VC Dan Portillo, Founder/GP of TheGP on Being the Godfather of Talent Partners, Starting His Own Fund, and Experimentation

“HR Heretics” | How CPOs, CHROs, Founders, and Boards Build High Performing Companies

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VC Dan Portillo, Founder/GP of TheGP on Being the Godfather of Talent Partners, Starting His Own Fund, and Experimentation

HR Heretics

Dec 21, 2023

Transcript

Dan Portillo is the founder and GP of The General Partnership, a fund that prioritizes talent in a network-based approach. Formerly he was early-Mozilla and then went on to Greylock where he carved out a role as a talent partner. Dan talks to Nolan and Kelli about how VC and VC talent partners operate, an influential world that most people in the venture and startup ecosystem don't actually know that much about. They also talk about backchannels, going from HR leadership roles to finding success as an advisor, and the necessary skill of framing new ideas as experiments. HR Heretics is part of the Turpentine podcast network. Learn more: www.turpentine.co

SPONSORS: Lattice | Continuum

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RECOMMENDED PODCAST:

Check out Run The Numbers! Kelli and Nolan were guests on the most recent episode: a deep dive into FIRING CEOs and EXECS. This one's hilarious. Listen here, wherever you get your podcasts: https://link.chtbl.com/runthenumbers

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KEEP UP WITH DAN, NOLAN, + KELLI ON LINKEDIN

Dan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielportillo/

Nolan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-church/

Kelli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellidragovich/

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Preview

(02:40) Dan talks about Mozilla, being the 20th employee, his role and how the became the VP of Talent

(06:21) On scaling Mozilla: handling both the HR side and recruiting side

(10:00) Dan's take on creating a leveling structure and performance reviews

(13:00) Dan talks about his journey building talent at Greylock

(17:05) Dan's experience working with the founders Greylock has backed

(19:35) Sponsor - Lattice | Continuum

(21:20) Dan's "Aha!" moments with executive hiring and with how the industry shifted from 2011 to 2018

(25:55) Dan's transition from Greylock to Sweat Equity Ventures (now The General Partnership)

(34:30) Shifting from Talent to VC and making the portfolio companies better

(38:40) Should I get into a VC talent partner role?

(41:00) How to get into advising and pitfalls to be careful of

(43:32) When does a founder need an advisor?

(44:55) Dan's expectations expecting going into 2024 and how he is positioning the fund and advising founders

(47:30) Dan's best hire and why

(50:25) Dan's secret for finding undiscovered talent

(52:30) The power of back channels and executive hiring

(55:00) Seven degrees from Dan Portillo

LINKS:

https://www.thegp.com/builders/daniel-portillo

Discussion about this podcast

“HR Heretics” | How CPOs, CHROs, Founders, and Boards Build High Performing Companies

After a decade+ of “blitz-scaling” companies, HR, talent, and People leaders now face an uncertain economy that has already seen big booms and busts. What will it take to construct the next generation of incredible businesses – and where can people leaders have the most business impact?

Hosts Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich have been through it all, the highs and the lows – IPOs, layoffs, executive turnover, board meetings, culture changes, and more. With a lineup of industry vets and experts, Nolan and Kelli break down the nitty-gritty details, trade offs, and dynamics of constructing high performing companies. Through unfiltered conversations that can only happen between seasoned practitioners – Kelli and Nolan dive deep into the kind of leadership-level strategy that often happens behind closed doors.

This show is for those who are ready to ditch conventional wisdom and figure out from first principles what works for their culture, business model, and industry, with the goal of building a resilient and enduring company. You’ll come away with real guidance for seeing around corners, building enduring companies, and carving out an impactful career – plus a newly-honed bullshit detector.

Topics frequently touched on in this season include: building high performing cultures, compensation negotiation, performance reviews, company design, equity, M&As, recruiting the best talent, and how to manage your own psychology as a people leader.

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