Founder of 500 Startups, 500 Startups
Interview with a Teen and Super VC - Dave McClure, Kyle Seaman, Harrison
Startupfest 2012
Impromptu interview with a teen and super VC, Dave McClure
Startupfest is Canada's original startup event, bringing over 7000 founders, investors, accelerators, and community leaders from across the globe to Montreal, Canada every July. The event is one week of unbeatable networking, education, and parties in an iconic festival format. Learn more at startupfest.com
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About David Mcclure
In a January 2026 podcast episode, Dave McClure, founder of 500 Startups and now founding partner at Practical VC, discussed his firm's focus on venture secondaries. McClure described the thesis as achieving "a shorter time to liquidity than a typical VC fund," noting that many companies now take closer to 15 years to exit. He characterized the target market as "secret stallions"—companies outside the top tier that are doing $50–100 million in revenue and on a path to exit within three to five years—which he said can be acquired at "substantial discounts." McClure acknowledged that venture investing suffers from "lack of transparency and stale valuations," calling the alternative assets space "kind of wild wild west." He predicted a "10x increase in alternative assets over the next decade."
Transcript (55 segments)
✨ AI-enhanced transcript with speaker attribution
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Host0:00
Folks, we've got a minor adjustment to the schedule really quick. We're gonna put in a quick conversation with Dave McClure and Kyle and Harrison from the teen judging competition. They're going to talk about the present, the past, the present and the future of technology. Come on up guys.
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David Mcclure0:27
All right, give it away. Are you guys awake? Do you want to see our chair? Can we get a few chairs? I have a talk show. I'm told that Harrison is one of the smartest and funniest kids around, so give him a hand, a round of applause for Harrison.
We're gonna have a little talk about the past, the present, and the future of geekdom and technology. I'll be playing the part of Scrooge in our little Christmas ghost from the Christmas past, I guess. So Harrison, what kind of tools or technology, what kind of things do you use on a regular day?
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Harrison1:15
I use my iPod, my cell phone, and of course all of us use the television and the computer. I also use the Wii, which is basically a gaming system.
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David Mcclure1:29
Cool. Do you play games a lot? To be honest with you, I don't usually play games because in my opinion, I like to be out socializing with my friends. However, I do love games, and some games I love.
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Harrison1:38
I don't usually play games because I like to be out socializing with my friends. But I do love some games.
D
David Mcclure1:55
What games do you play right now that are really awesome?
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Harrison1:59
Basically on my phone, I play Angry Birds Space, Cut the Rope, games like that. When I tell my grandma about them, she asks how you type. I look at her like, how am I supposed to teach you how to type? Look at the keyboard.
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David Mcclure2:23
Okay. You said you also use the Wii. What do you do?
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Harrison2:34
The Wii uses different discs that you can buy to put into the Wii system. You can play golf and stuff. Also, I play a doctor game, so it's a lot of fun.
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David Mcclure2:44
I used to play a doctor game too, but I think that was a little different. Kyle, any doctor games that you play?
K
Kyle2:56
No.
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David Mcclure2:59
I'll come back to some other stuff, Harrison, but I just want to contrast what kind of games you remember playing growing up, whether they were tech components. Few Nintendo, mostly falling out of trees.
I grew up on a farm. So video game arcades until I was like 13, about his age. So I did the same sort of gaming. I think it's interesting. Do you play with friends?
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Harrison3:31
I do play with friends. That's the most interesting part for me because I don't have any siblings. I enjoy playing, but when I play with somebody else, it makes the game more interesting.
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David Mcclure3:47
Do you play online with people you don't know?
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Harrison3:52
I do not play online with people I don't know.
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David Mcclure3:55
So that's sort of like me at the arcade, playing with people I knew beside me, except it wasn't nearly as cool.
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Harrison4:01
But I do play online with my friends who are online at the same time. I don't go online with some stranger who's in Dubai.
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David Mcclure4:13
I'm sure there's other types of games folks would like to play too. I remember going out on Friday nights with a pocket full of quarters. Five bucks worth of quarters on a Friday night was an awesome time at the arcade. Started out with pinball, then played Pac-Man, Mario, a bunch of other stuff. That was a pretty social experience for me, going out with friends.
I guess one thing that's really different these days: Harrison, you have a phone. Are you crazy? Do you carry that with you when you go to school all the time?
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Harrison4:53
Yes.
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David Mcclure4:55
Any special rules about how or are you able to use that phone in school all the time?
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Harrison4:59
Well, if it's in my pocket and I forgot to turn off my alarm, it kept going and going, then the phone rang, and I got a text, and the teacher gave me attention. So you can get detention for getting a phone call. Yes, that's correct. I forgot to put my phone on vibrate. If I put it on silent, it would have been okay.
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David Mcclure5:21
Kyle, did you have a phone in high school?
K
Kyle5:25
Last year of high school, so you did have a phone. But not until then.
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David Mcclure5:30
I was thinking about this. You just turned 13, right? So what's your relationship status with Facebook?
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Harrison5:37
I love Facebook. You comment on people's pictures, chat if they're online. Legal now, right?
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David Mcclure5:48
Were you on it a year ago? I bet you were on Facebook.
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Harrison5:53
I started going on it when I was eight or nine, with my parents' permission.
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David Mcclure5:59
So your parents were helping you break the rules on Facebook?
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Harrison6:04
No, not break the rules. There are no rules.
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David Mcclure6:11
Your face gets all blurry and then you just... I agree. I think I've got another online service to sell you if that's your reaction to terms of service.
I think that's different. I didn't have a phone at all when I was going to school. There were no phones. There was no texting. I remember the first phone that was bigger than your head.
So are you allowed to text in class?
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Harrison6:44
No. But I do it sometimes. Sometimes at the end of the period if we finish our work on time, we get free time and we can do whatever we want, so why not text?
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David Mcclure7:04
Do your parents call you on the phone or want to know where you are?
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Harrison7:10
Sometimes. I pick up the first time, but when they keep calling, I click ignore.
D
David Mcclure7:20
How about for homework? Do you use computers? Do you ever go to the library?
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Harrison7:29
No. Do you know what those are? It's a place where you can borrow books. But I can get all the information on the internet, so why go to the library?
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David Mcclure7:39
I went to a library a little bit, but it's just different now. How about music or video?
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Harrison7:47
I have an iPod and I download the music I want. Or if I don't want to download it, I go on YouTube. I watch music videos or listen to them.
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David Mcclure8:00
Any music services you use regularly other than iTunes?
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Harrison8:07
Shazam. If you have a song you like, you press the big circular button and it registers what song it is, so you can know what song you're listening to if you don't know.
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David Mcclure8:25
How do you handle buying items in iTunes?
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Harrison8:32
You can sync it to your computer and buy it with your parents' credit card. But I don't use it. Or from the iPod you just click install and it goes to a bill my dad gets at the end of the month.
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David Mcclure9:00
So do you know your parents' password for the App Store?
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Harrison9:09
It's the same for the whole house, so yes.
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David Mcclure9:14
Do you have a budget?
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Harrison9:17
I usually don't buy many apps. I get iTunes cards for birthday and Christmas gifts, and I use those.
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David Mcclure9:29
Where else do you spend your money? It seems like iTunes is a big channel.
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Harrison9:40
For electronics, like games. I think, would I rather spend 99 cents on a song, or save for a night at a hotel or a vacation? I'd rather save for that.
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David Mcclure10:09
But I do use my iTunes card and enjoy the services. I don't know what I'd do without these systems. My life would be over.
Awesome. Well, I think we're over with that comment. Thank you, Harrison and Kyle, for enlightening us. Fantastic. Thank you guys.
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Harrison10:27
Thank you.