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Sept. 5, 2023

E5: General Catalyst CEO on the Case for Operational Rigor in VC

E5: General Catalyst CEO on the Case for Operational Rigor in VC

Hemant Taneja is the CEO of General Catalyst, and runs the firm like a true business: defining its mission and values, approaching the product from a problem-solving perspective, and more—all the things that apply to enduring businesses, Hemant applies to General Catalyst. In this episode, Hemant and Erik dive into why that’s an essential part of their firm’s governance.

Hemant Taneja is the CEO of General Catalyst, and runs the firm like a true business: defining its mission and values, approaching the product from a problem-solving perspective, and more. In this episode, Hemant and Erik dive into why that’s an essential part of their firm’s governance. If you’re looking to improve your sourcing, tracking, and due diligence, check out: http://synaptic.com/turpentine


RELATED SHOWS: If you like Turpentine VC, check out our show The Limited Partner with David Weisburd, where David talks to the investors behind the investors: https://www.podpage.com/the-limited-partner/ 


TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Episode Preview

(00:53) How Hemant took over as CEO of General Catalyst

(03:31) Why General Catalyst decided to operate like a true company

(05:15) The vision for General Catalyst

(08:15) How GC thinks about a16z and the future of investing

(10:52) GC's governance in relation to their vision

(11:59) Sponsor: Synaptic

(13:01) Hemant on how macro determines GC's strategy

(14:59) The future of VC and how the asset class is evolving

(17:04) More on GC's responsible innovation thesis

(19:28) The difference between GC and a16z

(20:32) Hemant explains GC's unfair advantage in healthcare

(22:47) How GC's strategy is differentiated

(24:05) GC's incubation strategy

(26:02) GC's customer value strategy

(27:23) How Hemant thinks about launching firm products

(29:11) On GC's global resilience practice

(30:49) Sponsor: Pesto Tech

(31:40) On why GC has been so successful in digital health, and the future of that space

(33:23) Hemant’s request for startups in healthcare

(35:13) Opportunity areas for emerging managers today

(37:06) Hemant's approach to talent cultivation and retention

(39:24) Where does General Catalyst fit into the venture ecosystem?

(41:11) On radical collaboration


X / TWITTER:

@htaneja (Hemant)

@eriktorenberg (Erik)

@generalcatalyst

@TurpentineVC


SPONSORS:

Synaptic unifies over one hundred real-time company performance metrics across alternative datasets like user traffic, employee data, app downloads, product reviews, and more. It’s your all-in-one source for alternative data that helps you make better investment decisions. To learn how Synaptic can improve your sourcing, tracking, and due diligence, visit http://synaptic.com/turpentine


Pesto Tech is a hiring marketplace that makes finding great remote developers fast and easy. They use large language models to evaluate developers along dozens of parameters, including code quality, performance, and security. If you need to start hiring developers fast, all you have to do is answer 5 simple questions on their website: http://pesto.tech