First Round Capital is one of the most widely loved venture capital firms in tech -- no small feat for a VC firm to claim. Through their platform (VC for brand marketing and value-add projects), they've built the Harvard Business Review-of-Startups, hold 80+ events per year for their portfolio companies, and even help founders pitch them through a program called Pitch Assist. Today, host Jay Acunzo talks to First Round partner Bill Trenchard and how and why FRC bets on brand (and how that changed the VC world for good). We also hear from the founder of a growth-stage startup, Lloyd Tabb of Looker, who describes his experience with Bill and the First Round brand.

Before you go leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review and share the pod with your friends! Be sure to check out more insights on the Drift blog at drift.com/blog and find us on Twitter @davegerhardt, @dcancel and @seekingwisdomio.

In This Episode:

1:00 - Overview of #Exceptions

2:02 - First Round Capital

4:40 - What do entrepreneurs think of First Round Capital?

7:30 - First Round’s alignment with entrepreneurs

9:00 - First Round’s programs & network of professionals

11:30 - Good behavior under stress: living out brand values

13:20 - Today’s big idea: Thinking long-term

15:11 - “What’s in it for the customer?”

19:20 - Shared experience & empathy

23:00 - Evaluating investment opportunities through empathy

24:33 - Companies with the best customer experience

27:28 - The ugly duckling vs. the swan

28:39 - Hacks vs. the long view

32:00 - Two tactics for handling the hard times in a VC

35:00 - Bill’s hard conversation with a founder

36:00 - Key learning points from this episode