The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

20VC: Worklife Ventures' Brianne Kimmel on Why More Operators Should Start Their Own Fund, How To Structure Your Round for the Highest Signal Round & What The Multi-Stage Funds Playing At Seed Means For The Rest of The Asset Class

Oct 14, 2019

Brianne Kimmel, Founder and Managing Partner at WorkLife Ventures, shares her remarkable journey from teaching to venture capital, emphasizing the importance of innovative funding structures for SaaS. She advocates for operators starting their own funds and explains how to create high-signal funding rounds. The discussion highlights the rise of angel funds, celebrity investors, and the shift towards sustainable user acquisition in 'hypebeast SaaS' startups, showcasing the evolving landscape of the tech ecosystem.

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ADVICE

Focus on Core Business

Founders should prioritize focus on their core business over angel investing.
Building a strong company culture and achieving breakout success require dedicated attention.

INSIGHT

Celebrity Angels

Celebrities are becoming angel investors because startups are mainstream and offer brand alignment opportunities.
They recognize startups as a fascinating asset class to diversify portfolios and engage with emerging trends.

ADVICE

Building High-Signal Rounds

Founders should build high-signal rounds by including both show horses (for social proof) and workhorses (for practical support).
Show horses bring network and investor connections, while workhorses offer active operational help.

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Brianne Kimmel is the Founder and Managing Partner @ Work Life Ventures, a very new firm focused on the future of work backed by some of the best in the valley including Marc Andreesen, Chris Dixon, Zoom's Eric Yuan, InVision's Clark Valberg and then dear friends of the show, Alexis Ohanian, Garry Tan and Matt Mazzeo. To date, Brianne has invested in the likes of Webflow, Tandem, Lunchclub and Girlboss to name a few. Prior to starting Work Life, Brianne spent 2 years at Zendesk on their GTM strategy; building Zendesk for startups, ultimately representing 3,000 startups and 250 accelerators. From 2013-2017 Brianne also taught over 5,000 students at General Assembly all things user acquisition and growth marketing.

In Today's Episode You Will Learn:

1.) How Brianne made her way into the world of startups and SaaS, how that led to her angel investing and what was that a-ha moment for the founding of Work Life? Why did Brianne choose to structure Work Life as a holding company?

2.) With the fund, how does Brianne think about portfolio construction? What is the right check size for her? Why does Brianne think we are seeing more angel funds than ever today? Why are we seeing so many celebrity names on the cap tables of great companies? How does Brianne think about scout programs? What impact have they had? Why is Brianne against founders actively angel investing?

3.) What does Brianne advise founders on how to structure a high-signal round? What are the two types of angels that exist in the world today? What can founders do to keep their angels actively engaged? How have what founders expect from their angels changed over the last few years? How does one measure the true value of an angel?

4.) Does Brianne agree with Semil Shah, we are seeing "founders vote with their feet and bypass seed funds for multi-stage funds"? How does Brianne advise founders when choosing between a boutique seed firm and a large multi-stage firm? What does Brianne believe are the pros and cons of taking multi-stage money at seed?

Items Mentioned In Today's Show:

Brianne's Most Recent Investment: Pace

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