Give First

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Harry Stebbings on committing to building a network & giving first

Aug 13, 2019

Guest

Harry Stebbings

Harry Stebbings, founder of The Twenty Minute VC and partner at Stride VC, who built a massive venture network. He recounts starting podcasting at 18, leaving law school, and how vulnerability strengthens connections. He explains a deliberate, scalable ‘give first’ approach to building relationships and why personal context matters in spotting founders.

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ANECDOTE

Atomico Took A Risk On An 18 Year Old

Matthias at Atomico gave Harry an early, risky job despite his youth and inexperience.
That first chance after the podcast launch was formative and left Harry deeply grateful to Matthias Lindman.

insights

INSIGHT

Audio Builds More Intimacy Than Writing

Podcasting creates intimacy through voice, enabling deeper rapport than written formats.
Harry notes listeners message him about personal issues like his mother's health because the medium fosters closeness.

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ADVICE

Find Interests Outside Work To Stay Grounded

Explore personal interests outside work to avoid deriving identity solely from work and to broaden perspective.
Harry admits he needs hobbies beyond work to become a better investor and more fulfilled person.

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How Harry Started The Twenty Minute VC

01:18 • 1min

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Leaving Law School for Podcasting

02:26 • 1min

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First VC Job and Mentorship at Atomico

03:36 • 52sec

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Podcasting as a Learning Tool

04:28 • 2min

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Give First Mindset in Practice

06:10 • 2min

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Vulnerability as Strength

08:34 • 2min

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Money: Motivation and Perspective

10:40 • 3min

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Monetizing the Podcast to Help Family

13:39 • 1min

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Self-Discovery Beyond Work

15:06 • 1min

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Building Deep Personal Relationships

16:10 • 4min

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Scaling a Giving Network Deliberately

20:14 • 4min

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Standout Podcast Episodes and Lessons

24:03 • 3min

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Using Price as a Conviction Litmus Test

27:11 • 1min

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Rapid Fire: Personal Favorites

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Bad Blood

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John Carreyrou

In 'Bad Blood', John Carreyrou chronicles the story of Theranos, a biotech startup founded by Elizabeth Holmes that claimed to have developed a revolutionary blood-testing technology. However, the technology did not work, and the company's success was built on deceit, intimidation, and manipulation. The book is based on extensive interviews with former employees and other individuals involved in the scandal, revealing the toxic company culture, the misuse of investor funds, and the risks posed to patients due to inaccurate blood test results. Carreyrou's investigation led to the exposure of Theranos's fraud, resulting in significant legal and financial consequences for the company and its leaders.

Stride.VC founder

Harry Stebbings

is probably best known for his podcast,

The Twenty Minute VC

, the world's largest media asset in venture, with over 5 million downloads per month. He’s talked with amazing Venture Capitalists and entrepreneurs and made over 2,800 shows.

When he was 13, Harry watched “The Social Network,” the movie about Facebook’s growth, and it inspired him to become an entrepreneur and investor. At 18, he set up the Twenty Minute VC podcast.

Harry has also learned about giving first from David and Brad along the way. Listen to this conversation with David and Harry about how giving first is truly a mindset, and how you can build it into your network and relationships.

Get more of Harry’s insights, plus a full list of companies, people, and resources mentioned in this conversation

Techstars personnel and/or guests who speak in this podcast express their own opinions, and not the opinion of either Techstars or any company discussed in this podcast.This podcast is for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities are for illustrative and/or informational purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investor or prospective investor, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any fund managed by Techstars. Certain of Techstars funds own (or may own in the future) securities in some of the companies discussed in this podcast.

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