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Why Being a Generalist VC Is a Competitive Advantage | Aydin Senkut (Founder and Managing Partner at Felicis Ventures)

Why Being a Generalist VC Is a Competitive Advantage | Aydin Senkut (Founder and Managing Partner at Felicis Ventures)

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 Two decades ago, Aydin Senkut was a first-time fund manager with a thin track record to show prospective backers. LPs didn’t believe a solo GP, especially one without experience at a legacy firm, could build a lasting franchise. They were wrong. Today, Felicis is a Silicon Valley mainstay on its 10th fund, a $900M vehicle. Across its history, Felicis has backed a slew of winners, including Shopify, Canva, Crusoe, and dozens of other billion-dollar outcomes. Rather than specialize over time, Aydin has remained a true generalist, investing across markets and cycles. In this conversation, we dig into the frameworks, stories, and philosophies that shaped Felicis into what it is — and where Aydin believes the next decade of technology is heading.We explore:How growing up in Turkey with entrepreneur parents shaped Aydin’s approach to risk and investingLessons from working alongside Larry Page and Sergey Brin during Google’s early daysWhy Felicis deliberately chose a generalist strategy when most VCs were specializingHow international experience became a competitive advantage in finding global winnersThe mathematical case for portfolio diversification (50-70 companies per fund)Why valuation concerns are often overblown when revenue growth is exponentialFelicis’s aggressive AI investment strategy and what other investors are missingThe future of robotics and physical AI through companies like Skild AIWhy learning and adapting rapidly is Felicis’s constitutional principle—Thank you to our sponsor, Guru: The AI source of truth for work.—Transcript: https://www.generalist.com/p/why-being-a-generalist-vc-is-a-competitive-advantage—Timestamps(00:00) Introduction(03:09) How Aydin made his way to Silicon Valley(06:15) What he learned from his entrepreneurial parents(08:55) Learnings from the early days at Google(15:05) The childhood roots of his investing philosophy(16:31) Why rejection became a catalyst for his venture career(19:28) Strategy behind Felicis's first $41M fund(25:44) How his international background became an investing edge(28:17) How Aydin approaches diversification at scale(32:08) How he sizes investments based on conviction(33:15) Generalist vs. specialist investing(38:23) Why founders are the foundation(42:48) Why success may look different than expected(43:46) The Felicis journey(48:18) Why Felicis is going all in on AI(54:54) Why entry point matters less than potential(57:33) How the AI bubble debate misses the point(59:47) What makes Skild AI a standout company(01:04:58) The AI bets Felicis missed(01:07:55) How missing Airbnb and Uber led to backing Adyen(01:11:20) Final meditations—Follow Aydin SenkutLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aydinsX: https://x.com/asenkut—Resources and episode mentions—Books—Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder: https://www.amazon.com/Antifragile-Things-That-Disorder-Incerto-ebook/dp/B0083DJWGOClear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results: https://www.amazon.com/Clear-Thinking-Turning-Ordinary-Extraordinary/dp/0593086112—People—Larry Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_PageSergey Brin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_BrinEric Schmidt: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_SchmidtBrian Chesky on X: https://x.com/bcheskyShane Parrish’s blog: https://fs.blog—Other resources—Felicis: https://www.felicis.comMastering Portfolio Construction: https://www.generalist.com/p/mastering-portfolio-constructionSteve Jobs’s quote on focus: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/629613-people-think-focus-means-saying-yes-to-the-thing-you-veAngry Birds: https://www.angrybirds.comRovio: https://www.rovio.comAdyen: https://www.adyen.comCanva: https://www.canva.com...Resources continued at: https://www.generalist.com/p/why-being-a-generalist-vc-is-a-competitive-advantage⁠—Production and marketing by penname.co. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email jordan@penname.co.
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