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#109August 28, 20201:49:43

#105 with Avlok Kohli and Xavier Helgesen - Leading AngelList Ve…

About This Episode

Shaan Puri hosts guests Avlok Kohli (AngelList Venture) and Xavier Helgesen (Enduring Ventures) to explore innovations in venture capital and long-term business holding strategies. The episode breaks down the mechanics of the new 'Rolling Funds' model on AngelList and provides a case study on how to acquire and turn around distressed digital assets like UpCouncil.

Episode Description

Today’s episode is a double header. Sam Parr (@theSamParr) is out today, so Shaan Puri (@ShaanVP) hosts the pod today with two guests Xavier Helgesen (@XavierHelgesen) Co-CEO of Enduring Ventures and Avlok Kohli (@Avlok) CEO of AngelList. In today’s episode you’ll hear: Avlok gives his background on how he became CEO of AngelList (1:55), Shaan asks Avlok how he Fast Buy got acquired so fast (6:15), Avlok shares some ideas he has for the future of business (11:15), Shaan and Avlok talk about how to improve meetings (13:20), Shaan asks Avlok some of the cool companies he’s seen at AngelList (18:45), Shaan asks “What’s it like working with Naval?” (23:20), Shaan and Avlok talk about the problems with traditional funds and the potential with rolling funds (25:30). Shaan interviews Xavier Helgesen (54:52), Xavier gives his background (55:40), Shaan asks Xavier about his solar company in Africa (56:40), Xavier talks about his CFO-brain and how it’s helped his career (59:30), Shaan asks Xavier what he’s interested in lately (61:00), Xavier tells about his acquisition of UpCouncil (66:55), Shaan asks Xavier how to implement a profit-sharing company (78:20), Shaan explains how local and neighborhood networks are simple and profitable (85:10), Xavier explains what he looks at in financial statements when looking at a companies to acquire (68:28), Shaan asks Xavier if he has an opinion on SPACs (95:15), Xavier gives a list of a few books that every entrepreneur should read (102:45). This episode is presented by Tempo! Check them out at tempo.fit and use code "TempoHustle" for $100 off. Joined our private FB group yet? It's a page where people share each others million dollar ideas or what they're already working on: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Key Takeaways

1

Launch a 'Rolling Fund' to reduce the friction of traditional venture capital by raising money continuously and soliciting investors publicly.

2

Evaluate potential acquisitions based on gross margin dollars rather than top-line revenue to ensure there is enough profit to support operational mistakes.

3

Implement asynchronous meeting tools and feedback loops within an organization to preserve context and reduce the high human coordination costs of scaling.

Business Ideas Mentioned

Meeting Performance Feedback Loop

SaaS

Asynchronous Design Review Platform

SaaS

Hyper-Local Newsletter Empire

Content & Media

Modernized Managed Service Provider

Agency

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Guest Graveyard Mentions

D

Devin

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Quick Stats

Duration1:49:43
Guests1
Ideas Discussed4
Topics4