Wesley Chan on Building 100-Year Companies and Investing Against Consensus
Technovation with Peter High (CIO, CTO, CDO, CXO Interviews)Show Notes
The companies that define an era often appear irrational before they appear inevitable.
In this episode of Technoventure, Peter High speaks with FPV Ventures Co-Founder & Managing Partner Wesley Chan about building products at Google, founding Google Ventures, investing against consensus, and recognizing founders with 100-year visions. Wesley explains how first-principles thinking helped him identify companies such as Canva and why the most important investment question may be, “What if it goes right?”
They also explore:
Why Google prioritized speed and relevance over keeping users on its site
How Google Ventures aligned corporate capital with founder interests
What Wesley saw in Canva after 111 investors said no
Why specialized data can create more durable AI businesses
How Bill Campbell taught leaders to protect their time and energy
Why incentives frequently matter more than policies or intentions
Listen for an operator-investor’s perspective on product excellence, AI investing, organizational design, and building companies capable of outliving their founders.
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