The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
00:34:01 · Nik Storonsky, S1
[00:34:01] S0: And the reality is not that straightforward. Right? If if you look at companies that model selects and there we have... We tested for, like, 300 plus features, then we selected now, like, best 25, which statistically give you a signal, right, whether it's in the company or not. So the the features are, like, obviously, very important who are investors, who is the lead, and the the data of the lead. So we we actually track IRR for every single fund. And then based on this IRR, it's an input in the model, then model selects for that investor note. Then who is the founder? They have Already track IRRs of seed funds? No, we track IRR on the fund level for each investor. And then if we see a good investor with good IRR investing, it's obviously like a positive signal. Right? Anyway, model takes, say, 25 features. One of the features we're investing, which is dynamic evaluation, quality of employees, quality of founder, what they had on a outstanding education. Age is important as well. Why is age important? What do you find about age? If you look at statistics, so 20 to 25 is actually quite negative. Too early is negative. 25 to 30 is okay. 30 to 35 is the best age. After 35, I mean, there is a clear negative correlation with the success. So sweet spot is 25 to 35 for founders. That's the [00:35:21] S1: real view. So we have 25 to 35. You said education there. And you said investing in education early is is important. Why do you think it's so important? And do you think our current education system does it right?
00:35:21 · S1, Nik Storonsky
[00:35:21] S1: real view. So we have 25 to 35. You said education there. And you said investing in education early is is important. Why do you think it's so important? And do you think our current education system does it right? [00:35:32] S0: Well, I just look at the data, right, and then at stats, and then, statistics clearly show that top universities, stamping, we have a much more positive correlation with the success of the company. Obviously, it's not for any other profession out there, but particularly for startups. I mean, it is important. Purely based on stats. [00:35:51] S1: Which was the hardest funding round to raise? You mentioned earlier that the series A, for example, you spent five months on. Which was the hardest round to raise? [00:35:59] S0: I think our first one was very hard. Every single one was easy, easier than, think, 2019. We started raising 2019. We closed, I think, in February or in January 2020, just before COVID. We were very lucky, but it took time to close it. [00:36:14] S1: How big was that round? [00:36:15] S0: So relation was 5,000,000,000, which dropped from 7 because Oh, we did [00:36:19] S1: it at 5? [00:36:20] S0: Yeah. Yeah. We did it at five. I mean, I'm not sure. Yeah. Yeah. [00:36:23] S1: Wow. Yeah. So how much did you raise at five then? I think it was 300,000,000. Does that work? Because, like, as a relationship, it kind of dam... Like, I'd be damaged if you tried to haggle me down because the markets are moving.
00:36:23 · S1, Nik Storonsky
[00:36:23] S1: Wow. Yeah. So how much did you raise at five then? I think it was 300,000,000. Does that work? Because, like, as a relationship, it kind of dam... Like, I'd be damaged if you tried to haggle me down because the markets are moving. [00:36:36] S0: I mean, look, in the entire... It's business. Right? For them, it's it's it's business for me, and, yeah, I mean, we just move on. [00:36:42] S1: Who's your favorite investor? I have [00:36:44] S0: few favorite. I mean, I've got, you know, Matan, from Index, you know, very smart. John, TCV, very smart as well. Nik, which I spoke with from Revolut, you know, very good. [00:36:54] S1: Has your definition of success changed? Nothing if [00:36:58] S0: you define success or by kind of, you know, percentage of goals that you reached. That's very simple, If your goal is, I don't know, to be happily married with kids and then you reach it, you're a 100% successful. Right? If your goal is, I don't know, make more money and you haven't reached it, then you're not. Pretty simple definition. Does money make you happy, Nik? I don't think money makes you happier. I think money is just additional instrument that you can use in order to achieve certain goals. [00:37:24] S1: What have you not achieved today that you most want to achieve? [00:37:27] S0: Well, I haven't won The US market. Right? I think it's very important to tick this box, especially for European startup. [00:37:35] S1: For sure. And totally agree.
00:37:35 · S1, Nik Storonsky
[00:37:35] S1: For sure. And totally agree. [00:37:36] S0: It's always the opposite. Right? US companies, they they will always win Europe. I almost never seem exceptional, so I think it'll be very cool to tick this box. [00:37:44] S1: Listen. I wanna move into a quick fire round. So I say a short statement, you give me your immediate thoughts. Does that sound okay? Yep. So what do you believe the most around you disbelieve? [00:37:52] S0: I think majority of people believe that balanced life allows you to be happy and achieve your goals. I think in reality, a disbalanced life allows you definitely to achieve your goals. So more kind of imbalanced you are, more focused on your goals, sacrificing everything else, more likely you will succeed these goals. And, you know, there is a high chance it will also bring you happiness. [00:38:12] S1: What period of Revolut's growth have you been most imbalanced? [00:38:16] S0: Every year is very balanced. Right? It became much more structured, much more process driven. [00:38:22] S1: I get it, dude, but you're very thin. You're athletic. You look fresh. You're not losing sleep. You're doing fitness. Yeah. Talk to me. What does next day look like?
00:38:22 · S1, Nik Storonsky
[00:38:22] S1: I get it, dude, but you're very thin. You're athletic. You look fresh. You're not losing sleep. You're doing fitness. Yeah. Talk to me. What does next day look like? [00:38:31] S0: Well, obviously, in order to... Because I I have so much pressure. Right? You know? Like, a lot of... 99% of time is is is a lot of pain. Right? Because reality, what happens is even if you have organization, then all the unpleasant problems no one else solves goes into me. And I ended up doing all these, you know, shitty jobs, right, solving problems that, you know, no one else wants to solve or can't solve. And it's it's pretty unpleasant, so 99% of the time is is not really pleasure. A of pain, a lot of pressure, stress. And in order to keep calm, you know, under pressure, obviously, you need to have a lot of energy. And then in order to have a lot of energy, and to build your lifestyle in a way that brings you a lot of energy. Right? So it's obviously a lot of spots, you know, like [00:39:15] S1: What time does Nik get up in the morning?
00:39:15 · S1, Nik Storonsky
[00:39:15] S1: What time does Nik get up in the morning? [00:39:17] S0: I mean, depends in which country I am. Right? Because the way I manage the business, I I work one, three months from different countries, from different offices. And it depends which time zone I am. Right? For example, if if I'm in UK, like, probably I wake up, you know, 06:30, sometimes, you know, I train in the morning, sometimes not. But then I start 08:30, 9AM. If I'm somewhere in Asia, then I start in a bit later or much later. But then I work till, you know, 11PM. If I'm in The US, then I need to start there early at 7AM working. [00:39:51] S1: Which friends or ambassador do you most respect and learn from? Just learn from. Not like your favorite, like, you go out for, like, holidays with, like, you actually learn from first call when you're in trouble. [00:40:01] S0: I call people who've done similar things in the past. Right? So who built very large businesses. So I've got a couple of friends who build, very large businesses. Some of them, they never used VCs. They they just print cash with businesses. In some ways, they are much better compared to me. [00:40:16] S1: What would you do if you knew you wouldn't fail? [00:40:18] S0: I would just keep trying things, but I am. Whenever I try things, I I always think I will not fail. [00:40:24] S1: What have you changed your mind on in the last twelve months?