This episode of Sourcery features an in-depth conversation with Jared Hecht, Venture Partner at USV and 2x exited founder of Fundera and GroupMe.

Fundera, Grew to a profitable $100M+ annual revenue business with 1M+ monthly visitors to the marketplace. It was acquired by Nerdwallet in 2020.

GroupMe, with over 100M+ people have used GroupMe, including 25M MAU and virtually every college student in the country. It was acquired by Skype/MSFT in 2011

Jared shares his journey from starting his career at Tumblr to founding successful companies Fundera and GroupMe and eventually transitioning into venture capital at USV, emphasizing the importance of honesty and support from VCs.

This episode surfaces Jared’s uniquely personal insights into the tech industry, behind the scenes at USV, his characterization of the personality types in VC, and the personal growth that comes from traversing the world of startups as a founder and an investor.

Fun fact: Jared was a national chess champion at a young age

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Companies mentioned:

Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/

USV: https://www.usv.com/

Fundera (by Nerdwallet): https://www.fundera.com/

GroupMe: https://groupme.com/

Skype/Microsoft: https://www.skype.com/en/

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Preview and Intro

(02:59) Jared's Career Journey: From Tumblr to Founding Two Companies

(10:16) Taking a Break and Joining USV

(25:24) Investment Focus and Areas of Interest

(28:47) Interacting with Founders

(33:11) The Romanticized View of Entrepreneurship

(34:21) The Unique Approach of USV

(41:34) What Some Investors Get Wrong

(45:04) The Evolution of New York's Tech Scene

(48:28) From Chess Champion to Venture Partner

(50:31) Wrap

Jared Hecht of USV, 2x Exited Founder of Fundera (Nerdwallet) & GroupMe (Skype/Microsoft)

Sourcery