235. Why Corporate VC Gets a Bad Wrap; Microsoft's Fresh Approach to CVC; and Key Insights to Acquire Mass Users (Tamara Steffens)

Tamara Steffens of M12 joins Nick on a special Crisis Coverage installment to discuss Why Corporate VC Gets a Bad Wrap; Microsoft's Fresh Approach to CVC; and Key Insights to Acquire Mass Users. In this episode, we cover:

• Background and path to venture.
• Overview of the thesis at M12.
• Investments since COVID? Changes in strategy, markets of interest.
• CVC has the reputation of being very slow, not leading deals, imposing restrictive terms, and thinking only about broader success of their parent company— what's different about M12?
• What's your approach to sourcing?
• You are known as a user acquisition expert in the valley... having generated millions of app downloads for Path, Color and Acompli. One of your main suggestions is to "Dismantle the silos" ... what do you mean by that?
• You've cited the top three things you need to make your app part of the zeitgeist -- can you walk us through each and why they're critical?
• Talk about the 'Leaky Bucket' of new user acquisition and how to avoid it?
• What's a good level of user retention (%) after 6 weeks?
• What are the biggest differences in approach when acquiring consumers vs. enterprise customers?
• What are the main KPIs/OKRs you track when optimizing a sales funnel / team?
• I'd like to talk a bit more about the startups you work with...What are the key factors you're looking for in investments?
• How do you work with your portfolio companies?
• Why should every startup be thinking about culture as they build their companies?
• How are founders today different from founders 20 years ago?
• What tips do you have for founders pitching investors remotely?

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