20VC: 50% of Funds Will Go Out of Business | Why Growth Expectations Today are BS and Will Not Last | Why Oren Zeev Takes $0 Management Fees But 30% Carry | Why GPs Should Not Tell LPs Their Strategy

**Oren Zeev** (0:00)
I think this notion that only growth matters is still a very dangerous one, and I've seen this movie many, many times. We humans are not truth seekers. We are self-validation machines. In every one of my funds, I'm the biggest LP, every single one. By the way, I pay myself zero, so I tell LPs I only have one rule, and that rule is that I have no rules. AI is the biggest change ever in the history of humanity.

**Harry Stebbings** (0:23)
This is 20VC with me, Harry Stebbings, and today we have one of the most prominent solo capitalists in Venture, Oren Zeev, who now manages over a billion dollars in AUM. My favorite thing about Oren, there's no show, there's no facade. He is so authentic. He has no rules when it comes to investing. He tells LPs exactly what he thinks. He has zero management fees. He takes 30% carry. He's just wonderfully authentic, and he's done incredible deals like Navan, Audible, Houzz, and is a brilliant player in this ecosystem. He's a dear friend, and this show was so much fun to do. But before we dive into the show today, as an investor, I'm always on the lookout for tools that really transform how I work, tools that don't just save time, but fundamentally change how I uncover insights. That's exactly what AlphaSense does. With the acquisition of Tegas, AlphaSense is now the ultimate research platform built for professionals who need insights they can trust, fast. I've used Tegas before for company deep dives right here on the podcast. It's been an incredible resource for expert insights. But now with AlphaSense leading the way, it combines those insights with premium content, top broker research and cutting edge generative AI. The result? A platform that works like a supercharged junior analyst, delivering trusted insights and analysis on demand. AlphaSense has completely reimagined fundamental research, helping you uncover opportunities from perspectives you didn't even know how they existed. It's faster, it's smarter, and it's built to give you the edge in every decision you make. Twenty VC listeners don't miss your chance to try AlphaSense for free. Visit alphasense.com/twozero to unlock your trial. That's alphasense.com/twozero.
While AlphaSense helps you find the signals that move markets, Airwollix helps you move money globally just as fast. Founders, let's get real about the growth tax. You've raised VC funding and you're scaling globally, and it's no longer about shipping product. It's about orchestrating operations across continents. But suddenly, your payments and finance stack is choking your growth. You're logging into lots of different banking portals, waiting days for transfers and reporting across entities. It's operational drag and it's at your scale. It's costing millions. That's why I'm so excited to partner with Airwollix. Airwollix are more than just a banking alternative to HSBC or Citi. Airwollix brings you an intelligent financial operating system that powers how global businesses operate and grow, allowing you to manage and automate banking, treasury, payments and spend. The most exciting part for me, they're heavily investing in agentic finance. If you're scaling globally, you need a banking and finance platform that's borderless, real time and intelligent. Check out Airwollix today and see how they're helping thousands of businesses like Canva, McLaren and Deal. Scale at airwollix.com/20vc.
Terms and conditions apply. Your monies are safeguarded, not FSCS protected. See airwollix.com for more details. While Airwollix makes global payments feel seamless, Vanta makes the security and compliance behind them seamless too. Security and compliance done wrong is a giant headache. Security and compliance done right though? Well, that's Vanta. Vanta helps you earn trust and speed up growth. No spreadsheets required. For startups low on time and resources, Vanta becomes your first security hire. Using AI and automation to get you compliant, fast and unblock really big deals. And if you're big enterprises, Vanta is your AI powered hub for compliance and risk. Bringing together data from across your business and automating workflows so you can prove trust at any moment. Vanta scales with you at every stage. That's why top companies, from startups like Cursor to enterprises like Snowflake, choose Vanta. Do security and compliance right. My listeners can get $1,000 off Vanta by going to vanta.com/20vc. That's vanta.com/20vc for $1,000 off Vanta. You have now arrived at your destination. Oren, it is so good to have you back on the show, dude. It's been several years since we last did this. So thank you so much for joining me, man.

**Oren Zeev** (4:30)
No, it's my pleasure. As you know, I was sceptical that I would be able to bring anything new to this conversation. You insisted, but…

**Harry Stebbings** (4:38)
I insisted because last time we actually did a show, I don't think I was a very good interviewer and call it a lack of humility, but I hope that I've improved as an interviewer. And I think now is quite a hard time to be investing. Again, I'm going to use the next hour as an advice session for me as an investor because I think I have a lot to learn from you. Now is a weird time because a lot is uncertain. And so when we look at picking investments, that is our job. That's what we're paid to do in a lot of ways. Why do so many of the best outcomes look wrong or weird at the time when we invest?