Question 1

What message did he share in his speech?

Accepted Answer

He expressed gratitude for life, friends, and family; reflected on love and freedom; said that life’s tapestry is co-created; reminded himself that regardless of hardships or “the menace of the years,” he remains unafraid—“Forever Young.”

Question 2

How does FJ Labs use sector analysis for sourcing deals?

Accepted Answer

“Twice a year we run sector analyses and brainstorming sessions. This leads to new ideas and helps us spot startups we were not aware of, which we then reach out to.”

Question 3

Does FJ Labs proactively search for startups?

Accepted Answer

“Not much — outbound is only about 4% of deal flow. We mostly rely on inbound and network-driven opportunities.”

Question 4

How does FJ Labs handle the large volume of inbound deal flow?

Accepted Answer

“We built processes to cope with the firehose — deals are triaged and reviewed by the team, with weekly investment committee meetings to discuss them.”

Question 5

Why do founders like having FJ Labs as an investor?

Accepted Answer

“We help them raise money by making introductions to VCs who can lead their rounds, and we have deep expertise in marketplaces.”

Question 6

How many deals does FJ Labs invest in compared to how many it sees?

Accepted Answer

“We invest in around 1% of the deals we review — about 3 new investments per week.”

Question 7

Why does FJ Labs get so much deal flow?

Accepted Answer

“Because we do not lead rounds and do not compete with other VCs, we are often invited into deals. Founders also like that we help with fundraising by introducing them to other VCs.”

Question 8

How does outbound outreach contribute to deal flow?

Accepted Answer

“Because we are drinking at the firehose of our inbound deal flow, we do not spend much time reaching out to startups. … Twice a year … we invite our FJ Labs colleagues … think through ideas … sector analysis … These exercises uncover a fair number of startups we were not aware of and reach out to.”

Question 9

Do cold inbound messages result in good investments?

Accepted Answer

“In full transparency, this is the typically our lowest quality deal flow channel … The real number … is over 100 … unless you put enough information in your message … But … a surprisingly high 24% of our investments come from cold inbound outreach by the founders.”

Question 10

Which source supplies the highest quality deal flow?

Accepted Answer

“48% of the deals we invest in come from other VCs, highlighting the higher quality of this deal flow source in general.”

Question 11

What percentages of reviewed deals come from each source?

Accepted Answer

“32% of the deals we review come from other VCs, 32% comes from our entrepreneur network, 32% from cold inbound messages and only 4% from companies we reach out to directly.”

Question 12

How many deals does FJ Labs receive and review weekly?

Accepted Answer

“Every week we receive around 100 deals and review around 50 of them.”

Question 13

What are the sources of deal flow for FJ Labs?

Accepted Answer

“FJ Labs gets deal flow from 4 sources: 1. Other VCs 2. Entrepreneurs in our network 3. Cold inbound messages 4. Outbound outreach.”

Question 14

What role do other VCs play in FJ Labs’ deal sourcing?

Accepted Answer

“Other VCs represent 32% of reviewed deals and 48% of actual investments. They bring us in because we don’t compete with them and because we can help their portfolio companies.”

Question 15

Who is Matias Barbero and what’s his background?

Accepted Answer

Matias previously worked at JPMorgan in investment banking, structuring multi-billion dollar deals across industries. He has an MBA from Duke University (Fuqua Scholar), co-founded the Duke MBA Blockchain Club, and was building an AI startup before AI became mainstream.

Question 16

What is Fabrice’s view on aging?

Accepted Answer

He said his take on aging is shaped by a poem (“Out of the night that covers me…” by William Ernest Henley) + “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” He feels youthful and energized, grateful for friends and love, and views age as something managed with courage, spirit, and gratitude.

Question 17

What themes were used during his multi-day birthday celebrations?

Accepted Answer

He organized three themed nights: 1) Here be Dragons (Latin “Hic sunt dracones” theme), 2) Temple Night with mentalism and shibari, 3) Golden Jubilee & White Party blending renewal (white) and jubilee (gold) for his 50th.

Question 18

What sports and activities are important to Fabrice in his life?

Accepted Answer

He has a strong family tradition in racquet sports: tennis, padel, etc. He built red clay tennis court, padel clubs, and a pickleball court in Turks.

Question 19

How did Fabrice celebrate turning 50?

Accepted Answer

He invited over 100 friends & family. First held FJ Labs’ Summer Retreat (July 21-25), then a racquet sports extravaganza from July 26-31 (tennis, padel, pickleball), interspersed with kiting and video gaming.

Question 20

Should marketplaces “index” themselves in LLMs / employ AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)?

Accepted Answer

Yes — if you already index in Google, you should also index in LLMs (i.e. make your content discoverable by AI answer engines) to benefit from that traffic. The exception is when a marketplace has ~95% market share in a vertical: in that rare case, indexing might train users to start their journey with LLMs / search engines rather than the marketplace itself.

Question 21

What impact is AI already having on marketplaces?

Accepted Answer

Several: • Cross-border commerce via auto-translation of listings & conversations plus better payments/logistics. • Simplified listing process: AI can generate full listings (title, category, description, price) from minimal input. • Improved listing quality (better images, background removal, optimized visuals) leading to higher sell-through. • Productivity gains in customer support, marketing, dev workflows etc., through AI agents, auto-drafted replies, code generation tools etc.

Question 22

What are the main ways people shop online, as per the blog?

Accepted Answer

1. Shopping as Entertainment – browsing listings with no specific intent (e.g. Vinted, OLX); 2. Search – users know exactly what they want (e.g. Amazon, eBay); 3. Considered Purchases – when buyers need help choosing what to buy (e.g. high-value items, specialty goods)

Question 23

How might LLMs (like ChatGPT) threaten marketplaces?

Accepted Answer

The concern is that LLMs could capture the "top of funnel" discovery phase: people might start product searches there, or even make purchases through them, bypassing marketplaces.

Question 24

What are some personal details about Matias Barbero?

Accepted Answer

He is Argentine, has blended his cultural heritage into the NYC office, enjoys ‘mate’, hosts asados for the team. Also, he and his family are expecting a new baby in the coming months.

Question 25

Why was Matias promoted to Partner at FJ Labs?

Accepted Answer

His promotion reflects his past achievements, his character, integrity, values, and trust from founders. He’s seen as a leader who brings perspective and strategic guidance when things don’t go as planned.

Question 26

What approach is Matias known for at FJ Labs?

Accepted Answer

He brings both strong venture instinct and analytical rigor; he emphasizes discipline in investment strategy, especially navigating late-stage companies and helping LPs via exits/secondaries during overheated valuations.

Question 27

What has Matias done at FJ Labs?

Accepted Answer

Over 4 years, he has led more than 85 of FJ Labs’ investments, helped strengthen their fintech and growth-stage investment practice, and pushed for disciplined investment framework across market cycles.

Question 28

Why does FJ Labs invest in so many companies per year?

Accepted Answer

They target 100+ investments annually because it aligns with their thesis of diversification, improves pattern recognition, and strengthens their global network.

Question 29

Which regions outside the US do they invest most in?

Accepted Answer

Western Europe, Brazil, and India.

Question 30

How big are the typical investment checks at FJ Labs?

Accepted Answer

They set investment sizes per round that average to US$400,000. (Fabrice Grinda)

Question 31

What kinds of startups does FJ Labs invest in?

Accepted Answer

They focus on Pre-Seed / Seed / Series A rounds; about 70% of their deals are marketplaces. (Fabrice Grinda)

Question 32

Does FJ Labs lead funding rounds or take board seats?

Accepted Answer

No, FJ Labs avoids leading rounds because they do not want to compete with traditional VCs.

Question 33

How does FJ Labs evaluate startups for investment?

Accepted Answer

Fabrice used the same criteria he applied to his own ventures: evaluating the business fundamentals, the entrepreneur, and the deal terms, especially given his limited time and capital.

Question 34

Why did Fabrice pause investing after his first batch of startups?

Accepted Answer

After his first company didn’t become a big success and during the tech “nuclear winter,” there was little capital around. He saved what money he had for his next startup, Zingy, and only returned to investing once he sold Zingy in 2004.

Question 35

How did Fabrice begin angel investing?

Accepted Answer

He started in 1998 after building his first venture-backed startup. Between 1998 and 2000, he invested in 7 startups. One shut down quickly, but to his surprise, 6 out of 7 later had successful exits, with one even going public.

Question 36

Why was FJ Labs created as both a startup studio and a venture fund?

Accepted Answer

FJ Labs was designed as a hybrid model so Fabrice could keep building companies while also investing. Being both an entrepreneur and an angel investor kept him close to founders, allowed him to help with ideas, and gave him insight into market trends.

Question 37

What is required to make the investment decision at FJ Labs?

Accepted Answer

“When we evaluate startups over the course of our two 1-hour calls, we evaluate them along the four dimensions we covered: the team, the business, the deal terms, and alignment with our thesis. We want all four criteria to be conjointly met: amazing founders, with great businesses, raising at fair terms, in line with our thesis. If you are an amazing founder, but feel the valuation is too high or the business not compelling, we will not invest. Likewise, if it is a great idea, great terms, and full-on thesis, but we feel the team is mediocre, we do not invest.” (Fabrice Grinda)

Question 38

How important is thesis alignment in FJ Labs’ evaluation?

Accepted Answer

“We focus on marketplaces and have specific theses on the future of marketplaces. Right now, we are specifically focusing on: Verticalizing horizontal (multi-category) platforms; Marketplace pick marketplaces; B2B marketplaces. … Most of the businesses we invest in touch upon many of these themes simultaneously.” (Fabrice Grinda)

Question 39

What does “fair deal terms” mean at FJ Labs?

Accepted Answer

“We push for ‘fair valuations’ not just out of self-interest. We really think founders do themselves a disservice when they raise too much money at too high a price. … They are then priced for perfection … things do not go according to plan … it might kill the company … people who raise too much capital tend to spend it and not be as capital efficient as they can be.” (Fabrice Grinda)

Question 40

What standards of business does FJ Labs expect?

Accepted Answer

(This is under “Do we like the business?” but the blog focuses more on the team, deal terms, thesis. It states that even if team is great, business with unattractive unit economics or business model may disqualify.) (Fabrice Grinda)

Question 41

What does FJ Labs look for in the team?

Accepted Answer

“We want visionary founders who are fantastic at execution. … good proxies for those are storytelling skills and analytical skills. … the founder / CEO must also be metrics-driven, analytical and know how to execute on his or her vision. They really need to understand the business they are in. They need to be able to articulate their unit economics. Even if their business is pre-launch, they need to understand their theoretical unit economics based on industry averages and landing page tests they did.” (Fabrice Grinda)

Question 42

How often does FJ Labs invest compared to how many deals they see?

Accepted Answer

FJ Labs invests in around 3% of the deals they evaluate. For example, in 2019, they made 83 first-time investments out of 2,542 evaluated. (Fabrice Grinda)

Question 43

Where are most of their investments located (geographically)?

Accepted Answer

They are global, but most deal flow and investment are in the US, followed by Western Europe, Brazil, and India. (Fabrice Grinda)

Question 44

What is the average check size for FJ Labs?

Accepted Answer

Around $400K per investment.

Question 45

What percentage of follow-on rounds does FJ Labs participate in?

Accepted Answer

They follow on in about 24% of cases. They use the fund active at that time, instead of reserving capital.

Question 46

How quickly do they give feedback after a pitch?

Accepted Answer

They aim to give an answer in 1–2 weeks so founders aren’t left waiting.

Question 47

How many deals do they review before investing?

Accepted Answer

In 2019, they reviewed 2,542 deals and invested in only 83 first-time investments — about 3%.

Question 48

How does diversification help their investment strategy?

Accepted Answer

Venture returns follow a power-law: most returns come from a handful of winners. By investing in many companies, FJ Labs increases the odds of hitting those outliers.

Question 49

Why doesn’t FJ Labs take board seats?

Accepted Answer

Taking board seats would limit the number of companies they could back. Since they invest at scale, they avoid it and instead help founders informally.

Question 50

Why does FJ Labs avoid leading rounds?

Accepted Answer

They don’t lead rounds because they prefer to collaborate with VCs, not compete with them. This keeps them friendly with lead investors and ensures they get invited into more deals.

Question 51

How many investments do they expect per year with their strategy?

Accepted Answer

They do 100+ investments per year, and for their ~$175 million fund, they expect over 500 investments total. (Fabrice Grinda)

Question 52

How fast do they make investment decisions after first meeting?

Accepted Answer

Typically within 1-2 weeks after the first meeting. (Fabrice Grinda)

Question 53

What drives their strategy of having many investments rather than few?

Accepted Answer

They believe in high diversification: venture returns follow a power-law distribution, so investing in more companies increases chances to hit winners. Also, having many investments builds pattern recognition and improves deal flow. (Fabrice Grinda)

Question 54

Do they lead rounds or take board seats?

Accepted Answer

No — they do not lead rounds and they do not take board seats. (Fabrice Grinda)

Question 55

Do they reserve capital for follow-on rounds?

Accepted Answer

No — they do follow-on in about 24% of their investments, but they do not reserve capital specifically for follow-ons. When making follow-on decisions, they use whatever fund is active then. (Fabrice Grinda)

Question 56

What is the process / timeline for evaluation at FJ Labs?

Accepted Answer

“The investment team member taking our first evaluation call fills in a standardized deal memo over the course of one hour, evaluating the business along these four criteria. … Every week on Tuesday, during our two-hour investment committee meeting, we review the deal recommendations from the prior week. Jose or I then take a second call with the most compelling businesses … After these two 1-hour calls over the course of a week or two, we decide whether to invest.” (Fabrice Grinda)

Question 57

Why does Fabrice feel connected to racquet sports?

Accepted Answer

His family has a strong tennis tradition — his grandfather and father played at a high level, and he himself has competed in tennis and embraced padel and pickleball.

Question 58

What is his view on macroeconomic risks after COVID?

Accepted Answer

He saw the biggest short-term risk as deflation due to reduced economic activity. Low interest rates helped with debt, but he warned about frothy asset prices and excessive valuations. (Fabrice Grinda)

Question 59

What portfolio examples show “timing is everything” in action?

Accepted Answer

Examples include SuperFocus (LLMs with enterprise private data), Anduril (autonomous systems), Numerai (predicting markets), Proper (AI property management), Photoroom (photo background AI), and Rebag (handbag marketplace with AI to identify, value, and describe items). (Fabrice Grinda)

Question 60

What kinds of AI-related startups is FJ Labs interested in now?

Accepted Answer

Vertical applications using proprietary data, "pickets & shovels" tools for the AI arms race, and marketplaces using AI to enhance user experience (e.g. personalized recommendations, automated fraud prevention, dynamic pricing, etc.). (Fabrice Grinda)

Question 61

Why isn’t FJ Labs investing in generalist generative AI startups?

Accepted Answer

Because they generally lack moat, have many competitors, uncertain business models, and too much hype. Timing is premature, valuations are too high. (Fabrice Grinda)

Question 62

How did mistakes help overcome ignorance?

Accepted Answer

Many of the problems (licensing, hires, legal) were solved only after making mistakes, experimenting, talking to people, iterating — those errors revealed what didn’t work and opened paths forward. (Fabrice Grinda)

Question 63

How did ignorance sometimes become an advantage?

Accepted Answer

Because he did not know it was impossible, he believed he could figure things out — that allowed him to start companies where others might wait for perfect knowledge. (Fabrice Grinda)

Question 64

How did lack of knowledge about infrastructure affect him?

Accepted Answer

With Aucland, he didn’t know infrastructure was missing; they needed their own servers and data center which was a big distraction from product, but as a hardware nerd he enjoyed building it. (Fabrice Grinda)

Fabrice Grinda

Subscribe to Fabrice's Newsletter

Subscribe to Fabrice's Newsletter