General Catalyst Co-Founder David Fialkow On Pitching VCs Through ‘Hot Buttons,’ Billion-Dollar Storytelling & Bringing Down A Cult Invested By Aleph podcast

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General Catalyst Co-Founder David Fialkow on Pitching VCs Through ‘Hot Buttons,’ Billion-Dollar Storytelling & Bringing Down a Cult

2M ago 1:05:17

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On this episode of Invested, Michael hosts David Fialkow, co-founder and Managing Director of General Catalyst, one of the world’s leading venture capital firms managing over $40 billion. From early investments in companies like Airbnb, Stripe, and Warby Parker, to scaling global category leaders, General Catalyst has consistently backed transformative founders and ideas. David’s own career bridges entrepreneurship, film, and philanthropy. Before co-founding General Catalyst, he built and sold several companies across travel, specialty retail, and payments/financial services. Beyond investing, he’s an Academy Award–winning documentary producer, with credits including Navalny and Icarus, which exposed Russia’s state-sponsored doping scandal. David is also deeply involved in civic and philanthropic initiatives. With a unique blend of business vision, creative storytelling, and social impact, David brings a rare perspective on how capital can be a force for both innovation and positive change.

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KEY TOPICS

00:00 Intro
02:30 College at Colgate and an ESL Shock
04:19 Discovering Storytelling and Filmmaking
09:06 Founding Last Minute Travel with Joel Cutler
11:32 Duty-Free Cruise Business and Sale to LVMH
13:55 How to Win Mentors: Relevance, Time & Opinions
15:53 Storytelling and “Hot Buttons” in Pitching
18:18 Crohn’s, Children’s Hospital Gift & the Ironman Bet
21:40 Why David Started General Catalyst
23:23 “Shots on Goal” and the VC Mindset
25:19 Starting Fund I and Raising Capital
28:11 Succession Planning
33:01 Ken Chenault Joins General Catalyst
39:28 Filmmaking with his wife Nina Fialkow
41:28 The Vow and Bringing Down NXIVM
46:16 Icarus: Pivot to Russian Doping Scandal
48:45 Navalny, Sugarcane, and Storytelling as Justice
57:00 Raising $12M through Film Screenings
59:26 Pan-Mass Challenge
01:01:27 Dana-Farber’s Impact on Oncology Drugs
01:02:21 On Luck, Teams, and Keeping Ego in Check
01:03:50 Why Israel: Mission, Resilience, and Tech Future

RESOURCES

Follow David on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-fialkow

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CREDITS

Executive Producer: Erica Marom

Producer: Myron Shneider

Video and Editing: Ron Baranov

Music and Creative Direction: Uri Ar

Content and Editorial: Kira Goldring

Design: Rony Karadi

61 episodes