Adam Fisher: Why Small Markets are Better Than Big Markets | E1106

Whether you’re looking to sell your private company shares, or set up a liquidity program for your valued shareholders, you have to speak to the team at Hiive. Visit hiive.com/20vc, that is Hiive with two i’s - dot com slash 20vc, and see why they’re the fastest growing hub for secondaries in the world.
-----------------------------------------------
Adam Fisher is a Partner @ Bessemer Venture Partners and one of the most successful investors in Israel over the last two decades with seed investments in Fiverr, Wix, Melio, HiBob and more. Adam has now made over 60 investments and has had an incredible 23 successful exits. Adam has now been in venture for over 27 years having started his career at Jerusalem Venture Partners in 1996.
-----------------------------------------------
Timestamps:
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:00:54) Journey into the World of VC
(00:02:57) Evolution of VC Industry
(00:04:55) Speed and Decision-Making in VC
(00:07:06) Second-Time Entrepreneurs' Key Insights
(00:08:49) First vs. Second Time Founders
(00:10:19) Insider vs. Outsider Market Entry
(00:11:09) Innovation or Existing Markets
(00:13:56) Contrarian Insights in Development
(00:16:48) Managing Follow-On Funding as a Contrarian Investor
(00:21:10) Founders’ Efficiency & Leadership
(00:24:03) Navigating Market Size Strategies
(00:27:00) Small Investments, Big Returns
(00:31:30) Success Through Mistakes
(00:35:29) Hiring Process
(00:40:46) Why Founders Choose You
(00:43:10) Price Sensitivity in Venture Investing
(00:46:26) Best Founders & Funding Strategies
(00:51:45) Choosing Capital Paths
(00:57:28) Cracks in Founder-Investor Alignment
(01:02:12) Timing and Liquidity in Investing
(01:06:32) Honest & Fearless
(01:09:44) Quick-Fire Round
-----------------------------------------------
In Today’s Episode with Adam Fisher We Discuss:
1. Lessons from 27 Years in Venture Capital:
How did Adam first make his way into the world of venture straight out of college?
Does Adam agree with Doug Leone that VC has changed from a “boutique, high margin business to a commoditized, low margin industry”?
What does Adam know now that he wishes he had known when he started in venture?
2. How to Pick Winners: 23 Exits in 60 Investments:
To what extent does Adam think pattern recognition is a good thing? When is it bad?
Does Adam prefer to invest in outsider founders approaching a problem with fresh eyes or insider founders who know the problem back to front?
Why does Adam believe that “category creation is BS”?
Why does Adam not like to invest in big, hugely ambitious markets? Why are smaller markets best?
3. The Deal: Mastering the Art of Negotiation and the Deal:
How does Adam reflect on his own relationship to price?
When doing an investment, does Adam think about who would do the next round?
How important is ownership to Adam? Does he want it all on first check?
Why does Adam not like to invest in hot AI rounds?
What have been Adam’s single biggest investing mistakes? How did it change his approach?
4. Mastering the Art of Portfolio Management:
Why does Adam believe that it is impossible to know which of your portfolio will be the breakout winners early on?
How does Adam approach reserve allocations with this in mind?
How does Adam know when is the right time to sell a position?
What does Adam believe was the biggest sin of the zero interest rate environment period?
-----------------------------------------------
Subscribe on Spotify:
open.spotify.com/show/3j2KMcZ...
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Follow Harry Stebbings on Twitter:
/ harrystebbings
Follow Adam Fisher on Twitter:
/ adamrfisher
Follow 20VC on Instagram:
/ 20vchq
Follow 20VC on TikTok:
/ 20vc_tok
Visit our Website:
www.20vc.com
Subscribe to our Newsletter:
www.thetwentyminutevc.com/con...
----------------------------------------------
#harrystebbings #20vc #venturecapital #podcast #founder #AdamFisher #bessemer #bvp

[@20VC]

Subscribe to the 20VC KZbin channel for more great interviews: www.youtube.com/@20VC?sub_confirmation=1

[@barriehep1759]

Respect. Very thoughtful discussion.

[@Sam-ne9ns]

Not a lot of value here, if any at all!

[@marcus852]

I disagree, the insights and perspectives were valuable for me as a founder planning to raise seed in the coming months.

[@NeelSandellISAWESOME]

I found some value. Here are a few points - Back in the late 90's early 2000's, deals would happen once every 18 months - The US will revert to it's "natural" isolationist state in his opinion - Categories aren't crated intentionally, but instead, identifying new types of customers within existing markets can create categories (e.g. Developer SAAS) - Being able to raise money is an important characteristic of a founder - Sometimes the companies that got acquired had

[@prithvirajgawande6150]

True very generic questions