Hunter Walk
Investor at Homebrew. Previously made products at YouTube, Google and Second Life.
Discussion
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Hunter Walk
@hunterwalk · Partner, Homebrew
Hi! You might know me from such social networks as Twitter (@hunterwalk) and, well, Twitter. I'm here to answer questions you may have about funding things (I cofounded seed stage venture fund Homebrew), making things (I used to work at YouTube, Google, Second Life), raising things (I'm a dad) and whatever else you think I might have a point of view about (POV not guaranteed). Let's do this!
upvotesharetweet・
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Hunter Walk
@hunterwalk · Partner, Homebrew
@rrhoover Ryan, tsk tsk, you know the answer to that already....
yes
(i kid, i kid)
Ryan Hoover
@rrhoover · Founder, Product Hunt
Sorry, I think I just derailed this chat. 😁
Josh Dickson
@joshdickson40 · Founder @ Syrah
@rrhoover SLJ is a little busy running those two public/almost public companies right now
(this is a joke don't email me)
Jack Smith
@_jacksmith · Serial Entrepreneur & Startup Adviser
Hi Hunter. Two other VCs; Bill Gurley and Marc Andreessen have been open about their distaste for each other. Ben Horowitz says that Gurley once advised him to cut Andreesen out of their company.
You seem like someone who would be hard to dislike. Have you made any enemies during your career, or heard of anyone disparaging you behind your back? - If so, how have you handled such situations?
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Hunter Walk
@hunterwalk · Partner, Homebrew
@_jacksmith oh, i'm sure there are people who disagree with me to the point of disliking me. I actually don't have any problem with that so long as people are upfront about it and open to me trying to understand why we've reached that point. The only thing I can't stand are grinfuckers - people who smile at you and then talk shit behind your back. I think that usually comes from weakness and self-doubt so it's best to let those people just burn themselves out than make too big a deal about it. But if i felt like it was impacting my ability to get my job done or based on false statements, I'd confront them about it.
Drew
@_vriesman · Purveyor of new products
@hunterwalk @_jacksmith borrowing "grinfuckers"!
Corey Rabazinski
@coreyrab · Marketing Director, Code School
Hi Hunter! You've mentioned YouTube's place in today's world a few times on Twitter. If you were still working there today, what one feature or product-direction would you champion?
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Hunter Walk
@hunterwalk · Partner, Homebrew
@coreyrab it's really hard to go to youtube.com and have any idea of what's going on in the world right now. there's no watercooler aspect to it - what are people watching, discussing? i'd focus on that aspect and trying to give people a reason to come back to the site multiple times/day
Nathan Bashaw
@nbashaw · Co-founder and CEO of Hardbound
Who illustrated your snazzy avatar?
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Hunter Walk
@hunterwalk · Partner, Homebrew
@nbashaw i'll never tell you! (an artist in Ohio)
Phillip Yang
@geekyyang
You're active on Twitter, and love engaging with others. I remember seeing you do a GIF/meme battle with Jason Calacanis before and loved it. Do you enjoy sessions like that? And, what's the best advice you can give to entrepreneurs/founders in utilizing Twitter?
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Hunter Walk
@hunterwalk · Partner, Homebrew
@geeky_yang yup, love The Twitter. I do enjoy a little back and forth joking/sparring/debate but tend to not get into arguments or the 30 minute long sessions where everyone ends up talking past each other. For me it's quick hits of engagement - I use Nuzzel and Pocket to find/save content that I want to read later.
re: utilizing Twitter, sometimes people get encouraged to be outrageous or controversial because that gets a reaction. Don't. Just be yourself. And if you're really trying to get someone to notice you, it's quality, not quantity, of those interactions IMO.
Adam Marx
@adammarx13 · CEO, Glipple, Inc.
@hunterwalk @geeky_yang I've noticed this for sure. Some of the best interactions I've experienced are the sparring ones; keeps the mind sharp and the sense of humor always looking for the next gag ;)
Jack Hage
@jackpointnl · Sofware Developer
No question. Just a big thank you for your support and help with http://bioischanged.com !
rachel
@serial_milk · co-founder, Kip
Hi Hunter, thanks for taking the time to do this AMA! With your experience in building product, what's the most important thing that people often miss or don't do in development?
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Hunter Walk
@hunterwalk · Partner, Homebrew
@serial_milk people can sometimes lose sight of the "why" - why are we building this and is this feature the best way to accomplish the goal or are there other ways to proceed. Especially happens post v1 of a feature where the natural energy is to start thinking about v2
jamestodd
@jamestodd · Serial encourager and delighter
@hunterwalk @serial_milk Wish I could upvote that answer more than once.
Eric Willis
@erictwillis · Working on something new
@hunterwalk Thanks for doing this AMA, Hunter. Do you have an anti-portfolio? Is there an investment that you decided not to make that you ended up regretting? Interested to know about some of the "ones that got away".
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Hunter Walk
@hunterwalk · Partner, Homebrew
@erictwillis i'm 100% positive that a great venture fund could be constructed on the back of the investments we've passed on! I'm told by industry vets that this is a good thing because it means we're seeing good opportunities and so long as we also think we've been able to invest in some special companies too (we do!) that we'll ultimately do quite well.
to be more specific, there's no one or two companies that we passed on that I still kick myself about but there's one "loss" (founder decided to choose a different fund - for quite logical reasons) that I still think "darn, i wish he would have picked us!"
Sydney Liu
@sydney_liu_sl · Co-Founder of Commaful
Hi Hunter!
Thanks for doing this AMA.
You're super public about all the tests in your life around productivity, including your calendar. What are your 3 favorite hacks? They can be life hacks, productivity hacks, Twitter hacks, investing hacks, product hacks, etc.
Thanks and keep up the awesome tweets!
Sydney
jamestodd
@jamestodd · Serial encourager and delighter
@sydney_liu_sl @hunterwalk Bolting on to Sydney's question... also any favorite hackxperts?
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Hunter Walk
@hunterwalk · Partner, Homebrew
@sydney_liu_sl
1. don't read any content is realtime unless it helps you make a decision immediately (ie all the blogs, news articles, etc etc - save them to Pocket and read them later)
2. don't fall into trap of confusing busy = productive. step back periodically and figure out whether you're getting the important stuff done.
3. life cannot be lived sustainably if you have only one passion. even if you're in a period of work where it's all consuming, find a small way to take periodic breaks during the day/week, even if it's just for a cup of coffee, walk around the block, meditation, whatever.