Fireside Chat, Interview
Kirsten Green, Founding Partner of Forerunner Ventures
- The speaker intends to maintain a long-term investor identity while resuming consulting roles only if they offer practical learning, noting that micro VC funds have increased significantly over the last half-decade.
- Investment opportunities by 2019 are predicted to be less lucrative than the "green field" conditions of 2012, necessitating a shift in thesis as the "hundredth company" struggles to gain consumer attention without a unique market position.
- Consumer influence is expected to remain high due to information access and a younger generation voting with their dollars, though active crowdsourcing of product design is not anticipated as consumers remain too busy.
- Competition on service and values will become critical as the "DNA" of the founder drives customer alignment, where a lack of ethical transparency could cause founders to go rogue despite partnership safeguards.
- Initiatives like All Raise, including mentoring, office hours, and pledges, are expected to build confidence in the younger generation, provide role models, and force entrepreneurs to scrutinize their cap tables for investor diversity.
- The disparity in funding, currently cited at roughly 2% to 7% for female founders, is predicted to change through the increased presence of female "check writers" and diverse decision-makers in venture capital.
- Future business success relies on leveraging technology for efficient market entry to gain an "unfair marketing advantage," as traditional marketing channels are becoming saturated and the "same thing" investment strategy is no longer viable.
- The speaker predicts that securing hard employees and customers remains the primary filter for startup success, with qualitative and quantitative analysis serving as the source of alpha for investors.
- A future business model is anticipated where the base of customers and employees is treated with unprecedented respect, requiring the industry to adopt a "new language" to break through market noise.
- While competition will intensify, good ideas remain scarcer than available capital, allowing founders to find alternative funding even if they do not align with a specific investor's passion for a category.