Podcast · 520 episodes
The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch, page 3
by Harry Stebbings · English
The Twenty Minute VC (20VC) interviews the world's greatest venture capitalists with prior guests including Sequoia's Doug Leone and Benchmark's Bill Gurley. Once per week, 20VC Host, Harry Stebbings is also joined by one of the great founders of our time with prior founder episodes from Spotify's Daniel Ek, Linkedin's Reid Hoffman, and Snowflake's Frank Slootman. If you would like to see more of The Twenty Minute VC (20VC), head to www.20vc.com for more information on the podcast, show notes, resources and more.
All episodes, page 3
20VC: Nebius Co-Founder on AI Infrastructure Bubbles | The Real Impact of Open Source on OpenAI & Anthropic | How Price Elastic is Demand for Compute | Could Nebius Sell 10x More Compute If They Had It & more with Roman CherninNebius co-founder Roman Chernin argues AI infrastructure spending is not a bubble, explains why open-source models won’t “kill” frontier providers, and details Nebius’s four-layer strategy (capacity,…7 Jun 2026 · 1 h 7 min · 30 chapters
20Product: Inside Legora's Tech Stack: Why Token Maxing is Failing Enterprise Startups with Jacob Lauritzen, CTO @ LegoraHow Legora’s CTO (Jacob Lauritzen) uses AI tooling and “agent” workflows to accelerate enterprise software delivery, while managing new bottlenecks (product work, review, security) and risks…6 Jun 2026 · 55 min · 36 chapters
20VC: Anthropic Files to Go Public | Token Budgeting Panic Hits Corporate America | Cognition Raises $1BN at $26BN Valuation | Apollo Warns PE Software Returns Will be Disastrous | The 9-9-6 Work Ethic: Performative Theatre or Startup Reality?Tech and markets roundup focused on AI funding/IPO momentum, SaaS “SaaSpocalypse” easing, and the shift from seat-based software to token-based AI usage—plus debate over how token budgeting will…4 Jun 2026 · 1 h 34 min · 38 chapters
20VC: Mercor CEO on Why Application Layer Companies Have No Defensibility, The Model is the Product | Token Spend Will Exceed Headcount Spend in 5 Years | The True Cost of Hiring AI Researchers in the Valley Today with Brendan FoodyMercor CEO Brendan Foody argues that “the model is the product,” making application-layer defensibility hard; tokens/compute will outspend headcount in ~5 years; AI services and agentic workflows…1 Jun 2026 · 1 h 15 min · 32 chapters
20VC: Corgi Insurance: The Most Intense Workplace Culture in America: 7 Days Per Week, Founder Sleeps in Office, Corgi Cafe Open 24 Hours a Day, 60% of First 30 Employees Have Corgi Tattoos | The Journey from $0 to $2.6BN Valuation in Just 2 YearsCorgi Insurance’s “most intense workplace culture in America,” including 7-days/week expectations, founder living in the office, and a 24/7 company cafe; plus Nico’s views on winning, legitimacy,…30 May 2026 · 53 min · 30 chapters
20VC: OpenAI & SpaceX S1 Drops | NVIDIA's $81BN Revenue Quarter | Cloudflare and ClickUp Do Controversial Layoffs | Exa, OpenRouter and Polsia Raise Mega Rounds | Uber and Microsoft Declare AI ROI for Developers is QuestionableAI ROI debate amid major tech IPO filings and earnings; plus layoffs at ClickUp and Cloudflare, and funding rounds for Exa, OpenRouter, and Polsia.28 May 2026 · 1 h 25 min · 30 chapters
20VC: Cerebras CEO on the Future of Data Centres, Token Costs and Memory | We are Not in an Infra Bubble & Dario Got a Bad Deal with Elon for Compute | Should US Companies Sell to China & Why Most Layoffs are AI Washed with Andrew FeldmanAndrew Feldman (Cerebras CEO) argues there’s no AI infrastructure “bubble” because data centers and memory can’t be built fast enough; discusses chip economics (token costs, SRAM vs HBM), energy and…26 May 2026 · 1 h 2 min · 30 chapters
20Sales: The $100M CRO Bubble: Why Anthropic Are Causing a Comp Crisis | Why You Should Never Hire From Salesforce or Service Now | How to Hire, Train and Forecase in a World of AI with Chad Peets and Chris DegnanBuilding AI-era sales teams and avoiding “CRO/comp” hype; how to evaluate sales talent, set quotas, forecast, and motivate reps; plus skepticism about hiring from Salesforce/ServiceNow and…23 May 2026 · 1 h 20 min · 51 chapters
20VC: Andrej Karpathy Joins Anthropic & Anthropic Raises $30BN at $900BN Price | SpaceX Files S1: How Does it Trade | Cerebras Smashes Day 1: What it Means for IPOs | Why Mass Layoffs Are More Worrying Than Anyone SeesVenture and public-market roundup focused on AI infrastructure and enterprise adoption.21 May 2026 · 1 h 22 min · 30 chapters
20VC: Turning Peter Thiel's $100K into $10M Angel Portfolio | The One Man Accelerator at The Four Seasons | Why VCs Can Be Sharks and What Founders Need to Know | Why Stocks and Cash are BS and You Should Invest in Land with Josh BrowderJosh Browder (Browder Capital) explains his “one-man accelerator” for pre-seed founders, why fear of losing drives execution, how he identifies mission-driven “real” founders vs “fake tourist”…18 May 2026 · 1 h 29 min · 48 chapters
20VC: Lessons from Jensen Huang on "Founder Mode" | How to Know if OpenAI or Anthropic Will Kill your Company | How USV Liking Music Made Them $1BN on an Investment | The Five Year Desert to Product Market Fit & a $5.3BN Valuation with Shiv Rao @ AbridgeShiv Rao (Abridge) discusses “founder mode,” vertical AI timing, and how Abridge built enterprise healthcare AI through a 5–6 year “wilderness” period, then scaled after LLM/agent breakthroughs.16 May 2026 · 1 h 5 min · 35 chapters
20VC: Anthropic Buys Compute From Elon & Commits $200BN to Google | Cerebras IPO: The Breakdown | Ramp's $40BN Latest Valuation | Hubspot Tanks, Monday Rockets: WTF is Happening in Public MarketsPublic markets and AI infrastructure/compute deals. Main focus is Anthropic’s board-approved restriction on secondaries/SPVs, Anthropic’s compute partnerships (SpaceX/Elon and a $200B Google…14 May 2026 · 1 h 18 min · 35 chapters
20VC: Inside Legora: $100M ARR in 18 Months | Jude Law Generated $50M in Sales Pipeline: The Economics Broken Down | Competing Against Harvey, the 800 Pound Gorilla | Why Legora is Undervalued at $5.5BN with Patrick Forquer, CRO @ LegoraLegora’s scaling and go-to-market for enterprise AI in legal services, including pipeline economics, change management, competition with Harvey, and why Legora is “undervalued” at a $5.5B valuation.11 May 2026 · 1 h 14 min · 29 chapters
20VC: What I Learned from 100 of the Best CEOs in the World | What I Learned from Staying with Mr Beast for 3 Weeks | How We Will Spend More on Tokens than Salaries with Cliff Weitzman, SpeechifyCliff Weitzman (Speechify founder/CEO) shares how he built Speechify for dyslexia/ADHD via voice AI, and the growth/ads playbook he learned by studying 100 top consumer subscription CEOs and by…9 May 2026 · 1 h 47 min · 74 chapters
20VC: Mag7 Earnings: Google & Amazon Win - Meta and Microsoft Falter | Anthropic's $50BN Raise & What it Means for a Potential IPO | Atlassian, Twilio and Five9 Beat: The SaaS Apocalypse Over? | Sierra's $15B Valuation: Peak or Potential“Mag7” earnings and AI capex; why Google/Amazon beat while Meta/Microsoft faltered; Anthropic’s $50B raise and implications for a potential IPO; whether the “SaaS apocalypse” is over (Atlassian,…7 May 2026 · 1 h 31 min · 42 chapters
20VC: Shopify's Tobi Lütke on How AI is a Scapegoat for Mass Layoffs & What Will Labour Markets Be in the Future | Why We Need More Scrutiny on Charitable Giving, Governments are Bad at What They Do and Trump Derangement Syndrome in CanadaTobi Lütke (Shopify) argues that today’s mass layoffs are being scapegoated onto AI, not explained by AI itself; he also calls for stricter scrutiny of charitable giving, criticizes how governments…4 May 2026 · 1 h 14 min · 37 chapters
20VC: Inside Clay's Sales Playbook Scaling to $100M ARR | How to Set Sales Comp Plans | How to Read Sales Talent Linkedin Profiles | What Profiles to Hire & Fire | How to Increase Performance and Speed in Sales Teams with Becca LindquistScaling Clay’s sales org to ~$100M ARR; how to evaluate LinkedIn profiles and sales talent; how to set sales comp plans (quota-to-OTE ratios, accelerators, variable pay); how to spot bad hires early;…2 May 2026 · 1 h 13 min · 33 chapters
20VC: Anthropic Raises $45BN but Falls Short on Compute | OpenAI Crushes with GPT5.5 and Codex: Back in the Game? | China Blocks Manus $2BN Deal to Meta | Thoma Bravo Hand Back Medallia Keys to Creditors | Why Google is a Bigger Buy Than Ever BeforeTech/VC and AI infrastructure news: Anthropic’s $45B funding and OpenAI’s reported user/revenue misses; China blocking Meta’s $2B Manus deal; Thoma Bravo returning Medallia to creditors after a large…30 Apr 2026 · 1 h 26 min · 42 chapters
20VC: Applovin: $160BN Market Cap, $5.48BN Revenue, $10M EBITDA Per Head | Why the Best Do Not Need Mentorship | Why Founders Should Not Angel Invest | Why Kindness in Business Will Slow You Down with Adam ForoughiApplovin CEO Adam Foroughi explains “founder mentality” as chasing winning, not fearing losing; how he handled Applovin’s 2022 stock collapse (-92% market cap) and rebuilt conviction; and why he…27 Apr 2026 · 1 h 21 min · 40 chapters
20Product: Replit CEO on Why Coding Models Are Plateauing | Why the SaaS Apocalypse is Justified: Will Incumbents Be Replaced? | Why IDEs Are Dead and Do PMs Survive the Next 3-5 Years with Amjad MasadReplit CEO Amjad Masad discusses why coding models are plateauing, how agentic AI changed Replit’s approach, and why IDEs are “dead.” He also argues the “SaaS apocalypse” is justified for certain…25 Apr 2026 · 47 min · 20 chapters
20VC: Cursor Acquired for $60BN by xAI | Anthropic Hits $1TRN in Secondary Markets | Did Anthropic Just Kill Figma, Adobe and Canva | Rippling Hits $1BN in ARR | Salesforce Goes Headless: Smart or Stupid | Cerebras IPO 2.020VC breaks down major tech/AI deal and leadership news: Cursor’s $60B acquisition/option by xAI (with a $10B break clause), Apple CEO Tim Cook stepping down, Anthropic hitting ~$1T via secondary…23 Apr 2026 · 1 h 41 min · 45 chapters
20VC: Everyone is Wrong; We Will Have More Developers in Five Years | Why Frontier Labs Will Be Way More Valuable Than They Are Today | Are SaaS Companies Cooked: Which Thrive & Which Die with Aaron Levie, Founder at BoxHow AI agents will change enterprise work over the next 5 years—shifting humans’ role from “doing” to “reviewing,” increasing demand for engineering across the whole economy, and creating new job…20 Apr 2026 · 54 min · 18 chapters
20VC: Jake Paul on Why Traditional VC is Toast and Attention is More Valuable Than Cash | Politics: Will Jake Paul Actually Run for President? | Inside the Payday of Fighting Anthony Joshua and Mike Tyson | with Geoffrey Wu, Co-Founder at Anti-FundJake Paul and Geoffrey Wu discuss “attention vs cash” as the core currency for venture investing and media, arguing traditional VC is “toast” because creators can become investors faster.18 Apr 2026 · 1 h · 29 chapters
20VC: Anthropic Unveils Mythos | SpaceX's Financials Leaked: Is it Worth $2TRN | Meta Debuts Muse Spark: Are They Back in the AI Race | Jason's Critique of Dario Amodei & How OpenAI Could Win the Enterprise GameAnthropic’s Mythos cybersecurity release (withheld publicly for hacking risk), the impact on public software/cyber stocks, and broader AI-enterprise economics.16 Apr 2026 · 1 h 26 min · 35 chapters