#26 Jeff Clavier, Founder and Managing Partner of Uncork Capital | Making It Real Podcast with Jan Brinckmann

Jeff Clavier began investing into early stage ventures more than
twenty years ago and have supported several teams that have
reached successful outcomes, among others Eventbrite, Fitbit or
Postmates. He has founded Uncork Capital in 2004, one of the most
prominent seed funds based in Palo Alto with over $500m under
management. In today's episode, he shares with us the current and
hottest investment areas he focuses on and why he is passionate
about B2B SaaS enterprises. Also, he gives us his take on the
current state of the European start-up ecosystem and his advice
on avoiding the three most common mistakes made by early stage
founders both in the ideation as well as in the product building
phase.


https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffclavier


https://uncorkcapital.com/


https://www.linkedin.com/in/janbrinckmann





00:00 Introduction


0:50 Why and how Jeff joined the entrepreneurship world


02:35 Jeff's reasons for moving to the US & becoming a VC


05:45 The first investment in the time of the Web 2.0 &
impressive returns


11:25 Investment hypothesis: Coming from seed investments to also
having a growth fund


13:55 On which sectors Jeff focuses his investments


15:35 The opportunity for B2B SaaS companies


17:05 Jeff's view on the European start-up ecosystem


22:50 Advices for founders in the early stage


25:30 How to find the right idea for starting a start-up


27:10 Common mistakes made by founders


29:35 After having the idea - how to build the product


32:45 Jeff's personal advice for getting into the
entrepreneurship space


34:28 Quick fire round: Thing Jeff is most proud of; most useful
software tool; what would Jeff be if not a VC


38:15 Closing