20VC The 7 Requirements For Startup Scaling, Why VCs Must Approach Every Conversation with A Yes Mentality & Why We Will See The Humanisation of Technology with Renata Quintini, Partner @ Lux Capital

In a deep tech-focused episode of "20 Minutes VC," host Harry Stebbings interviews Renata Quintini, a partner at Lux Capital, known for her contributions to the venture capital ecosystem. Quintini, a former partner at Felicis Ventures and investment manager at Stanford University's Endowment fund, discusses her unorthodox journey into VC, emphasizing the importance of building a company culture, maintaining ethical standards, and respecting customer privacy from the start. She argues for proactive engagement with regulations and advises companies to plan for rapid growth by considering potential security and privacy issues early on. The conversation also touches on the transformation of the VC industry, the rise of operational value add and thematic investing, and the need for startups to balance aggressive growth with responsible practices.

• Renata Quintini is a partner at Lux Capital, a leader in deep tech investing.
• Lux Capital focuses on supporting scientists and entrepreneurs tackling significant challenges.
• Renata's previous experience includes working at Felicis Ventures and managing investments at Stanford University's Endowment fund.
• She has been involved with companies such as Cruise Automation, Dollar Shave Club, Rigetti Computing, and Bonobos.
• Renata's journey into venture capital is described as non-traditional and akin to a kaleidoscope with changing perspectives.

"So joining us today, I'm thrilled to welcome Renata Quintini, a partner at Lux Capital, one of the leaders in the rise of deep tech investing, supporting scientists and entrepreneurs, providing solutions to the most vexing puzzles of our time."

This quote introduces Renata Quintini and highlights her role at Lux Capital, which is centered around deep tech investing and solving complex problems.

• Renata's path to venture capital was unpredictable and not typical for the industry.
• She compares her life journey to a kaleidoscope, emphasizing openness to change and the unexpected.
• Renata shares personal anecdotes from her childhood in Brazil that illustrate her non-conformity and adaptability.
• Her experiences with karate, jazz music, and a pro bono tech project influenced her perspective on life and career choices.
• Renata's interest in technology and its societal impact led her to study law and business at Stanford, which eventually brought her into venture capital.
• She leveraged her role at Stanford's Endowment to gain insights into the venture capital industry during a transformative period.

"And the way I look at my life and the way I've done things, I kind of aching that to a kaleidoscope that every time you twist it, the perspective changes."

Renata uses the metaphor of a kaleidoscope to describe her dynamic and non-linear career path, emphasizing her adaptability and openness to new experiences.

• Renata's experience as an investment manager at Stanford's Endowment provided her with a broad view of the venture capital industry.
• She observed the industry's transformation around 2007-2008, which piqued her interest in venture capital as a career.
• Renata's meeting with Idan Senkut from Felicis Ventures was pivotal, as they shared a vision for building a different kind of venture capital firm.
• Her background as an LP at the Stanford Endowment informed her approach to venture capital, blending data, intuition, and pattern recognition.

"I figured, okay, venture capital would be the perfect place to fix that itch of the kaleidoscope of me, that every time I turned it would be a new and exciting adventure with companies and technologies."

Renata expresses her desire for a career that offers constant change and excitement, which she found in venture capital.

• Renata believes her experience as an LP made her a better venture capitalist.
• She outlines the decision-making process in venture capital as a mix of art and science, similar to an algorithm informed by data and pattern recognition.
• The role of an LP at the Stanford Endowment gave her a unique perspective on the venture industry, enhancing her VC approach at Felicis Ventures.

"I'd say, know, the LP experience made me a much better vc."

This quote summarizes Renata's view that her LP background has positively influenced her capabilities as a venture capitalist.## Interaction with Top GPs

• Renata Quintini had the opportunity to interact with General Partners (GPs) of iconic firms while at Stanford.
• She could analyze fund performance and investment outcomes.
• This interaction allowed her to develop her own judgments and pattern recognition skills.

"And my time at Stanford was very fortuitous and game changing for me because Stanford was LP number one, or like in funds number one of really the iconic firms in the industry, and you had a really close relationship with them that spans decades."

The quote highlights Renata's valuable experience at Stanford, where she gained insights from long-standing relationships with top GPs in the industry.

• Successful firms focus on sustainability and longevity.
• They consider changing market opportunities and adapt their culture, team, and processes accordingly.
• Aligning LP expectations with the firm's strategies and risk profiles is crucial for long-term partnerships.

"I think the best firms, they really build something to last beyond themselves, right?"

Renata emphasizes the importance of building firms with a vision for sustainability that extends beyond immediate opportunities.

• Venture capital has evolved from solely providing capital to offering partnerships and support.
• The emergence of cloud, mobile, and processing power has altered the needs of founders.
• The 2008 period marked a shift in what founders require from venture capitalists.

"And when you think about the beginnings of venture capital as an industry, that big thing was people actually willing to take a risk on the unknown."

Renata reflects on the historical willingness to invest in the unknown, highlighting a foundational aspect of venture capital.

• Operational expertise can be valuable for founders who lack experience in scaling a company.
• The value of operational support varies depending on the founder's needs and experience.
• VC firms should align their support with their own skills and the needs of their founders, not just industry trends.

"Some founders are going to be fantastic at figuring out technology, figuring out hiring a technical environment, but they've never scaled a company before."

Renata discusses the varying needs of founders and the potential benefits of operational expertise provided by VCs.

• Thematic investing can create network effects and establish VCs as experts in specific areas.
• Specialization makes it easier to communicate focus areas to the outside world.
• However, over-specialization may lead to missed opportunities in other sectors and vulnerability to industry shifts.

"So there are definitely benefits and network effects from that."

Renata acknowledges the advantages of thematic investing but also cautions against the risks of being too narrowly focused.

• Companies today experience exponential growth, often reaching millions of users rapidly.
• Planning for large-scale growth should happen at the company's founding, not retrospectively.
• Renata suggests that there are seven stages companies should consider to avoid becoming a disaster, but does not detail them in the transcript.

"I'm seeing a lot of things happening in the space and I think that because this growth is so exponential, companies need to plan for that day of 100 million users or the 10 million users at founding, not as they go."

Renata stresses the importance of early planning for scalability to prevent future problems as companies grow.## Culture and Product Relationship

• Culture is a foundational element of a company and should align with the company's mission.
• The product is a reflection of the company's culture.
• A well-established culture can provide a sustainable and unique competitive advantage.
• Culture guides the behavior and decision-making of employees as the company grows.

"I think number one is your culture really matters and it should be consistent with what you're trying to achieve in the world, right."

This quote emphasizes the importance of aligning company culture with its goals and mission, suggesting that culture plays a critical role in shaping the company's products and long-term success.

• Companies should operate with the understanding that their actions are visible and impactful in the real-time digital world.
• Maintaining high standards of quality and ethics is crucial from the early stages of a company.
• Unethical behavior can have significant negative consequences for a company's reputation and success.

"Companies should assume that everything we do, we say, we write, is going to be out there for the world to see, and it's going to be real time and it's going to have impact."

This quote underscores the need for companies to act responsibly, knowing that their actions are subject to public scrutiny and can affect their reputation and success.

• The rise of intelligent products and the Internet of Things increases concerns about customer privacy.
• Companies should balance product innovation with respect for customer data and privacy.
• It is essential to ensure security throughout the supply chain and when outsourcing.
• Companies should anticipate and prepare for potential security breaches.

"And I think we should be respectful and protecting our customers privacy."

This quote highlights the importance of respecting customer privacy, especially as products become more interconnected and data-driven.

• Aggressive growth strategies often encouraged by venture capital investment may conflict with the need for thoroughness and ethical considerations.
• Sustainable business practices require a balance between growth and maintaining high standards.
• Companies may need additional capital to ensure proper processes and precautions are in place.

"And that's why you should plan for it, right?"

The speaker suggests that companies should anticipate the need for ethical practices and security measures in their business plans, rather than solely focusing on rapid growth.

• Companies should be transparent about the cost and development trajectory of their products.
• It is important to communicate the long-term value and pricing strategy to customers.
• Examples of companies with different approaches to pricing and customer communication are Tesla and Juicero.

"I think managing your customer expectations is really important."

This quote stresses the importance of transparent communication with customers about product costs and development to manage expectations effectively.

• As products become more intelligent, the lack of judgment in algorithms must be addressed.
• Companies need to determine when human intervention is necessary for decision-making.
• The responsibility for overseeing algorithmic decisions should involve multiple levels, from engineers to the board of directors.

"We want our machines and our products to become intelligent. We shouldn't forget that they don't have judgment."

This quote raises the issue of algorithmic bias and the need for human oversight in the development of intelligent products to ensure ethical and responsible outcomes.## Diversity of Cognitive Thought

• Diversity in teams extends beyond gender to include various backgrounds such as psychology and different professional experiences.
• A multidisciplinary approach is crucial when developing technology, such as Alexa, to ensure relevance and applicability from multiple perspectives.
• Emphasizing the importance of incorporating diverse cognitive approaches in engineering and technological development.

"Going with Alexa, they have not only females working on it, but they have also a psychologist working on it. They have people with experience in other areas that are not just engineers thinking about, okay, what relevancy means or what is applicable here from a pure technological zero and one perspective?"

This quote highlights the involvement of professionals from various fields in the development of Alexa, illustrating the value of cognitive diversity in creating relevant and applicable technology.

• The distinction between regulated and unregulated markets is becoming less clear, necessitating early consideration of regulations.
• Companies are advised to invest in understanding and influencing regulations early on, rather than adopting a binary and potentially costly strategy of ignoring them until they are large enough to lobby.
• Forward-thinking companies are hiring legal and regulatory experts even before product launch to address these issues proactively.

"I think you shouldn't ignore regulations. Right. I think more and more the lines are blurring between what's regulated and what's not, and how, as we create these new markets is a bit of an unknown."

Renata Quintini stresses the importance of not ignoring regulations due to the increasingly blurred lines between regulated and unregulated markets, advising companies to proactively address regulatory issues.

• Approaching each conversation and pitch with a "yes mentality" can open up possibilities and foster creativity.
• It's important to envision the success of a company without getting bogged down in the short-term details initially.
• Human beings naturally struggle with thinking exponentially, so maintaining a balance of skepticism and optimism is beneficial.

"I think for me, the biggest lesson was approach each conversation, each pitch, with a yes mentality."

Renata Quintini shares her key lesson in venture capital, which is to approach pitches with an open mind and a positive outlook, focusing on the potential success of a company.

• Investments should be evaluated on whether they contribute positively to humanity, making lives better, happier, and healthier.
• Sustainable investments are those that offer more than just cost savings but also improve human well-being.

"To me, my big lens is, is this helping humanity? Is that making our lives better, happier, healthier, even in the work environment that is relevant."

Renata Quintini explains that her main criterion for determining if something is worth building is its potential to enhance human lives, which she applies across her investment decisions.

• The transition in consumer investments was marked by the emergence of direct-to-consumer relationships facilitated by distribution platforms.
• Frontier technology investments are characterized by the humanization of technology, requiring empathy in design for end-user experiences.
• Successful investments in frontier tech involve understanding and respecting the underlying science while also enhancing the company's capabilities.

"And what you see happening, or what I see happening in frontier now is a humanization of technology, right?"

Renata Quintini discusses the current trend in frontier technology investments, which involves creating technology solutions that are human-centric and offer end-to-end experiences.

• "Daring Greatly" by Brené Brown is Renata Quintini's favorite book because it delves into the power of vulnerability and the importance of connections for individual fulfillment and impact.
• The book's themes resonate with her roles as an individual, mother, and investor, emphasizing the value of vulnerability and connection.

"So my favorite book is daring greatly by Brene Brown. It actually goes into the power of vulnerability and it tells you how important it is to have connections and to really make an impact and be fulfilled as an individual and help others be fulfilled as well."

Renata Quintini shares her favorite book and explains how its focus on vulnerability and connection aligns with her personal and professional values.

• Recent investments are focused on addressing key problems, such as high bandwidth connectivity, which is essential for the proliferation of sensors and distributed processing.
• The decision to invest is based on the potential impact of the solution and the capabilities of the team behind it.

"It's a company that is tackling a key problem in sort of the high bandwidth connectivity space."

Renata Quintini briefly mentions her recent stealth investment, emphasizing the significance of solving high bandwidth connectivity challenges in the current technological landscape.