GHP #96 - VC #18 - Backing Bold Founders from Seed to Scale with Kyle Harrison!

Episode 96 is with Kyle Harrison, General Partner at Contrary!

In this episode, you will learn Contrary's investment approach, how storytelling drives the world, how to achieve investor-founder fit, and a particular trend amongst tech unicorns that Kyle refers to as “Thinning the Herd”. He also details the downstream impact of the current tech layoffs as well as his experiences on Harry Stebbings' podcast - 20VC.

Kyle is one of the most prominent writers in the venture space today, sharing his thoughts at his blog, Investing 101 2.0. Before joining Contrary, Kyle worked in some of the best names in VC, from TCV to Coatue to Index. Through all of these experiences, Kyle has led or participated in investments including Ramp, Pave, Anduril, Gitlab, Databricks and Snowflake to name a few.

Contrary
https://contrary.com/

Timestamps
2:12 - Intro to Kyle
7:13 - Storytelling drives the World
9:18 - What makes a good investor?
13:45 - Achieving "Investor-Founder Fit"
17:57 - Contrary's Investment Approach
21:47 - What is one contrarian opinion?
25:30 - “Thinning the Herd”
31:50 - Advice for Managing a Down Round
36:15 - Downstream Impact of Tech Layoffs
48:10 - 20VC with Harry Stebbings
51:35 - Proudest Moment & Biggest Regret
54:45 - Lightning Round