In episode 27 of the 20 minutes VC, host Harry Stebbings interviews Greg Rogers, Managing Director at Techstars, discussing his journey from entrepreneur to senior VP at AOL, and his role in the Barclays accelerator. Rogers shares insights from his experiences with startups like Dakota and Piktella, emphasizing the importance of mentorship, strategic problem-solving, and intellectual honesty in early-stage growth. He highlights the fintech sector's evolution, particularly in financial inclusion, and the potential for collaboration between startups and traditional banks. Rogers also touches on his involvement with Smartup, a platform preparing future entrepreneurs, and his passion for angel investing. Notably, Rogers spotlights three promising London-based fintech companies: Aire, Squirrel, and Dupay, each addressing unique challenges in financial services.
"Greg is currently managing director at Techstars, the world's leading accelerator program for early-stage technology startups, and is responsible for the Barclays accelerator."
This quote introduces Greg Rogers and his current role at Techstars, highlighting his responsibility for the Barclays accelerator and setting the stage for his expertise in the startup ecosystem.
"I started off as an entrepreneur, so I spent eleven years in New York City, and I really caught the entrepreneurial bug very early on."
This quote summarizes Greg's initial foray into entrepreneurship and sets the context for his extensive experience in the industry.
"That company grew like gangbusters. It was just a phenomenal experience to be part of something that went logarithmic in its growth."
The quote captures the significant and rapid success of Dakota, emphasizing the exceptional growth Greg was part of.
"And Piktella was a next-generation rich media ad server. And so this was the idea here, you know, now that we know how to target people effectively using services like Dakota, can we now build a platform that can serve really incredible ads."
This quote explains the concept behind Piktella, linking it to Greg's previous experience at Dakota and highlighting the company's innovative approach to advertising technology.
"And it was actually quite prescient on his part, because, of course, it was just before the crash of 2007 when the real estate market plummeted, of course."
This quote reflects on the timely decision to sell Dakota and the foresight involved, considering the economic downturn that followed.
"By the time we sold, we were still very early. Right. It took us a year to build the platform, and then we were just starting to get into the market and begin selling it when they all came and approached us."
The quote explains that Greg's company was approached for acquisition early in its market entry phase, shortly after completing the development of their platform.
"And so not all the stars were in alignment yet. Right. We didn't have tens of million dollars in revenue yet. We didn't have a big company."
This quote emphasizes that the company had not yet reached significant milestones such as high revenue or company growth at the time of the acquisition offer.
"You look at the cap table when somebody comes to you and you say, okay, well, we're going to have to do another raise. And if we do another raise, we're going to dilute by this much, roughly."
Greg Rogers describes the process of evaluating the company's capitalization table and the potential dilution effects of raising more capital versus accepting an acquisition offer.
"I wound up staying with AWOL for a couple of years. I ran premium advertising for them, using our technology as the underpinning to serving really premium ads for the company."
Greg explains his role at AWOL post-acquisition, highlighting his continued involvement with the company through running premium advertising.
"And after spending eleven years in New York, we both decided that it was time to move away. And we were deciding between either Boston, where I'm from, or London, where she's from, and I just thought London would be more interesting."
The quote illustrates the personal decision-making process that led to Greg Rogers' relocation to London, influenced by his and his wife's origins and the appeal of a new environment.
"John looks at me and he says, you know, greg, you look like a man with some time on his hands. And I said, well, yeah, I guess so. I just got here, so I figured I would look around and see what's going on."
John Bradford's observation about Greg's availability upon moving to London set the stage for introducing him to Techstars London.
"But first and foremost, techstars looks for entrepreneurs for their mds. He said, you can find industry experts all you want, but what's actually really hard to find are people who have gone through the VC races, been rejected multiple times, have built up the engineering team, have negotiated the sale of their own company."
This quote clarifies Techstars' preference for MDs with entrepreneurial experience, valuing the skills and credibility gained through the challenges of building and selling a company.
"We're now seeing, at least here in London, we're seeing entrepreneurs from all over the world move here to start their fintech companies. And the transformation that's happened is things are no longer focused on peer to peer."
Greg highlights the changing landscape of fintech in London, with a diverse range of entrepreneurs and a move away from narrow focus areas to a broader industry disruption.
"I would say London is certainly becoming a center of fintech. I don't like to use the word Silicon Valley. That's a very unique ecosystem and geography and community."
The quote expresses Greg's perspective on London's position in the fintech space, avoiding direct comparison with Silicon Valley but acknowledging London's significant role.
"The opportunity for fintech today is the same opportunity I saw in ad tech 15 years ago. It's just a blue ocean."
Greg compares the current fintech opportunities to the early days of ad tech, suggesting a vast, untapped market ready for innovation.
"This is the aspect of financial services in which there's a segment of people, whether here in the UK or in fact, most of the world, in which there's a group of people that don't have bank accounts."
The quote identifies financial inclusion as a key area of interest, focusing on providing financial services to those who are currently excluded from the traditional banking system.
"Because if you think that something like 80% of the world doesn't have a bank account, doesn't have access to financial services, you're talking about one of the largest opportunities out there that has just been ignored for the longest time."
This quote emphasizes the vast potential market for financial services among those currently underserved or unserved by traditional banking institutions.
"Banks that have branches, physical infrastructure, it's just very expensive to bank people."
Greg Rogers points out the high costs associated with traditional banking models, which make it unfeasible to serve people with lower incomes effectively.
"This program runs just like any other tech stars program. It's a three month mentorship driven program."
Greg Rogers describes the structure of the Techstars program, highlighting its duration and mentorship focus.
"It's a charitable donation of time. I know this sounds... It's one of the things that boggled my mind the most when I first joined techstars."
Greg Rogers expresses his initial surprise at the willingness of successful individuals to mentor without compensation, reflecting the culture of giving back prevalent in the entrepreneurial community.
"The best mentors are the ones that are intellectually curious... and perhaps even more important, or just as important, is people who are intellectually honest."
Greg Rogers highlights the importance of curiosity and honesty in mentors, which are essential for guiding entrepreneurs through their challenges.
"Yeah, I think mentors are most necessary in the early growth of companies."
Greg Rogers affirms the importance of mentorship for startups, especially in their early growth phases, due to the potential for significant impact on their trajectory.
"So smartup is being built in conjunction with Founders Forum... The concept of smartup is really tapping into this nascent and growing, rapidly growing community of would be entrepreneurs."
Greg Rogers introduces Smartup, a platform designed to mentor and prepare future entrepreneurs through a simulated business environment, created in collaboration with the Founders Forum community.
Smartup is for people who are getting ready to be that entrepreneur. This quote explains Smartup's target audience—those who are on the cusp of starting their entrepreneurial journey and seeking to build their foundational knowledge.
I'm a founding investor. Greg Rogers confirms his role as an initial investor in Smartup, indicating his early support for the venture.
Don't be afraid to collaborate. Greg Rogers emphasizes the importance of collaboration between fintech entrepreneurs and traditional banks, suggesting that banks can be allies rather than adversaries.
Disruption in its best form creates a lot of value, not just for investors, but for society at large. Greg Rogers offers a nuanced view on disruption, highlighting its potential to generate significant societal benefits when applied thoughtfully.
So there's a company that came out of my last cohort called Air Aire, and they are creating an alternative scoring methodology for people who don't typically have credit scores. This quote describes Aire's mission to address the credit score accessibility problem, which aligns with financial inclusion goals.
Harry, it's been my sincere pleasure. Greg Rogers expresses his enjoyment of the conversation, concluding the podcast on a positive note.