In the first episode post-Christmas, host Harry Stebbings interviews Quentin Clark, Managing Director at General Catalyst, a firm with a portfolio including Stripe, Airbnb, and Snap. Clark, who transitioned from an extensive operating career including roles as CTO at Dropbox and Chief Business Officer at SAP, discusses his journey into venture capital, the importance of people in management, and how to effectively guide and mentor within the VC landscape. He also touches on the nuances of board membership, the impact of the pandemic on workplace dynamics, and the future of remote work. Additionally, Clark highlights the role of luck in success and the need for venture capital to move beyond FOMO-driven decisions. The episode concludes with insights into Clark's investment in Sprout Therapy, a company serving autistic children, emphasizing the alignment with General Catalyst's healthcare vision and the founder's remarkable capabilities.
"We are back for the first episode post Christmas and is nice to be back. And what a show we have in store for you today with an incredible operator turn leading VC. And so with that, I'm thrilled to welcome Quentin Clark, managing director at General Catalyst, one of the most prominent firms."
The quote is Harry's introduction to the episode, highlighting Quentin Clark's prestigious position and rich professional background.
"Including the likes of Stripe, Airbnb, Snap, Angel, Deliveroo and Kazoo."
This quote summarizes some of the high-profile companies within General Catalyst's investment portfolio.
"Go to carter.com 20 VC to get 10% off."
The quote is a promotion for Carter, encouraging listeners to use a discount code for the service.
"I was 20 plus years building software, building businesses, building teams, et cetera."
This quote provides insight into Quentin's extensive experience as an operator before moving into venture capital.
"Bill Gates famously had a little bit of drive and impatience, let's call it."
This quote reflects on Quentin's experiences with Bill Gates' personality and management style at Microsoft.
"It's all about people, and it's always about people."
This quote underscores Quentin's belief that people are the key to any organization's success.
"You robbed this person of this learning opportunity."
The quote is a lesson Quentin learned about the negative impact of failing to delegate and the importance of staff development.
"Leadership is about followership."
This quote distinguishes leadership as the ability to inspire and guide others, separate from the operational tasks of management.
"And yeah, they spike a little bit, one or the other. But saying that direction, getting the followership versus just setting up a system that is capable of doing great work, is also a different discipline, different art."
This quote emphasizes that while individuals may have inclinations towards either leadership or management, both are distinct disciplines that contribute to success in different ways.
"These are skills that can be developed, but it definitely takes time, takes practice, and management is definitely something that more can be taught, like at school."
This quote suggests that while management skills are more readily taught through structured learning, leadership requires practice and the development of soft skills over time.
"I was looking for a firm on the rise. And if you look at general Catalyst book, Lavango Stripe, ecommerce, some Serra, gusto, Oscar, lemonade, underlied intuition, canva Grammarly. I mean, do I have to go on?"
This quote highlights Quentin's criteria for choosing a venture firm, emphasizing GC's impressive track record and growth, which played a significant role in his decision.
"So how do you create those moments? And I think one of the things that I've learned to do is use the phone more."
This quote reveals Quentin's strategy for building trust in a remote environment, showing adaptability and the importance of personal connection in venture capital.
"The other hump comes around two years in where most people, after long operating careers, it's kind of a relief not to have to drive and make decisions every day and be in that machine. But after a couple of years, for a lot of people, that charm wears off and they have this reaction of I miss not being in charge."
This quote discusses the psychological adjustment experienced by operators transitioning to venture roles, highlighting the shift from direct control to a more advisory capacity.
"I sort of tune into are they looking for advice or do they really need someone to pick up a shovel and help out."
This quote reflects Quentin's approach to determining the level of involvement required in his role as a VC, which is guided by the specific needs and context of the founders and their companies.
"I think a lot of it has to do with understanding what the outcomes are really looking for are, and if you believe that a person or team really understands the outcomes that you're after, and they just need a little help with a system put in place to help push that forward, then you can very often let go."
This quote illustrates the thought process behind determining when to transition from an active role to a more advisory one, ensuring that the team can sustain progress independently.
"The course of a number of weeks, just slowly letting go, you give more and more room to the people who are picking up the mantle, and very often, you can find yourself working your way out of being relevant in a lot of these engagements, which is good."
This quote emphasizes the positive aspect of leaders gradually stepping back to allow others to rise to the occasion, thereby fostering a culture of empowerment and growth.
"I get you. It reminds me of Keith Raboy, who does a smoothie test with interns, where he gives them a test, get me a smoothie in ten minutes, and then with every test he does more and more and two weeks in, they should be doing something relatively high level, which I think is a funny one, in terms of, like, incremental loading on."
This quote describes a practical approach to training and evaluating interns by gradually increasing task complexity, which helps in assessing their ability to handle more significant responsibilities.
"Ultimately, venture capital, we get paid to underwrite risk. Otherwise we'd be retail stock traders, I guess. And the risks are different at different stages."
This quote defines venture capital as an investment in risk, distinguishing it from less risky investment activities like retail stock trading.
"But what if we knew how the brain actually worked? And what if you could understand how the software was running? Imagine what you could do, right?"
This quote contemplates the transformative potential of fully understanding the brain, suggesting a comparison to the impact of genomics on medicine and research.
"It's the cloud version of this, or it's the AI enabled version of that. They're still important. Why? Because you get to better outcomes."
This quote explains that innovations, even if incremental, are important because they lead to improved outcomes and enable further creative possibilities.
"How do you think about market timing risk today, Quentin, when making these really quite out there bets?"
This question addresses the challenge of determining the right time to invest in innovative but unproven markets, highlighting the importance of timing in venture success.
"Is it science or is it engineering? That actually was a very important question because we're not that interested in investing in science because we don't know how that's going to turn out."
This quote reflects the investment strategy of focusing on engineering challenges rather than pure science, emphasizing the importance of predictable outcomes in venture capital.
"Is that forced onboarding, creating new opportunity that's permanent, or is it just a bump in the road?"
This quote questions whether the behavioral changes induced by the pandemic will result in permanent market opportunities or if they are merely temporary shifts.
"Our job is really to help them find their answers by being a focusing factor."
This quote describes the role of a board member as someone who helps founders clarify their thinking and direction, rather than dictating solutions.
"Do you have to think through that? And be very kind of cautious and deliberate in the weight of your own words."
This question acknowledges the potential impact of an experienced investor's guidance on young founders, highlighting the need for careful consideration in communication.
"I've got to be cautious about being clear when I'm actually giving strong guidance or I'm making a decision versus when I'm just showing curiosity."
This quote emphasizes the responsibility leaders have to communicate their intentions clearly to prevent their teams from mistaking casual remarks for directives.
"Don't surprise anybody. Just no surprises. Even good surprises erode trust."
This quote highlights the importance of transparency and consistent communication with board members to maintain a foundation of trust.
"The vulnerability for me right now is like, it's scary to take on something that's brand new this way."
Quentin Clark expresses his personal experience with vulnerability as he transitions to a new career path, emphasizing the challenge and excitement that come with change.
"Because we realize that we don't need to spend 40, 50 hours a week in an office to do the day to day job."
This quote reflects the shift in perspective on the necessity of a traditional office environment for productivity.
"I actually think that luck factors into things way more than people are usually one to give credence to."
Quentin Clark shares his belief that luck is an underappreciated factor in personal and professional success.
"I don't get a lot of FOMO in real time. I do look back at some things and say, gosh, I wish we had seen that, or I wish we had had the right judgment for that."
This quote conveys Quentin Clark's approach to decision-making in venture capital, focusing on learning rather than fearing missing out.
"We said yes because it aligned how we think about healthcare, building a big Persona based company like Lavango was, and you, jury the founder is just astonishing."
Quentin Clark explains the rationale behind a recent investment, highlighting the importance of strategic alignment and founder potential.