Harry Stebbings, a 28-year-old podcaster from London, has raised a $400 million venture capital fund in just four months. The fund, managed by his firm 20VC, is backed by major institutions like Rothschild’s RIT Capital Partners and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Investment Management. This latest fund follows a $140 million round raised in 2021 and an $8 million fund before that.
Stebbings’ journey began with his podcast, “The Twenty Minute VC,” which he launched at 18 years old. The podcast helped him interview some of the world’s largest venture capitalists and paved the way for his venture capital firm. “Why has the podcast been successful?
Because we understand the science of what makes a great episode,” Stebbings said. “Successful podcasts understand time to value. If we don’t get to a nugget of wisdom, a lesson, in the first three minutes, we cut it.”
20VC currently manages over $600 million in assets, investing between $100,000 to $3 million for seed rounds and up to $15 million for Series A.
One of Stebbings’ favorite investments has been LinkTree, the “link in bio” tool currently valued at $1.3 billion. The firm has a unique structure with three sub-funds: 20Sales, 20Product, and 20Growth.
Harry Stebbings’ $400M venture journey
Each sub-fund includes eight industry professionals from companies like OpenAI, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Spotify. “Take 20Sales’ money and you get eight of the best sales leaders on speed dial,” Stebbings said. When investing the $400 million, Stebbings’ main criterion is founder obsession.
“I’m not the smartest guy in this industry, but I work harder than anyone else,” he said. He believes an obsession with entrepreneurship is crucial for all great founders. Stebbings emphasizes the importance of networking for those interested in launching their own venture capital firm.
MIT and RIT Capital, for example, were relationships seven to eight years in the making. “Build relationships early. Don’t ask for the job.
Meet them for coffee, ask them for advice, engage with them on social media. How were we able to raise this fund quite quickly? Because I built the relationships well before the fundraise,” Stebbings explained.
