Consumer Unicorns: the art of building billion dollar startups

Jim Scheinman

Founder and Managing Director @jimscheinman & @mavenVC

About Maven

• Founded in 2013 in Palo Alto • Consumer software hyper-growth • Early stage • Fund I: $7.5M Micro VC and Incubator • 15 investments per year

Our portfolio: a few examples

A vision worth fighting for

Does the problem really need fixing?

Hacker   Designer   Hustler  

Founding team

Hacker   Designer   Hustler  

Founding team

Founding team

Hacker   Designer   Hustler  +  

Culture

Culture Mission

Maven is the premier incubator and early stage investor for hyper-growth consumer founders

Values 1.  Collaborative: We are not political, willing to share praise, and honest and

transparent with each other. We put the team and company first. 2.  No jerks: We are happy, positive, and fun to work with. 3.  Accountable: We are high-performing, get stuff done, and value attention to

detail. 4.  Curious: We are always willing to learn. We are knowledgeable and strive to

be experts in our field. 5.  Self-starters: We take initiative, work autonomously, and are resourceful.

Product/market fit & consumer growth hacking

No silver bullet

Language/market fit

I  Agree   Cool            +1  

Focus (and there’s a time to focus on revenue)

vs.  

Mentor whiplash

Investors

Luck and timing: a Bebo story

We’d love to meet you! • Tell us your “vision worth fighting for” in 30 seconds • Remember the filters: consumer software, hyper-growth, early-

stage, technical team • Follow up with Sara Thomas at sara@mavenventures.com

@mavenvc  @jimscheinman