The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch 20VC: Max Altman on The New Seed War: Can Anyone Compete with Sequoia and a16z | Leaving $2BN on the Table with Reddit | Lessons from Backing Rippling at $25M Post | Why Climate Tech is a Mirage and Disaster
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Nov 21, 2025 
Max Altman, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Saga Ventures, shares his journey in venture capital, emphasizing the importance of long-term relationships over performative investing. He reveals the critical lessons learned from backing Rippling at a $25M valuation and discusses the pitfalls of not reserving enough capital for winners. Altman warns that climate tech is a mirage while exploring the fierce competition posed by giants like Sequoia. He touches on the new seed war dynamics and how founders can leverage current market conditions for ambitious innovations.
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Sold Reddit For LP Liquidity
- Max recounts selling Reddit after IPO because LPs wanted liquidity and they are not public market investors.
- He reflects on leaving billions unrealized and will treat future public exits case-by-case.
Play To Your Stage Strengths
- Stay in your investing lane; seed-focused firms should avoid trying to win Series A battles versus tier-one multi-stage players.
- Either get in before the giants or partner with them rather than compete head-on.
Seed Isn't Fully Locked Up
- Large multi-stage firms are active at seed but don’t own all leads; many breakout AI unicorns had diverse early investors.
- Seed remains an open market for focused, early players with strong founder relationships.