In this episode of 20 minutes VC, host Harry Stebings interviews Rebecca Caden, a partner at consumer-focused venture fund Maveron. Caden discusses her journey from a passionate journalism student at Harvard to venture capital through the guidance of tech mentor Bill Campbell, which led to her role at Maveron where she specializes in identifying and supporting early-stage consumer companies. She emphasizes the importance of pattern recognition in successful entrepreneurs, particularly their speed, detail orientation, and exceptional hiring skills, using examples like Katrina Lake of Stitch Fix. Caden also explores Maveron's interest in the consumerization of IoT and the potential of chat interfaces in enhancing convenience. She touches on the challenges of transitioning startups from early adopter to mass market and the significance of brand building in consumer-facing investments. Additionally, Caden praises Maveron's approach to hardware investments and the firm's focused investment thesis in the consumer sector.
"Rebecca is a partner at consumer only fund Mavron, where she identifies emerging consumer focused entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, southern Cal, California and New York."
This quote introduces Rebecca Caden's role at Maveron and her geographical focus for identifying entrepreneurs.
"And Rebecca also plays a leading role in Mavron's seed program where they partner with emerging consumer companies at their earliest stages."
This quote highlights Rebecca's involvement in Maveron's seed program, emphasizing her role in the early stages of consumer companies.
"And we're not the only ones who think she's awesome, as her outstanding achievements have also been recognized by the likes of Forbes, who've included Rebecca in their annual 30 under 30 list."
Rebecca's achievements and recognition by Forbes are mentioned to establish her credibility and success in the venture capital industry.
"I grew up in New York City and went to undergrad at Harvard, where I became very, very passionate about journalism and thought that that's probably what I would do forever."
Rebecca Caden describes her early passion for journalism and initial career aspirations.
"Which led me to business school at Stanford. And when I was there, I went to talk to a mentor of mine who's a kind of tech God named Bill Campbell, who I was lucky enough to get to know and very much admire."
Rebecca's pivot to business school and the influence of her mentor, Bill Campbell, are explained, showing the importance of mentorship in her career.
"So I joined Maveron during my summer of business school and then never left."
This quote marks the turning point in Rebecca's career where she joined Maveron and decided to stay in the venture capital industry.
"Not yet, and probably not enough. I spend almost all of my time talking to people, which almost feels like kind of an old art now."
Rebecca discusses her current approach to her role, emphasizing personal interaction over personal brand building through writing.
"I see writing as something I'd love to go back to and plan on doing in the future."
This quote indicates Rebecca's intention to return to writing at some point, acknowledging its potential value in her career.
"But you do that often by looking backwards and by trying to understand the characteristics that have worked in the past, particularly on the people side."
Rebecca explains the balance between forward-looking predictions and learning from past successes in investing.
"We've actually tried to map out what we think goes into a great entrepreneur and put it into ten bullet points."
This quote reveals Maveron's methodical approach to identifying traits of successful entrepreneurs through data and analysis.
"That's really hard for one person to do, be able to tell a very big tale, but focus on the minute details that go into company building."
This quote emphasizes the difficulty and importance of balancing a grand vision with attention to detail in entrepreneurship.
"Pattern recognition between standard entrepreneurs is how they hire. They shoot above their league. They convince people to join their team and to believe in their vision way before it's obvious."
This quote outlines a key trait of successful entrepreneurs: their ability to attract and hire exceptional talent by inspiring belief in their company's vision.
"And when I think of Iot, I really think about that. How do you make the offline world more convenient and better and faster and smarter, but use technology and software to do that and as the interface for customers..."
This quote captures the essence of the IoT's goal, which is to augment the physical world with technology to simplify and enhance everyday life.
"Is it hard to build these kind of magical experiences? Yes. Is it expensive to build them? Yes, it definitely can be. All of the trends there are going in our favor."
The speaker acknowledges the challenges in creating compelling IoT experiences, noting the trends are positive despite the difficulties and costs involved.
"Can you download another app to operate your hardware device or to just do anything? Sure. But is it easier to communicate on a single platform and in a single format and one that you're on all day anyway, which know a chat interface..."
This quote highlights the convenience of chat interfaces over downloading multiple apps, suggesting a shift towards unified platforms for device control and communication.
"I think it's a great example of magical experiences where we're a little bit in a too soon to tell phase. I love it when you use it. It feels like magic."
This quote describes the enchanting experience provided by Amazon Echo, while also noting that it's early to determine its full utility and mainstream potential.
"How do you take great product and great technology and great platforms and wrap it in the right experience and story and emotion to build a lasting consumer brand?"
This quote underscores the importance of combining a strong product with a compelling brand story and emotional resonance to build a lasting consumer brand.
of diligence process and getting to know a team is really understanding how they think about it.
This quote emphasizes the importance of understanding a team's thought process during the due diligence phase of investment. It suggests that the way a team thinks is a significant factor in their potential for success.
And then moving back to your portfolio and say the likes of August and Derby smart, Mavron's shown their likability towards the hardware investments again. So why do you think Mavron have this tendency maybe towards hardware that other vcs are skeptical of? And do you think the VC's skepticism towards hardware due to logistics and production and shipping is a feasible one overall?
Harry Stebings questions Mavron's inclination towards hardware investments, acknowledging the general VC skepticism due to the operational complexities associated with hardware.
Yeah, So to back up, the way we look at it is that our goal is to partner with the best emerging technology powered consumer brands.
Rebecca Caden explains Mavron's investment strategy, which focuses on partnering with top emerging consumer brands that leverage technology, regardless of their business model.
How do you try and bridge that gap and view that tipping point?
Harry Stebings inquires about strategies to transition consumer companies from early adopter markets to mass market appeal.
I think one of the most common discussions at our Monday meetings is, is this something we love or is this something everyone loves?
Rebecca Caden discusses Mavron's internal evaluation process, which focuses on distinguishing personal preferences from broader market appeal.
I'm really intrigued to hear who those might be for you personally.
Harry Stebings shows interest in learning about which investors Rebecca Caden admires and potentially emulates.
Oh man, there are so many. I mean at my own firm, Dan Levitan, who started Mavron is fantastic at that.
Rebecca Caden shares her admiration for her colleague Dan Levitan and other notable investors for their ability to connect with and understand different markets and entrepreneurs.
So what do you think the benefits are of having such a narrow investing thesis.
Harry Stebings asks about the advantages of Mavron's focused investment approach, particularly in the consumer sector.
I think if I've learned one thing in the last kind of five years of getting to know Mavron and being part of the team, it's the benefit of focus.
Rebecca Caden reflects on the importance of maintaining a focused investment strategy and the benefits it has brought to Mavron.
"But as investing requires this ability to pattern match with great things that have come before, while still keeping that eye on the future, if you can narrow that scope, you're going to develop that pattern recognition faster and probably better."
This quote highlights the significance of being able to identify patterns in successful investments and how a focused approach can improve this skill, which is critical in making sound investment decisions.
"But my absolute favorite book is called Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov, which is a strange, strange novel, but it's basically a story about why stories are important and why they're necessary in our lives."
This quote explains Rebecca's favorite book and its thematic relevance to her professional life, emphasizing the power of storytelling in both literature and brand building.
"So I think more entrepreneurs should ask how firms can reserve capital. What is their process for reserving capital? What is their process for follow on investments?"
Rebecca advises that entrepreneurs should be proactive in understanding the investment firm's approach to funding and support, as it is vital for their long-term relationship and the success of their venture.
"I love Sarah Tavill's blog... I love Fred Wilson's blog. I love Brad Feld's blog. And then when I want a little tech break, I read, wait, but why? Because it's so funny and smart."
The quote lists Rebecca's preferred sources of information and inspiration, highlighting the importance of diverse perspectives and the balance between professional development and leisure reading.
"We led a series A in a company called Booster Fuel at the end of the year... But the reason we said yes and the reason that I like it so much is the entrepreneur super special, Frank Mycroft."
This quote explains the rationale behind a recent investment decision, emphasizing the importance of the entrepreneur's vision and capabilities, as well as the product's value proposition.
"And I'd like to say a huge thank you to Rebecca for giving up her time today to appear on the show."
Harry thanks Rebecca for her contribution to the podcast, which is a courteous acknowledgment of the guest's time and insights shared during the episode.