logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2020
28m 47s

20VC: Unity Founder David Helgason on Th...

Harry Stebbings
About this episode

David Helgason is the Founder @ Unity, the company that gives content creators the tools to create innovative RT3D experiences and deliver better processes for almost every industry. Prior to their IPO in 2020, Unity raised from the likes of Sequoia, Thrive, DFJ, SilverLake and then individuals including Max Levchin and VMWare's Diane Greene. If that was not enough, David is currently a Partner @ Nordic Makers, a group of ten top Nordic angels working together to be the best angel investors in the Nordics. David also serves on the board of Labster, Realm.io and Quizup.

In Today's Episode You Will Learn:

1.) How David made his way from founding Unity in a cafe in Denmark to the $10Bn+ public company it is today?

2.) How would David describe his leadership style? How has it changed over time? What were the biggest challenges David faced as the Founding CEO?

3.) What was the decision-making behind David's transition out of the CEO role? What was challenging? What was key to make the transition successful? How did David know John Riccitiello was the right person for the role? How does David advise other founders contemplating the same?

4.) How does David analyse his own board management style? What are the most important elements a board member can do to help the company and founder? What makes Roelof Botha such a special board member to have? How does David advise new board members today to be successful?

5.) Why does David believe running a company is like a liberal art? How does David think about the importance of vision? How does David assess the current state of the European tech landscape? What can be done to improve it? How can investor approach change for the better?

As always you can follow Harry and The Twenty Minute VC on Twitter here!

Likewise, you can follow Harry on Instagram here for mojito madness and all things 20VC.

Up next
Nov 24
20VC: Base44's Maor Shlomo on How Vibe Coding Will Kill SaaS and Salesforce | Why it is BS that Vibe Coding Platforms Do Not Have Defensibility and Bad Margins | Why He Worries About Google, Not Replit and Lovable | Why Long Anthropic, Not OpenAI?
<p dir="ltr">Maor Shlomo is the Founder and CEO of Base44, the AI building platform that Maor built from idea to $80M acquisition by Wix, in just 8 months. Today the company serves millions of users and will hit $50M ARR by the end of the year. Before Base44, Maor was the Co-Foun ... Show More
1h 11m
Nov 21
20VC: Max Altman on The New Seed War: Can Anyone Compete with Sequoia and a16z | Leaving $2BN on the Table with Reddit | Lessons from Backing Rippling at $25M Post | Why Climate Tech is a Mirage and Disaster
<p dir="ltr">Max Altman is Co‑Founder & Managing Partner at Saga Ventures, a US$125 M early‑stage fund.  Before Saga Max was an investor with Apollo Projects, Hydrazine Capital and Altman Capital (where he helped deploy over US$500 M) into breakout names such as Rippling and Redd ... Show More
1h 19m
Nov 20
20VC: Cursor Raises $2.3BN: Who Wins the Coding War | Peter Thiel and Softbank Sell NVIDIA: Analysed | Why Venture Capital Will Hit $1TRN and the Opening of Retail | Why Stripe and the Best Companies Will Never Go Public
<p dir="ltr">AGENDA:</p> <p dir="ltr">04:47 Cursor Raises $2.3BN at $29BN Valuation</p> <p dir="ltr">11:36 What Gemini 3 Means for Lovable, Cursor and Replit</p> <p dir="ltr">30:54 Peter Thiel and Softbank Sell NVIDIA: The Bubble Bursting?</p> <p dir="ltr">48:54 Oracle Credit Def ... Show More
1h 22m
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2016
SaaStr 042: Why Now Is The Time For Aggressive Growth & Monetisation Models Are The Most Exciting Element Of The Consumerisation Of SaaS with David Yuan, General Partner @ TCV
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/davelyuan"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">David Yuan</span></a> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">is a General Partner at</span> <a href= "http://www.tcv.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Technology Crossover Ventures</span></a><span style="fo ... Show More
25m 37s
Sep 2022
281: David Noble, MOVE: A framework to reinforce the leader in you
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 281, an interview with</span> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">a leadership coaching legend, David Noble.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Most leaders experience a lack of motivation to c ... Show More
49m 32s
Mar 2023
Using Systems Design to Transform Organizations with David Butler
Thought leader & design innovator David Butler has spent years translating design into business strategy and vice-versa. With deep experience in helping organizations move from Web 1 to Web 2, David has worked with some pretty major companies. Hear David’s career story, his thoug ... Show More
35m 11s
Sep 2023
David Senra - In Service of Founders - [Invest Like the Best, EP.343]
My guest today is David Senra, the creator and host of Founders Podcast. With an incredible appetite for biographies, David has delved into the lives of over three hundred entrepreneurs, extracting invaluable wisdom that he shares with his audience each week. Throughout the conve ... Show More
1h 25m
Mar 2022
David Rubenstein - Life, Leadership, and LBOs - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 270]
My guest today is David Rubenstein, co-founder of The Carlyle Group - one of the largest private equity firms in the world. David has worked in the White House, built a $300 billion investment institution, become a prominent philanthropist, published books, and even hosts his own ... Show More
1h 16m
Jul 2021
David Sacks - How to Operate a SaaS Startup - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 234]
My guest today is David Sacks, General Partner at Craft Ventures and founding COO of PayPal. During our conversation, we explore what differentiates Enterprise SaaS from DTC subscriptions, what makes for a magical product launch event, and what key growth metrics David uses to me ... Show More
1h 3m
Aug 2021
David Meltzer | How To Shift Your Energy And Change Your Life
<p style="font-weight: 400;">David Meltzer is the Co-Founder of Sports 1 Marketing and formerly served as CEO of the renowned Leigh Steinberg Sports & Entertainment agency, which was the inspiration for the movie Jerry Maguire. Considered one of the top esports entrepreneurs and ... Show More
24m 35s
Sep 2021
David Fialkow - Paint Outside the Lines - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 243]
My guest today is David Fialkow, co-founder of General Catalyst. If you are looking for a dose of fun, charismatic energy from a very unique investor then this is the conversation for you. David has a diverse background not only as an investor but also as a philanthropist and fil ... Show More
1h 5m
Mar 2024
#343 The Eternal Pursuit of Unhappiness: David Ogilvy
What I learned from reading Eternal Pursuit of Unhappiness: Being Very Good Is No Good,You Have to Be Very, Very, Very, Very, Very Good by David Ogilvy and Ogivly & Mather.  ---- Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes Some questions other ... Show More
32 m