20VC: Why We Are in a Bubble & Now is Frothier Than 2021 | Why $1M ARR is a BS Milestone for Series A | Why Seed Pricing is Rational & Large Seed Rounds Have Less Risk | Why Many AI Apps Have BS Revenue & Are Not Sustainable with Saam Motamedi @ Greylock

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

The Twenty Minute VC

Finance, Venturecapital, Tech News, News, Siliconvalley, Technology, Investing, Startups, Business

4.4 • 637 Ratings

🗓️ 15 July 2024

⏱️ 66 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Saam Motamedi is a General Partner at Greylock, where he has led investments in Abnormal Security (incubated at Greylock), Apiiro Security and Opal Security, as well as AI companies like Adept, Braintrst, Cresta, Predibase, Snorkel, and more. Before Greylock, Saam founded Guru Labs, a machine learning-driven fintech startup, and worked in product management at RelateIQ, one of the first applied AI software companies.

In Today's Conversation We Discuss:

1. Seed Today is Frothier than 2021:

How does Saam evaluate the seed market today?
With seed pricing being so high, how does he reflect on his own price sensitivity? When does he say too much and does not do it?
Despite seed pricing being higher than ever before, why does Saam believe it is rational?
How has the competition at seed changed in the last few years?

2. Series B and Growth are not a Viable Asset Class Today:

Why does Saam believe that you cannot make money at Series B today?
Why has pricing gone through the roof? Who is the new competition?
When does it make sense to "play the game on the field" vs say this is BS and do something else?
What would need to happen in the public markets for Series B to be a viable asset class again?

3. Markets vs Founders: The Billion Dollar Mistake and Lessons:

How does Saam prioritise between founder vs market?
What have been Saam's biggest lessons when it comes to market sizing and timing?
What is Saam's biggest miss? How did it change his approach and company evaluation?
Which other VC would Saam most like to swap portfolios with? Why them?

4. Saam Motamedi: AMA:

What does Saam know now that he wishes he had known when he got into VC?
Saam has had a meteoric rise in Greylock, what advice does Saam have for those younger investors look to really scale within a firm?
Sourcing, selecting and servicing: Where is he best? Where is he worst?
Why does Saam believe that most VCs do not add value?

20VC: Why We Are in a Bubble & Now is Frothier Than 2021 | Why $1M ARR is a BS Milestone for Series A | Why Seed Pricing is Rational & Large Seed Rounds Have Less Risk | Why Many AI Apps Have BS Revenue & Are Not Sustainable with Saam Motamedi @ Greylock

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	What's happening, I could argue, is even crazier than what was happening in peak
0:04.0	2021, 2022. It's not unusual for us to see seed rounds for companies that are just getting started,
0:11.1	being priced in the many tens of millions of dollars, even $100 million plus post money ranges.
0:16.0	I think the series B market may be even frothier than it was in 21. I think playing the game on
0:20.7	the field would have cost you dearly at than it was in 21. I think playing the game on the field
0:21.0	would have cost you dearly at many different periods in time. And our view is most people in venture
0:26.2	capital are not helpful. You are listening to 20 VC with me, Harry Stebbings, and I'd heard so many
0:31.2	great things about today's guests from the likes of Reid Hoffman, Sarah Gwo, Pat Grady, and many
0:36.6	prior guests. And so I've wanted to make this discussion happen for a while.
0:40.3	And so I'm thrilled to welcome Sam Motamedi.
0:42.3	Sam has had a meteoric rise at Greylock, one of the world's best venture firms,
0:47.3	where he's a general partner and has led investments in abnormal security,
0:51.3	Apiro security and Opel security, as well as incredible AI companies like
0:55.4	Adept, where we had David on the show recently, Brain Trust, Cresta, Snorkel and more.
1:00.8	This is an amazing breakdown of the current venture landscape, from seed to growth,
1:06.0	from enterprise SaaS to AI. I love doing this one and you can watch the full video on
1:10.5	YouTube by searching for 20VC.
1:12.6	But before we dive in, when a promising startup files for an IPO or a venture capital firm loses its marquee partner,
1:19.6	being the first to know gives you an advantage and time to plan your strategic response.
1:24.6	Chances are the information reported it first. The information is the trusted source
1:29.0	for that important first look at actionable news across technology and finance, driving decisions
1:34.5	with breaking stories, proprietary data tools, and a spotlight on industry trends. With a subscription,
	...

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