David Fialkow is the Co-Founder and Managing Director @ General Catalyst, one of the leading venture firms of the last decade with a portfolio including Stripe, Snap, Airbnb, Anduril, Canva and many more amazing names. Prior to founding General Catalyst with Joel Cutler, David was a serial entrepreneur building and selling 4 successful companies.
In Today's Episode with David Fialkow:
1.) Everything Great Starts Small:
- How did David and Joel decide on a Hawaiin beach that they wanted to start General Catalyst?
- Why did they decide to name it General Catalyst?
- How did the first fundraise go for GC Fund I?
2.) Creating a Firm: The Early Days
- What design objectives did Joel and David have when they started the firm?
- How did Joel and David think about firm expansion; going to the West Coast? Coming to Europe? Going multi-stage? What drives their decision to do new products?
- On reflection, what were some of the toughest elements of the early days with GC?
- What does David believe they got right? Why? What did they get wrong? How would he change it?
3.) The Partnership:
- What does David believe makes for a truly successful venture partnership?
- How does a great venture partnership align to what makes a successful marriage?
- How does David approach trust? How does he build it with people?
- What situations would cause David to lose trust? Why do so few people understand it?
- What does David believe is the true secret to authentic relationship building?
4.) Doing the Impossible: Generational Transition:
- What does David believe they did so right in their generational transition at GC?
- What do many firms get wrong in handing over the reins to the next generation?
- What are the biggest commonalities between venture partnerships and filmmaking?
Mentioned in Today's Episode with David Fialkow:
David's Favourite Book: The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People