John Kim on team bias
From John Kim I’m shocked that 90% of startups don't do this · · Behind The Business
“People who are good with one thing tend to overlook the others. For instance, if you're an engineer and you love building great products, you'll be naturally biased toward spending more time on product instead of spending more time with customers.”
On , John Kim, Former Executive Vice President & Chief Product Officer at PayPal, spoke about team bias during John Kim I’m shocked that 90% of startups don't do this on Behind The Business.
About John Kim
John Kim, formerly Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer at PayPal, has joined Lila Sciences, a General Catalyst portfolio company, as Chairman and President of Corporate Development. He has also authored a book titled *The Tao of Fundraising*, which he described as distilling three decades of lessons for investment managers. In a May 2025 podcast interview, Kim discussed his philosophy on fundraising and persuasion. He stated that "persuasion is desire minus fear" and emphasized the importance of addressing potential investors' fears and insecurities. He described a formula for fundraising success as "your track record plus your differentiation divided by the complexity of your story." Kim also outlined a framework for structuring meetings, advising that they should begin with establishing rapport, credibility, attention, and interest. He discussed tailoring approaches to different investor types, such as emphasizing national interest for sovereign wealth funds or risk mitigation for insurance companies.
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