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Interview · Europe

20VC

with Harry Stebbings

Interviews with the partners of the best-known venture firms in the world, run out of London at a pace and volume nobody else matches.

Format Several episodes a week, 45 to 90 minutesListen thetwentyminutevc.com ↗

Why an angel should listen

The show began as twenty-minute interviews with venture capitalists and became one of the most listened-to venture podcasts anywhere, with a guest list that reads like the roster of every firm an angel's portfolio companies will eventually raise from. The host now runs a fund of his own, which changes the questions in ways worth noticing.

What makes it useful to an angel is that it is the clearest available window into how institutional investors think about the rounds that come after yours. Hearing a Series A partner describe what they need to see, in their own words, tells you what your seed companies must reach — and that is the milestone your money is actually buying.

The volume means quality varies. The best episodes are with investors who have been through a full cycle and will talk about what they got wrong; the weakest are essentially firm marketing. Both are easy to identify within five minutes.

Where to begin

Start with these

  • Any interview with a Series A partner about what they need to see — that is your companies' next milestone described precisely.
  • Episodes with investors discussing their worst investments, which are consistently the most candid.
  • Interviews with European investors, for how differently the market works outside the US.

In short

Good for

Understanding institutional investorsWhat Series A requiresEuropean perspective
Listen at thetwentyminutevc.com

20VC: common questions

The show produces a lot of episodes — how do I filter?
By guest rather than by recency. Investors who have been through a full cycle and will discuss what they got wrong make the strongest episodes; firm-marketing interviews are identifiable within five minutes.
Does the host having his own fund change the show?
It changes the questions, generally for the better — he is now negotiating the same deals as his guests. It also gives him relationships to protect, which occasionally shows in what is not asked.