Mike Maples: Lessons from SVB; Crisis Management Tips; USD's Status as the Reserve Currency | E993

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

March 24, 2023

Duration

55m

Channel

The Twenty Minute VC

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

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. Mike has been on the Forbes Midas List eight times in the last decade and was also named a “Rising Star” by FORTUNE and profiled by Harvard Business School for his lifetime contributions to entrepreneurship. ------------------------------------- Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 1:00 Who is Mike Maples? 2:23 Lessons from SVB 31:23 Are VCs to blame for the bank runs? 33:58 Will the economy improve by the end of 2023? 35:58 The Fed Printed Too Much Money 39:58 Why It’s So Expensive to Start an AI Company 43:33 Fund Deployment Pacing 49:08 Mike and Harry’s Biggest Mistakes 51:39 Has a company with PMF ever failed? 54:18 Mike’s Biggest Win 54:51 What do LPs really care about? -------------------------------------------- In Today’s Episode with Mike Maples We Discuss 1.) Lesson from SVB #1: The Importance of Scenario Planning: What is the right way to do scenario planning in startups? What is the difference between good vs bad scenario planning? What do the best scenario plans include and involve? What is the right way to communicate these scenario plans to your stakeholders? 2.) Lesson from SVB #2: The Importance of Financial Agility: What does it mean for a startup to be “financially agile”? From a banking relationships perspective, what can startups do to be financially agile? How many accounts should a startup have? How much runway should be in each? Should startups bank with startup banks as well as traditional banks? Should startups have their money in sweep accounts and money market accounts? 3.) Lesson from SVB #3: How to Master Crisis Communications: Why is it so important for founder to over-communicate in tough times? How transparent should they be in these communications? What does Mike mean when he says “be radically human”? If Mike were to face a crisis, what would he do differently in the way he communicates to his LPs? 4.) Lessons from SVB: The Wider World: Why does Mike believe the level of quantitative easing that occurred in COVID was scandalous? Does Mike believe the USD will continue to be the reserve currency of the world? Will we be in a better or worse macro situation by the end of the year? Has Mike ever had a company that achieved true PMF and failed? ---------------------------------------------- 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 Mike Maples on Twitter: https://twitter.com/m2jr 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 ---------------------------------- #MikeMaples #Floodgate #HarryStebbings #svb #bankingcrisis #inflation

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Mike Maples

  guest

• Harry Stebbings

  host

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of The Twenty Minute VC, featuring Mike Maples and Harry Stebbings, Mike Maples: Lessons from SVB; Crisis Management Tips; USD's Status as the Reserve Currency | E993 explores mike Maples on Crisis-Proof Startups, Financial Agility, and Dollar Risk Mike Maples, an early seed investing pioneer, shares concrete lessons founders should take from the Silicon Valley Bank crisis and other shocks like COVID and 2008. He emphasizes scenario planning, financial agility, and disciplined crisis communications as core capabilities, not one-off reactions. Maples argues founders must avoid macro distractions, focus relentlessly on product-market fit, and design systems—banking, capital allocation, and decision-making—that preserve agility under uncertainty. He also voices concern about irresponsible monetary policy and the long-term risk to the U.S. dollar’s reserve status, while outlining how AI is reshaping startup risk profiles.

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