Is the VC Model Broken? Jason Lemkin, Mike Maples, Eric Paley & Harry Stebbings Debate | E1062

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

September 20, 2023

Duration

1h 24m

Channel

The Twenty Minute VC

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

20VC Roundtable: Is the VC Model Broken? The Biggest Disconnect Ever Between TVPI & DPI, Why Market Size is Dangerous, Why "Go Fast" is Terrible Advice, The Dangers of Raising Large Rounds at High Prices & Why Next Year Will See the Biggest Hiring Spree in Tech. Jason Lemkin, Mike Maples, Eric Paley & Harry Stebbings Debate! Eric Paley is the Managing Partner at Founder Collective, one of the world’s most successful seed funds with investments in the likes of Uber, The Trade Desk, Coupang and Airtable. Mike Maples is one of the OGs of seed investing. As the Co-Founder of Floodgate, he has backed the likes of Twitch, Okta, Lyft, Twitter and more. Jason Lemkin is the Founder @ SaaStr one of the best-performing early-stage venture funds with a portfolio including Algolia, Pipedrive, Salesloft, TalkDesk, and RevenueCat to name a few. --------------------------------------------- Timestamps: (0:00) Intro (00:23) Venture Capital Fundamentals (04:07) Contrarian Views and Market Trends (16:07) Product and Market Dynamics (29:41) Investment Strategies and Perspectives (41:52) Realities and Challenges in Venture Capital (01:03:21) The IPO Landscape and Future Predictions (01:22:11) Reflections and Anecdotes --------------------------------------------------- In Today’s Episode on Is the Venture Model Broken? : Is the classic seed model dead? Can seed funds play in a world of $25M valuations? Why is having a firm grasp of the present the best thing an early-stage investor can have? Why does Mike Maples believe no company with true product-market-fit has ever failed? Why does Eric Paley believe “go faster” is the worst startup advice? Why does Mike Maples believe there is a direct relationship between price and risk? Why does Mike Maples believe that outliers by their very nature are lower priced? Why does Eric Paley not focus on ownership? Why can it be dangerous? What are the biggest risks for founders raising at valuations that are too high? Why does Eric Paley believe we will have the biggest chasm between TVPI and DPI in the prior vintage of venture capital returns? Why does Eric believe the majority of SPACs were BS and great companies can always go public? Why does Jason believe that if multiples do not reflate, the venture model is broken? Why does Jason believe we will see the biggest hiring spree in tech next year? How has illiquidity allowed Eric Paley to make some of the best investment decisions? What is Mike Maples biggest lesson from selling Twitter stock early at $1BN? ------------------------------------------------------ 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 Jason Lemkin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jasonlk Follow Mike Maples on Twitter: https://twitter.com/m2jr Follow Eric Paley on Twitter: https://twitter.com/epaley Follow 20VC on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/20vc_reels 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 ----------------------------------------------- #JasonLemkin #MikeMaples #EricPaley #HarryStebbings

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Eric Paley

  guest

• Harry Stebbings

  host

• Mike Maples

  guest

• Jason Lemkin

  guest

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of The Twenty Minute VC, featuring Eric Paley and Harry Stebbings, Is the VC Model Broken? Jason Lemkin, Mike Maples, Eric Paley & Harry Stebbings Debate | E1062 explores venture Capital’s Identity Crisis: Pricing, Bubbles, and Real Company-Building The conversation examines whether the classic seed and venture model still works amid overheated valuations, AI hype, and a backlog of overfunded unicorns. The investors argue that true seed alpha comes from backing non-consensus, underpriced companies with real product–market fit, not chasing hot themes or markups. They highlight the dangers of over-capitalization: distorted behavior, weak focus, fragile follow-on financing, and misaligned incentives driven by TVPI and momentum. They also predict a painful reckoning between paper gains and realizable returns, while emphasizing patience, intrinsic value creation, and founder alignment over short-term optics.

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