In this episode of the 20 Minutes VC, host Harry Stebbings interviews Wesley Chan, Managing Director at Felicis Ventures, exploring his transition from a successful career at Google, where he founded Google Analytics and Google Voice, to the venture capital world. Wesley details his philosophy of democratizing technology, as demonstrated by his investments in companies like Canva, which simplifies design for the masses, and his approach to creating durable, impactful products. He also discusses the importance of founders who prioritize simplicity and user delight, citing the Ring doorbell as an example. Wesley's insights offer a glimpse into the mindset of a VC who values contrarian thinking, broad market potential, and the efficient use of time to drive innovation and success in the tech industry.
"So joining me today is Wesley Chan, managing director of Felicis Ventures, where he led their investments in the likes of of Canva, Flexport and Luma, just to name a few."
This quote introduces Wesley Chan and highlights his role and successful investments at Felicis Ventures, setting the stage for his expertise in the venture capital industry.
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This quote is part of the promotional message for Lisa mattresses, showcasing the benefits and offers available to the listeners.
"No one knew what venture was at Google, and no one really understood why even Google would have a venture fund. And today they've done over 300 investments and it's grown to be a 500 million dollar year fund."
This quote explains Wesley's role in establishing Google Ventures and its growth, highlighting his pioneering work in Google's venture capital efforts.
"And sort of built this living laboratory, sort of like the MIT media lab or something else, where you could test all these new things together."
Wesley describes his smart home as a living laboratory, similar to MIT's Media Lab, which underscores his passion for technology and hands-on experimentation.
"Wesley, you've spent a great time at Google. You've spent a lot of time really learning how to build great products. Some of your products have become billion dollar businesses that you started. Why don't you come join me again and sort of help sort of bring your vision of smart home, of smart Internet, of smart devices, products that people build to Felicis."
This quote from Iden Senkut invites Wesley to Felicis Ventures, highlighting Wesley's achievements and the potential impact he could have at Felicis.
"My takeaway, spending my time at Google was really just doing something different every three years, right. If you look at my history at Google, I always moved on to something completely different every three years."
This quote reflects Wesley's philosophy of seeking new challenges and the personal growth that comes from regularly stepping out of one's comfort zone.
"And in fact, no one wanted to work with me because they thought I was crazy. Sort of building this weird product that didn't quite fit in the Google sort of product suite."
This quote highlights the initial skepticism and challenges Wesley faced within Google when starting his project, which later became Google Analytics.
"So the one takeaway from all of this is really venture and technology investing. Things change. It's a lifetime every three years that the world sort of changes again."
Wesley reflects on the rapid pace of change in technology and venture capital, suggesting that one must adapt every few years to stay relevant and impactful.
"I didn't lead the deal at Google Ventures. One of my partners did. But I was there intimately when we first met Tony Fidel at the TED conference..."
Wesley clarifies his role in the Nest investment, highlighting the initial intrigue and excitement around Tony Fidel's secretive new project.
"Today, nest is sort of the de facto device that you have in your house if you build a high end home, right? They advertise it in the home real estate listings, that they have a nest thermostat in it."
This quote demonstrates the impact and widespread acceptance of Nest as a standard feature in high-end homes, signifying its success and desirability.
"The key takeaway there on Google Analytics is that there's a certain thing that I call the democratization of technology."
Wesley introduces the concept of democratizing technology, which involves simplifying complex tools for widespread use.
"Where do I sign the check? And I think that sort of proved itself."
The quote captures Wesley's enthusiasm and conviction in the potential of Canva's approach to democratize design, leading to his investment decision.
(Note: The last key theme is incomplete due to the truncated transcript.)
"And we built Google Analytics for anybody that wanted to build a website so they could see what was happening and make great decisions if they were deciding to buy advertising."
This quote underlines the philosophy behind Google Analytics—to create a tool not just for specialists but for anyone interested in understanding website traffic, thus democratizing access to analytics.
"We want to build it for anyone that wants to go build design, because design is something that everybody does, not just the privileged few."
This quote emphasizes the inclusive vision of Canva, aiming to make design tools accessible to all users, not just professional designers.
"We had literally crashed Google and we had slowed Google down and sort of broken Google by launching Google Analytics."
This quote illustrates the unexpected server overload caused by the high demand for Google Analytics, which temporarily impacted Google's overall performance.
"This is an indication of you building this massive potential feature success."
The response from Google's leadership, as recounted by Wesley Chan, acknowledges the issue as a sign of a potentially groundbreaking service that needed scaling up drastically to meet demand.
"Most of the smart light switch companies that allowed you to sort of put the switches in required you to hire a dealer at $250 an hour to go and install this for you."
This quote criticizes the high cost and complexity of installing early smart home devices, which were not designed with the average consumer in mind.
"He literally took his screwdriver out of his pocket and started screwing his doorbell in the house."
This quote describes the founder of Ring installing an early prototype of the smart doorbell, showcasing the ease of installation that contrasts with the complicated setup of earlier smart home devices.
"I made it simple and easy to install. No programming. It just connects to your iPhone. You can get up and running in two minutes or less."
This quote emphasizes the importance of user-friendly design and the positive impact it has on product adoption and success.
"I sort of wrote a check into it and became one of the biggest sort of returners for the fund at policis."
This quote highlights Wesley's successful contrarian investment in Fitbit, demonstrating the potential of investing against the grain.
"Is this really the thing that you want to be working on?"
This quote reflects Larry Page's influence on Wesley's career philosophy, encouraging him to focus on work that has a significant impact on the world.
"So that's where I want to spend my time."
This quote conveys Wesley's desire to focus his efforts on investments that have the potential for long-term significance and impact.
"It's by Bob Blefstez."
This quote reveals Wesley's source for thought-provoking content and the importance of diverse viewpoints in his daily reading.
"How can I better figure out how to be most leveraged in my time?"
This quote underscores the importance Wesley places on time efficiency and the continuous effort to optimize his productivity.
"We said yes to them, and it's been the absolute delight working for them over the last several months."
This quote explains the rationale behind Wesley's investment in Canva and his satisfaction with the partnership.
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