Ilya Strebulaev is the David S. Lobel Professor of Private Equity and Professor of Finance at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he also serves as the Director of the Venture Capital Initiative. Ilya is an expert in corporate finance, venture capital and private equity, corporate innovation, innovation ecosystems, and financial decision-making. In this episode, we focus on his new book "Venture Mindset: How to Make Smarter Bets and Achieve Extraordinary Growth" with specific insights for board members. If you like this show, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing this podcast on social media. You can also contribute as a Patron on the link patreon.com/BoardroomGovernancePod or you can subscribe to the Boardroom Governance Newsletter at evanepstein.substack.com This podcast is sponsored by the American College of Governance Counsel.
(0:00) Intro.
(1:39) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel.
(2:25) Start of interview. Reference to E21 with Ilya Strebulaev from October 2020.
(4:01) On why he wrote his book The Venture Mindset: for decision makers in large organizations.
(5:37) About the first principle: Home Runs Matter, Strikeouts Don’t. Make small bets vs fear of failure.
(7:23) Two types of innovation: incremental (step by step) vs. disruptive innovation.
(13:32) The unique role that independent directors can play in innovation.
(18:20) On corporate unicorns and intrapreneurs.
(20:11) On errors of omission and building anti-portfolios.
(24:01) Promoting the venture mindset for large companies to be more innovative and become more like Silicon Valley.
(28:29) Red flags in decision-making ("why should I not invest?"), and the example of Theranos. Examples from Shark Tank.
(34:00) On Yuri Milner's investment in Facebook (2009) and investing without taking a board seat (informal controls and indirect influence).
(38:30) Formal vs informal control rights in corporate governance.
(44:13) Stay private vs go public debate. On "quasi-public" companies.
(49:11) On the pressures to go public for VCs and employees, and the evolution of secondary markets.
(52:20) On the principle (#5) to Bet on the Jockey (put people above process).
(53:22) On the principle (#7) to Double Down or Quit (allow flexibility, and phenomenon of escalation of commitment).
Ilya Strebulaev is a Professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and is an expert in corporate finance, venture capital and private equity, corporate innovation, innovation ecosystems, and financial decision-making. His recent work has examined the valuation of VC-backed companies, decision making by venture capital and private equity investors, corporate venture capital, and impact of venture capital.
You can follow Ilya on social media at:
Twitter: @IlyaStrebulaev
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilyavcandpe/
Venture Mindset Website: https://thevcmindset.com/