Lars Leckie is a Managing Director at Aspenwood Ventures, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm specializing in early-stage enterprise software startups.
Aspenwood Ventures was rebranded from Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, the first-ever venture capital firm to specialize exclusively in software. Founded in 1989, Hummer Winblad Ventures was incredibly successful from its first fund and operated for over 30 years as a pioneer in the enterprise software space. π
The video version of this episode is also available on our π₯ YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/ZPQ5GLAYB5Y?si=oK3imhlKvY05FyiZ
If you like this episode, I think you'd also like our other episodes too. Please check them out.
Follow Lars Leckie
π¦Twitter: @LarsLeckie
π LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larsleckie/
π» Aspenwood Ventures Website: https://aspenwoodvc.com/team/
Follow Sasha Earnheart-Gold:
π¦ Twitter: @EarnheartGold
π LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sashaearnheart-gold/
πΈ Instagram: @EarnheartGold
π¬ Subscribe to the Next Unicorn email newsletter on Substack: https://nextunicorn.substack.com
π» Next Unicorn Podcast website: https://www.nextunicornpodcast.com/
Episode Contents:
0:00:00 Teaser
0:00:58 Introduction
0:02:23 What Makes Aspenwood Ventures Unique
0:04:31 Definition of Enterprise Software
0:09:34 Successful Investment in MuleSoft ($0 to $9.8 Billion)
0:11:05 More Examples of Successful Aspenwood Ventures Investments
0:12:17 Aspenwood Ventures Investment Thesis
0:14:23 Inflection Points in the Market That Can Lead to Startup Successes
0:15:09 AI & Opportunity for Startups
0:22:29 AI Startups that Aspenwood Ventures is Investing in
0:27:58 Investing in Enterprise Software in a More Saturated Market
0:33:36 What Made Your Most Successful VC Investments Successful?
0:38:35 Being Non-Consensus and Right vs Timeframe for Others Agreeing Soon Enough
0:41:27 Strategically Timing Your Market Entry for Success, and to Maximizing Runway
0:42:50 How to Get Large Customers to Buy From an Early-Stage Startup
0:44:50 How to Find the Best Early-Stage Startups, Founders & Startup Ideas
0:46:49 How to Find the Best Early-Stage Enterprise Software Startup Founders
0:48:09 How to Think About a Market Map of The Enterprise Software Space
0:52:18 Additional Thoughts on How to Think About VC Investment Thesis
0:56:06 What Lars Has Learned About How to be a Great Venture Capital Investor
0:57:16 The Best Way to Contact Lars
0:58:17 Additional Thoughts on the Future of Investing in Enterprise Software & AI
1:00:23 Lars' Personal Career Background & How he Got to Where he is Today
1:04:23 An Unexpected Aspect of Lars' Career Journey
1:05:31 Bonus Round
To support Next Unicorn Podcast, please press the "follow" button for the show on your podcast platform. Also, please take a moment to leave a 5-star review. And on Apple Podcasts, please also leave a few positive sentences as a written review. Thanks so much! π
Credits:
Video/audio editor and engineer β Oleksii Kyrkach