The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

<p dir="ltr">Roman Chernin is Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of <a href="https://nebius.com?utm_source=chatgpt.com">Nebius</a>, one of the fastest-growing AI infrastructure companies in the world. Today, Nebius operates some of the largest AI compute clusters globally and serves leading AI labs, enterprises, and developers. Today, Nebius has a market cap of $57BN. </p> <p dir="ltr">AGENDA: </p> <p dir="ltr">00:00 — Why AI Infrastructure Is Not a Bubble</p> <p dir="ltr">05:00 — The Real Impact of Open Source on OpenAI & Anthropic</p> <p dir="ltr">11:00 — Jevons Paradox: Why Cheaper AI Creates More Demand</p> <p dir="ltr">13:00 — The Four Layers of AI Infrastructure Explained</p> <p dir="ltr">19:00 — If Nebius Had 10x More Capacity Tomorrow</p> <p dir="ltr">26:00 — The Shift from Training to Inference and Agents</p> <p dir="ltr">31:00 — How Token Factory Cuts AI Costs by 70%</p> <p dir="ltr">44:00 — Sovereign AI, Europe, and the Future of Model Building</p> <p dir="ltr">49:00 — Competing Against Hyperscalers with 10x More Capital</p> <p dir="ltr">59:00 — The Biggest Threat to Nebius Isn't Competition—It's Consolidation</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr"> </p>

<p><span data-path-to-node="0,0"><span class="citation-19">Jacob Lauritzen</span> <span class="citation-19">serves as the CTO at</span> <span class="citation-19">Legora</span><span class= "citation-19 citation-end-19">, the fastest growing B2B enterprise company in history; hitting $100 million in ARR in just 18 months<sup class="superscript" data-turn-source-index="1"> <!----></sup></span></span><span data-path-to-node="0,1"><!----> <!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><sup class="superscript"><!----></sup><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></span><span data-path-to-node="0,2">.</span> <span data-path-to-node="0,4"><span class="citation-17">Legora boasts a valuation of</span> <span class= "citation-17 citation-end-17">$5.6BN<sup class="superscript" data-turn-source-index="3"><!----></sup></span> and has raised a total of $866 million in funding. <span class= "citation-16">Legora's investors include the likes of</span> <span class="citation-16">Accel, Benchmark, and Bessemer Venture Partners</span><span class="citation-16">, alongside strategic tech giants</span> <span class="citation-16 citation-end-16">NVIDIA (NVentures) and Salesforce Ventures<sup class="superscript" data-turn-source-index="4"><!----></sup></span>.</span></p> <p><strong>AGENDA: </strong></p> <ul> <li> <p id="p-rc_55d945fb6cf44468-114" data-path-to-node="1,1,0"> <span data-path-to-node="1,1,0,0"><strong data-path-to-node= "1,1,0,0" data-index-in-node="0">05:01</strong> - How to Hire the Best Product Talent in 2026</span><span data-path-to-node= "1,1,0,1"><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----> <!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><sup class="superscript"><!----></sup><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></span> <!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></p> </li> <li> <p id="p-rc_55d945fb6cf44468-115" data-path-to-node="1,2,0"> <span data-path-to-node="1,2,0,0"><strong data-path-to-node= "1,2,0,0" data-index-in-node="0">06:21</strong> - The New Product Bottleneck: Shifting Beyond Code Creation</span><span data-path-to-node="1,2,0,1"><!----><!----> <!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><sup class="superscript"><!----></sup><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></span> <!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></p> </li> <li> <p id="p-rc_55d945fb6cf44468-116" data-path-to-node="1,3,0"> <span data-path-to-node="1,3,0,0"><strong data-path-to-node= "1,3,0,0" data-index-in-node="0">09:24</strong> - System Design vs. Code Creation: The Future Role of the Engineer</span><span data-path-to-node="1,3,0,1"><!----><!----> <!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><sup class="superscript"><!----></sup><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></span> <!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></p> </li> <li> <p id="p-rc_55d945fb6cf44468-117" data-path-to-node="1,4,0"> <span data-path-to-node="1,4,0,0"><strong data-path-to-node= "1,4,0,0" data-index-in-node="0">14:04</strong> - The Evolving Software Development Lifecycle & The Death of the Design Phase</span></p> </li> <li> <p id="p-rc_55d945fb6cf44468-119" data-path-to-node="1,6,0"> <span data-path-to-node="1,6,0,0"><strong data-path-to-node= "1,6,0,0" data-index-in-node="0">22:23</strong> - Will Product and Engineering Fully Converge?</span><span data-path-to-node= "1,6,0,1"><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----> <!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><sup class="superscript"><!----></sup><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></span> <!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></p> </li> <li> <p id="p-rc_55d945fb6cf44468-120" data-path-to-node="1,7,0"> <span data-path-to-node="1,7,0,0"><strong data-path-to-node= "1,7,0,0" data-index-in-node="0">29:16</strong> - Scalability and UX: Designing for 10x vs. 100x Spikes</span><span data-path-to-node="1,7,0,1"><!----><!----> <!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><sup class="superscript"><!----></sup><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></span> <!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></p> </li> <li> <p id="p-rc_55d945fb6cf44468-121" data-path-to-node="1,8,0"> <span data-path-to-node="1,8,0,0"><strong data-path-to-node= "1,8,0,0" data-index-in-node="0">38:15</strong> - Scaling the Organization: What Breaks with a 250 Person Product Team</span><span data-path-to-node="1,8,0,1"><!----><!----><!----> <!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><sup class="superscript"><!----></sup><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></span><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></p> </li> <li> <p id="p-rc_55d945fb6cf44468-122" data-path-to-node="1,9,0"> <span data-path-to-node="1,9,0,0"><strong data-path-to-node= "1,9,0,0" data-index-in-node="0">47:05</strong> - Quick-Fire Round: Hyper-Growth Tactics & Out-Working the Giants</span><span data-path-to-node="1,9,0,1"><!----><!----> <!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><sup class="superscript"><!----></sup><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----></span></p> </li> </ul> <p><span data-path-to-node="1,9,0,0"> </span></p>

<p dir="ltr">AGENDA:</p> <p dir="ltr">00:00:00 — Private Markets Are "F***ing Done" & The Shift to Heavy CapEx</p> <p dir="ltr">00:00:46 — Anthropic Files to Go Public </p> <p dir="ltr">00:04:59 — Will the Anthropic IPO Break the Startup Ecosystem?</p> <p dir="ltr">00:06:22 — The "Billion-Dollar Position" Era: VCs Reset Their Expectations</p> <p dir="ltr">00:18:11 — The Trillion-Dollar Cash Grab: Google, SpaceX, and OpenAI Rush the Queue</p> <p dir="ltr">00:23:15 — Is the SaaS Apocalypse Over? Bouncing Off the Bottom</p> <p dir="ltr">00:25:34 — The Death of Human Per-Seat Licenses as Multiples Shift</p> <p dir="ltr">00:27:18 — Winners vs. Losers: How Agentic Focused Products Captured the Market</p> <p dir="ltr">00:30:26 — Cognition Raises $1 Billion at a $26 Billion Valuation</p> <p dir="ltr">00:33:04 — Token Budgeting Panic Hits Corporate America</p> <p dir="ltr">00:35:46 — Multi-Model Workflows and the Future of Cost Containment</p> <p dir="ltr">00:41:20 — Choosing Tokens Over Humans: The 2027 Engineering Reality Check</p> <p dir="ltr">00:46:42 — Can Large Companies Survive Slashing One-Third of Their Engineering Talent?</p> <p dir="ltr">00:57:40 — Big Law Flex: Kirkland & Ellis Pledges $500 Million to Build In-House AI</p> <p dir="ltr">01:01:21 — Giving Away the Crown Jewels: Will Firms Trust Claude?</p> <p dir="ltr">01:08:44 — Robinhood's AI Move: Automating Financial Planning vs. Beating the Market</p> <p dir="ltr">01:16:15 — Apollo Warns PE Software Returns Are About to Be Disastrous</p> <p dir="ltr">01:19:15 — $10 Billion Carry Pools: Will VC Winners Quit the Game?</p> <p dir="ltr">01:24:10 — The 9-9-6 Work Ethic: Performative Theatre or Startup Reality?</p> <p>01:30:10 — The Great Valley Contradiction: Working 24/7 to Automate White-Collar Work</p> <p> </p>

<p dir="ltr">Brendan Foody is the Founder and CEO @ Mercor, one of the leading data providers to the largest labs on the planet including OpenAI. In the last two years, Brendan has scaled the company to $1.5BN in ARR and a valuation of $10BN. </p> <p dir="ltr">AGENDA: </p> <p dir="ltr">True or False:</p> <ul> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Mercor lost Meta and OpenAI as a customer with the hack?</p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Mercor has been poaching competitor talent, paying them millions? </p> </li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation">Mercor revenue is not real revenue and is only GMV?</p> </li> </ul> <p dir="ltr">12:56 Would Brendan sell Mercor for $30 billion? </p> <p dir="ltr">14:23 Why everyone is wrong that AI will lead to labor displacement?</p> <p dir="ltr">15:59 We will create many new jobs that do not exist with AI. </p> <p dir="ltr">16:59 Why training agents will be a massive labor category that does not exist today </p> <p dir="ltr">19:51 Will we see the data provider market unbundle and specialize into verticals? </p> <p dir="ltr">22:24 Is the stated revenue really revenue or is it really GMV? </p> <p dir="ltr">27:55 How a 1 million ARR company secured one of the best investors in the world with a helicopter ride </p> <p dir="ltr">29:41 How Felicis secured the deal of the decade with a race track and a set of Ferraris </p> <p dir="ltr">32:59 Which investment round felt like the highest price to grow into? </p> <p dir="ltr">34:49 Why will value accrue to the infrastructure layer, not the application layer, in the next 12 months? </p> <p dir="ltr">35:46 Why the model is the product and why application layer companies should be scared as a result </p> <p dir="ltr">37:22 Why network effects will be the determinant of value creation </p> <p dir="ltr">38:46 Why the forward-deployed motion, not the GTM motion, will determine true value creation. </p> <p dir="ltr">41:59 Why token spend within organizations is going to continue to increase </p> <p dir="ltr">43:54 Why agent evaluation to commoditize the model layer will be a massive business for enterprises? </p> <p dir="ltr">51:13 Why we should have increased capital gains tax </p> <p dir="ltr">01:01:31 How to compete with $20 million a year from Meta? </p> <p dir="ltr">01:08:49 Will Mercor go public and when?</p> <p> </p>

<p dir="ltr">Nico Laqua is the Co-Founder and CEO of Corgi Insurance, an AI-native insurance carrier built for startups. Corgi is the most intense workplace culture in America. The team works 7 days per week. The founder sleeps in the office. ⅔ of the first 30 team members have a Corgi tattoo. This week, Corgi raised $106M, valuing the company at a whopping $2.6BN. </p> <p dir="ltr">AGENDA: </p> <p dir="ltr">06:35 Why going to university was a massive waste of time </p> <p dir="ltr">09:42 Why we work seven days a week </p> <p dir="ltr">11:58 Why we do work trials and how that is a test of people's stamina </p> <p dir="ltr">18:41 Why we created a cafe in the biggest annoyance with San Francisco </p> <p dir="ltr">22:00 Why I am so bullish on London </p> <p dir="ltr">23:49 Why I haven't sold a single secondary </p> <p dir="ltr">24:19 Why people who found companies in New York prioritise dating over their company </p> <p dir="ltr">30:46 Biggest lessons on cash comp and equity </p> <p dir="ltr">31:13 Team members can be split into three separate groups </p> <p dir="ltr">34:59 Biggest lesson from Brian Chesky on price </p> <p dir="ltr">35:44 What is the right amount of time to be fundraising for? </p> <p dir="ltr">36:47 Good companies get deals done and what makes the best venture investors? </p> <p dir="ltr">40:34 Why AI makes sales and marketing more valuable </p> <p dir="ltr">43:12 Why I don't like boards and I don't think they're effective </p> <p dir="ltr">46:19 What I would like to see more of from venture funds </p> <p dir="ltr">48:05 Who was Corgi's first believer?</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p> </p>

<p dir="ltr">AGENDA: </p> <p dir="ltr">05:16 Nvidia Blowout Quarter: $81BN Revenues and Stock… Flat! </p> <p dir="ltr">10:39 Uber and Microsoft Declare Productivity Gains Questionable from AI</p> <p dir="ltr">25:26 The Layoffs Continue: ClickUp and Cloudflare</p> <p dir="ltr">34:39 OpenAI S1: Is it a Race? How Will it be Received?</p> <p dir="ltr">38:28 Do Anthropic Rush Out Their IPO Also?</p> <p dir="ltr">45:49 SpaceX S-1: "Why I Would Never Invest"</p> <p dir="ltr">48:06 Why Colossus is a Stroke of Genius By Elon</p> <p dir="ltr">51:31 Data Centers In Space is BS and Will Not Be Core to SpaceX</p> <p dir="ltr">58:04 Polsia Raises $30M at $250M Price: Is this the Peak? </p> <p dir="ltr">01:06:08 Exa Raises at $2.2BN to Build Search for Agents</p> <p dir="ltr">01:14:34 Is Replacing Your CRM with Vibe Coding Always Ragebait</p> <p> </p>

<p dir="ltr">Andrew Feldman is the co-founder and CEO of Cerebras Systems. This month, Cerebras went public achieving a market cap of $70BN, the largest semiconductor IPO in history. Cerebras has a massive commercial backlog with a monumental, multi-year $20 billion compute agreement from OpenAI.</p> <p dir="ltr">AGENDA: </p> <p dir="ltr">05:58 - Why we are not in an infrastructure bubble and it is just the start</p> <p dir="ltr">08:00 - Sam Altman's superpower is his ability to forecast capex spend.</p> <p dir="ltr">08:58 - Anthropic did not get a good deal with Elon. They got a deal that was available. </p> <p dir="ltr">10:39 - What is going on with the price of memory and why is it a problem?</p> <p dir="ltr">16:40 - Are Google best positioned to produce tokens and what challenges do they face?</p> <p dir="ltr">19:23 - Is Coreweave dramatically undervalued or overvalued?</p> <p dir="ltr">24:34 - My biggest advice to entrepreneurs scaling their business </p> <p dir="ltr">30:13 - Why most of the layoffs are AI-washed and</p> <p dir="ltr">33:41 - What will we spend on tokens for software engineers in five years?</p> <p dir="ltr">34:48 - Why does the role of HR change so significantly in the world of AI?</p> <p dir="ltr">35:36 - Why lawyers are the biggest inhibitor of enterprise AI adoption</p> <p dir="ltr">39:20 - Why Jensen and Nvidia are wrong to sell chips to China</p> <p dir="ltr">42:49 - What needs to change in the U.S. to build a strategic asset in chips?</p> <p dir="ltr">51:00 - Should Cerebras invest in companies building on top of their platform; as Nvidia is?</p> <p>53:28 - Nothing changed when Cerebras IPO'd but I did make 800 millionaires.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Chad Peets is one of the most straight-talking, no BS sales leaders of our time. Today, he partners with founders of the fastest growing companies in the world, like Harvey, Factory to build the best sales teams in a world of AI. </p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Chris Degnan is a legendary technology sales leader who achieved the historic feat of scaling Snowflake from $0 to $4BN in ARR. </p> <p dir="ltr">AGENDA:</p> <p dir="ltr">00:00 – The $100M CRO Packages Nobody Believes Are Real</p> <p dir="ltr">04:10 – Why Most "Elite" Salespeople Are Actually Just Order Takers</p> <p dir="ltr">08:00 – The Secret to Hiring Killer Sales Talent at Early-Stage Startups</p> <p dir="ltr">10:05 – 20x Quotas & The Death of Traditional Pipeline Generation</p> <p dir="ltr">16:20 – The ARR Scam: Why Most AI Revenue Numbers Are Fake</p> <p dir="ltr">17:45 – Why the Best Engineers Do Not Want to Be Forward Deployed Engineers</p> <p dir="ltr">21:10 – Why Paying Everyone the Same Kills Great Sales Organisations</p> <p dir="ltr">24:15 – Anthropic's Crazy Compensation Is Breaking the Entire Sales Market</p> <p dir="ltr">29:00 – The Brutal Truth About Replacing CROs & Firing Sales Leaders</p> <p dir="ltr">32:20 – Forecasting in AI Is Completely Broken</p> <p dir="ltr">38:20 – The Fatal Mistake Founders Make Chasing Venture Valuations</p> <p dir="ltr">39:40 – Why Most VCs Give Absolutely Terrible Sales Advice</p> <p dir="ltr">42:10 – Global Sales From Day One: The New AI Go-To-Market Playbook</p> <p dir="ltr">44:15 – "Anthropic Is a $5 Trillion Company"</p> <p dir="ltr">47:40 – The Death of the Traditional SDR & The Rise of Full-Stack AI Sellers</p> <p dir="ltr">49:00 – Consumption Pricing, Vertical AI & Why SaaS Is Getting Rewritten</p> <p dir="ltr">52:00 – What the Best Sales Cultures Still Get Right in the AI Era</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p> </p>

<p dir="ltr">AGENDA:<strong> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">00:00 – Anthropic Eyes $900B Valuation & Andre Karpathy's Shock Move</p> <p dir="ltr">04:46 – Unpacking Anthropic's $30 Billion War Chest</p> <p dir="ltr">10:52 – The True Cost of AI Tokens: Is Salesforce Spending Too Much?</p> <p dir="ltr">15:59 – The Bear Case for Token Growth & Why Software Leaders Must Adapt</p> <p dir="ltr">22:56 – Public Tech Rebound: Figma & Datadog Crush Expectations</p> <p dir="ltr">26:59 – The Death of Traditional Web Builders? The Decline of Wix & Squarespace</p> <p dir="ltr">36:59 – Compute Starvation: Is the Semiconductor & Hardware Boom Sustainable?</p> <p dir="ltr">45:59 – Cerebras IPO Smashes Day One: The Biggest Tech Public Debut Since Snowflake</p> <p dir="ltr">48:17 – SpaceX Sets Date For the Largest IPO in History</p> <p dir="ltr">57:28 – Y Combinator's Mic Drop Deal & The Drama Behind Elon Musk's OpenAI Lawsuit</p> <p>01:11:57 – The Looming Backlash: Mass Tech Layoffs and the Politics of AI</p> <p>20VC: </p>

<p dir="ltr">Josh Browder is my favourite emerging manager. As the Founder of Browder Capital he has been the first check into unicorns like Micro1, <a href="http://owner.com">Owner.com</a> and Yuzu Health to name a few. He turned his Thiel Fellowship Grant of $100K into a whopping $10M angel portfolio. All new investments move into Josh's Four Seasons Residence where he then trains them on company building. They are only allowed to leave when they raise their seed round. In addition to this, Josh is the Founder & CEO @ DoNotPay, the now profitable company that has raised $22M from Marc Andreessen and others. </p> <p dir="ltr">AGENDA:</p> <p dir="ltr">00:00 Why I believe young founders make the best founders</p> <p dir="ltr">02:10 What do I look for in founders I'm investing in?</p> <p dir="ltr">10:00 How I test for founder commitment pre-investment</p> <p dir="ltr">11:00 What do I want to see in the childhoods of the entrepreneurs that I back?</p> <p dir="ltr">12:05 Why I make founders live with me in my Four Seasons residence after investing</p> <p dir="ltr">14:00 There are three reasons why pre-seed companies fail and how I solve for them</p> <p dir="ltr">15:45 What do I look for in a team to assure me they will last?</p> <p dir="ltr">16:50 Is $5 million post still attainable in this world?</p> <p dir="ltr">17:15 Should we be worried about the increasing levels of fraud at the early stages?</p> <p dir="ltr">18:10 Which Silicon Valley investor was the most impressive?</p> <p dir="ltr">20:00 Do VCs really add value?</p> <p dir="ltr">20:50 Does university carry less value than ever and should founders drop out if they have a dream and an idea?</p> <p dir="ltr">24:00 The advice of one lawyer changed the entire trajectory of this multi-million dollar company</p> <p dir="ltr">28:10 I would never invest in someone that I met over Zoom</p> <p dir="ltr">29:20 Are all the best founders you invest in delusional?</p> <p dir="ltr">31:10 What is the biggest benefit of being a Thiel Fellow?</p> <p dir="ltr">36:20 The problem of accelerators and why artificial constraints can enforce quality</p> <p dir="ltr">38:20 How we used Mark Zuckerberg's house as a viewing instrument tool to get users</p> <p dir="ltr">41:20 My pre-seed cheque in Micro One is now worth hundreds of millions and my lessons</p> <p dir="ltr">43:20 The biggest mistake VCs are making in assessing founders</p> <p dir="ltr">44:10 Why I will never tell the entrepreneur what to build and why I place little value on ideas</p> <p dir="ltr">47:00 Why kingmaking is real and why you should accept half the price from a tier one firm</p> <p dir="ltr">49:00 My biggest lessons on reserve investing</p> <p dir="ltr">53:00 Why price rounds are bullshit and we should do more SAFEs</p> <p dir="ltr">54:20 What all founders need to know about signing with a VC</p> <p dir="ltr">55:10 Single biggest advice to founders on how to get the best price</p> <p dir="ltr">57:30 What role does not exist today that will be massive in five years' time?</p> <p dir="ltr">59:10 Stocks are bullshit. Cash is bullshit. I put my money in land. My personal investing strategy</p> <p dir="ltr">1:01:00 Why the Trump administration is unwaveringly good for US business</p> <p dir="ltr">1:03:20 Why competitive markets are the best investments</p> <p dir="ltr">1:05:40 The serendipity of San Francisco is unmatched</p> <p dir="ltr">1:08:10 What things does no one know about Marc Andreessen that everyone should know?</p> <p> </p>

<p dir="ltr">Shiv Rao is the CEO and Co-Founder of Abridge, a leader in generative AI for healthcare. The company reached a $5.3 billion valuation following a $300 million funding round with investors including Jensen Huang, Henry Kravis, USV, Bessemer Venture Partners and Elad Gill. A practicing cardiologist, Shiv has scaled the company to 450 employees and partnered with major health systems like Emory and Yale. </p> <p dir="ltr">AGENDA:</p> <p dir="ltr">04:00 — You just have to survive long enough to not die</p> <p dir="ltr">06:00 — Did USV liking music make them billions of dollars?</p> <p dir="ltr">13:58 — The three variants of an AI native company</p> <p dir="ltr">15:00 — How do you know if foundation models are going to kill or help you?</p> <p dir="ltr">22:15 — Why OpenAI and Anthropic doing consultancies is such an obvious move</p> <p dir="ltr">41:00 — Biggest lesson from Jensen Huang at Nvidia</p> <p dir="ltr">41:00 — What Founder Mode truly means</p> <p dir="ltr">52:00 — What the founder of Duolingo taught me about sacrifice</p> <p dir="ltr">56:37 — If I started a company again, Elad Gill would be the one investor I go to</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p> </p>

<p dir="ltr">AGENDA:</p> <p dir="ltr">00:05:11 — Anthropic freezes secondary sales, requiring board approval for all transfers.</p> <p dir="ltr">00:10:45 — Why Anthropic is buying capacity from Elon Musk.</p> <p dir="ltr">00:15:35 — Anthropic's massive $200B revenue commit to Google.</p> <p dir="ltr">00:18:55 — Goldman Sachs predicts a 24x surge in token consumption driven by agents.</p> <p dir="ltr">00:31:05 — Will AI labs eat the app layer? The threat to Legal and CX verticals. </p> <p dir="ltr">00:37:55 — SaaS public markets: HubSpot tanks 18% while Monday.com finds its footing.</p> <p dir="ltr">00:42:40 — Growth theft: How Clay is commoditizing ZoomInfo's data business.</p> <p dir="ltr">00:46:25 — Cerebras prices IPO at $150–$160 with a $48B market cap.</p> <p dir="ltr">00:52:15 — Real Venture Capital: Celebrating the early bets by Foundation and Benchmark.</p> <p dir="ltr">00:58:30 — Ramp's valuation vs. the Chapter 7 collapse of e-commerce card Parker.</p> <p>01:06:20 — Success and Sacrifice: Is mental health the price of building a $20B company?</p> <p> </p>

<p dir="ltr">Patrick Forquer is the Chief Revenue Officer at <a href="https://legora.com?utm_source=chatgpt.com">Legora</a>, the fastest growing enterprise business to ever hit $100M in ARR and now on track to hit over $250M in ARR by the end of the year. They recently raised a $550 million Series D at a $5.55 billion valuation, led by Accel, note 20VC did participate and is an investor in the company. </p> <p dir="ltr">AGENDA:</p> <p dir="ltr">0:00 – How Jude Law Generated $50 Million in Qualified Pipeline</p> <p dir="ltr">4:00 – Why Implementation is Your Secret Weapon to Win in AI</p> <p dir="ltr">5:50 – Why AI Enterprise Sales Require "Legal Engineers"</p> <p dir="ltr">7:45 – The 6-Figure Rule: When Should Humans Control Sales</p> <p dir="ltr">12:55 – Is Legora Vastly Overvalued at $5.5BN? </p> <p dir="ltr">15:45 – How to do global expansion in a world of AI</p> <p dir="ltr">18:00 – How to Win Supremely Competitive Markets</p> <p dir="ltr">24:45 – Why Giving Your Product Away for Free is a Death Sentence</p> <p dir="ltr">33:55 – Legora's Onboarding and Training Playbook for Sales Teams</p> <p dir="ltr">38:25 – Spotting Red Flags: How to Know if a Sales Rep Will Fail in 45 Days</p> <p dir="ltr">46:30 – How to Structure Sales Commissions in a World of AI</p> <p dir="ltr">49:40 – How to do Revenue Forecasting in a World of AI</p> <p>1:00:30 – Will companies vibe code solutions and no longer buy a SaaS products?</p> <p> </p> <p> </p>

<p dir="ltr">Cliff Weitzman is the Founder & CEO of Speechify AI. He solved his dyslexia and ADHD in college by building a Voice AI agent that's now used by over 60 million people and has over 1 million five-star ratings. Over 200 software and AI engineers work on Speechify which won the Apple Design award last year.</p> <p dir="ltr">AGENDA: </p> <p dir="ltr">00:00 — Until You Hit $100K Do Not Spend on any Channel Other than Meta </p> <p dir="ltr">04:53 — How I hacked the college system by applying to 26 universities</p> <p dir="ltr">06:33 — The "Great Guy" yearbook prank that accidentally outed me</p> <p dir="ltr">08:35 — What I learned from hunting down the top 100 CEOs in the world</p> <p dir="ltr">11:51 — The "Warrior" rule: Why I force my senior leaders to edit their own ads</p> <p dir="ltr">13:52 — Why companies are like bodybuilders: The Bulking and Cutting cycle</p> <p dir="ltr">17:34 — I test 1,000 AI-generated ads every single day</p> <p dir="ltr">20:13 — How I built a custom AI ad platform in just four days</p> <p dir="ltr">23:19 — The one $3,000,000 ad I filmed in a hot tub with red headphones</p> <p dir="ltr">32:15 — Why we will soon spend more on AI tokens than employee salaries</p> <p dir="ltr">34:55 — "I'm disappointed in you": The 1,000-credit daily AI requirement</p> <p dir="ltr">36:31 — How LLMs helped me find my father's cancer when doctors couldn't</p> <p dir="ltr">41:13 — Why 40% of billionaires are dyslexic—and why you should be too</p> <p dir="ltr">45:41 — Why I refuse to hire anyone who has worked at Google</p> <p dir="ltr">47:05 — I flew into a war zone in Ukraine just to keep one engineer</p> <p dir="ltr">55:49 — Why performance reviews are a total waste of time</p> <p dir="ltr">58:32 — QA is the most valuable skill in the world (and you're probably bad at it)</p> <p dir="ltr">01:03:59 — Why we keep our valuation and funding a total secret</p> <p dir="ltr">01:07:51 — The "Virus" Strategy: How Logan Paul hijacked the WWE</p> <p dir="ltr">01:11:32 — What I learned from sleeping at Mr Beast's house for three weeks</p> <p dir="ltr">01:14:15 — How we made a 36X return on Nvidia using high-leverage options</p> <p dir="ltr">01:23:44 — I found the hacker who stole $200k—then I hired him</p> <p>01:32:45 — Why I spent 11 days sleeping in a Walmart parking lot</p>

<p dir="ltr">AGENDA:</p> <p dir="ltr">00:00 – Mag Seven Earnings: The "Super Bowl" of Tech Results</p> <p dir="ltr">04:45 – Google's Cloud Explosion & The AI Search "Disruption" That Never Came</p> <p dir="ltr">15:53 – Microsoft's $190B Bet: Is AI the Only Thing Keeping Growth Flat?</p> <p dir="ltr">21:59 – Meta's $150B Future Bet vs. Wall Street's Need for Spreadsheets</p> <p dir="ltr">28:50 – Palantir's Home Run: Why Big Companies Spend Big Money on AI</p> <p dir="ltr">38:43 – Apple's Quiet Consistency & The Stealth Inflation of Memory Chips</p> <p dir="ltr">41:11 – The SaaS Apocalypse Over? Atlassian and Twilio Lead the Re-acceleration</p> <p dir="ltr">50:50 – Anthropic's $50B Raise & The Math Behind Token vs. Salary Spend</p> <p dir="ltr">01:05:59 – Sierra's $15B Valuation: Replacing the $400B Customer Service Labor Market</p> <p dir="ltr">01:13:39 – Musk vs. Altman Trial: Statute of Limitations, Standing, & Private Diaries</p> <p dir="ltr">01:17:42 – The End of Managers? Brian Armstrong & The Rise of the "Individual Contributor"</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p> </p>

<p dir="ltr">Tobi Lütke is the co-founder and CEO of Shopify, the global e-commerce titan with a $160 billion market cap. Under his leadership, the company generates over $7 billion in annual revenue and has seen its valuation grow nearly 100x since its 2015 IPO. Today, Shopify has over 8,000 employees and AI now generates over 50% of the Shopify's code. </p> <p dir="ltr">AGENDA:</p> <p dir="ltr">00:10:36 - The $160 billion CEO who did not want to be CEO.</p> <p dir="ltr">00:11:51 - Why don't companies become public? Because it is much worse to be an untrusted public company.</p> <p dir="ltr">00:16:53 - Why we are about to enter a golden age of entrepreneurship.</p> <p dir="ltr">00:17:54 - Why AI is being used as a scapegoat for mass layoffs.</p> <p dir="ltr">00:17:41 - How will labor markets change in a world of AI?</p> <p dir="ltr">00:24:43 - Why we should praise Elon Musk so much more than we do.</p> <p dir="ltr">00:27:59 - Why we need to place more, not less, scrutiny on charitable giving.</p> <p dir="ltr">00:31:56 - Why we have too many charity dollars and why they are inefficient.</p> <p dir="ltr">00:34:57 - Why governments are so bad at what they do.</p> <p dir="ltr">00:37:27 - The Trump derangement syndrome in Canada.</p> <p dir="ltr">00:39:51 - Why will governments regulating technology push us into the hands of the Chinese?</p> <p dir="ltr">00:41:59 - Europe has to get rid of the bullshit green parties and go back to Prussian economics.</p> <p dir="ltr">00:48:29 - Why is looking at the ticker such bullshit?</p> <p dir="ltr">00:50:48 - Why young coders are not as advantaged in AI as I thought they would be.</p> <p dir="ltr">00:53:56 - The best engineers in Shopify are not writing code anymore and the AI does it for them.</p> <p>00:56:40 - The cheat code for any career from the billionaire founder of Shopify.</p> <p> </p>

<p dir="ltr">Becca Lindquist is Head of Sales at Clay, one of the fastest-growing AI companies to reach $100M+ ARR. She previously helped scale dbt Labs into a category-defining data platform, building and leading high-performing sales teams. Before that, she was an early sales leader at Heap, where she played a key role in scaling the GTM motion.</p> <p dir="ltr">AGENDA:</p> <p dir="ltr">00:00 Why most sales reps plateau—and when you should leave your company</p> <p dir="ltr">02:45 Should you jump from SaaS to a hot AI startup right now?</p> <p dir="ltr">05:30 How long is too long at one company—and what great tenure actually looks like</p> <p dir="ltr">08:00 How to read a LinkedIn profile like a world-class sales leader</p> <p dir="ltr">13:30 The biggest hiring mistake sales leaders make (and how to catch it fast)</p> <p dir="ltr">16:00 Titles vs salary: what actually predicts a great hire</p> <p dir="ltr">20:00 What early-stage founders must look for in their first sales hires</p> <p dir="ltr">24:00 How to evaluate AI startups: PMF, retention, and real signals that matter</p> <p dir="ltr">27:00 Sales comp decoded: quota, OTE, and how to design winning incentives</p> <p dir="ltr">33:00 How to build a high-performance sales culture (and avoid a toxic one)</p> <p dir="ltr">41:00 What makes a true champion—and why most reps get this wrong</p> <p dir="ltr">45:00 Weekly forecasting: how elite sales teams run pipeline reviews</p> <p dir="ltr">50:00 Are SDRs dead? How AI is really changing outbound sales</p> <p dir="ltr">52:00 Why every rep owns pipeline—and how top teams generate it</p> <p dir="ltr">54:30 The future of sales productivity: AI tools, workflows, and what actually works</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p> </p>

<p dir="ltr">AGENDA:</p> <p dir="ltr">00:00 $45B Floods into Anthropic from Google & Amazon</p> <p dir="ltr">05:10 OpenAI Misses Growth Targets — Is This a Real Problem?</p> <p dir="ltr">08:40 The Rise of AI Agents: Why Humans No Longer Pick Models</p> <p dir="ltr">12:05 "Compute ≠ Revenue": The First Crack in the AI Business Model</p> <p dir="ltr">20:30 China Blocks $2B Manus Deal — AI Cold War Escalates</p> <p dir="ltr">34:10 Why Google May Be the Biggest Winner in AI Infrastructure</p> <p dir="ltr">41:50 The Death of SaaS? Agents Replace Apps Like Jira & Canva</p> <p dir="ltr">46:20 Thoma Bravo Hands Medallia to Creditors — $5B Wiped Out</p> <p dir="ltr">52:10 The Collapse of Private Equity Exit Routes in VC</p> <p> </p>

<p dir="ltr">Adam Foroughi is the Co-Founder and CEO @ Applovin, one of the most underdiscussed but incredible businesses. Applovin has a market cap of $160BN, the company does $5.48BN in revenue and has an astonishing $10M EBITDA per head. The margins; 80%+. There is almost no other business in the world like it. </p> <p dir="ltr">AGENDA: </p> <p dir="ltr">00:00 – Why Winning (Not Fear) Drives the Best Founders</p> <p dir="ltr">04:30 – When Money Stops Mattering: The Real Founder Motivation</p> <p dir="ltr">07:15 – $83M CEO Payday: The Truth Behind the Headlines</p> <p dir="ltr">10:45 – The Hidden Cost of Being a CEO: What No One Tells You</p> <p dir="ltr">13:00 – Down 92%: How Do You Not Lose Your Mind?</p> <p dir="ltr">17:00 – Layoffs: AI Revolution or COVID Hangover? Will the Layoffs Work?</p> <p dir="ltr">24:30 – Why Most Companies Can't Build a Culture of A-Players</p> <p dir="ltr">29:30 – What % of Applovin Code is AI? What Will it Be in 5 Years Time?</p> <p dir="ltr">33:30 – Building on OpenAI: Opportunity or Existential Risk?</p> <p dir="ltr">40:00 – The Dark Side of Short Sellers & Market Manipulation</p> <p dir="ltr">50:00 – Do Great Founders Doubt Themselves?</p> <p dir="ltr">52:00 – TikTok, Meta & The Future of Recommendation Engines</p> <p dir="ltr">53:30 – The Path to a $1 Trillion Company: What Needs to Happen?</p> <p dir="ltr">56:00 – Stock Buybacks: How to Do Them and When They Go Wrong?</p> <p dir="ltr">59:00 – Is the SaaS Model Breaking? What Happens Now?</p> <p dir="ltr"> </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong id= "docs-internal-guid-d96564dd-7fff-5321-e0ac-7eed8bb3d50c"></strong></p>

<p dir="ltr">Amjad Masad is the Co-Founder and CEO of Replit, one of the leading "vibe-coding" platforms. Under his leadership, Replit has raised a total of $922 million in funding, recently raising at a whopping $9 billion valuation. Replit has over 50 million registered users and is used by employees at 85% of Fortune 500 companies. Replit's revenue jumped from $10 million to $100 million in nine months, and the company is on track to reach $1BN in ARR by the end of 2026.</p> <p dir="ltr">AGENDA: </p> <p dir="ltr">00:00 — Why Coding Models are Hitting a Performance Plateau</p> <p dir="ltr">07:21 — Is Most of the Value of Replit Not Anthropic Model Quality?</p> <p dir="ltr">10:04 — Why Did Replit Decide to Not Build Their Own Model, Like Cursor Did?</p> <p dir="ltr">11:58 — Why Product Quality Must Always Beat Cost Optimization</p> <p dir="ltr">14:51 — How Do Replit Choose Which Model To Route To For Different Tasks?</p> <p dir="ltr">24:43 — The SaaS Apocalypse: Why it is Fair and Just?</p> <p dir="ltr">29:55 — What Will the Cost of Tokens Be in 5 Years?</p> <p dir="ltr">31:09 — Is Cursor Dead? Debunking the Twitter Narrative</p> <p dir="ltr">33:36 — Are IDEs Dead?</p> <p dir="ltr">35:54 — Should Students Still Study Computer Science?</p> <p dir="ltr">42:47 — Are US Companies Using CCP Subsidised Open-Source Chinese Models</p> <p dir="ltr">56:59 — What Do No Founders Know About True Product-Market Fit</p> <p> </p>