20VC: Are the Best CEOs the Best Fundraisers, Are the Best Founders Insiders or Outsiders to a Problem, Why Ownership Should Not Be a Focus in VC & The Biggest Lessons Scaling MongoDB to $26BN Market Cap with Kevin Ryan, Founder @ AlleyCorp
The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
The Twenty Minute VC
4.4 • 637 Ratings
🗓️ 10 April 2024
⏱️ 64 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Kevin Ryan is one of the leading serial entrepreneurs and investors in New York. Previously he co-founded MongoDB, Business Insider, Gilt Groupe, Zola, Nomad Health, Pearl Health, and was the CEO of DoubleClick (Acquired by Google for $3.1B). Today, Kevin is the founder and CEO of AlleyCorp, a venture capital firm that incubates and invests in transformative companies in healthcare, diversified tech, robotics, and impact. Just yesterday, Alleycorp announced their $250M fund, their first ever external capital.
In Today’s Episode with Kevin Ryan We Discuss:
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Early Signs of Entrepreneurship
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How did Kevin’s early life shape his career? How would his parents and teachers describe him?
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Does Kevin agree that successful entrepreneurs always show signs early?
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What does Kevin think about luck vs. skill? Why does Kevin think that most things are out of your control as an entrepreneur?
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Lessons from Founding 10+ Companies Worth $27BN
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Does Kevin agree the best CEOs are also the best fundraisers?
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What were Kevin’s biggest lessons from scaling DoubleClick from 20 to 2000 employees?
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What was Kevin’s a-ha moment behind Business Insider? What was the reason behind its success?
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Why does Kevin believe the best founders are always in unfamiliar fields?
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Incubating World’s Best Companies
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How does Kevin allocate resources between incubations vs. investments?
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What are the biggest commonalities between successful companies at AlleyCorp?
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Is Kevin a market-led or people-led investor?
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What does Kevin think is the most important element in achieving product-market fit?
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What was Kevin’s biggest miss on selecting founders? What were his takeaways?
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Current State of Venture
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Why does Kevin believe venture is more competitive now than ever before?
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What does Kevin know now that wish he’d known when he started investing?
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Does Kevin agree rich investors make better investors?
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Why does Kevin not care about ownership?
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Does Kevin agree with Doug Leone that venture has transitioned from a high boutique margin industry to a low margin commoditised industry?
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Does Kevin agree with Peter Fenton that price is a mental trap?
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | There's actually a lot of VC money. |
| 0:01.9 | Tons of cash sitting on the sidelines. |
| 0:04.1 | That money is not going to be given back. That money is going to be spent. Here's the thing that I don't think about, which is our ownership. Sometimes we're paying a big price and we're paying a big price because it's an incredible team and an incredible opportunity. If someone makes you an offer you can't refuse, don't refuse it. Take it. |
| 0:25.3 | This is 20VC with me, Harry Stebbings, and I'm so excited for the show today with Kevin Ryan, |
| 0:32.1 | the godfather of New York Tech. The man is the co-founder of MongoDB, a $26 billion public company today. Business Insider also, Zola, Gilt Group. Kevin even sold double-click back in the day for $3 billion to Google. |
| 0:40.7 | And just yesterday, he announced that he's taking his first outside money with AlleyCorp's new |
| 0:45.4 | $250 million fund to innovate in incubating revolutionary generational defining companies. |
| 0:52.4 | But before we dive in, Cooley, the global law firm |
| 0:55.2 | built around startups and venture capital. Since forming the first venture fund in Silicon Valley, |
| 1:00.4 | Cooley has formed more venture capital funds than any other law firm in the world, with 60 plus |
| 1:05.7 | years working with VCs. They help VCs form and manage funds, make investments and handle the myriad issues |
| 1:12.4 | that arise through a fund's lifetime. We use them at 20 VC and have loved working with |
| 1:17.4 | their teams in the US, London and Asia over the last few years. So to learn more about the number |
| 1:22.3 | one most active law firm representing VC-backed companies going public, head over to coolly.com and also |
| 1:28.7 | coolly go.com, coolie's award-winning free legal resource for entrepreneurs. And speaking of |
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... |
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