The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
01:09:18 · Luke Harries, Harry Stebbings
[01:09:18] S1: Oh, [01:09:18] S0: yes. But, like, I I don't know if you're allowed to, like, use, like, Trump's voice and Obama's voice and, like, just rip. [01:09:24] S1: We're not. And, actually, we do a whole bunch of different safety work to make sure, like, it's explicitly used where people give permission for their voice on the platform. [01:09:32] S0: Don't do that, kids. Yeah. Yeah. I remember when I met Victor from Synthesia the first time, like, five, six years ago. He was like, imagine, we could have, like, Trump declaring this and doing this. And I remember being like, no no no. That's a bad idea. And I didn't invest in the seed. Oh, wow. I know. [01:09:47] S1: No. Well, he's done great, and I know they've... They take safety very seriously as well. [01:09:53] S0: No. They do. Absolutely. Sorry. That sounds terrible. He's so good. I like him and Stefan a lot. Final one. What's the best growth strategy that you've just been really impressed by in the last, like, twelve to eighteen months?
01:09:53 · Harry Stebbings, Luke Harries
[01:09:53] S0: No. They do. Absolutely. Sorry. That sounds terrible. He's so good. I like him and Stefan a lot. Final one. What's the best growth strategy that you've just been really impressed by in the last, like, twelve to eighteen months? [01:10:06] S1: Yeah. The best growth strategy I've seen is what Bryan Johnson is doing. His marketing is so good that they made a Netflix show about his marketing. And I do think Bryan Johnson's actually being authentic. Like, he really does care about longevity, about creating great products, but he's put himself... One is, like, it's just super controversial what he's doing. If you look at the way he dresses, it's, like, definitely not normal clothes. And if the things he's doing, he's doing, like, bloodletting and blood transfers with his son. One, he's just generating a lot of controversy such that, you know, we're speaking about him now on this podcast. Two is they've really dialed in the messaging. So, like, the don't die is super catchy, and they've built a brand around it. They built a community. Like, their brand building is just fantastic. And then their distribution. He's constantly on Twitter. Like, anytime someone talks about doing a late night or eating junk food or pulling an all nighter to ship a feature, he's there, like, telling them off. He's there...
01:10:06 · Luke Harries, Harry Stebbings
[01:10:06] S1: Yeah. The best growth strategy I've seen is what Bryan Johnson is doing. His marketing is so good that they made a Netflix show about his marketing. And I do think Bryan Johnson's actually being authentic. Like, he really does care about longevity, about creating great products, but he's put himself... One is, like, it's just super controversial what he's doing. If you look at the way he dresses, it's, like, definitely not normal clothes. And if the things he's doing, he's doing, like, bloodletting and blood transfers with his son. One, he's just generating a lot of controversy such that, you know, we're speaking about him now on this podcast. Two is they've really dialed in the messaging. So, like, the don't die is super catchy, and they've built a brand around it. They built a community. Like, their brand building is just fantastic. And then their distribution. He's constantly on Twitter. Like, anytime someone talks about doing a late night or eating junk food or pulling an all nighter to ship a feature, he's there, like, telling them off. He's there... [01:11:06] S0: In the comments, like, wouldn't have done that if I mute. Yeah. Yeah. I saw that. Or he's quite sarcastically funny. Jason Calacanis sweets like a bitch of donuts. Yes. And he was like, sign me up. I'll take the box. Yeah. And it's just really funny to see him engaging in that way. [01:11:19] S1: Yeah. 100%. And you feel it is really authentic. Like, he genuinely does care. I think he's genuinely doing it in a good way. [01:11:25] S0: I have that longevity shake
01:11:25 · Harry Stebbings, Luke Harries
[01:11:25] S0: I have that longevity shake [01:11:28] S1: in a while.... Good? [01:11:29] S0: I do want... It's it's it's fucking brilliant. Wow. And I'm on a subscription. It's £60 a month. Yes. Yeah. So I'm $7.20 a year. No way I'm fucking shy. And I guess my cat... I I take it when I travel. Yes. I look like a [01:11:42] S1: drug dealer. I've got, [01:11:43] S0: like, cellophane bags of his stuff. But it's amazing. I'm totally with you. Dude, this has been so much fun. Thank you so much for doing this, and it's been so good to have you in the studio. [01:11:53] S1: Cool. Thank you so much, Harry.
01:11:57 · Harry Stebbings
[01:11:57] S0: I have to say the joy for me of doing vertical shows is just learning so much from amazing operators like Luke. If you wanna see the show, can find it on Spotify by searching for 20 VC. I always love your thoughts on the show. You can let me know by emailing me Harry@20VC.com. But before we leave you today, Secure empowers businesses to build trust with customers by simplifying information security and compliance through AI and automation. Thousands of fast growing businesses, including Nasdaq, AngelList, Doodle, and Coda, Trust Secureframe to expedite their compliance journey for global security and privacy standards such as SOC two and ISO 27,001, CMMC, NIST standards, and more. Backed by top tier investors and corporations like Google and Kleiner Perkins, the company is among Forbes' list of the top 100 startup employers for 2024, g two's best software awards for higher satisfaction products, and a recipient of the 2024 cybersecurity excellence awards, something I definitely never got in school myself. Learn more today at secureframe.com. And speaking of speed, let's talk about something every founder, product leader, and CEO is thinking about, innovation. We all know that innovation is the lifeblood of any company, Yet more than 80% of innovation projects stall before they even make it to execution. Why is that? Because once teams move from discovery to development, outdated processes, endless contact switching, and misalignment slow everything down. Don't you hate it when that happens? Well, that's exactly why Miro built the Innovation Workspace. God, that's a cool name. A faster, smarter way to take ideas to execution. Now at TwentyVC, we've worked with countless startup founders who know that speed is everything, and that's where AI powered tools like Miros come in. From AI sidekicks that act as a designer, analyst, or engineer on demand to instant AI summaries that condense meeting notes, product briefs, and retrospectives in seconds, Miro is built for teams that want to move fast. And one feature I love, the two way sync with Jira and Azure. So when something is updated in Miro, it's automatically reflected in your development tools and vice versa. No more duplication, no more miscommunication, just seamless execution.
01:14:13 · Harry Stebbings
So whether you're in product, UX, engineering, agile, or IT, Miro's innovation workspace helps teams go from idea to outcome faster. Try it today at miro.com. That's miro.com. Now that your team is up and running worldwide, let's switch gears to the future of mobile and how one company is turning your screen into real returns. We spend nearly half our waking hours glued to our phones, upwards of fifty hours every week. Recently, one company transforming this reality stood out so much I personally became a shareholder, Mode Mobile. Mode Mobile created the Earn Phone, the smartphone that pays you for daily activities. Instead of big tech profiting billions from our attention, Mode returns over $325,000,000 directly to users through earnings and savings. Mode's revenues surged an incredible 32481% in three years, recognized by Deloitte as twenty twenty three's fastest growing software company in North America. And here's why I'm excited. Mode's equity offerings have raised over $30,000,000 from 20,000 plus retail investors, one of twenty twenty five standout public raises. And you can now join me as a shareholder with as little as a thousand dollars at invest.modemobile.com/20vc. For a limited time, unlock up to a 100% bonus shares and a free earned phone. Email us for the investor brief at 20vc@modemobile.com, or check out invest.modemobile.com/20vc. As always, I so appreciate all your support, and stay tuned for an incredible episode coming on Monday.