[PreMoney SF 2015] Felicis Ventures >> Aydin Senkut, "How To: Select Companies (Counterintuitive Insights From A VC With Eight $1B+ Unicorns, 29 $100M+ Centaurs & 55 Exits In < 10 Years)"

500 Startups
500 StartupsVenture Capital / Startup Accelerator
Unique Insights on Venture & Picking Companies
JUNE12,2015
Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures
Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures1
Our Evolution & Track Record
Aggregate Exit Value Up 3x, Exit Count Up ~2x with Every New Felicis Fund
Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures2
Venture Adages Are Meant To Be Broken
DEFINE YOUR “SANDBOX” (E.G. FINTECH FOCUS, SEED FUND, ENTERPRISE FUND)
STRICT OWNERSHIP TARGETS & BOARD SEATS
SILICON VALLEY IS THE ONLY FERTILE GROUND
Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures3
Our Founders Hail from a Vast Range of Countries & Backgrounds
Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures
So Does Our Team: We Have Strong Immigrant / International DNA
4
DIVERSITY IS A POINT OF STRENGTH FOR US, NOT AN AFTERTHOUGHT
Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures5
Our Model Is Not One-Size-Fits-All
Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures6
We Try to Pick Sectors Before Inflection Point / Mass VC Interest
Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures7
Our Sectoral Shifts Coincide with Major Changes in Markets
CURRENTLY FOCUSING MORE ON ENTERPRISE, FINTECH AND HEALTH
o  Fintech & Health[care] rising within Nasdaq to 7% & 17% (up from 4% & 7%) + both sectors are non-cyclical
o  Enterprise exits significantly up in last 3 years (M&A up 3x, IPO up 2x)
Top 50 VC-Backed Exits By Year, Consumer vs. Enterprise
Technology
Consumer Services
Healthcare
Financials
Industrials
Other
Nasdaq by Industry
Source: WSJ, April 23, 2015 Source: CB Insights, April 2015
Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures8
We Adapt Our Strategy to Perceived Market Shifts
FV I FV II FV III FV IV
Vintage 2006 2010 2012 2014
Pre Revenue Mix Pre-revenue (49%) Pre-revenue (49%) Pre-revenue (30%) Pre-revenue (34%)
Top Sectors Consumer Internet
Mobile
E-Commerce
Enterprise
Fintech
Enterprise
Health
Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures9
We Look For Global Winners, Not Local Heroes
Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures10
International Founders Capture Arbitrage Opportunities
INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENTS REPRESENT ROUGHLY 20% OF OUR FAIR MARKET VALUE
FIRST BIG FELICIS IPO IS CANADIAN
SIGNIFICANT LABOR COST DIFFERENCE DUE TO GOVERNMENT INCENTIVES IN COUNTRIES LIKE CANADA:
Source: AngelList
Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures11
Picking Winners is Hard, Especially When Valuations Change Drastically
Min – Max Range
Convertible Note 2.5x
Seed 6x
Series A 10x
Average Entry Valuation Range Across Early Stages, 2006-2015
Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures12
We Focus on Revenues, Less On Valuations
TO COMBAT HIGHER VALUATIONS COMPRESSING MULTIPLES, OPT FOR BETTER REVENUE GROWTH POTENTIAL
•  2010: 6 companies* with ~$10M+ annual revenues
•  2015: 9 companies* with ~$100M+ annual revenues; all 6 from 2010 have exited
* Across ALL Felicis Funds
Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures
We Look For Great Companies Everywhere
13
MORE THAN HALF (52%) OF OUR PORTFOLIO VALUE COMES FROM (18%) DEALS SOURCED OUTBOUND
Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures14
Remain Flexible & Adaptable
ORIGINALLY PLANNED TO INVEST ONLY IN SOFTWARE COMPANIES,
BUT BREAKING THAT RULE PRODUCED SOME OF OUR BIGGEST HITS:
Highlights from Portfolio Companies Valued at $100M+
Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures16
Enterprise Leads, Though All Sectors Produced Winners
$100M+ $1B+
Connected Devices 3 1
Fintech 2 3
Mobile 2 -
E-Commerce 2 3
Health 2 -
Consumer Internet 6 1
Enterprise 11 1
Education 1 -
3D 1
Distribution of FV Winners by Sector & Valuation
Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures17
Seed Stage Investments Still Represent Roughly Half Our Winners
$100M+ $1B+
Seed 19 4
Early 6 4
Growth 5 1
Distribution of FV Winners by Stage & Valuation
Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures18
SF Bay Area Dominant Among Winners, but has NO Monopoly on Talent
$100M+ $1B+
SF Bay Area 23 6
Rest of US 5 1
International 1 2
Distribution of FV Winners by HQ Location & Valuation
Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures19
Our Winners Skew Towards 1st Time Founders
$100M+ $1B+
First Time 22 6
Repeat 8 3
Distribution of FV Winners by Founder Experience Level & Valuation
Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures20
Complete Teams Execute & Hire Better
$100M+ $1B+
1 7 -
2 14 5
3 6 2
4 3 2
Distribution of FV Winners by Number of Founders & Valuation
Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures21
Average Founder Age at Start 30, Youngest 21
$100M+ $1B+
Average 30 28
Youngest 21 22
Oldest 40 37
Distribution of FV Winners by Founder Age at Start & Valuation
Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures22
Building Winners Still Takes Time (Though It’s Accelerating)
$100M+ $1B+
Earliest Start 2003 2005
Most Recent Start 2013 2010
Among $1B+ Unicorns:
Shopify IPO took 10 years from founding, ~5 years from 1st institutional round
Wish took 5 years from founding to reach $1B+ valuation, 5 years from seed round
Distribution of FV Winners by Year Founded & Valuation
Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures23
What We Learned from Our Iconic Companies
FOUNDERS THAT CAN SUCCINCTLY ARTICULATE THEIR SUCCESS MUCH MORE LIKELY TO SUCCEED
•  Founders that can visualize (& articulate) success more likely to achieve it
•  Iconic Founders have a unique insight into what makes their products really awesome
•  Iconic Companies create their own Playbook
•  Iconic Companies execute in short bursts, test hypotheses with real data, fast
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[PreMoney SF 2015] Felicis Ventures >> Aydin Senkut, "How To: Select Companies (Counterintuitive Insights From A VC With Eight $1B+ Unicorns, 29 $100M+ Centaurs & 55 Exits In < 10 Years)"

  • 1. Unique Insights on Venture & Picking Companies JUNE12,2015 Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures
  • 2. Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures1 Our Evolution & Track Record Aggregate Exit Value Up 3x, Exit Count Up ~2x with Every New Felicis Fund
  • 3. Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures2 Venture Adages Are Meant To Be Broken DEFINE YOUR “SANDBOX” (E.G. FINTECH FOCUS, SEED FUND, ENTERPRISE FUND) STRICT OWNERSHIP TARGETS & BOARD SEATS SILICON VALLEY IS THE ONLY FERTILE GROUND
  • 4. Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures3 Our Founders Hail from a Vast Range of Countries & Backgrounds
  • 5. Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures So Does Our Team: We Have Strong Immigrant / International DNA 4 DIVERSITY IS A POINT OF STRENGTH FOR US, NOT AN AFTERTHOUGHT
  • 6. Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures5 Our Model Is Not One-Size-Fits-All
  • 7. Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures6 We Try to Pick Sectors Before Inflection Point / Mass VC Interest
  • 8. Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures7 Our Sectoral Shifts Coincide with Major Changes in Markets CURRENTLY FOCUSING MORE ON ENTERPRISE, FINTECH AND HEALTH o  Fintech & Health[care] rising within Nasdaq to 7% & 17% (up from 4% & 7%) + both sectors are non-cyclical o  Enterprise exits significantly up in last 3 years (M&A up 3x, IPO up 2x) Top 50 VC-Backed Exits By Year, Consumer vs. Enterprise Technology Consumer Services Healthcare Financials Industrials Other Nasdaq by Industry Source: WSJ, April 23, 2015 Source: CB Insights, April 2015
  • 9. Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures8 We Adapt Our Strategy to Perceived Market Shifts FV I FV II FV III FV IV Vintage 2006 2010 2012 2014 Pre Revenue Mix Pre-revenue (49%) Pre-revenue (49%) Pre-revenue (30%) Pre-revenue (34%) Top Sectors Consumer Internet Mobile E-Commerce Enterprise Fintech Enterprise Health
  • 10. Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures9 We Look For Global Winners, Not Local Heroes
  • 11. Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures10 International Founders Capture Arbitrage Opportunities INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENTS REPRESENT ROUGHLY 20% OF OUR FAIR MARKET VALUE FIRST BIG FELICIS IPO IS CANADIAN SIGNIFICANT LABOR COST DIFFERENCE DUE TO GOVERNMENT INCENTIVES IN COUNTRIES LIKE CANADA: Source: AngelList
  • 12. Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures11 Picking Winners is Hard, Especially When Valuations Change Drastically Min – Max Range Convertible Note 2.5x Seed 6x Series A 10x Average Entry Valuation Range Across Early Stages, 2006-2015
  • 13. Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures12 We Focus on Revenues, Less On Valuations TO COMBAT HIGHER VALUATIONS COMPRESSING MULTIPLES, OPT FOR BETTER REVENUE GROWTH POTENTIAL •  2010: 6 companies* with ~$10M+ annual revenues •  2015: 9 companies* with ~$100M+ annual revenues; all 6 from 2010 have exited * Across ALL Felicis Funds
  • 14. Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures We Look For Great Companies Everywhere 13 MORE THAN HALF (52%) OF OUR PORTFOLIO VALUE COMES FROM (18%) DEALS SOURCED OUTBOUND
  • 15. Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures14 Remain Flexible & Adaptable ORIGINALLY PLANNED TO INVEST ONLY IN SOFTWARE COMPANIES, BUT BREAKING THAT RULE PRODUCED SOME OF OUR BIGGEST HITS:
  • 16. Highlights from Portfolio Companies Valued at $100M+
  • 17. Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures16 Enterprise Leads, Though All Sectors Produced Winners $100M+ $1B+ Connected Devices 3 1 Fintech 2 3 Mobile 2 - E-Commerce 2 3 Health 2 - Consumer Internet 6 1 Enterprise 11 1 Education 1 - 3D 1 Distribution of FV Winners by Sector & Valuation
  • 18. Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures17 Seed Stage Investments Still Represent Roughly Half Our Winners $100M+ $1B+ Seed 19 4 Early 6 4 Growth 5 1 Distribution of FV Winners by Stage & Valuation
  • 19. Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures18 SF Bay Area Dominant Among Winners, but has NO Monopoly on Talent $100M+ $1B+ SF Bay Area 23 6 Rest of US 5 1 International 1 2 Distribution of FV Winners by HQ Location & Valuation
  • 20. Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures19 Our Winners Skew Towards 1st Time Founders $100M+ $1B+ First Time 22 6 Repeat 8 3 Distribution of FV Winners by Founder Experience Level & Valuation
  • 21. Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures20 Complete Teams Execute & Hire Better $100M+ $1B+ 1 7 - 2 14 5 3 6 2 4 3 2 Distribution of FV Winners by Number of Founders & Valuation
  • 22. Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures21 Average Founder Age at Start 30, Youngest 21 $100M+ $1B+ Average 30 28 Youngest 21 22 Oldest 40 37 Distribution of FV Winners by Founder Age at Start & Valuation
  • 23. Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures22 Building Winners Still Takes Time (Though It’s Accelerating) $100M+ $1B+ Earliest Start 2003 2005 Most Recent Start 2013 2010 Among $1B+ Unicorns: Shopify IPO took 10 years from founding, ~5 years from 1st institutional round Wish took 5 years from founding to reach $1B+ valuation, 5 years from seed round Distribution of FV Winners by Year Founded & Valuation
  • 24. Aydin Senkut | @asenkut @felicisventures23 What We Learned from Our Iconic Companies FOUNDERS THAT CAN SUCCINCTLY ARTICULATE THEIR SUCCESS MUCH MORE LIKELY TO SUCCEED •  Founders that can visualize (& articulate) success more likely to achieve it •  Iconic Founders have a unique insight into what makes their products really awesome •  Iconic Companies create their own Playbook •  Iconic Companies execute in short bursts, test hypotheses with real data, fast