David Fialkow - Paint Outside the Lines - [Invest Like the Best, EP. 243]

My guest today is David Fialkow, co-founder of General Catalyst. If you are looking for a dose of fun, charismatic energy from a very unique investor then this is the conversation for you. David has a diverse background not only as an investor but also as a philanthropist and filmmaker. He won an Academy Award for his role as the producer of the 2018 documentary Icarus. During our conversation, David and I dive into what makes a great founder, the importance of storytelling, and the value of effectively convening people within your network. After listening to all of his great stories, I think you’ll see why David has so much fun and success helping founders. Please enjoy my great conversation with David Fialkow.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.

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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, Inc. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes. 

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

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Show Notes

[00:03:03] - [First question] - How the process started that led to filming Icarus and becoming a VC 

[00:16:01] - Lessons learned about identifying creativity in potential founders

[00:19:26] - What it looks like when a founder doesn’t clearly love their product 

[00:24:35] - Different aspects of building a successful investment firm

[00:28:22] - Features of Ken Chenault that differentiates him from other CEOs

[00:30:12] - Applicable lessons for the effective convening of people

[00:35:20] - Whether or not he cares about the business model of new companies they back 

[00:40:57] - The story of Icarus

[00:47:24] - What is David drawn to at the moment

[00:51:13] - Key ingredients required to tell a powerful and convincing story

[00:53:16] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for him