At 28, Harry Stebbings is already a well-known name in European venture capital. He started his business podcast, 20VC, in his teens from his family’s kitchen, before dropping out of university in the first term to pursue his venture full time. The podcast, which now hosts some of the biggest names in venture capital and tech, would eventually lead him into the world of investments himself. In 2021, he launched his solo venture firm (also called 20VC) and last year he raised $400mn, making it one of Europe’s biggest VC funds.

You started out very young. Where does your interest in business come from?
I was always pretty entrepreneurial. In school, I’d buy phones from eastern Europe on eBay, then resell them. I would also sell my study notes on Amazon and get a few hundred pounds each month for them — I still do! 

I was just very driven to make money. That’s shifted now: I’m driven by winning. But when I was younger, I was running away from having no money. My immediate family was comfortable (I went to private school), but I watched my grandparents go into financial difficulty. They lost their home. That’s incredibly challenging.

I was also lucky that I had parents who trusted me and cultivated that drive. When I said I was dropping out of university (after a month) to focus on a tiny podcast with no followers, they supported me. I’d never liked school anyway; I had to resit my A-levels.

In terms of my age, I think that’s the secret for teenagers — start young. Use the internet and don’t go to university. You’ll learn nothing and get in debt. Unless you want a vocational career like medicine, I think it’s the most useless thing in the world; it’s absolutely poisonous. 

I think uni is mostly for people who don’t know what they want to do — or they need structure. Same for MBAs: I don’t think it’s a useful way to spend your time, I don’t want to see it on a CV. If you want to invest, just invest. Even if it’s tiny.

How did you get the podcast off the ground? Did anyone invest in you?
I’ve never taken any seed money for the podcast. I was still living at home, and all I needed was to buy the microphone and website domain. 

We didn’t make any money for the first 100-150 episodes. Then after two years of doing the podcast, we got our first sponsor — they agreed to pay £25,000 for six months of the show. That was the richest I’ve ever felt. I was 19. I’ve had a lot more money come in since and nothing has ever felt like that.

From there, I was able to self fund the podcast (and move out of my mum’s). I got a job at (VC fund) Atomico as an entrepreneur in residence, on a six-figure salary. I stayed for six months, before quitting. I was like, “Oh my god, I suck at working for someone!” I was terrible at taking notes. I’m the worst employee in the world. That’s when I went off to raise my first fund, Stride.VC with Fred Destin.  

Today, we’ve surpassed around 65mn views on social media, and a lot of those drive back and become subscribers.

All the venture firms are now doing media and I don’t mean this arrogantly, but good luck. We’ve got 23 people working on the podcast. I’ve been doing this for 10 years.

Where are you most frivolous with your money?
My rent — I’m not going to tell you how much it costs me. I also have a bit of a shoe obsession, I have 50 to 60 pairs of Nike trainers, and I’ve occasionally dropped £1,200 on a designer pair. Plus, sashimi — I eat it every night. 

But, otherwise, I’m pretty modest. I’d describe myself as being quite risk-averse with my own finances. I spend around £6,000 a month (excluding rent). I’m not into watches or cars (I actually can’t legally drive), I don’t drink, I don’t have any expensive hobbies — I mainly enjoy walks around the park. I don’t take holidays, either.

What sacrifices have you made in building your business?
You have to be comfortable being lonely. I distinctly remember when I made my first million — I was 20 or 21 and I was on my balcony drinking tequila — and I realised I didn’t really have any friends or anyone to hang out with. And I was like: this isn’t what I thought it would be.

I don’t have time now to be in a relationship, but I would like to have a family one day. Maybe in 10 years. 

What’s the biggest challenge to your business?
Ego. Ego kills you. You’ll think you’ve made it, you think you’re done. You are never done. What’s got you to where you are, will not get you to the next step. 

Beyond that, if Europe doesn’t produce generation-defining companies, it would kill us. If the negativity around Europe turns out to be true, that is not good. 

And I think the current state of Europe in terms of venture capital is depressing and antiquated. The quality of VC is not high enough. Also, there’s far too much money in venture capital, so deals are far too expensive. We are seeing great companies get too much money put into them, and destroying what would otherwise be good exits. 

How well have your previous funds performed?
I wouldn’t disclose publicly what multiples we made on the last funds. But let’s just say, if it’s not good, you don’t raise again. To justify our position in a limited partner’s book, we need to be at least 3x.

As for the podcast, annual revenue is in the millions. We book [sponsorship] well ahead of time.

I now spend about 20 per cent of my time on the podcast and the rest on my fund. I just read my team’s notes, turn up and do the interview. I’ve had people who want to buy the 20VC podcast, but it’s not up for sale

How do you get paid?
I take a salary from the fund. The other four partners get paid more than me, but the equity’s mostly mine. In terms of numbers, I’ve tweeted that I personally pay $2mn (USD) in taxes annually. 

I think it’s really important that people are paid well, because I expect you to work really hard. I will call you at 10pm; I will call you at weekends.

Do you have a pension?
I don’t know. My CFO does that.

And I don’t have a mortgage, as I don’t own a house. I think it’s useless. Why would you buy? You just lock up your money. Instead I put my money in the public stock market.  

What are your financial ambitions now?
My main ambition is to build the best venture fund in Europe over the next 10 years. I’d like to deliver a 5x multiple or more. But the multiple isn’t the point. I want to reshape how Europe is built. 

In truth, I feel like I’m only 0.5 per cent of the way there. I’m still this insecure child. There are people like Alex Wang at Scale, who runs a much larger fund and he’s my age. 

So I still care about what people think about me, in the sense of — am I respected? I don’t really care if I’m liked so much any more.