In the latest episode of our miniseries Rob May and Matt Hayes chat with guests, and fellow VCs, Charlie O’Donnell, Partner and Founder of Brooklyn Bridge Ventures based in NYC, and Russ Wilcox, General Partner at Pillar VC based in Boston. During this raw and uncut conversation Russ and Charlie discuss how they have managed Covid-19 within their own portfolio and what advice they have for startups managing this volatile economic landscape (recorded on March 25th 2020).
Topics covered include:
- Short term vs. long term advice for founders & entrepreneurs based on their cash flow position
- Advice for those who were planning on raising capital with less than 6 months of runway
- What kind of companies or investments they are looking at right now and why
- The rare opportunities you can find during this pandemic and strategies for capitalizing on those today
- The metrics VCs will look at when evaluating potential new investments during a recession
- What kind of signals to look for to reveal when the economy may return to normalcy
- What type of marketing you should be doubling down on during this pandemic
- Predictions on the economic landscape post Covid-19 and the type of companies that may come out the other side stronger than before
Show notes:
- Charlie O'Donnell is the sole Partner and Founder at Brooklyn Bridge Ventures. The fund makes seed and pre-seed investments and was the first venture firm located in Brooklyn--where he was born and raised. Brooklyn Bridge invested in the first rounds of The Wing, Canary, Hungryroot, Ample Hills, Clubhouse, Imagen, and goTenna among others. Learn more about Charlie here: http://www.brooklynbridge.vc/charlie-odonnell
- Russ Wilcox has 20 years of start-up operating experience, having founded three companies and raised $150 million in private capital. Learn more on Russ here: https://www.pillar.vc/team/russ-wilcox/
Highlighted Quotes:
- “VC can be more useful to help make decisions about cuts, runway, openings in the venture market and I think that is where we can bring some perspective” - Charlie O’Donnell, Brooklyn Bridge Ventures
- “We have all gone through a lot of chaos in the last few weeks, and I think that there will be, even once Covid-19 has been managed, a lasting appreciation for reliability, simplicity, and things you can count on. Consumer products that appeal to that side are likely to do well” - Russ WIlcox, Pillar VC
- “In the venture business, if you are doing startups everybody is in a different cycle in cash flow and when their next round is going to be. Based on whether you thought your round was just 90 days away or 90 months away, you have a very different outlook and different strategy” - Russ Wilcox, Pillar VC
Have comments or feedback on the podcast? Send them to podcast@pjc.vc – Thanks!