Ed Sim & Jamin Ball: Did Figma Kill M&A Markets & 3 Requirements to IPO in 2024 | E1101

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

January 10, 2024

Duration

1h 14m

Channel

The Twenty Minute VC

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Notion combines your notes, docs, projects into one space that’s simple and beautifully designed, with the power of AI built right inside — not a separate AI tool or browser tab. Try Notion for free when you go to notion.com/20vc --------------------------------------------- Jamin Ball is a Partner @ Altimeter Capital where he sits on the board of Airbyte, Clickhouse, dbt Labs, Prisma, Tabular. Jamin has also led investments in Deel, MotherDuck, Personio and Starburst. Prior to Altimeter, Jamin spent 5 years at Redpoint where he led investments in Workato, Monte Carlo, Cityblock Health, Root Insurance. Ed Sim is one of the best seed round investors in venture as the Founder and Managing Partner @ Boldstart Ventures, Ed focuses specifically on developer, infra and SaaS at pre-seed and seed round. Over the last decade, Ed has backed some of the best including Snyk, BigID, Kustomer, Front and Superhuman. --------------------------------------------- Timestamps: (0:00) Intro (3:21) 2024: Year Companies Face Challenges? (11:37) Board's Key Questions for Founders? (15:56) Incentives and Different Perspectives (17:40) Changing Dynamics of Exits (22:05) Challenges of AI Companies (30:42) Role of Founders in Building Successful Companies (31:10) Investor Focus: M&A, IPOs, or Cash Preservation? (33:54) Lessons Learned from Mistakes in Investing (39:11) Mistakes in Forecasting & Exit Multiples (43:39) State of M&A Markets in 2024 (51:17) Outlook for IPOs in 2024 (1:01:52) Saturation of Software Spend & Company Growth (1:04:40) Quick-Fire Round --------------------------------------------- In Today’s M&A and IPO Episode We Discuss:

1. How to Invest Successfully in 2024: What are the three biggest mistakes growth investors can make in 2024? Why should founders not start a platform company? What were Jamin and Ed’s biggest mistakes from the ZIRP era? How does Jamin justify paying an $8BN price for Hopin? What were his lessons?

1. The M&A Markets in 2024: Did Figma kill the M&A markets for 2024? What should we expect in M&A? Why will private companies buying private companies be a massive segment in 2024? What are Ed and Jamin’s biggest tips to founders considering selling their company in 2024?

1. When Will IPOs Come Back: What will be the catalyst to the opening of the IPO markets? Will Stripe and Databricks go public in 2024? What others should we expect? What are the three requirements for a company to go public in 2024?

1. Firesales: Investors Need Cashback: Why does Ed believe now is the time in the cycle where late-stage investors want cash back to distribute back to their LPs or to recycle? What should we expect to see in terms of acqui-hires and firesales? What are the different incentives when comparing founders vs early stage VCs vs late stage VCs when it comes to acquisitions? --------------------------------------------- Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3j2KMcZTtgTNBKwtZBMHvl?si=85bc9196860e4466 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-twenty-minute-vc-20vc-venture-capital-startup/id958230465 Follow Harry Stebbings on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarryStebbings Follow Jamin Ball on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaminball Follow Ed Sim on Twitter: https://twitter.com/edsim Follow 20VC on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/20vchq Follow 20VC on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@20vc_tok Visit our Website: https://www.20vc.com Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/contact

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Harry Stebbings

  host

• Ed Sim

  guest

• Jamin Ball

  guest

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of The Twenty Minute VC, featuring Harry Stebbings and Ed Sim, Ed Sim & Jamin Ball: Did Figma Kill M&A Markets & 3 Requirements to IPO in 2024 | E1101 explores venture Reset: Overfunded Startups, Broken M&A, and Tougher IPO Bar The discussion examines how the 2020–2022 funding boom created an overhang of overvalued, underperforming startups now facing hard choices on M&A, recapitalizations, or eventual shutdowns. Ed Sim and Jamin Ball argue 2024 is when boards must confront reality, regardless of runway, by asking if businesses can ever grow into 2021-era valuations. They explore why large-scale M&A is structurally constrained by regulation, how private-to-private deals and mid-size exits will become more important, and what it will realistically take to IPO in this environment. Throughout, they stress capital discipline, honest board-founder conversations, and why current vintages—despite pain—may be among the best in a decade.

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