20VC Arielle Zuckerberg @ Kleiner Perkins A Review Of My First 6 Months in Venture

On "20 Minutes VC," host Harry Stebbings interviews Ariel Zuckerberg, a partner at Kleiner Perkins, who delves into her journey from product manager to venture capitalist. Ariel shares insights from her angel investing experiences, emphasizing the importance of the power law and the need to believe in the potential of each investment. She discusses the art of evaluating new products and companies, highlighting the necessity for products to solve real problems and appeal to a diverse user base. Ariel also touches on her personal challenges in VC, particularly the struggle with viewing relationships through the lens of intellectual capital, which conflicts with her values of authenticity. Additionally, she expresses a desire to inspire more women in VC and to support female founders. Ariel concludes with thoughts on AI's future integration into products and the significance of personal branding, particularly in relation to her notable last name.

• Ariel Zuckerberg is a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers (KPCB).
• She focuses on early-stage investments in the firm's digital practice.
• Ariel's career began at Wildfire Interactive Inc. as a product manager and hackathon host.
• Post-acquisition by Google, she worked as a product manager on social ads.
• Ariel has made several angel investments in various sectors, including food, tech, and health.
• She has been supportive and generous towards the host, Harry Stebbings, during his time in San Francisco.

"Now. Ariel joined Kleiner in 2015 and focuses on early stage investments in the firm's digital practice as part of the venture team."

This quote highlights Ariel's role at KPCB, emphasizing her focus on early-stage digital investments and her start date at the firm.

• Ariel's journey to VC is considered the "normal path" compared to others who describe their paths as random.
• She studied computer science and philosophy at Claremont McKenna.
• Ariel's career transitioned from product manager to angel investor to VC.
• Her recruitment to KPCB was influenced by her product experience, angel investing experience, and network.

"A friend of mine at Kleiner Perkins recruited me, told me that he thought I was a good fit for the venture fund based on my product experience, my angel investing experience, and my network."

The quote explains how Ariel's background and connections played a crucial role in her recruitment to KPCB.

• Understanding the power law in investing is crucial—expecting one company to return the entire portfolio.
• The necessity of making multiple investments due to high risk and potential for no returns.
• Importance of evaluating companies by looking at the team, market, product differentiation, and investment terms (though less critical in angel investing).

"You really have to do a lot of investments based on the power law, which is that one company out of your portfolio will probably return your entire portfolio."

This quote underscores the importance of diversification in angel investing and the expectation that a single successful investment can offset other losses.

• Ariel evaluates new products by their ease of articulation, problem-solving capability, forward-thinking approach, and broad user appeal.
• Avoids focusing on niche markets like "SF hipsters" and looks for products that cater to a diverse demographic.

"The product should definitely be easy to articulate what it does and the value it offers to users. Does it solve a real problem? Is it forward thinking?"

The quote encapsulates Ariel's criteria for evaluating the potential of new products, emphasizing clarity, problem-solving, and innovation.

• Ariel's transition from product management to investment was rapid, showing her ability to learn quickly.
• Her curiosity and questioning approach are likened to being a detective uncovering mysteries in new markets or business models.
• She values founders who can answer her probing questions, showing their deep understanding of their industry and customer base.

"I'm a very curious person. Well, some people say intellectually curious. I heard someone the other day say, intellectually promiscuous."

Ariel describes her intense curiosity and proactive approach to learning, which aids her in understanding new ventures.

• Ariel is impressed by founders who are great listeners and incorporate feedback to improve their pitches.
• She values the ability to adapt and evolve based on constructive criticism.

"I love great listeners. We talked to a company recently, and after every meeting with them, we would give them feedback, and their pitch was better every single time."

This quote demonstrates Ariel's appreciation for founders who actively listen and improve, indicating a key trait she looks for in entrepreneurs.

• Listening is crucial, especially in Series A and seed investing.
• The team is emphasized as the most critical aspect in these investment stages.

"The most important skill to have, is being a great listener, especially in series A investing and seed investing even more so. Probably the team is the most important thing."

The quote highlights the significance of being a good listener in the early stages of investing, with a particular focus on the team behind the venture.

• Arielle Zuckerberg has been in venture capital for two months.
• There have been challenges and surprises compared to previous expectations.

"And so you mentioned that two months in venture. So how that gone for you so far?"

Harry Stebbings inquires about Arielle's experience transitioning into venture capital, prompting a discussion on the challenges she has faced.

• Arielle finds it challenging to view people in terms of their intellectual capital.
• This shift in perspective is uncomfortable due to a preference for authenticity and genuine interactions.
• She fears becoming more transactional in her relationships.

"I think the biggest challenge for me has been a personal one. I feel like this switch has gone off in my brain where I start to think of people based on their intellectual capital, way more so than I did before, which is very challenging for me, because I feel like I'm losing myself a little in a weird way."

Arielle expresses her discomfort with the change in how she assesses people's value, which conflicts with her personal values.

• Intellectual capital involves considering how one can be helpful to others or how others can be beneficial to one's portfolio.
• This approach can lead to viewing people as potential assets or founders.
• Arielle experiences cognitive dissonance as she adapts to this mindset.

"It's more thinking of, like, how can I be helpful to this person? Who can this person be helpful to in our portfolio? Will this person be a potential founder one day?"

Arielle describes how her thought process has shifted towards assessing the utility of relationships in a professional context.

• There is a concern about treating people as commodities based on their expertise.
• Arielle feels uneasy about having a "go-to" person for a particular domain and disregarding others with similar expertise.

"It's slightly commodifying people, isn't it? Really? Is that really harsh?"

Harry Stebbings questions if this new approach to professional relationships is akin to commodification, which Arielle confirms is part of her challenge.

• The shift in perspective is unique to Arielle's venture capital experience.
• She did not encounter this challenge during her time as an angel investor or a product manager.

"So that's the biggest change. I would say that I did not experience as angel investor and I did not experience as a product manager either."

Arielle contrasts her current experiences with her past roles, noting a significant difference in her approach to evaluating people's value.

• Arielle values one-on-one conversations with industry experts and entrepreneurs.
• She has a mixed view on thought leadership and feels hesitant to position herself as a thought leader.
• Personal referrals are preferred over public thought leadership.

"But those, honestly, going back to your question about thought leadership, I get the most value in one on one conversations with people, with people who have been referred to me through a friend."

Arielle emphasizes the importance of personal connections and direct interactions for gaining insights, as opposed to relying solely on public thought leadership.

• Arielle believes in a balanced approach to networking, combining open interactions with strategically planned meetings.
• Trusted and warm introductions have been valuable in building relationships and gaining advice.

"Combination of both, for sure. Especially before. While I was interviewing with some firms, I talked to as many people as I could, and people offered to introduce me to a lot of people, which was really helpful."

Arielle explains her networking strategy, which includes meeting a variety of people through introductions to broaden her industry connections.

• The interview process varied across different firms.
• Conversations during interviews were often informal and focused on past investment decisions and personal motivations.

"But the interviews are very conversational. I was very surprised, especially with my angel investing background."

Arielle shares her experience with the venture capital interview process, noting the informal and conversational nature of the interactions.

• Arielle started angel investing to learn and found the process energizing.
• Her positive experience with angel investing led to a growing interest in venture capital.

"I think I was just doing it to learn, and then I loved it. After I wrote the first check, I was like, this is awesome."

Arielle reflects on her initial motivation for angel investing, which was driven by a desire to learn and eventually led to a passion for the field.

• Arielle and Harry share an interest in the AI sector.
• The proliferation of open-source libraries and AI as a service are current trends.
• AI integration into products is expected to become standard, similar to cloud storage.

"I think it's really cool that a lot of open-source libraries have come out and like machine learning as well."

Arielle discusses the advancements in AI, specifically the contributions of open-source libraries to the development of AI technologies.

• The VC community in the UK is described as having inner circles and requiring deep technical knowledge.
• VC community is considered restricted and not yet mass market.
• Antiquated industries are being productized, but there's still progress to be made.
• It's estimated that it may take around two to three years for the VC industry to become mass market, although this timeline is acknowledged as arbitrary.

"ay be speaking out of term for the US, but in the UK it's very much kind of inner circles, deep technical knowledge and vc community restricted." "I still think there's a bit way to go, maybe like three years. Two or three years? That's kind of arbitrary, to be honest."

These quotes highlight the current state of the VC industry in the UK, emphasizing its exclusivity and the need for specialized knowledge. The timeline for becoming mass market is uncertain but is estimated to be a few years.

• There is a distinction made between blockchain technology and bitcoin, with a preference for the former.
• Banks have released their own technology using blockchain, separate from bitcoin.
• Smart contracts based on blockchain technology are seen as particularly promising.

"And that's." "Yeah, good luck. Well, the banks just released their own technology using the blockchain that's separate from bitcoin. So I think that's pretty interesting." "Are you like me, are you bullish on blockchain, not bitcoin?" "Yes. I really like smart contracts."

These quotes discuss the emerging interest in blockchain technology over bitcoin, with a specific mention of smart contracts as a promising application. The release of blockchain technology by banks is also noted as an interesting development.

• Arielle Zuckerberg aims to source a deal at Kleiner Perkins that is impactful and improves the world.
• She hopes to inspire more women to join venture capital and to encourage female founders.
• Kleiner Perkins is recognized for its efforts in advocating diversity in the VC industry.
• There is a camaraderie among female VCs, and Arielle has been introduced to many due to her gender.

"So goals. I'll talk about the goals first and then the new year's resolutions." "So Clyder Perkins is probably one of the best firms out there in terms of diversity." "I'm actually meeting tons and tons of female vcs that are awesome. It's great."

These quotes reflect Arielle's personal goals within the venture capital industry, including sourcing a meaningful deal and promoting diversity. She acknowledges the diversity efforts at Kleiner Perkins and expresses appreciation for the network of female VCs she has encountered.

• Arielle successfully learned how to moonwalk and performed it at a Kleiner Perkins meeting.
• She also achieved her goal of doing a pull-up, which she had lost the ability to do after entering tech.
• New Year's resolutions are seen as more achievable when they are concrete and quantifiable.
• Arielle is considering blogging more as part of her resolutions for the year.

"So I've been thinking about them. Okay, well, I could start by saying the ones this year, which was to learn how to moonwalk, which I did, actually, at the Kleiner Perkins all hands meeting in early December." "So that one I did and I succeeded, which I'm very proud of." "I'm blanking. I've totally thought about this, too. Why am I blanking so much?"

These quotes discuss Arielle's past and future New Year's resolutions, highlighting her approach to setting achievable goals. She shares her past successes and considers increasing her online presence through blogging or social media as a potential future goal.

• Arielle acknowledges that her last name has given her a personal brand without much effort.
• She contemplates the importance of personal branding for VCs and how it can help differentiate oneself in the industry.

"It's very interesting you should ask that because it's something I think about fairly often, because whether or not I've done anything to deserve it, I kind of already have a personal brand with my last name." "Yes, sugar Mountain. Exactly."

Arielle discusses the role of personal branding in the VC industry and her unique position due to her recognizable last name. She reflects on the advantages and challenges of having a pre-existing brand and the need to potentially build upon it.

• Arielle Zuckerberg finds her last name, which she has no control over, to have a positive impact on her career in venture capital (VC), setting her apart from peers.
• Her last name was not helpful when she was a product manager, indicating the varying effects of personal traits in different professional contexts.

"the truth. And, I mean, I don't really have a choice, but it's been very helpful."

The quote emphasizes that despite not having a choice in her last name, it has been beneficial in her current role in VC.

• Arielle has had various reactions to her last name, including questions about pride.
• She regards her brother, presumably Mark Zuckerberg, as one of the greatest founders and industry changers.

"The weirdest response probably. Are you proud? Like, of course I'm proud."

Arielle finds it odd to be asked if she is proud of her last name, suggesting it's an obvious feeling given her brother's success.

• Arielle's favorite book is "The Symposium" by Plato, which she values for its dialogue on love from various perspectives.
• She recommends the book for its commentary on love and the unique insights from different characters.

"So I think my favorite book, the symposium by Plato, is my favorite work of all time."

Arielle expresses her admiration for "The Symposium," highlighting it as her all-time favorite book for its exploration of love.

• Arielle suggests that young VC aspirants should demonstrate that they are well-liked within their peer cohort.
• She also advises developing an opinion on the future direction of the world, possibly through a medium like a podcast.

"But proving that you're in that cohort and well liked by your peers, I would also say developing an opinion about."

This quote suggests that for young individuals looking to enter VC, it's important to be recognized and respected among one's peers and to have well-formed views on industry trends.

• Arielle admires founders with unique worldviews, like Evan Spiegel's perception of the iPhone as primarily a camera, influencing Snapchat's product vision.
• She respects investors like Mary Meeker for her comprehensive industry insights and John Doerr for his legendary status and special perspective.

"And his perspective of the device being more of a camera than anything else is an insight that uniquely had."

Arielle highlights Evan Spiegel's unique insight into the iPhone's primary function as a camera, which has been pivotal to Snapchat's development.

• Arielle enjoys her role as a VC because it allows her to engage with a variety of people and perspectives.
• She finds meaning in interacting with others and values the introduction of creative conflict.

"It's like the introduction of creative conflict that I love and talking to really smart people who have different perspectives."

Arielle finds the exchange of different perspectives and ideas, which she terms "creative conflict," to be the most rewarding aspect of her job in VC.

• Arielle's firm's recent investment was influenced by the team's exceptional execution skills and customer engagement.
• She was impressed by the team's ability to improve their pitch significantly over time and recognized a great market opportunity.

"They're so good at execution. They spent tons of time with their customers, which we uncovered proved out in due diligence."

This quote explains that the investment decision was based on the team's strong execution capabilities and dedication to customer interaction, which were confirmed during the due diligence process.

• Harry Stebbings expresses gratitude for Arielle's participation in the interview, highlighting its entertainment value.
• The show promotes its newsletter and teases the next episode featuring Tyler Willis, who mentored Arielle in angel investing.

"And I think we have a new award for the most fun and entertaining interview."

Harry Stebbings concludes the interview by complimenting Arielle on the enjoyable and engaging conversation they had.