TummelVision 10: Dave McClure live from SXSW on startups, angel investing and VC’s

Episode 10 Download the show

We ventured to SXSW where the whole TWIT crew was hosted very hospitably by the beautiful Texas co-working space. We also got the have the unique experience of seeing each other in person while we do the show.

Our guest Dave McClure is a well-known angel investor and persistent entrepreneurial advice giver. Originally a developer himself, he’s worked with too many companies to name, including SlidesShare, Paypal and Facebook. Among 499 other things, he currently runs a seed-stage investment program for Founders Fun.

Remarkably, Dave was able to not use any of his favourite 4-letter words at our request, during TummelVision, given that TWIT is aimed at a general audience including young kids. It’s taken us some time to adapt to the direction, but McClure really did yeoman’s work here and if you start reading his well-regarded blog or check out his sometimes controversial slides you’ll know why. He’s one of the most opinionated and enthusiastic peopel you’ll ever talk to about start-ups.

We discussed the tummeling he does as an angel, and the increasingly influential role angel funders (the people who provide the very first, personal funding of a company) given the decreasing costs of beginning a Net start-up. Dave also discussed what he felt VCs should be focussing on given this change.

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80’s theme song: When a Problem Comes Along, You Must Whip It