founder and the management team up to be successful”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  4. “I would have to say my partners, and I think I can't single one of them, but the partnership I have is such a mentorship for me. It's a unique cast of characters and there's such a high EQ amongst them that it has just taught me a lot about pumping the brakes and playing to what I think is one of my strengths and that is trying to be quite human. But I'm also very goal-oriented and I'm very driven, takes those things to be able to do both being a founder and being a partner. And sometimes they were getting the way of that human aspect. And so they've been an amazing mentor for me as a group.”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  5. “Actually, to be interested. How are you? Like, what's going on? Like, no, are you traveling? Are you taking some time off? What are you doing? How are your kids? Really spending quality time assessing that and noting it in your head. That's the most important thing you can do in the beginning of these companies for these founders.”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  6. “Well, this entrepreneur said some things, and well, because they like me, right? And I like them, and we have a great relationship, and we're actually working together and other stuff. I did absolutely because I think the first and most important thing you do when you show up at a board meeting or you're on a call with a founder is you stop and you pause and you say hey wait how are you how's your family doing how are you doing you know you got to do check-in in on their income things that they're going to be embarrassed to talk to you about founders have a tendency to underpay themselves they're overstressed they're overstretched it gets more complicated if they have additional family obligations and desires so you know it's like all that stuff is incredibly human and the eq portion of our business is probably the most important thing that we always have to pay attention to and it goes back to my conversation what we were just talking about where i failed was i'd never ask that person you know like i had the cordial hey how you doing but like we just moved on to business it's very different you know to make a um kind of a polite statement versus”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  7. “And yet even I, you know, I've failed in certain situations. I had one in particular with a founder where I worked incredibly hard to get help them to capitalize the company on several occasions. I showed up, I was thoughtful in board meetings. I felt like I was being smart and I was proactive and the champion of the company. And I got to the end and the founder and I had a bit of a falling out. And at first I was kind of like, how dare they? Well, a little bit, you know, just a little bit that. But then, you know, this person, you know, in a very thoughtful and proactive way, said, listen, you failed me and you forgot, you never asked me how I was doing. You never taught me really how to be a CEO.”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  8. “Oh, yeah, I've learned quite a bit. You know, you often learn through failure, and I've definitely have had a couple of working environments where afterwards I can't scratch my head and I said, what happened there? Where did this founder and I or this management team and I get so off course with each other? Because I pride myself on having a fairly light time.”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  9. “The dangers of that are that you're left to yourself. I think that I like to believe that the companies where we've been most successful are where there's a very good relationship between the founder, the operating team, and the board and the investors. And I think we just had our annual meeting, and one of the founders got up there from Peloton, John Foley. And he just talked and talked and talked about his relationship with John Callaghan, my partner, and why it was so important to him and how it was so helpful to him. And I think that's what we're talking about. It's really being able to have that one person who has alignment with you, that you are their priority, just as you need them to be. And so I think it's really important not to lose sight of having a really strong investor who can help you to navigate the waters.”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  10. “But when you have a $2 million round and you've got four people at a half million dollars, you really don't have an anchor and you don't really have somebody who's putting a stink in the ground saying, hey, you know what, I'm going to be there for you and I'm going to help you to kind of get through this journey.”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  11. “Is good. It's definitely good because it means more people can get funding and they can try out their idea and if they're onto something, which rarely a majority of people can see, right? You know what I mean? Like most ideas we kind of all look at and go, huh? But then they become something really great. So it's great that more ideas are getting funded. I think the risk for founders and young entrepreneurs is that they compile these party rounds at the beginning. And that I'm not a fan of. It's a bit self-serving in that our goal at true is always to be the anchor and to have the largest shareholding in the company at that stage because we think we're going to be able to impact the DNA of the company in a more profound way and help protect it.”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  12. “There's definitely on both ends of the spectrum. I think what was happening interesting in 2010, 2011 timeframe, is you had both a lot of money like DST coming in at the top and the tigers of the world. And then you also had really kind of what I'll call the institutionalization of the angel investor that really started to curle. And so you had a flood of money at the early stage of investing. And I think that's only grown. I think we know, but just from the numbers that's grown.”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  13. “Interact with the community. If you don't do that, I think you're fooling yourself. I'll say the young entrepreneurs, if you're single and you've got flexibility, if you're not out there, at least a minimum of three nights a week, then you should go do something different. I'm an old guy. I had family and I have obligations and I have a lot of different things that are going on. And I still managed to be out there three to four nights a week.”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  14. “Yeah, I mean, it's never been more active, right? I mean, it's kind of crazy how many entrepreneurs I meet now and just how much stuff is going on. But I think that if you stay kind of true to your circles and the way that we, one thing is kind of consistent across all of my partners at True is that we really look to our networks to help identify the interesting entrepreneurs and the interesting opportunities for us. It's almost like a great filter if you want. And I just find that if I just kind of stay within those circles, it allows me to branch out appropriately without overextending myself in a way that feels like I'm kind of spraying and praying with my time. I definitely don't want to do that. But it is incredibly important. If you're going to be good in either of these crafts, you have to get out there and you have to physically.”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  15. “And you are also an active founder, it gives you a certain kind of cachet and a certain credibility that I think that really resonates with founders. I have a tremendous amount of empathy naturally because I am a founder at heart, right? And I am active as a founder. And so I think there's just a sensitivity to their issues and struggles, which is helpful in a lot of times. The other thing, too, is just deal sourcing. When you're in the flow, when you're building a company, you run in different circles. venture capitalists run in certain circles and entrepreneurs run in different circles and they do overlap at times that cocktail parties and things like that but for the most part they're pretty distinct and i get to run in both and it's helped me tremendously to deal flow”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  16. “Yeah, so straddling is a bit difficult for those who don't know my background. I'm both an active founder of about.me. I founded a company called Sphere previously. And I'm also a partner at TrueVenture. So there are two roles that are very symbiotic, but very different and the demands are very different. So the straddling, I think, has been beneficial to me, at least in the beginning stages of each of these companies that I founded by being on board such as WordPress or working with people like Heaton Shaw, you learn a lot in those board meetings to learn a lot about conversion marketing. You learn a lot about product development, about management styles, team issues. You just learn a tremendous amount. It's a great education that if you're smart, you'll go and you'll apply it to your own company, which I've tried to do. Conversely, on the other side of it, when you're a venture capitalist,”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  17. “From, like, what are you about? Like, let's dig into that and help me understand the context here before we dig into this business and then why you started it. Once I had that nugget, like I saw her in a completely different light and things made sense to me.”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  18. “Oh, great. Well, she's fantastic. So, you know, I sat down with Laura for the first few minutes. I wouldn't say that I had an incredible rapport with her, but there was something about her that was kind of a little edgy and interesting. And as we talked more and more, one of the things I discovered was that she was the National Women's Rugby Team captain. And all of a sudden I had a context for her and the way that she was thinking about teamable and how she was building her company in the sales orientation of it and the teamwork orientation that she was talking about. And it all kind of just came into clarity for me. But it takes a while, right? Like she didn't surface that aspect of her in a proactive way. It's because I kept digging in. I kept saying, no, no, no, let's just put down your computer. Don't tell me about the business. Who are you? Like where are you?”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  19. “No, not at all. In fact, that might work for Peter, and I think each investor, as I've learned, even within our firm, has a different approach. And it's really important that you empower somebody to kind of adhere to their kind of instincts, if you want, and play to them. For me, though, I'm looking to actually feel increasingly comfortable with the entrepreneur. I'm not looking to be best friends, but I'm looking to have a level of understanding of how they tick. And it's founded by this woman, Laura Belazarian”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  20. “Dug into it, I was like, okay, I get it. This guy really has a point of view of how his product's going to intersect with the community.”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  21. “Cafe, how one would kind of be in that cafe? So there's no Wi Fi, there's no plugs. These are things that counterintuitive, right? If you look at the cafe culture, everybody comes in, they beam up, they sit there all day. And it's not that James was worried about these glowy machines as he calls them coming in and people just parking. But it was really about like he felt like coffee is a convivial experience and it's one in which you should sit there, either enjoy a moment of solitude to yourself, or you're enjoying it with somebody and you're conversant. And so he wanted to foster that kind of environment when you get in the line. There's no small, medium, large, there's no flavorings, there's none of that kind of stuff. He has a point of view around esco drinks, which is that you should consume them on premise. You should not take them to go. Therefore, they're always served in ceramic cups. So that kind of stuff. And as I kind of”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  22. “Bottle coffee is a bit of an atypical one for a tech investor to be doing, but it turns out that this is going to be one of the Hallmark companies in our portfolio. And what really struck me about my conversation with James Freeman was that he wasn't just starting a coffee shop. It was around kind of his vision of what coffee should be for people. So starting with procurement, where do you get the beans from? Small lot farmers that are adhering to the strictest standards of organic farming or sustainability practices, sourcing those beans, a certain style of roasting, and then a point of view around freshness, that blue bottle, the beans. We only hold them for 10 days after roasting. And if they don't sell, then we pull them off the shelf and we dump them. So he had all kinds of principles around the source product. And then he had principles and a vision around what his”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  23. “It's real clear, it's about understanding how your product is going to intersect with people, right? And it's having a vision around that and having conviction around that vision. And that vision actually stacking up and feeling rational when they walk you through it. So I can give you some examples.”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  24. “To them. And I spent it probably a disproportionate amount of time, I think maybe more time than any other investor, in digging in on that basic premise for why are they after this? Why do they need to offer a new coffee company or a new watch company or whatever it is? The nuggets of the answers are always there.”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  25. “Tremendously. I think in the very beginning, I tried to be super smart. I tried to take a step back and say, like, where's the market going? How's the world changing? And did okay because I think I had instinctively a good nose for identifying smart people that were up to something interesting. But as I've evolved and I kind of get to this phase of my career, I realize that I really simply follow my instincts around an entrepreneur. I'm not thesis driven at all. I'm not trying to predict where the market is going or where the next great ideas are. What I'm paying attention to is where the smart entrepreneurs, the people like Kevin Rose before he joined us or Matt Mullenweg or Bri Pettis or Laura Bilazarian, these type of entrepreneurs, they have a sense of where the market's headed. And then the real kind of intersection for me is why does it matter?”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  26. “So I moved here from Jakarta, Indonesia, where I was running mergers and acquisitions in Corp Dev for BSN, which became Gubdenone, a big CPG firm based out of Paris, France. And I moved here in 1997. I guess towards the end of 96, beginning of 97. And I wanted to take a bit of a break. I had been traveling quite a bit, and I remember trying to take pulse of what was happening in the Bay Area. And it was so clear that tech was the motor that was, you know, revving up. And so, you know, I just started networking and spending a little bit of time around that and ended up making some investments. Some of those investments turned out to be really, really excellent. And I was on my way.”

    2017-06-14 · The Twenty Minute VC · 20VC: Tony Conrad on Straddling The Role Of Founder & Investor, What True Founder/Product Fit Looks Like & The Dangers of Party Rounds · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source