Episode description
In this episode of the Soaked by Slush podcast, we had the opportunity to host Nicole Quinn, Partner at Lightspeed Ventures. As an investor, Nicole is a master at working with founders, brands, and end-customers. Her impressive background in both investing and entrepreneurship has garnered her a wealth of experience and knowledge – especially when it comes to consumer brands. Nicole’s unique style of working with founders certainly makes her ideas worth a(n intriguing) listen.
Expect to learn:
- Do founders need to have a “run through walls”-attitude?
- How VCs should support their portfolio’s founders and the problem with the "founder hero"-myth
- Why Nicole doesn’t want to invest only in the “bubble of Silicon Valley”
- Why is speaking to customers central to investors as well?
- Why companies should focus on niche markets first
01:25 Introduction to Nicole
05:55 Important things in successful founders
09:00 The importance of the founding team’s obsession
13:10 Talking to customers and apps on Nicole’s home screen.
16:38 When founders believe they have product-market fit too early
18:45 People don’t want to hear bad things about their companies
19:33 Problem of founder ‘hero mindset’ – can grit get too toxic?
23:14 Philosophy of relation-building with founders
26:06 What do founders usually worry about too much?
29:34 Starting niche first
33:38 Would founders experience from first building something smaller before building something that scales
36:14 The importance of listening
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