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EO StudioFrom Google’s First PM to Backing 50 Unicorns — The 10X Principle | Felicis, Aydin Senkut
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Setbacks, Boxes, and Controlling Your Destiny
The speaker recounts how people tried to put him in a box at every critical stage, from Turkey to tech to venture capital. He argues that setbacks should be treated as jet fuel and that you keep control of your destiny by doing whatever it takes.
- •People repeatedly told him what he couldn't do, from leaving Turkey to working in tech to venture capital
- •Suspend disbelief when facing setbacks
- •Founders will hear that an idea is horrible; the response is to try a different way
- •Setbacks are described as jet fuel
- •You keep control of your destiny even when things are difficult
Introducing Aydin Senkut and Felicis
Aydin introduces himself as founder and managing partner of Felicis and cites the firm's track record of unicorns, exits and IPOs. He names notable portfolio companies across commerce, design, productivity, AI and defense.
- •Felicis is an early-stage firm with a global mandate
- •More than 45 portfolio companies have passed a billion-dollar valuation, with 100 exits
- •17 IPOs in a little under 14 years
- •Portfolio includes Shopify, Canva, Notion, Runway
Lessons from Google and the 10X Principle
Aydin describes his time as Google's first product manager, including Gmail and the click-through-rate breakthrough for ads. He draws lessons from Larry Page's focus and ambitious goals and the story of building an ad server in six months, leading to the 10X principle.
- •Larry's favorite word was effectively no, so a yes meant something
- •You can't build a great company by striving for only 10–20% improvement
- •Google gave hard challenges to smart people regardless of experience, like Chad building the ad server
- •10X means 10 times better, cheaper or faster than existing solutions
Additionality and Applying 10X to Market Selection
Prompted by the host's question about his philosophy, Aydin explains additionality and how the 10X idea extends to choosing markets. Felicis looks for markets poised for great growth with broad customer bases, such as commerce, payments and health.
- •Additionality means doing things that wouldn't happen otherwise
- •The more you learn about technology, the more you see what's possible
- •Felicis looks for large or potentially large markets with great growth
- •Examples include Shopify, Adyen, Recursion and Cancer-focused companies
Market Always Wins and Evaluating Founders
Aydin calls the primacy of markets a Newtonian law of startups, so Felicis is highly selective about markets and timing. Founders come next in the decision process, where his sales background and operating partner Michelle Del Cambre help assess people.
- •When anything else goes against the market, the market wins
- •Right market and roughly right timing come first
- •Venture capital is not only about numbers; understanding people is rarer
- •Operating partner Michelle Del Cambre joins investment meetings to assess founding teams
Shopify Case Study: Pricing, Channels, and Real-Time Data
Aydin uses Shopify as an example of exceptional founding decisions. Tobi underpriced the product, offered agencies lifetime commissions, nailed key product moves like payments, and built real-time internal data, similar to Google and F1's measurement culture.
- •Tobi started with a snowboard store and pivoted to software
- •Underpricing let customers grow with the platform
- •Lifetime commissions for agencies and channels
- •Launching payments at the right time drove stratospheric growth
- •Real-time internal data, like Google's dashboards and F1 measurement
Founder Traits: Focus, Persistence, and Jet Fuel
The speaker lays out qualities of successful founders: right market first, then focus on one or two things that matter. He stresses consistency, compounding small progress, non-linear paths, and turning rejection into jet fuel.
- •Doing 50 things means none are done extremely well
- •Small things compound into something big
- •Great companies never succeed in a straight line
- •Rejection and skeptics can be turned into energy to try again, maybe 10 or 30 times
Measuring Success Clearly
The speaker explains the importance of finding a way to measure success, using Felicis's density of success as an example. Black-and-white metrics like exits and IPOs help optimize the business.
- •Define a measurable vision of success
- •For an investment firm, track how many of 100 investments exit or succeed
- •Felicis has had success across stages, sectors and countries
- •Specific measurement helps optimize
Storytelling, Charisma, and Mission
The speaker argues founders must be great storytellers to win customers, hire people and keep scaling. He says either the founder or a co-founder needs charisma, and an ambitious mission inspires people, tying back to 10X.
- •CEOs must get customers, hire people and keep scaling through hard times
- •Brand, culture and a charismatic leader matter
- •Storytelling ability is non-negotiable in the founding team
- •Bigger ideas and impact inspire people to do hard things
Learning to Tell the Story: 40 Noes and 107 Decks
The speaker shares that raising Felicis's first fund brought at least 40 noes and 107 deck revisions. He concludes that good storytelling means understanding your audience and sweating the last 10% of details.
- •At least 40 noes when starting Felicis
- •Same strategy, 107 versions of the deck until the first yes
- •Understand what people on the other side care about
- •Be a student of people and know your audience
- •The last 10% of details can be 90% of the value
Impact of Felicis Companies and Limited Partners
The speaker reflects on what the work means beyond financial returns. Felicis portfolio companies touch people every minute, and the limited partners are endowments, health systems and foundations with charitable missions.
- •Investing is intangible, unlike making a table
- •Someone is always interacting with a Felicis company, from biotech to Shopify, Adyen and Canva
- •Limited partners include endowments, health systems and foundations
- •Impact extends through both companies and investors
A Hope for Technology and Human Happiness
The speaker closes with a hope that technology plays a bigger role in peace and makes people happier. Concerned by his teenagers' stress and mental health, he says people must take responsibility so technology benefits humanity beyond wealth.
- •Wants technology to play a bigger role in peace
- •Today's generation has more technology and wealth but seems more stressed
- •Technology that makes us more depressed misses the point
- •Dream is for the next generation to be a bit happier and less stressed
