Podcasts about VC

Three NEW topics on climate tech finance, decision tools, and mindful leadership:Finance — Plan for your exit at the beginning (not the end)Tools — Jobs To Be Done framework (from the Father of Disruptive Innovation)Leadership — The monkey lesson (from Google's Moonshot Factory)------------Join EFI's CEO group — The private room for climate CEOs making nine-figure decisions Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow: a confidential peer community for VC- and private equity-backed CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. Capped at 50 CEOs and 50 investor mentors, representing $40B in market value or investment assets.

Chris Hladczuk is the Co-founder and CEO of Hanover Park, the AI-native fund administrator, vertically integrating fund administration, portfolio management, and LP experience for finance and investment teams.Chris is the 2nd ever returning guest of the show, and is fresh off announcing Hanover's $27m Series A. We go inside the round, their explosive growth, why they built their own general ledger from scratch, and how that enabled them to build incredible AI products for investment firms that touch over $100 trillion in assets.Thanks to Sahil Bloom, and Chad + Pratyush at Susa for help brainstorming topics for this conversation.Thank you to Numeral and Flex for supporting this episode.Try Numeral, the end-to-end platform for sales tax and compliance: https://www.numeral.comSign-up for Flex Elite with code TURNER, get $1,000: https://form.typeform.com/to/Rx9rTjFzTimestamps:(0:37) Financial infrastructure for investment firms(1:35) Hanover Park's $27m Series A(5:30) AI-enabled services businesses(9:07) Productizing the service layer(11:30) Helping CFO's and investors use AI(13:46) Building a general ledger from scratch(18:03) Compete against companies with IT departments(19:55) Hiring in an unsexy industry(21:30) Live in constant paranoia of your customers(25:19) Gongs, music in the office, blizzard commutes(28:54) Friday night hackathons(30:54) Automating onboarding and manual admin work(35:05) Real-time visibility on all data(38:07) Always get on the plane(40:36) Turning customers into raving fans(43:45) Using polite persistence in sales(47:36) How to master founder-led content(51:29) 99% of advice is wrong in AI era(54:21) Importance of one-way vs two-way doors(56:11) Growing from VC into PE and Private Credit(1:00:36) When to turn down new customers(1:02:22) Becoming a customers most important vendor(1:04:00) Chris' personal AI stack(1:07:41) Hanover Park's MCPReferencedTry Hanover Park: https://www.hanoverpark.com/Careers at Hanover Park: https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/hanover-parkFirst episode with Chris: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lomqcrFNv8Artie: https://www.artie.com/Episode with Jacqueline @ Artie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fd1YKsBaq0Granola: https://www.granola.ai/Claude Cowork: https://claude.com/product/coworkHubSpot: https://www.hubspot.com/Attio: https://attio.com/Monaco: https://www.monaco.com/Follow ChrisTwitter: https://x.com/chrishladLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-hladczuk-b09204153Follow TurnerTwitter: https://twitter.com/TurnerNovakLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/turnernovakSubscribe to my newsletter to get every episode + the transcript in your inbox every week: https://www.thespl.it/

Breaking into Investment Banking with no finance background sounds impossible - but it's not. In this WSO Academy testimonial, Laurence shares how he went from building a $2M startup to landing an Investment Banking offer at JP Morgan. Without a traditional finance background, he had to learn the industry, build the right network, and prepare for one of the most competitive recruiting processes in finance. Chapters 00:30 Intro 02:24 Stepping Away from the Startup 03:00 The Reset Phase 04:12 The Pivot to Finance 05:44 Choosing the MBA Path 06:38 Discovering the WSO Academy 07:51 Preparing for Investment Banking Recruiting 10:29 Lessons & Career Advice Check out WSO Academy — the prep that has helped thousands break into high finance. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Susie Harborth joins the pod to share her journey from refugee immigrant and first-generation college student to biotech operator, ecosystem builder, and now founder-investor behind Inspirafund and Sencie.After building early-stage life science companies, launching BioLabs in San Diego, and working across venture and banking, Susie is now placing focused bets in overlooked but meaningful spaces - starting with sleep, rest, and recovery in hospitality.We dive into why sleep is emerging as a foundational performance lever, how design and “invisible care” shape human experience, and why Susie is building at the intersection of science, hospitality, and wellness. We also unpack her next venture concept, SuperHRO - an offboarding support platform for professionals navigating career transitions.This episode is about investing with conviction, building from lived experience, and designing for how humans actually feel - not just how systems operate.Key Topics* Growing up in San Diego as a refugee immigrant and discovering venture capital during the dot-com era* Why Susie chose to support scientists curing disease instead of becoming a doctor herself* Building BioLabs and designing physical hubs for “maximum human collision”* The difference between luxury and “invisible care”* Why sleep is the most underleveraged performance tool in modern life* The science behind circadian rhythms, REM quality, and cognitive performance* Sleep tourism and the opportunity in hospitality wellness* Launching Sencie and partnering with The Bower in Coronado* Why some opportunities are too niche for traditional VC — but perfect for focused capital* Introducing SuperHRO: rethinking HR and support during job transitionsLinks & Resources* Inspirafund - Personal investment platform backing overlooked, high-impact ideas* Sencie - Sleep and well-being experiences for hospitality and travelConnect On LinkedIn* Susie Harborth* Neal Bloom This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit risingtidepartners.substack.com/subscribe

I sat down with Sydney Huang from Human API to explore a completely novel concept—AI agents hiring humans, not the other way around. We dive into how they're solving the last mile problem for AI agents, why data collection is their first focus, and how you can actually get paid for contributing voice data and other tasks. Sydney shares her journey from buying Ethereum in 2017 to building Eclipse (a Solana VM L2 on Ethereum) to now creating an agent-native marketplace. We discuss the challenges of building a two-sided marketplace, the growing demand for AI training data, and why now is the perfect time to build in this space. KEY POINTS WITH TIMESTAMPS• [00:00] Introduction to Human API and the concept of AI agents hiring humans• [02:30] Sydney's journey from buying ETH in 2017 to working in VC to building in crypto full-time• [04:15] Eclipse explained: Building a Solana VM L2 on Ethereum and the modular blockchain thesis• [06:45] The last mile problem for AI agents and why human tasks are still needed• [09:20] How Human API differs from traditional workflow automation tools• [11:00] Current use cases: Conversational audio data collection for training voice AI• [14:30] Future expansion into health wearables data and other data types• [18:45] Why people are willing to work for AI agents and contribute data• [21:00] Building a better UX than Fiverr and Upwork with reputation systems• [25:15] The chicken-and-egg challenge of balancing supply and demand• [28:30] Why now is the perfect time to build in the AI data space• [31:00] Roadmap: App launch and making the agent experience seamless• [32:45] How to become a contributor at thehumanapi.comCONNECTHuman API Website: https://thehumanapi.comSydney Huang LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/sydney-huangEclipse Website: https://eclipse.xyzWeb3 with Sam Kamani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samkamani/DisclaimerNothing mentioned in this podcast is investment advice and please do your own research. It would mean a lot if you can leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share this podcast with a friend. Be a guest on the podcast or contact us - https://www.web3pod.xyz/

Hard Choices: One decision. Why it matters. So what?Do you want to work on your idea? Or the best idea in the room?Founders are paid to have conviction. The risk is confusing conviction with correctness.------------Join EFI's CEO group — The private room for climate CEOs making nine-figure decisions Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow: a confidential peer community for VC- and private equity-backed CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. Capped at 50 CEOs and 50 investor mentors, representing $40B in market value or investment assets.

Episode 419 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Chip Hazard, General Partner at Flybridge. Before we get into the details of Chip's career, I have to call out a random fun fact: Chip is the only VC with his own action figure, yes – it's true. There's a DreamWorks animated movie called Small Soldiers. The lead character is named Chip Hazard, voiced by Tommy Lee Jones. As you'll hear in this episode, there's a great story suggesting that the character's name was actually inspired by Chip himself, which absolutely makes sense once you hear the story. But beyond the fun facts, as you'll hear, Chip has a major leg up on most investors because he's successfully navigated multiple platform shifts – from the internet and mobile to the cloud and now AI. What's impressive is that Chip and the team at Flybridge saw this latest AI shift coming long before the hype. For proof, you just have to look at his blog post titled “Applied AI: Beyond the Algorithms” which he published all the way back in 2019. Chip has backed some of the most impactful companies in tech, like MongoDB back when it was still called 10Gen. Today, it's a public company with a $20B+ dollar market cap, and Chip still serves on the board. His portfolio also includes Nasuni which was valued at $1.2 billion following a strategic investment led by Vista Equity Partners in 2024. If you aren't familiar with Flybridge, they are a seed-stage firm investing in ambitious founders leveraging the power of AI. Last September, they announced their latest fund, a $100M seventh fund. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 04:15 A movie character named after Chip in Small Soldiers 05:39 The Current AI Platform Shift & Patterns he has seen 09:48 Decades of blogging experience and how they stayed ahead of the curve 11:23 Chip's background 12:49 Stanford and Athletics 14:00 How Chip got his career started 15:29 Discovering Venture Capital and Landing at Greylock 19:27 A Walk Through His Investments at Greylock 24:50 Starting Flybridge 28:18 The Details about Flybridge 29:46 What gets you to the point of saying YES to entrepreneurs 32:20 Company storytelling at the seed stage 34:11 Investing in MongoDB 36:46 Key Decisions for MongoDB 42:38 Investing in Nasuni 43:41 Other company investments 46:05 Why They Invested in VoiceRun 48:38 Details on xfactor ventures 51:12 Advice for Entrepreneurs on Conducting Due Diligence on Investors 53:01 How VCs Handle an Investment Post-IPO 55:12 Three apps Chip can't live without 57:08 Podcast Recommendations Podcast Sponsor: This podcast is brought to you by one of the strongest longtime supporters of the local startup ecosystem, Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank. With more than 1,500 bankers and relationship advisors and $44B in loans as of Q4 2025 – SVB delivers expert guidance, specialized products and a team that knows the innovation economy inside and out. Learn more at SVB.com.

Alexis Sikorsky is a strategic advisor to founders who want to scale fast and exit strong, after building and selling his Switzerland-based banking software company, New Access, in a private equity deal worth over $100M. Drawing on decades of hard-won experience (including painful early failures, a 75% revenue collapse in one day, and a long post-crisis grind), he now helps £5–20M+ revenue businesses design exits instead of hoping for them. In his book Cashing Out: The Business Owner's Guide to Selling to Private Equity, Alexis introduces the APEX methodology, a practical roadmap for founders who want clarity, cashflow, and a life-changing deal beyond their business. On this episode we talk about: Why Alexis calls his early ventures “failures” and how those lessons funded a $100M+ win later The 2008 financial crisis, losing 75% of revenue in a day, and rebuilding New Access without pivoting His grandfather's trade wisdom and the simple “sell higher than you buy” rule most founders ignore Why raising VC money is usually a sign of commercial failure, not success The APEX methodology for planning and executing a private equity exit (from assessment to “dressing the bride”) Top 3 Takeaways Failure is the tuition you pay for wisdom: Alexis estimates the “cost” of his mistakes at 50 million and five years, and he uses that lens to help founders avoid repeating them. Profit is not optional if you want optionality: you must build a business where costs stay below revenue, instead of relying on endless fundraising to plug operational holes. A premium exit is engineered, not accidental: knowing your goal (lifestyle vs. exit, 100M vs. 1B), tracking real-time numbers, protecting your USP, and becoming “private equity ready” 18–24 months ahead are non-negotiable. Notable Quotes “I have a 100% success-rate, no-failure strategy: just don't try anything.” “Raising money is very often a commercial failure—your company isn't good enough yet to be profitable.” “We're not wealthy enough to buy cheap. If you can't afford it, don't buy it—but don't buy the cheap version either.” Connect with Alexis Sikorsky: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexis-sikorsky-consulting Website / Book: https://www.asikorsky.com/my-book (Cashing Out: The Business Owner's Guide to Selling to Private Equity) Travis Makes Money is made possible by High Level – the All-In-One Sales & Marketing Platform built for agencies, by an agency. Capture leads, nurture them, and close more deals—all from one powerful platform. Get an extended free trial at gohighlevel.com/travis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Breaking into investment banking and other competitive finance roles can feel confusing without the right guidance. In this mentor session, we discuss the realities of finance recruiting, networking, and preparing for high-performance careers in the industry. This conversation covers practical insights for students and early-career professionals looking to understand how recruiting actually works and what it takes to succeed in demanding finance roles. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Juan Ignacio Garcia Braschi is a partner at L40, a boutique SaaS M&A advisory firm with offices in Madrid, Lisbon, and Miami. After two decades in banking, private equity, and operating roles, including serving as CFO of ride-hailing company Cabify, he now helps SaaS founders sell companies typically valued between $20M and $200M. L40 works primarily with B2B SaaS companies doing $5M–$50M ARR, most of them bootstrapped or lightly funded, including companies in Europe and Latin America. Juan explains how today's buyers evaluate SaaS companies, why Rule-of-40 performance still matters even with AI, and how growth rate, retention, and profitability determine valuation ranges of roughly 4–8x ARR. Key Takeaways Growth Drives Valuation: Growth rate correlates most strongly with SaaS multiples. Companies growing 50% command much higher valuations than those growing 20%. Rule Of 40 Still Matters: Buyers increasingly expect SaaS companies to combine strong growth with some profitability. Financial Buyers Dominant: Private-equity-backed platforms acquiring add-ons are the most active buyers for $50M–$100M SaaS companies today. Sell During Momentum: Smaller companies growing 20–40% annually can be an ideal window for acquisition before growth naturally slows. Quote from Juan Ignacio Garcia Braschi, Managing Director and Partner at L40 "If you think that you're going to sell your SaaS company, you should think of that two years ahead of when you want to sell. So don't wait until you're burned out. "Keep in mind that you will have to make a profit at some point to sell to serious financial buyers. So when your company is growing at decent 20, 30, 40% year over year rates, that's probably the sweet spot for selling.  "Significant funds have been raised in the past 24 months and that has to be deployed. Traditional private equity firms are more more interested in tech. These days you see more and more traditional private equity firms going into tech and that's increasing competition and driving multiples up." Links Juan Ignacio Garcia Braschi on LinkedIn L40 on LinkedIn L40 website Podcast Sponsor – Lighter Capital This podcast is sponsored by Lighter Capital. In the last 15 years, Lighter Capital has helped over 600 software and SaaS founders secure simple, non-dilutive financing to grow a little faster—without giving up any precious equity or board seats to investors.  Simple debt funding from Lighter Capital can range from $50K to $10 million, with straightforward terms, no personal guarantees or covenants, and up to a 4-year payback period. Go to LighterCapital.com to apply and get a quick pre-qualification. Then talk with their experienced team to create a practical funding plan to achieve your goals.  The Practical Founders Podcast Tune into the Practical Founders Podcast for weekly in-depth interviews with founders who have built valuable software companies without big funding. Subscribe to the Practical Founders Podcast using your favorite podcast app or view on our YouTube channel. Get the weekly Practical Founders newsletter and podcast updates at practicalfounders.com. Practical Founders CEO Peer Groups Be part of a committed and confidential group of practical founders creating valuable software companies without big VC funding.  A Practical Founders Peer Group is a committed and confidential group of founders/CEOs who want to help you succeed on your terms. Each Practical Founders Peer Group is personally curated and moderated by Greg Head.

Joe is joined this episode by Aaron Calafato of 7 Minute Stories and they begin the show going over the James Harden trade to Cleveland, how Cavs fans are reacting to Harden so far, & the ceiling for Cleveland this year (1:14). Then, they discuss Netflix getting into podcasting, why it's important to own your own stuff, & navigating the ever changing podcast space (23:10). Finally, Aaron asks Joe about Vince Carter and why VC never won a championship (44:04), & SO much more!

We unpack why the “SaaS-Pocalypse” is less about software dying and more about buyers finally right sizing cloud and marketplace deals with better data. We dig into AI unit economics, token driven cost volatility, and how procurement, FinOps, and venture capital are being rewritten in real time. • Flywl as a cloud meta marketplace across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud • Buyer pain and buyer empathy as the product design center • Why AI inference costs make traditional FinOps reactive • Treating a marketplace purchase as a transaction lifecycle asset • Real time consumption tracking, alerts, and contract renegotiation timing • Outcome based pricing challenges with token variability and agentic workflows • Revenue recognition uncertainty in consumption and outcome models • Why humans still matter in go to market despite AI agents • The data cleanup problem in procurement and the need for universal product IDs • Why enterprises are not rushing to build all SaaS internally with AI • 2026 VC dynamics, mega rounds, capital concentration, and what counts as real recurring revenue “SaaS-Pocalypse” makes for a great headline, but the real shockwave is quieter and more disruptive: enterprise buyers finally understand their cloud environment well enough to demand better deals, better governance, and real proof of value. We sit down for a roundtable on cloud marketplaces, AI unit economics, and the new reality of software procurement where a purchase is no longer a static line item, it's a living asset you have to monitor, benchmark, and continuously right size. Ankur Srivastava, CEO and founder of Flywl, explains why he built a cloud meta marketplace to unify buying and selling across AWS Marketplace, Azure, and Google Cloud and why “buyer empathy” is the only way to fix a broken procurement playbook. Priya Ramachandran, founder and managing partner at Foster Ventures, connects the dots from operator experience to investing, and breaks down why traditional FinOps can't keep up with AI inference costs, token volatility, and outcome-based pricing models like per ticket resolved. Then we zoom out to the 2026 venture capital environment: mega rounds, capital concentration, and the debate over whether AI-native efficiency makes old funding assumptions obsolete. Along the way, we tackle an agentic economy question: when algorithms negotiate with algorithms, what happens to trust, brand, and human relationships in go to market?Ankur Srivastava: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ankursrivas/Ankur Srivastava is the CEO and Founder of Flywl, the world's first cloud meta-marketplace transforming how enterprises buy and sell software across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. Previously, he was an elite sales leader at Amazon Web Services (AWS), where he spent five years as Head of Field and Customer Business Development for the AWS Marketplace.Priya Ramachandran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sivapriyaramachandran/Priya Ramachandran is the Founder and Managing Partner at Foster Ventures, an early-stage VC firm she built from the ground up to act as the "startup of the VC world". She is an operator-turned-investor with significant experience building and scaling products at companies like Coupa Software, BetterCloud, and Intel.Website: https://www.position2.com/podcast/Rajiv Parikh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajivparikh/Sandeep Parikh: https://www.instagram.com/sandeepparikh/Email us with any feedback for the show: sparkofages.podcast@position2.com

Dr. Dotun Olowoporoku didn't take the typical route to venture capital. He started as a PhD researcher on air quality and climate change, stumbled into entrepreneurship with an online food delivery startup, became CCO at Moniepoint during its most critical growth years, and then became Managing Partner at Ventures Platform, one of Africa's most founder-supportive seed funds.In this episode, we go deep on the questions the ecosystem rarely asks out loud: What does portfolio support actually look like when a company is dying? When does investor support become dependency? Which African companies does VC money quietly destroy? And is the AI wave signal or hype?Dotun also shares how he spotted Tosin Eniolorunda's thesis before Moniepoint was Moniepoint, why he evaluates every investment as a research hypothesis, and what the Capitec Bank story from South Africa taught him about the future of African fintech.If you're a founder, an investor, or anyone building on this continent, this one will make you think differently.

Michael Feldman is the former CEO and Co-Founder of Choice New York Companies, a group of firms providing property management, building staffing, and brokerage services to medium and large residential buildings across New York City. He built the company from zero revenue to roughly $27M in revenue and $5.1M in EBITDA before selling the business to Associa Corp. in 2021. Today, Michael remains active in the real estate industry as a real estate and tech investor and advisor, bringing decades of operational experience building and scaling service platforms in the New York multifamily market and beyond.(01:17) - From Hollywood to New York Real Estate(03:35) - How PM Models Evolved(04:50) - Decision to Exit in 2021(05:59) - Why Few New Entrants & Barriers to Entry(09:49) - AI Use Cases in Property Management(12:00) - Feature: Blueprint: The Future of Real Estate 2026 in Vegas on Sep. 22-24(12:51) - 'War' Stories(16:05) - M&A & Industry Consolidation(20:51) - Collaboration Superpower: Winston Churchill

Three NEW topics on climate tech finance, decision tools, and mindful leadership:Finance — Gross Margin: Quality > PercentTools — Quiz: The 5 Types of WealthLeadership — Motivation: Identity > Consequences------------Join EFI's CEO group — The private room for climate CEOs making nine-figure decisions Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow: a confidential peer community for VC- and private equity-backed CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. Capped at 50 CEOs and 50 investor mentors, representing $40B in market value or investment assets.

(0:00) Jason and Chamath welcome SEC's Paul Atkins and CFTC's Michael Selig (0:53) Atkins on how US markets have changed over his 40 year career (3:04) Top priorities across both agencies: Fixing the IPO drought, crypto regulation, cutting unnecessary rules (8:16) AI trading bots, autonomous hedge funds, and investing with leverage (15:30) Ending the "Turf War" between the SEC and CFTC, super app vision (19:15) Prediction markets, insider trading, gray area (26:56) Trump advocates for changing quarterly earnings to bi-annual (30:30) Changing the accreditation rules a priority for 2026 (34:56) HFT firms that dominate the futures markets, swap reporting (40:36) VC fund formation (46:18) US markets vs the world, crypto classification (52:54) Biggest risks: Market manipulation, crypto scams, and the Gen Z gambling crisis   SEC Chair Paul Atkins: https://x.com/SECPaulSAtkins CFTC Chair Michael Selig: https://x.com/ChairmanSelig Follow the besties: https://x.com/chamath https://x.com/Jason https://x.com/DavidSacks https://x.com/friedberg Follow on X: https://x.com/theallinpod Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theallinpod Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theallinpod Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/allinpod Intro Music Credit: https://rb.gy/tppkzl https://x.com/yung_spielburg Intro Video Credit: https://x.com/TheZachEffect

In this podcast episode, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with Shahar Botzer about the future of social impact investing and current trends and opportunities.Shahar Botzer is co-founder and managing partner at Good Company, an early-stage VC fund with a mission to back bold entrepreneurs who solve the world's biggest challenges for people and the planet. They invest in software-driven innovations in Digital Health, Education, Energy, Circular Economy, and Agriculture because they believe these are the domains where technology can rewrite the future.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In a world flooded with content and incremental business strategies, standing out is more than a competitive advantage, it’s a necessity. Legendary Category Designers Kevin Maney and Mike Damphousse joined Christopher Lochhead on this week’s episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different to dive into their latest thinking on category creation formula and the evolving marketplace. Having helped shape the category design movement with their previous work on “Play Bigger,” Kevin Maney and Mike Damphousse now bring ten years of new insights, tools, and experiences to the table. Their journey reveals the potential for entrepreneurs and established leaders to move from simply competing in existing markets to creating new market categories entirely. You're listening to Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different. We are the real dialogue podcast for people with a different mind. So get your mind in a different place, and hey ho, let's go.   The Category Creation Formula: Context, Missing, Innovation A central development in Kevin Maney and Mike Damphousse's new book, “The Category Creation Formula,” is a straightforward equation: context plus missing plus innovation equals a new market category. This reframing shifts the conversation away from finding conventional “problems” and instead asks, “Given the changing context, what's missing for your target audience?” This subtle change is game-changing. By looking at how context—like technology shifts, societal changes, or policy moves—creates new gaps, innovators can identify true market opportunities. The missing is not just a problem, but an unmet need that, when matched with the right innovation, creates something genuinely new.   From Incremental Competition to Defining New Possibilities Traditional business thinking focuses on being better than the competition. Maney and Damphousse challenge this status quo with their method, which helps companies discover and fill what’s missing in the marketplace, rather than simply outperform existing players. Through hundreds of client projects, they have observed that when teams deeply engage with the formula, they often experience breakthrough clarity. This clarity leads to designing not only new products but building entirely new categories—transforming strategy meetings into the birthplace of the next Uber or LinkedIn Sales Solutions. The emotional impact on entrepreneurs is real, often marking a visionary moment that aligns teams, sharpens belief, and sets the trajectory toward category leadership.   AI and the Future: Accelerating Category Creation Artificial Intelligence is not just the latest innovation but a foundational change in context, similar to electricity's impact more than a century ago. For category designers, AI accelerates both the identification of what's missing and the speed at which innovations reach the market. As AI makes knowledge and execution close to free, what now matters is human insight: judgment about what new needs are emerging and how to fill those with breakthrough solutions. With the adjacent possible expanding, individuals and small teams can create billion-dollar outcomes, making category design skills more critical than ever. Maney and Damphousse's formula provides a framework to navigate this shift, empowering creators to define the future rather than react to it. To hear more from Kevin Maney and Mike Damphousse on their thoughts about the Category Creation Formula and how it can help your business, download and listen to this episode. Bio Kevin Maney Kevin Maney is a bestselling author and award-winning columnist. He's also the co-founder of Category Design Advisors where he helps companies create and dominate new market categories. He has been writing about technology for 30 years, has interviewed most of the tech pioneers you can name, and brings broad and deep context to Category Design conversations. He is co-author of the book Play Bigger, and has been an A-list writer and thinker about technology for 25 years. His other books include The Two-Second Advantage (a 2011 New York Times best seller), Trade-Off: Why Some Things Catch On and Others Don't, and The Maverick and His Machine: Thomas Watson Sr. and the Making of IBM. Kevin wrote a regular column for Newsweek, and has been a contributor to Fortune, The Atlantic, Fast Company and ABC News, among other media outlets. He was a contributing editor at Conde Nast Portfolio and for 22 years, Kevin was a columnist, editor and reporter at USA Today. Mike Damphousse Mike Damphousse is a Category Designer, Investor, and Founder/Partner at Category Design Advisors. He brings over three decades of experience as a company founder, CEO, CMO, and startup advisor, with a track record in building and scaling B2B software companies. Mike was the founder and CEO/CMO of Green Leads, which was acquired by Next 15 (LON:NFC), and served as CMO of Asteria, which IPO'd on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TYO:3853).He is also a limited partner at Stage 2 Capital, a VC firm focused on early-stage B2B software startups, and has participated in ten exits through acquisition and IPO via Category Design Advisors. Mike is a co-author of Play Bigger, the foundational book on category design, and leads workshops and keynotes at major tech conferences like Dreamforce and Inbound. He is also a co-founder of Category Thinkers, a global community for category designers, and a regular speaker on strategic category creation and market leadership. Links Connect with Kevin Maney! Category Design Advisors | LinkedIn | Twitter Connect with Mike Damphousse!Category Design Advisors | LinkedIn | Twitter Check out their new book, The Category Creation Formula!    We hope you enjoyed this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and subscribe on Apple Podcast / Spotify!

Scott on LinkedIn Black Dog Ventures Mike on LinkedIn Coder Radio on Discord The Mad Botter Inc Alice Limited Offer Mike's Book Mike's Blog

From time to time, we'll re-air a previous episode of the show that our newer audience may have missed. During this episode, Santosh is joined by Graham Scott, Vice President of Procurement at Jabil, a global manufacturing solutions provider that designs, produces, and delivers a wide range of electronic products and supply chain services for industries including healthcare, automotive, aerospace, and consumer electronics. Santosh and Graham explore the evolving landscape of supply chains, focusing on electronics manufacturing and semiconductors. Key topics include the complexities of managing a large supplier base, the balance between supplier diversification and consolidation, and the impact of geopolitical factors and tariffs. Graham highlights the challenges in the semiconductor supply chain, the necessity for continued investment, and the transformative potential of AI in procurement. The episode underscores the importance of adaptability, strategic supplier relationships, and so much more. Highlights from their conversation include: Graham's Background and Journey to Jabil (1:32) Overview of Jabil (2:33) Graham's Role in Procurement (3:43) Supplier Base Complexity (7:57) Resilience in Supply Chain (9:44) Challenges of Geopolitics (11:56) Future of Procurement with AI (13:52) Trends in Electronics Manufacturing (15:11) Semiconductor Supply Chain Overview (18:55) Concerns in Mature Technologies (22:49) AI in Procurement (25:51) Data Mining and Negotiations (27:03) Rapid Fire Segment to Close (29:04) Final Thoughts and Takeaways (30:32) Dynamo is a VC firm led by supply chain and mobility specialists that focus on seed-stage, enterprise startups. Find out more at: https://www.dynamo.vc/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week on Swimming with Allocators, Marcia Mitchell joins Earnest and Alexa to trace her path from FF Venture Capital to New York Ventures and now Mesa Lane Capital, a GP-seeding fund focused on emerging managers. She shares how her time in government shaped a broader, more responsible view of innovation and capital allocation, and discusses the increasingly crowded emerging manager landscape and where capital is still being overlooked. Marcia also breaks Mesa Lane's differentiated model of large anchor checks, follow-on commitments, co-invest pools, no carry at the FoF level, and hands-on support, positioning the firm as a true co-builder. The conversation closes with how parenthood reshaped her approach to focus, boundaries, and investing in people who energize her. Highlights from this week's conversation include: Welcoming Marcia Mitchell to the Show (0:22) Moving Into Public Sector Allocations at New York Ventures (3:39)   Are We Capped Out on Emerging Managers in Today's Market? (7:33)   How Mesa Lane Differentiates Its Fund of Funds Model (9:49)   Facilitating Direct Relationships Between GPs and LPs (12:07)   How Engaged Are LPs With Direct Deals and Co‑Investments? (13:22)   Radical Transparency and Hands‑On Support in Diligence (14:42)   Shifts in Founder Boards, Equity, and Employment Terms (17:54)   Power Dynamics and “Prenup” Mindset in Founder–Investor Negotiations (19:46)   Drafting Around Founder Entrenchment and Board Deadlock (20:57)   Why Rebecca Joined Sidley and the Firm's Venture Platform (22:14)   What a Mesa Lane GP Looks Like (24:16)   Industry Maturation, Hedge Fund Parallels, and Co‑Opetition in Venture (26:07)   Back Office Platform, Service Provider Discounts, and AI in Operations (28:46)   How Parenting Changed Marcia's Perspective and Boundaries as an Investor (30:42)   Prioritization, Structure at Home, and Investing in Energizing People (33:11)   Who Mesa Lane Wants to Hear From: Ideal Fund Size and Stage of GPs (35:46)   Sector Focus, Crypto Caveats, and Thoughts on Solo GPs (37:10)   Mesa Lane Capital is a $300M emerging manager investment platform backing early-stage VCs. The firm makes $20M anchor-style fund commitments and offers operational support across legal, tax, admin, and HR functions. Mesa Lane is not a traditional FoF: they offer access to their LP network and prioritize transparency and value-add. Founded by Scott Sherman (ex-Blackstone, Tiger) and Mark Friedman (hedge fund builder), they blend Wall Street rigor with venture approachability. Sidley Austin LLP is a premier global law firm with a dedicated Venture Funds practice, advising top venture capital firms, institutional investors, and private equity sponsors on fund formation, investment structuring, and regulatory compliance. With deep expertise across private markets, Sidley provides strategic legal counsel to help funds scale effectively. Learn more at sidley.com. Swimming with Allocators is a podcast that dives into the intriguing world of Venture Capital from an LP (Limited Partner) perspective. Hosts Alexa Binns and Earnest Sweat are seasoned professionals who have donned various hats in the VC ecosystem. Each episode, we explore where the future opportunities lie in the VC landscape with insights from top LPs on their investment strategies and industry experts shedding light on emerging trends and technologies.  The information provided on this podcast does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this podcast are for general informational purposes only. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of The Money Mondays, Dan Fleyshman sits down with Courtney Reum—co-founder and partner at M13, former Goldman Sachs investment banker, and co-founder of VeeV—for a practical conversation on the show's three pillars: how to make money, how to invest money, and how to give it away. Courtney shares his path from banking into entrepreneurship and venture capital, where he now helps back and build high-growth companies through M13. y get deep into what makes a founder stand out, why most pitches get ignored, and what actually earns a second meeting with a VC firm. Courtney explains the traits he looks for beyond pattern recognition—grit, self-awareness, adaptability, and the ability to build a strong team around personal weaknesses. He also breaks down why so many founders misuse the AI label, and why staying aligned with your investment thesis matters more than chasing hype.Investing side, Courtney opens up about how his thinking has evolved over time—from taking aggressive risks to build wealth, to thinking more seriously about preserving capital, generating cash flow, and diversifying into areas like real estate. He and Dan also talk candidly about financial literacy, why families need more honest conversations about money, and how marriage, future kids, and changing life stages can shift your personal investment strategy.Discuss why giving back matters for both brands and individuals, how mission-driven companies build stronger culture and loyalty, and Dan closes with the signature legacy question: how much wealth should you really leave to your children?

In this episode of the Certain Growth Podcast, host Joey Chandler sits down with Steve Cadigan, the former first HR Director of LinkedIn and a globally recognized talent strategist. Moving beyond the typical "New Year, New Me" tropes, Steve shares his unique journey from a plan-less college graduate to scaling one of the world's most influential tech companies. The conversation dives deep into the psychology of resolutions, the power of intentionality, and why looking backward is the most effective way to plan your future. Whether you are navigating a career pivot or looking for a more "felt" approach to your personal goals, Steve's insights offer a grounded and inspiring roadmap for the modern professional. Episode Timeline 00:00 – Intro: Joey introduces Steve Cadigan, first HR Director for LinkedIn.01:30 – The Power of "No Plan": Steve discusses his experimentation-led education at Wesleyan University.04:00 – From HR Skeptic to CHRO: Scaling LinkedIn and finding passion in the "art of coordinating people".08:20 – The Ritual of Intentionality: How setting annual personal and professional goals led to international moves and book deals.11:50 – SMART vs. FEET Goals: Joey and Steve discuss the difference between tactical goals and goals that align with your values.14:30 – Finding Your "Professional Edge": Why you don't need to follow a pre-set mold to be great in your field.19:15 – Navigating the "FOBO" (Fear of Being Obsolete): Advice for the younger generation facing high anxiety in the modern workforce.23:00 – Backward Planning: Steve shares a Tim Ferriss-inspired technique for auditing your energy and time.27:40 – The Conductors of Energy: Why "newness" and growth are the ultimate drivers of employee loyalty.32:15 – Overcoming the Perfection Trap: Tips for starting new projects (like writing a book) without having it all figured out.38:40 – Closing: Steve's resolutions for the year and where to connect with him. Guest Bio: Steve Cadigan Steve Cadigan is a world-renowned talent advisor, leadership strategist, and the author of the groundbreaking book Workquake. Best known as LinkedIn's first CHRO, Steve was instrumental in scaling the company from 400 to 4,000 employees across 17 countries during its most pivotal growth era. His work in building world-class cultures has been recognized by The Wall Street Journal and Fortune. Named one of the Top 200 Global Thought Leaders in People & Talent for three consecutive years, Steve now advises some of the world's most prestigious organizations, including Google, Salesforce, the BBC, and McKinsey, as well as top-tier VC firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia. Today, Steve focuses on helping leaders navigate the future of work and the transformative impact of AI on the global workforce.

What if you could invest in promising Canadian startups for as little as $5,000 — and help a food or CPG brand scale to retail shelves at the same time?   In this episode of This Commerce Life, Phil and Kenny sit down with Jesse Wiebe, Community Development Manager and key figure at Startup TNT — an Edmonton-based angel investing syndicate that's democratizing early-stage investment across Canada.   Jesse shares his unconventional path: from growing up on a Saskatchewan farm to working in Gordon Ramsay's kitchen, bartending through an economics degree at York University, and eventually returning home after COVID wiped out his job, his apartment (fire above his unit), and his relationship — all at once. Out of that reset came a mission to activate Canadian capital and build a real startup ecosystem outside of Toronto.   In this episode: ✅ What Startup TNT is and how their stage-gate investment model works ✅ Why Canada is losing its best founders to the U.S. — and what to do about it ✅ How CPG industry veterans can put their retail skills to work as angel investors ✅ The difference between VC, angel investing, and family offices (explained simply) ✅ How early-stage food and beverage brands can apply for funding ✅ Why "playing Moneyball" is the right strategy for Canadian startups ✅ Portfolio companies to watch: Vegain, Seven Summit Snacks, Toothpod, Scription, and more   If you work in Canadian CPG, retail buying, or food and beverage — this episode is your introduction to a funding model that could change how brands you love get built.  

"What does it actually take to get a family office to back you? In this episode, Prashant sits down with Slava Darkhaev, a family office investor based in Cyprus who deploys into emerging VC managers and direct deals across the US market.Slava breaks down how he evaluates first-time fund managers, what a real competitive edge looks like versus a rehearsed pitch, and why network quality matters far more than network size. They also get into portfolio construction, co-investment strategy, the emerging markets opportunity, and the biggest mistakes fund managers make when fundraising.⭐ Sponsored by Podcast10x - Podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.comTopics covered:— What "right to exist" really means for a fund manager— How to evaluate GPs before they have a track record— Why the VC power law makes network everything— LP book vs. direct co-investments — how to run both— Diversification as upside management, not downside protection— India, Southeast Asia & Latin America — the emerging market thesis— The #1 fundraising mistake GPs make repeatedly"If you're a GP raising your first or second fund — or an LP trying to build a smarter allocation strategy — this one is for you.TIMESTAMPS(00:00) - Episode Highlights(00:51) - Introduction to Slava Darkhaev & the Episode(02:19) - The 'Right to Exist' for VCs vs. Founders(05:02) - How to Identify and Back Top-Tier GPs(07:11) - Benchmarking Emerging Managers: The Insider Approach(08:42) - The #1 Trait Separating Top GPs from the Rest(11:05) - Strategy for Direct Investments vs. LP Investments(12:43) - Securing Co-Investment and Pro-Rata Rights(13:51) - A Different Take on Diversification in Venture Capital(16:07) - Investing Thesis on Emerging Trends and Macro Cycles(17:27) - Due Diligence for a Manager's Subsequent Fund(19:22) - Family Office Asset Allocation to Venture Capital(20:02) - Investing in 'Unproven' First-Time Managers(21:29) - Approach to Investing in Global Emerging Markets(24:58) - Key Advice for Fund Managers: The Power of Storytelling(25:46) - Common Mistakes Fund Managers Make When Fundraising(26:46) - Rapid Fire Round(27:51) - Conclusion & How to Connect with SlavaLINKSSlava Darkhaev - https://www.linkedin.com/in/slava-darkhaev/Prashant Choubey - ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab⁠Subscribe to VC10X newsletter - ⁠https://vc10x.beehiiv.com⁠Subscribe on YouTube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@VC10X ⁠Subscribe on Apple Podcasts - ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/vc10x-investing-venture-capital-asset-management-private/id1632806986⁠Subscribe on Spotify - ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/7F7KEhXNhTx1bKTBFgzv3k?si=WgQ4ozMiQJ-6nowj6wBgqQ⁠VC10X website - ⁠https://vc10x.com⁠For sponsorship queries, reach out to prashantchoubey3@gmail.comSubscribe for more conversations at the intersection of family office investing, private markets, and emerging trends in wealth management.

Send a text"RAISE CAPITAL LIKE A LEGEND: https://go.fundraisecapital.co/apply"How do you spot billion-dollar founders? Ryan Miller (Angel Investor) and Kristina Simmons (Overwater Ventures) identify the "Answer-First" framework—evaluating founder psychology and commercialization potential over traditional pitch decks—as the key to elite early-stage investing on this episode of Making Billions.Why Founder Psychology is the New Due Diligence?As AI-generated pitch decks and data rooms become the 2026 industry standard, traditional "pattern matching" is no longer enough to guarantee VC success. Kristina Simmons—whose career spans Khosla Ventures, a16z, and Lululemon—shares her "Answer-First" framework for identifying the high-potential, under-represented gems that institutional investors systematically miss.Subscribe on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTOe79EXLDsROQ0z3YLnu1QQConnect with Ryan Miller:Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rcmiller1/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makingbillionspodcast/X: https://x.com/_MakingBillionsWebsite: https://making-billions.com/[THE HOST]: Ryan Miller is a recovering CFO turned angel The Fresh Patch Podcast - Where Good Pets Get It. Welcome to the Fresh Patch Podcast where we talk about everything, from dog...Listen on: Apple Podcasts Support the showDISCLAIMER: This podcast is for entertainment and general informational purposes only — not legal, financial, tax, or investment advice. Nothing herein constitutes a solicitation or offer to buy or sell any security or investment product. Past performance does not indicate future results. Always consult qualified legal, financial, and tax professionals before making any investment decision. NAME NOTICE: "Making Billions with Ryan Miller" reflects the profile and aspirations of guests featured — it is not a promise, projection, guarantee, or representation of any financial result, income, or outcome for any listener, viewer, or reader. Most individuals who consume this content do not raise any particular amount of capital, and many achieve no financial result whatsoever. "Fund Raise Capital" is a brand identifier only — it is not a promise, guarantee, or representation that any member, subscriber, or listener will raise capital, attract investors, or achieve any financial or professional outcome. This show does not constitute a business opportunity, franchise, investment program, or offer of any product or service of any kind. No part of this show should be construed as a solicitation for investment in any way. Guest views are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the show or host. Host and/or guests may hold positions in assets discussed. This episode may contain paid sponsorships, advertisements, or endorsements. Sponsored content is identified where...

If you aren't elbow-deep in the code, you're flying blind. We are currently witnessing a "Cambrian explosion" of AI, and most investors are watching from the sidelines without a clue of what's actually happening under the hood.In this episode of Demo Day, Adam Struck, Managing Partner at Struck Capital, explains why he fundamentally changed his firm's DNA to survive the AI revolution. Adam argues that the traditional venture capital model is no longer enough; to truly understand tech innovation in 2026, you have to be a builder. By launching Struck Studio and hiring full-time PhD AI researchers, Adam has gained proprietary insights into how AI agents are about to dismantle the traditional B2B SaaS landscape.In this masterclass on founder success and AI strategy, we discuss:The Building Requirement: Why "vanilla" VC is dying and why proprietary access to deal flow now requires operational expertise.Systems of Action vs. Systems of Record: Why agentic workflows are eating the software budget and moving into the labor budget.The 2026 Pivot: Why 2025 was the year of "Intelligence," but 2026 is officially the year of AI Memory.Founder Resilience: The "punched in the face" philosophy that separates unicorn founders from the rest.The Death of "Per-Seat" Pricing: How AI agents are forcing a total rethink of unit economics and enterprise sales.Whether you're a founder looking for startup fundraising tips or an investor trying to navigate the venture capital landscape, this episode is a wake-up call. Adam shares the "spidey sense" he uses to identify winning teams and why he moved his entire firm's focus from GPT to Google Gemini for agentic reasoning.Stop watching from 30,000 feet and start building.

MIT PhD tech to mine lithium in low-concentration domestic reserves without chemical reagents or excess water use

Episode 418 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Jeff Glass, Co-Founder & CEO of Hometap. Jeff's track record is pretty amazing, yet he is incredibly humble. As both an entrepreneur and an investor, he has…in my opinion… earned a spot as one of the top builders in the Boston tech ecosystem. While success always requires the right market timing and a great team, you also need a leader who truly thrives in the full lifecycle journey of building a startup and that is exactly what Jeff has done throughout his career. Listen to this track record. Back in the Internet 1.0 era, he co-founded Transactive Solutions. This tech company included a web property called Zooba which scaled and had very forward looking technology. The company was acquired by a joint venture between Bertelsmann and AOL Time Warner. Then, in the early days of mobile, he led m-Qube through each company phase from figuring out product market fit to the hypergrowth years and eventually an acquisition by VeriSign. Beyond the exit, m-Qube is legendary for its "alumni network," having produced a generation of founders and executives who have gone on to build many successful companies in Boston and beyond. Jeff also spent years as a VC with Bain Capital Ventures, where he sat on the board of LinkedIn for three years leading up to their IPO. He later joined a portfolio company as the CEO of Skyhook Wireless which was acquired by Liberty Media. Today, Jeff is the CEO and Co-Founder of Hometap which has a very meaningful mission: making homeownership less stressful and more accessible. Hometap allows consumers to access the equity in their homes without taking on a loan or sell their home. Think of it like a startup, where an investor is taking equity as a percentage of ownership in a company for a future return. The same idea applies here for consumers and their home. It's just one of those ideas that makes a world of sense. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 03:40 Building Extraordinary Teams 07:38 Jeff's Background & Early Career 15:15 Learning How to Sell 23:27 Early Career 28:30 Building Zooba to an Exit 39:49 m-Qube and the early days of mobile 44:33 Powering the Voting System in American Idol and Deal or No Deal 47:15 VeriSign's Acquisition of m-Qube 50:41 The amazing alumni of m-Qube 54:27 Joining Bain Capital Ventures 58:30 Joining Skyhook Wireless as CEO 01:01:15 The Early Beginnings of Hometap: A New Approach to Home Equity 01:06:28 Building Hometap: Raising Capital and Growing Initial Customer Base 01:12:43 The Scale of Hometap 01:16:08 How Hometap Works 01:20:17 What's Next for Hometap? 01:22:09 Jeff's Interests Outside of Work

Mitchell Green is a legendary growth equity investor and the Founder and Managing Partner of Lead Edge Capital, a firm with over $5 billion in assets under management. Known as a relentless "money maker", Mitchell has led investments in the likes of Bytedance, Toast, Procore, Duo Security and more. AGENDA: 0:00 The SaaS Apocalypse: Why Incumbents Aren't Going to Zero 05:50 "Dead Money": Why Public Software Estimates Were Too High 08:15 Leverage is the Enemy: Lessons from the 1999 Retail Crash 11:50 The Truth About Growth Equity: Zeroes vs. 10X Returns 15:40 Mainframes to AI: Why Oracle and SAP Will Thrive 20:35 The "Stock-Based Comp" Scandal: Silicon Valley's Hidden Crime 24:35 ByteDance vs. The World: Why China Could Win the AI War 31:50 Selling is the Job: Why Buying is the Most Glamorous Part of VC 35:45 Too Many Tourists: Why 50% of VCs Shouldn't Be in the Business 44:10 The Gross Dollar Retention Rule: The Only Number That Matters in SaaS

This week, we're back with another weekly roundup where we discuss the current state of markets as Bitcoin holds steady around $70k. We then deep dive into how to unlock 24/7 markets, insider trading on prediction markets, recent VC fundraises & more. Enjoy! -- Follow Rob: https://x.com/HadickM Follow Santi: https://x.com/santiagoroel Follow Empire:https://x.com/theempirepod -- Join us at DAS (Digital Asset Summit) in New York City this March! Follow the link below to grab your ticket, and use code EMPIRE200 to get $200 off your ticket! https://blockworks.co/event/digital-asset-summit-nyc-2026 -- Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (03:20) State of The Market (08:05) How To Unlock 24/7 Markets (18:54) DAS Plug (19:20) Insider Trading On Prediction Markets (52:58) OKX Raises At a $25B Valuation (55:34) a16z & Paradigm Raising $3.5B (01:09:33) Will Crypto Prices Recover? (01:13:16) Content of The Week -- Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, Rob and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Simon Swords founded Fundipedia after starting in a backyard shed building bespoke software. Originally a custom development shop, his firm built a data governance platform for major buy-side asset managers including HSBC, Barclays, and Legal & General. Over time, Fundipedia evolved into a high-retention enterprise SaaS platform with strong net revenue retention and Rule of 40 performance. Simon navigated long consultative sales cycles, regulatory tailwinds, and a tightly networked financial services market to build a durable recurring revenue engine. After turning down an initial offer, Simon grew ARR further and ultimately sold in 2024 at approximately 10x ARR. He exited fully, used ChatGPT extensively in diligence, and now reflects on endurance, discipline, and surviving long enough for luck to compound. Key Takeaways Survive First — Don't make a mistake that kills you or the business. Staying alive creates the opportunity for luck to compound. Enterprise Patience — Two-year sales cycles are normal at the top end. Persistence and reputation matter more than speed. Rule Of 40 Discipline — Strong growth plus profitability gives founders leverage in exit timing and valuation. Problems Over Product — Founders obsess over product; buyers care about solving painful, expensive problems. Build To Exit Cleanly — Structure the company so it runs without you before you start acquisition conversations. Quote from Simon Swords, Founder of Fundipedia "I think the most important thing is not to make a mistake that kills you or the business. While you're in the arena and you've not been taken out yet, dragged off by the hyenas or lions, whatever they used back in the Roman days, you've still got a chance to make something magical happen. "You do something stupid, kill the business, kill your reputation, you're done. Entrepreneurs hate the word luck. I do feel luck. I am lucky. Of course I'm lucky. I have to be lucky. You make your own luck.  "But I'll tell you what I didn't do. I didn't make a mistake that killed me or the business and the entire way through. Even when I was going through hell, never, no matter how neurotic or anxious or all the negative kind of traits you can imagine would have flown through me. I never made a mistake that killed the business." Links Simon Swords on LinkedIn Fundipedia on LinkedIn Fundipedia website FE fundinfo website Podcast Sponsor – LaunchBay LaunchBay helps B2B software companies automate client onboarding and implementation so customers activate faster and everyone stays aligned. If your onboarding includes data collection, setup steps, approvals, training, or any level of customization, LaunchBay replaces the messy mix of emails, spreadsheets, and meetings with a clear, all-in-one onboarding system. Teams use LaunchBay to onboard clients faster, stay on top of follow-ups automatically, and deliver a smoother experience, without hiring more people or adding more tools. Visit launchbay.com/practical and get 25% off your first 3 months on any LaunchBay plan. The Practical Founders Podcast Tune into the Practical Founders Podcast for weekly in-depth interviews with founders who have built valuable software companies without big funding. Subscribe to the Practical Founders Podcast using your favorite podcast app or view on our YouTube channel. Get the weekly Practical Founders newsletter and podcast updates at practicalfounders.com. Practical Founders CEO Peer Groups Be part of a committed and confidential group of practical founders creating valuable software companies without big VC funding.  A Practical Founders Peer Group is a committed and confidential group of founders/CEOs who want to help you succeed on your terms. Each Practical Founders Peer Group is personally curated and moderated by Greg Head.

Who dares to make predictions in the current landscape? We do!  Our Predictions are back. Will our track-record continue on a high or will we be fundamentally wrong? Listen in to our Predictions for 2026 Navigation: Intro What will 2026 be all about? AI, AI and … more AI The big Hardware movements Of Start-ups and VCs Regulatory & Geopolitical Headwinds… and the Wars Fintech, Crypto and Frontier Tech Conclusion Our co-hosts: Bertrand Schmitt, Entrepreneur in Residence at Red River West, co-founder of App Annie / Data.ai, business angel, advisor to startups and VC funds, @bschmitt Nuno Goncalves Pedro, Investor, Managing Partner, Founder at Chamaeleon, @ngpedro Our show:   Tech DECIPHERED brings you the Entrepreneur and Investor views on Big Tech, VC and Start-up news, opinion pieces and research. We decipher their meaning, and add inside knowledge and context. Being nerds, we also discuss the latest gadgets and pop culture news Subscribe To Our Podcast Bertrand Schmitt Introduction Welcome to Tech Deciphered Episode 74. That would be an episode about some predictions about 2026. What will be 2026 all about? I guess this year is probably starting with a bang. We saw the acquisition of xAI by SpaceX. We saw an acquisition from Grok by NVIDIA. What’s your take about what would be the big themes in 2026? I guess it would be for sure about AI and space. Nuno Goncalves Pedro What will 2026 be all about? Yeah. I predict a year that will be a little bit more of a year of reckoning in some way. There will be a lot of things that I think we’ll start seeing through. The fact that we are in the midst of an amazing transformational era for technology, the use of AI, but at the same time, obviously, a ridiculous bubble that is going alongside it as we’ve discussed in previous episodes. I think that we’ll start seeing some early reckonings of that, companies that might start failing, floundering, maybe a couple of frauds along the way, etc. I’ll tell you what I will not make many predictions about today, which is geopolitics. Geopolitics, I will not make predictions at all. Who the hell knows what’s going to happen to the world this year in 2026? I don’t dare making any predictions on that. Back to things where I would make predictions. I think on AI, we’ll have a little bit of reckoning. We’ll talk about it a little bit more in detail during this episode. Interesting elements around the hardware and physical space. Physical space, we just dedicated a full episode to it. We won’t go into a lot of details on that, but definitely on the hardware side, we’ll talk a little bit more about it. The VC landscape is going through an incredible transformation. We’ll talk about it today as well and some of our predictions for this year. What will happen to the asset class? It seems to be transforming itself dramatically. Obviously, that has a very direct impact on startups, so we’ll talk about that as well. And then to close a little bit the chapter on this, we will address some regulatory and geopolitical, let’s call it, headwinds without making maybe too many complex predictions. We shall see. Maybe by that time of the episode, we will be making some predictions. You guys should stay and listen to us, and maybe we will actually make some predictions about the geopolitical transformations that we will see this year in the world. Then last but not the least, we’ll talk about fintech, crypto, frontier tech, and a couple of other areas before concluding the episode. A classic predictions’ episode. We normally have a pretty good track record on some of these, but right now, the world is going a bit interesting, not to say insane. Bertrand Schmitt Yes, and going back to some news, Groq technically was not acquired, but, practically, it’s as if it got acquired. I’m talking about Groq, G-R-O-Q. The AI semiconductor company focused on inference AI, and it was late December. It was a way to end the year. This year, we started again with an acquisition of xAI by its sister company, SpaceX. I guess that’s where we are starting. AI, AI and … more AI We are going to start on AI. That’s definitely the big stuff. Everything these days, I guess, is about AI or has to have some connection with AI, or it doesn’t matter. I think every company in the world has seen that. You have to have the absolute minimum on AI strategy. You better execute on this strategy and show results, I would say. For the companies that were not AI native, you truly have to have a way to transform yourself. I guess at some point, the stretch might be too much, and it’s not really reasonable. Then you maybe better stay on what you are doing, especially if you’re in tech, you better be moving faster to AI. Nuno Goncalves Pedro Just to highlight, and I think throughout the episode, you’ll see that there’re obviously a lot of implications that would manifest themselves into capital markets. I mean, we’ll specifically talk about VCs and startups later on. But the fact that everything needs to be AI, the fact that there’s so much innovation happening right now, in my opinion, and this is maybe the first pre-topic to AI, is we’ll see a tremendous increase in M&A activity this year across the board. I mean, we’ve seen already some big acquihires we mentioned in some of our previous episodes, but we’ll see a lot more activity on M&A this year. Normally, that’s a precursor to the opening of capital markets. I predict also that there will be a reopening of the IPO market that never really reopened last year, to be honest. M&A, a lot more, reopening of the IPO market. Normally, it happens in the second or third quarter of the year. That’s what my M&A friends tell me. First quarter of year, everyone’s figuring out stuff. Then last quarter of the year, things should be more or less closed. Maybe the third quarter is the big quarter. We shall see. But definitely, as a precursor to our conversation today, I think we’ll see a lot of M&A, and we’ll see reopening of the IPO mark. Bertrand Schmitt I guess last year was not as big as you could expect on M&A given the tariff situation announced in April and May. I mean, it became quite tough to do IPO in such market conditions. Definitely, we can hope for something dramatically different in 2026. I guess talking about public markets and IPO, I guess the big one everyone is waiting for is SpaceX. SpaceX getting even more interesting with its xAI acquisition. Nuno Goncalves Pedro Do you think that because of the acquisition, it’s more likely that it will happen this year, or because of the acquisition, it’s less likely that it will happen this year? Bertrand Schmitt That’s a good question. My guess is the acquisition of xAI is all about xAI needing more financing and cheaper financing. This acquisition is a pathway to that. SpaceX being a much bigger company, a company that is also making much more revenues. I could bet that there is higher probability that, actually, SpaceX will go public in order to finance itself. At the same time, will it have enough time to prepare itself for the IPO given this acquisition just happened? Can they do that in 6 months? I mean, if anyone can do it, I guess it’s Elon Musk. It’s a strategy to present an even more attractive company with an even more interesting story, a story of vertical integration from AI to space. I guess the story as it’s presented itself right now, it’s one about having your AI data centers in space. Because in space, you have much better solar energy production with solar panels. You have a perfect cooling situation because you are in space. Thanks to Starlink, you have the mean to communicate between the satellites and with Earth itself. I think if someone can pull up a story like AI data center in space, I guess Elon Musk can. There is, of course, a lot of questions about is it practical? Is it economical? Yes. I certainly agree. I’m not clear on the mass, and can you make it work? Again, I mean, Elon Musk single-handedly, with SpaceX, managed to transform the space market on its head. I mean, they are the biggest satellite launching company in the world. They have the most satellites in the world. I mean, I’m not sure I would bet against him, and I guess I would probably believe that he could pull up something. Time frames, different story. The 2-3 years data center in space for AI as cheap as on Earth, I have more trouble with that one. I mean, it’s a usual suspect with Elon Musk. You promise something unachievable in a few years, but, ultimately, you still manage to reach it in 5 or 10. Again, I would not bet against the strategy. Nuno Goncalves Pedro Yeah. I’ve talked to a couple of space experts, people that have launched rockets, and have worked JPL, NASA, and a couple of other places, etc. For what it’s worth, their feedback is, “No way in hell, and we’re decades away.” We’ll see. I mean, to your point, Elon has pulled very dramatic stuff. Not as fast as he normally says he’s going to pull it, but within a time span that we all see it. Difficult to bet against him. In terms of actually the prediction, maybe to respond to the prediction as well, will SpaceX IPO? I’m going to make a prediction that has a very high likelihood of missing the mark, but I think Tesla’s going to buy and merge them both into it. It’s going to become a public company through Tesla. That’s my hypothesis. Bertrand Schmitt No. That’s supposed to be it. That’s how you solve that. Nuno Goncalves Pedro And Elon controls the whole universe. X, xAI, Tesla, SpaceX, all under one umbrella beautifully run. And SolarCity is well in there, of course, so wonderful. Bertrand Schmitt That’s possible. Certainly, you are not the only one thinking Tesla will acquire or merge with SpaceX. To remind everyone, Tesla is around 1.3, 1.5 trillion market cap. Depending on the day, SpaceX seems to be valued at similar range, 1.2, 1.3 trillion. It looks like it’s the most valued private company at this stage. These are companies of similar size, so that’s one piece of the puzzle. When you think about the combined company, we could be talking about a 3 trillion entity. Playing right here with the biggest companies in the marketplace today. Nuno Goncalves Pedro With a couple of tweets from Elon, it will rapidly get to 4 to 5 trillion. Bertrand Schmitt That’s so tricky. Nuno Goncalves Pedro Yes. On AI and back to AI, one thing I think that we’re about to see is this will probably be the year of agentic AI. Obviously, we predict a lot of growth on that side of the fence, in particular on the enterprise B2B side. We see a lot of opportunities coming through. From our perspective, at least at Chamaeleon, we generally believe that there’s going to be a lot of movements on agentic AI. It’s also going to be probably the year of the first big fails of agentic AI that will be newsworthy. There will be some elements about that loop and how it gets closed that will happen. I think we might see some scandals already. We’re already seeing the social network of bots talking to bots. We will see other scandals going on this year even in the consumer space and in the bot to bot space, which we now can talk about or in the AI agent to AI agent space. My prediction is we will see some move forwards. There’ll be some dramatic funding rounds along the way. We’ll see a couple of really cool things out of the gates coming out that are really impressive, but we’ll also see the first big misses of the technology stack. I don’t think we’ll go fully mainstream yet this year, so it’s probably maybe something more for 2027 along the way. That would be my prediction again. I think enterprise will lead the way. We’ll definitely see a lot of stuff on consumer as well that is cool. Then we’ll all have our own personal assistance in our hands, basically, literally in our phones. Bertrand Schmitt Going back to agentic AI, we also started the year with some pretty dramatic move. I mean, the launch of Clawdbot, renamed OpenClaw. I mean, this stuff took fire in like a week or 2. It was coded by just one person who actually didn’t even code the product but used AI to build the product, 100% used AI, proposing some new ways also to leverage AI to do coding. He has a pretty unique approach. It’s not vibe coding. I would say it’s a better way to do that. Then the surprising evolution with the launch of a social network for AI agents, Moltbook. I mean, this stuff, probably there is some fake in it. But at the same time, I think it’s quite impressive because it’s the first time we see truly 100,000 plus agents communicating directly to each other. Yeah. I mean, that’s the first time we see surfacing the possibility of some sort of hive mind on the Internet. It’s pretty surprising. Right now, all of this is a hack done in a few days. By end of year, by 2 years, 3 years, we might discover that, actually, the best approach to AI might not be the AI assistant like we are doing today, but a combination of hundreds of thousands of AI working closely together. We might be witnessing the first sign of new intelligence in a way. Nuno Goncalves Pedro Things like this social network might either be Skynet, the beginning of Skynet. They might be the beginning of Her, or they might just be a fad and nothing really happens. It’s just interesting to see what these agents are doing. Bertrand Schmitt Totally. Nuno Goncalves Pedro Obviously, there are real and clear and present dangers of some of the integrations of AI we’re seeing in the market. Interesting enough, and I’ll ask you for your prediction a bit, Bertrand. I think we’ll probably see the first big mishap of AI being used in some infrastructural decision in the age of AI. I mean, we’ve seen AI issues in the past and software issues in the past. We talked in previous episodes about that as well. Mishaps of software that have led to people dying. But I think probably the first big mishap will happen this year as well. Very public mishap of the use of AI and serve its interactions with infrastructure or something that’s very platform related, etc, that will have big impact that everyone will notice. That’s my prediction for the year as well. We’ll have the first big oops moment, as I would call it, for AI in this new age of full on AI. Bertrand Schmitt I would say first some perspective. I think today, people are not using AI directly for life and death decision, at least not that I’m aware. We’re not going to let AI fly a plane, for instance, tomorrow so you can be, reassured. At the same time, given there is such a race to AI, there definitely might be some mistakes. We were talking about the social network for AI agents, Moltbook. Apparently, all the keys used to secure the AI were shared by mistake because it was not properly locked down. We can see that indirectly, mistakes will be made for sure. Two, it’s highly probable that some people will trust AI too much to do some stuff, and this stuff might not work and might have some grave consequence. Hopefully, there is not so much of this. Hopefully, it’s mostly AI used for the good. But you’re right. I mean, at some point, the more we use the technology, the more there would be issue. I mean, it’s highly probable. Nuno Goncalves Pedro That will lead me to another prediction, which is, and we’ll talk about more of it later, but it probably will lead to the first significant movement in terms of regulatory environment certainly in the US at some point if it happens in the US in particular, where there will be some movement that will be like, “Hey, you guys can’t do this anymore.” Because this will probably emerge from mismanaged interfaces. From systems having access to stuff that they shouldn’t have access to in the first place. Talking a little bit more about what’s happening in AI. You’ve already mentioned some of the issues that relate actually to security and cybersecurity. We keep talking about AI. We keep talking about all these infrastructure pieces and platforms that are being built. I think we’ll have a lot more incidents like the one you just mentioned where things will be shared that shouldn’t have been shared, where people will break systems and get into it, etc. Let’s see where that takes us, which is a little bit ironic because, obviously, with AI, the promise is that cybersecurity becomes more robust as well because there’re agents working on our behalf on the cybersecurity side. There’s also agents working on the other side. Bertrand Schmitt It’s a constant race. It’s the attackers, defenders. Each time you have new technology, you have a new race to who is going to attack or defend the best. Each new wave of technology, it’s an opportunity to challenge the status quo. Nuno Goncalves Pedro The attackers have been winning, and I feel they’ll continue winning in 2026. I think it’s going to still be a year of attack. We’ll see more and more breaches, more and more stuff that will happen. Bertrand Schmitt I don’t know if they will win. I mean, it’s normal that they win once in a while. For sure, some infrastructure is not updated as it should. Some stuff are not managed as it should, so there will always be breaches. I don’t know if things are dramatically going to change because, again, everyone who cares who is going to update his infrastructure with AI for defense. There is no question that you have no choice. We will see. That I don’t know. For sure, AI will be used to attack directly with AI. Maybe you’re able to do bigger, larger scale attack. Or thanks to AI, you are simply able to create new type of attacks more easily. AI can be used behind the scene as a way to prepare and organise new type of attacks, even if it’s not used directly live in the battle. Nuno Goncalves Pedro One topic that we’ll come back to later is the geopolitics of everything, but maybe more broadly. On the geopolitics of AI, it’s very clear that we have an arms race going on. Obviously, the US on the one hand, China on the other hand is the two extremes, putting tremendous amount of capital into data centers just at the base of that infrastructure. Chipset development, chipset access, a huge theme in terms of the export restrictions, etc, that are being forced by the US. I think it will continue. From a European standpoint, obviously, they’re stuck between a rock and a hard place, to be very honest. Let’s see what happens on that side of the fence. My view of the world is that certainly from a US and China perspective, we’re going to see a lot more movements in 2026, like big movements. The Chinese movements we always see in delay.  It takes us a couple of months, sometimes even more than that to understand exactly what’s going on. I think we’re going to see some huge moves this year in terms of the States, the United States of America, and China really pouring capital into the creation of the next big winners around AI. I think the US is obviously more visible. We see a lot of these companies. We’ve just discussed xAI and its acquisition by SpaceX or merger. I don’t know what they’re calling it exactly. Effectively, on the China side, the movements I think are already very big. As I said, it will take a while to figure out exactly what those moves are. One thing that I propose is that at some point, China will have very little dependency on chipsets from the US. I’m not sure it’s going to happen this year, but I think the writing is on the wall. Irrespective of any other geopolitical issues that is coming to the fore at this moment in time. That’s one of the key areas or in arenas of fight. Bertrand Schmitt It makes sense. If you are China, you will look at what happened. You would think that you cannot just depend on the largest of one country. It makes rational sense, the same way it makes rational sense for the US to limit exports to China because there is value to delay some peer pressure that could use these technologies for good but also for bad. If you were an ally of the US, that would be one thing. But when you are not an ally of the US, that certainly should be a different perspective. Maybe one last point concerning agents, I think there will be a lot that will revolve around coding. We can see OpenAI with Codex. We can see Cloud with code. There was, of course, [inaudible 00:18:28] that was trying to be big on agentic coding. I think agentic coding was one of the big transformation in 2025 and is going to get bigger in 2026. I think for a lot of people who do coding, there was a radical transformation in terms of what you can achieve, what you can do, how much you can trust AI to help you code. I start to think we might see this year, the replacement of not just one AI replace one coder, but one AI replace a full team because of the new ability to manage that at scale. Coding might be a common activity where you are going to think about outcomes, think about objective, think about how you organise, but not really coding by itself anymore. A big change, like you used to code, directly your hand on the stuff, but step by step, everyone is going to become a manager of agent. I think in one year, we saw enough transformation to think that in the coming year, the transformation can be even more dramatic. Nuno Goncalves Pedro The big Hardware movements Now switching gears to hardware. Obviously, a lot of movements in 2025 and over the last few years. One piece of thesis that we’ve had long-standing at Chamaeleon is that we will see the emergence of AI devices. Some of them have been tremendous failures as we discussed in the past. I predict that we’ll have a couple of really interesting full stack AI devices in the market this year. Why does that matter? Because, as many of you know, obviously, there’s compute that can happen in data centers and cloud infrastructure all over the world, but also there’s compute that can happen at the edges. The more you can move to the edges and the more you can create devices that actually allow you to have user experiences that are very distinctive at the edge, the more powerful some of these devices might become. I predict Apple will not be the first to launch anything on this. I predict probably OpenAI, after the acquisition of IO, will maybe not launch something this year, but will announce something this year. I’ll step back on that prediction. They’ll announce something this year, but maybe not launch. But we’ll start seeing some devices that have some interesting value in the market, probably devices that are AI devices, but they are very focused on very specific user flows, and so very much adequate to specific activities. I won’t make a prediction on that, but I think areas that would make sense for that to happen would be obviously around fitness, health, et cetera, et cetera, where we already have the ascendancy of products like Oura Ring and others out there. Definitely, that’s one area that might have quite a lot of developments. I think AI-first devices, devices that are very focused on compute at the edges, providing user flows that are AI-enabled to end users, we’ll see a lot more of that and a lot more activity this year. Again, I don’t think Apple will be necessarily ahead of the game. Again, maybe OpenAI will give us something to at least think about and look forward to. Bertrand Schmitt First, I’m not sure it will be that transformational because if it’s not in your phone, in your pocket, there is only so much you can do with it, and there is only so much computing power you will have. I’m doubtful it would be really impactful this year. Nuno Goncalves Pedro I feel we’ve been discussing this shift of paradigm in input and output. For me, some of these devices could lead to that shift. Because, again, a mobile phone is not a great long-term paradigm for the usage that we have because it’s really constrained by the screen. The screen is really what takes most of the battery life away. If we didn’t have that screen, what could we do? If we have the block that is as big as a mobile phone, and it didn’t have a screen, it was just compute, that’s a mini computer, a microcomputer. Bertrand Schmitt That’s a fair point, but I don’t see that transformation this year. That’s really more my point. I can see that you can have AI-enabled smart glasses, and it’s clear there is a race to AI-enabled smart glasses. My point is more to go beyond the gadget, it would take quite a while. It would need to have cameras. It would need to analyse what you see. It would need to hear what you hear. Again, it might come, but then at some point, it would be okay, what do you do with it? We have the example of the movie Her. That’s showing Her what it could be. There are definitely possibilities. It’s clear that if you take the big VR headset like the Apple Vision Pro, there is a failure from that perspective in the sense that I think it’s a great, amazing device. The big problem is that it’s doing way more that makes sense. I think there will be a clearer separation between your smart AR glasses that has to be light, that has to be always unconnected, and that’s primarily there to help you make sense of the world around you. The true VR headset that doesn’t really require much in terms of AI, and it’s just there to immerse you in a different world. For this, we know, unfortunately, in some ways, that there is not a lot of demand for it. Maybe there is little demand because you are too hidden in your own world. The technology is not working well enough yet. There are a lot of reasons. But I think Apple trying to do both at the same time, AR and VR, with the Vision Pro, was a pretty grave structural mistake. I think we would see a clearer line of separation between the two. There is bigger market opportunity for AR glasses. That, I certainly agree. There is opportunity to connect that to a computing device. As you talk about, your glasses are your screen, your phone becomes something in your pocket connected to your glasses. Nuno Goncalves Pedro For me, Apple has their way of doing things. From the perspective of what you said, they normally really plan their devices. Even if it’s a big shift in terms of a new area, like they tried with the Vision Pro, and we criticised them for launching it as a device that should have been more of a dev device that they really launched as a full-on device, but that’s their playbook, classically. I think Apple needs to change how they put products out and how they experiment with those products, et cetera. I think they have enough money to be doing everything all the time and figuring it out. If they don’t want to put it out, then they need to do a lot more hell of testing internally with their silos, but they should be playing across all these arenas, VR, AR, everything. They just should put devices out that are either ready for prime time, or they should call it something else. They should call it like this is a dev device or whatever it is. Bertrand Schmitt I agree with you. My complaint is more that it was marketed as a consumer device when it was not. It was a true developer device. Two, they tried to mix the two at once, and it made no sense. No one is going to walk in their home or in the street with their Vision Pro on their head. You have to be deranged, quite frankly, to have use cases like this. I think that for me is a crazy mistake from a company like Apple that prides itself in pure UI, pure user interface, very well-designed device for one specific use case, not mixing the two use cases. We still don’t have Macs with a touchscreen, you know?  We still don’t have an iPad with a good OS that makes use of this great hardware. For some strange reason, they decided to mix everything in the Vision Pro with a device that weighs a ton on your head and is so uncomfortable. That’s why, for me, I’m like, “Guys, what is wrong? Why did you let this team run crazy?” I hope at some point, Apple will go back to the drawing board. My understanding is that that’s what they are doing. They are going to have two devices, one smart glasses, an evolution of the Vision Pro, just focus on VR. They might actually abandon the concept of the pure VR-oriented headset. Because, from a market size perspective, it might not be big enough for Apple, quite frankly. Nuno Goncalves Pedro I read on all of the above, and people at this point was like, “Why are then players like Samsung and others not doing it. LG, et cetera?” Because those players historically have not invented new categories. They’re amazing at catching up once the category is invented, and then they scale the hell out of it, and that’s what these companies have been exceptional at. I wouldn’t see a dramatic innovation, I think, in terms of devices coming from any of the big ones on that side of the fence. Not to disrespect them in any way, but I think that’s not been their playbook ever. Again, if the origination doesn’t come from a start-up or from an Apple, I don’t see those guys going after it. My bet is that we’ll see some start-up activity and, again, hopefully, some announcement from IO now within the OpenAI world. Bertrand Schmitt I would slightly disagree with you. I see where you are coming from. But take the Samsung Galaxy Note, that sudden much bigger headphone that no one was doing that was launched by Samsung, at some point, it forced Apple to launch an iPhone Max. Let’s look at the Z Fold that Samsung launched 7 years ago, copied by everyone. Now Samsung launching a trifold. Apple has still not launched their foldable phone. I think there is a mix, actually, of sometimes- Nuno Goncalves Pedro For me, that’s not a proper new category. It’s still a mobile phone. It just happens to have a screen that folds in half. Bertrand Schmitt The iPhone was still a mobile phone, you could argue.  Nuno Goncalves Pedro No. I think the iPhone was…  I could actually agree with you on that point. Maybe Apple is not as innovative in that case. I think what Steve Jobs was exceptionally good at in terms of his ability as this master product manager was to be an exceptional curator of user flows and user experiences, and creating incredible experiences from devices based on that. That was his secret sauce. Could you say, “Wasn’t all of this stuff already around?” It was. You just put it all together very neatly and very nicely. But if you’re talking about significant shifts in how a category is done, the iPhone was a significant shift in how the category was done. The Fold is still an interesting device. I actually have a Fold right now in front of me. The 7 that you highly recommended to me that we both got, the Z Fold 7. I think they do amazing devices. I don’t think they normally are the most innovative players. Then, when they come to innovation, it comes from technology edges. Obviously, they have Samsung Display, there’s a bunch of other things. They had the ability to do foldable screens in-house themselves. Bertrand Schmitt I don’t disagree with you. I think there is an interesting situation where some companies have some strengths, another one has some strengths. My worry with Apple is that this was not demonstrated with the Vision Pro. The Vision Pro was a hot pot of technologies barely integrated together, with use cases absolutely not well-defined and certainly not something that makes sense for most of us. There is a question of has Apple lost it? While Samsung actually keeps doing their own stuff, that, yes, might be more minor improvements, but at least they are doing it. Because it looks like Apple is missing the train on even the minor improvements. By the way, you might not be aware, but Samsung launched its Vision Pro competitor. Interestingly enough, it might be a better product in some ways, being much lighter and much more comfortable. Nuno Goncalves Pedro We should play around with that and report back to our listeners. Of Start-ups and VCs Moving to venture capital and the startup ecosystem and what’s happening there, I think it is very much a bifurcated environment, and it’s bifurcated for both VCs and for startups. If you’re a startup in the AI space, and you have the hottest team since sliced bread, and you can create FOMO at the speed of light, you can raise ridiculous rounds. Five hundred million at the $3 billion, or $4 billion, or $5 billion valuation, and you still haven’t really even started. First round, you can raise 500 million. That’s back to the whole discussion on Bubble and where are we, et cetera. Some of these companies might actually become huge, some of them might not. But definitely, we are seeing really the haves and have-nots on the startup ecosystem with incredible teams raising a lot of money very, very early on or mid-stage if they’ve already existed for a while, and then the rest not being able to raise. We see a lot of non-necessarily AI sectors, some of the areas of SaaS that don’t necessarily have AI in it, or fintech, or the consumer space that are really, really struggling. If you don’t have an AI story for your startup right now, it’s extremely difficult to raise money unless your numbers are just the best numbers ever. That’s, I think, the first part of the element of bifurcation that we’re seeing today. The second element of bifurcation that we’re seeing today in terms of fundraising is for VCs themselves, and really propelled by the large VC firms raising more and more capital in recent orbits, announcing 15 billion across funds raised. Lightspeed, I think, had made an announcement a couple of weeks ago as well. They’ve raised a bunch of money as well. The big guys are all raising a lot of money. At some point in time, the question some of you might ask is, “These VCs are redeploying more and more money if they have a couple of billion for a VC fund. How does that look like? Is that still VC?” My perspective, I’ve shared before in some of our previous episodes, is that that’s no longer venture capital. At that point in time, we’re talking about something else. Private equity hedge funds, if you want to call them, maybe funds that are really driven by growth investment or late-stage investment. If you have a couple of billion under management, you’re not going to make your returns by writing a $3 million check in a series seed and leading that round.  That has implications for everyone in the ecosystem. It has implications for smaller funds that obviously have a lot more difficulty in raising capital. It’s difficult to differentiate. Last but not least, also for startups that really continue searching for that capital that is out there. Andreessen Horowitz, for example, runs Speedrun, which is a great program for companies around consumer in particular. Initially, it was a lot for gaming. But at some point in time, Andreessen Horowitz could decide that they don’t want to invest more in you. They just put money from Speedrun, which is obviously a very small check compared to the very large checks they could write mid to late stage and that will have an effect on you as a startup. What happens at that point in time if Andreessen Horowitz is not backing you up in later stages? More than that, what happens if I can’t get these big funds interested in me? Are the small funds still valuable to me? Punchline, my view is yes. Obviously, we’re a smaller fund, so there’s parochial interest in what I’m saying. Small funds can still create a ton of value for you, also in terms of credibility, ability to accompany you in those first stages of investment, and the ability to bring other larger investors later down the road as well. There’s definitely a big movement happening in terms of the fundraising for VC funds, which we shouldn’t neglect, which is the big guys are raising a lot more capital and are therefore emptying the market to smaller funds that are having more and more difficult raising at this point in time. We had discussed that there would be a need for concentration in the industry, that micro funds would need to concentrate, and we didn’t have the space for so many micro funds as we had around. But the way it’s happening is extremely dramatic at this moment in time. I think it will continue through 2026. Bertrand Schmitt Remember a few years ago, with the rise of AI, there was more and more of the question about, “What’s the point of SaaS at this stage?” Because SaaS was around for 15 years. Basically, how do you come up with something new that was not already tested, validated by the market? How do you bring something new? We say this was reinforced to the power of 10. If your product is not clearly built from the ground up for a new use case enabled by AI, anyone could then might have built your product 5, 10 years ago, and therefore, why now has no clear answer, and it’s a big problem. I’m still surprised myself to still see some entrepreneurs where you talk to them about AI because you don’t see them in the deck, and they explain to you, “It’s not yet there,” and you’re like, “What’s wrong with you guys?” Fine. Do whatever you want. Do a small business and whatever, but don’t think you can come up pitch and raise without an AI story. The second category is people who come with an AI story, but you can feel very quickly, I guess you saw that many times, Nuno, where just a story layered on top with little credibility. It’s not better. It’s not enough to just have a story. Your business needs to be radically built differently or radically proposing some brand-new use cases that were impossible to solve 5 years ago. Nuno Goncalves Pedro To stack up on that, absolutely in agreement. If you’re just adding to the story, and it’s an afterthought, and you’re just trying to make the story somehow gel, once you go into one or two layers of due diligence, your investors will very quickly realise that you’re not really AI-first or dramatically AI-enabled or whatever. It’s just you’re sort of stacking something on top of another thesis. It needs to make sense from the product onwards. It’s not just, let’s just put it together with chewing gum, and magically, people will give you money. It was true also if we remember the good old crypto blockchain days, where everyone’s investing in crypto. A lot of stories that didn’t make much sense. In that sense, it’s not very different. I would go one step further. I think in the world of the VC winter that we’re a little bit in, where it’s more and more difficult if you’re a smaller fund to raise your fund at this moment in time, there’s a lot of sources of distinctiveness still talked about, like proprietary networks, access to deal flow, fast track record, all that stuff that really, really matters. But our bet continues at Chamaeleon continues being that you need to be AI-first as a VC fund yourself. You need to have core advantages in using not only readily-available AI tools or third-party available AI tools, data sources, technology stacks, but actually building your own stack over time, which is what we did with Mantis at Chamaeleon. Again, just to reinforce that, I think we’re at the beginning of that stage. We, Chamaeleon, are ahead of the game, but we think that the rest of the market will have to move towards that as well. Still, to be honest, very surprising to me to see that many significant large players are doing very little still around some of these spaces. They have data scientists. They’re running some tools. They’re running some analysis and all that stuff, but it’s still, again, back to the point I was making for startups, all glued up with chewing gum. It doesn’t all come together nicely, which it does need to from a platform standpoint. Bertrand Schmitt It’s quite surprising. I agree with you that some VC funds might think that they can do business as usual in that brand-new world. It’s difficult to believe. Nuno Goncalves Pedro Maybe moving a little bit toward the capital formation piece. We already discussed the M&A space really accelerating. We’ve also discussed the IPO market and some predictions on that. Secondaries, there’s obviously a lot of liquidity coming from secondaries from mid to late stage. I think it will continue throughout the rest of 2026. A lot of activity in buying, selling in secondaries as some asset managers are becoming more distressed, as some very high net worth individuals and family offices are becoming more distressed as well, at the same time, where there’s a lot of opportunities to potentially arbitrage around some investments. I believe a lot of money will be made and lost this year by decisions made this year, just to be very, very clear in terms of equity, purchases, et cetera. Exciting year ahead of us. Definitely a very, very interesting market ahead of us. Secondaries, M&A, growth, and late-stage investing, also, early-stage investing will continue just for those that were wondering. Last but not least, the public markets, the IPO market as well. Bertrand Schmitt One of the big questions for the IPO market would be, will SpaceX go public? Would it be good for the startup ecosystem? Because suddenly that they go public, it would be to raise money. If they raise money, will there be any money left for anybody else? That would be an interesting test of the market. For sure, it would be proof that market are risk on financing a new IPO like this one. Or as you said, maybe there is no IPO, and it’s a merger with Tesla. Time will tell. Nuno Goncalves Pedro Regulatory & Geopolitical Headwinds… and the Wars Moving maybe to our topic of regulation and geopolitical headwinds, as we’re seeing … definitely not tailwinds. The Google antitrust verdict and, obviously, the remedies are expected to come forward now, and a lot of people are saying, “There are some risks of structural separation.” What do you think? Is it cool, but nothing will happen in the end dramatically? Alphabet or Google? I’m not sure, actually. It’s Google LLC. I think that’s the case. It’s The United States versus Google LLC. Bertrand Schmitt I’m not sure. Personally, I’m not a big fan. I think there needs to be a better way to manage some anticompetitive behavior. I’m not a big fan. There was this temptation to do that for Microsoft 25 years ago. Look at what happened. No one needed to buy Microsoft to leave space for others. I see the same with Google, and I guess they are happy to not be the number 1 in AI today, but to have an open AI in front of them. Even if they are doing a great job, by the way, to move forward and go faster and faster. Personally, quite impressed now with some of what they have released. Gemini 3 is doing great from my perspective. I’m not a big fan of this. I think to be clear, it’s important that bigger companies don’t behave anticompetitively, but at the same time, we need to find the right approach where it’s not about breaking these companies, and it’s also not about forbidding them to do acquisitions. Because then you end up with what NVIDIA just did with a $20 billion acquihire IP licensing type of acquisition, because they didn’t want to have the uncertainties. They didn’t want to wait 1–2 years in order to acquire the people and the technology, so they organised it in a different way. But I don’t like that. I think they should be able to acquire companies without facing so much uncertainty. To be clear, it’s not new. Uncertainty when you are Google, NVIDIA, or others, it happens. It has happened for a decade plus, 2 decades. I think there needs to be, for sure, some safety valves. At the same time, we want an efficient capital market. An efficient capital market need companies that can acquire other companies. If you don’t do that efficiently, it will be worse for the entrepreneurs, it will be worse for the investors, it will be worse for everybody. I think we have not reached a good equilibrium from my perspective. We need more efficient acquisition process. And at the same time, we need to also enforce faster anticompetitive behavior. Because what you talk about concerning Google, this is a case that was what? That is 10 years old. You see what I mean? This is way too long. If you’re a startup, you are dead by then. It’s like the story of Netscape facing Microsoft. They were dead long after the fact. I think we need a different approach. I’m not sure the best answer. I’m not sure we’ll get a better approach. There are probably too many vested interest. My hope is that it will get better with this current administration because, certainly, the past administration was very anti acquisition and efficient markets. Nuno Goncalves Pedro We’ve talked about the European Union AI Act a bunch of times, so I don’t want to spend too many cycles on that. The only effect that I would say is we are seeing in very slow motion the splitting of the Internet. I once had Tim Berners-Lee, by the way, shouting at me that we were going to break the Internet when we were applying for the .mobi top-level domain. I was part of that consortium that eventually did get the .mobi top-level domain, and I had him shouting at us. But, apparently, this is going to split the Internet, Tim. So in case you’re listening. Because it will create all these different rules. If your data is relating to consumers there, then it’s treated in a different way, and The US is… Well, obviously, we have the case of California with its own rules and laws. I don’t know. I feel we’re having a moment of siloing that goes beyond economic and geopolitical siloing. It will also apply to the digital world, and we’ll start having different landscapes around it. We’ll see how this affects global expansion of services, for example, around AI, particularly for consumer, but I don’t foresee anything dramatically positive. Recently, we had the whole deal around TikTok finally having a solution for their US problem where there’s now a US conglomerate magically that owns it. The conglomerate doesn’t magically own it, they just straight up own it for the US. But it was driven by many of these concerns around data ownership. Where’s the data? Where is it based? I think a lot of other concerns that have to do with the geopolitics of China, obviously, being the basis of ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, that still is a significant owner, by the way, in TikTok in US. Then also the interest in the economics of making money out of something as powerful as TikTok, to be honest, in The US. Just to be clear, I don’t think this was all about the best interests of consumers. It was also about money. Just follow the money. Bertrand Schmitt There are for sure, some powerful interest at play. But let’s be clear. I think one is data, as you rightfully said, but the other one is algorithm. It’s not as if China is authorising any competitor on its territory. They have blocked access to most of the Internet platforms from the US, either finding new rules or just trade blocking them. So I don’t think it’s fair competition. You don’t want some of that data in China about the US or European consumer. Three, it’s about the algorithm. If suddenly, you are a foreign power, and you can as we know in China, you better follow what’s required of you from the Chinese Communist Party. You cannot take a chance with influencing other stuff like elections in other countries. It’s fair from the US perspective. One could even argue it’s fair from a Chinese perspective to want that. I think the only one in the middle who doesn’t really know what they want is Europe because on one side, they want to benefit from American platforms, on the other end, they want to have some controls. On the other end, they don’t create the environment for startups to flourish. So in that weird situation where they have to accept some control by the big US providers and either provider of underlying infrastructure or provider of consumer business facing services. Then they try to regulate them. But I think they are misunderstanding the power relationship, and I think some of this regulation would get some blowback, at least by the current administration. Just, I believe, this morning, there was some news around X being under a criminal investigation in France. This is not going to end well for the French startup and VC ecosystem. This is not going to end well for France and Europe when you depend so much from your American friends. Nuno Goncalves Pedro Regulation will be weaponised. Regulation constraints around exports, all of this will be weaponised geopolitically, and the bigger guys will normally win. I think that’s normally what we’ve seen. Just on TikTok just to… And you guys, if you’re listening to us, just see if you see a pattern here, but obviously, 19.9% still owned by ByteDance of the TikTok entity in the US. It was initially said that 80% of the TikTok entity is owned by non-Chinese investors. Initially, people were saying US investors, and then they changed it to non-Chinese because MGX, I think, has 15% of it. MGX is based in the UAE, connected obviously to Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund. Silver Lake is in there, I think, with 15% as well. Oracle as well with 15%. Those three are the big bucket owners together, 45%. Silver Lake having collaborated with MGX before, and I’m sure a lot of connectivity there. Then you still see a pattern in this in terms of shareholders. If you don’t, then just Google it. Dell Family Office, Vastmir Strategic Investments, which is owned by billionaire Jeff Yass, Alpha Wave Partners, obviously involved with a bunch of things like SpaceX and Klarna, Virgoli, Revolution, which is Steve Case’s, a former founder of AOL, is also in there. Meritway, which is managed by partners, I think, of Dragonair. Vinova from General Atlantic, an affiliate of General Atlantic. Also, NJJ Capital, which I believe is Xavier Nil, the French billionaire that founded Iliad. Mostly American, I think, if the math is correct. 80% non-Chinese, which was what mattered, I think, in many cases. But do see if you saw a pattern in most of those investors. I won’t say anything more than that. Maybe moving to other topics, maybe just to finalise on regulation and geopolitics. In geopolitics, we should talk about wars if we predict anything. Not that we are nasty and one want to be negative, but what the hell is going on? Will we have ending to the wars we already have ongoing or not? But before that, the struggles on the App Stores, I think, will continue both for Apple and for Google Play Store. The writing’s on the wall, the EU keeps pushing it dramatically and Apple keeps just doing stuff. I’m on the board of an App Store company. Apple just creates all these things that basically make you not really… It doesn’t work. You can’t provision then an App Store on Apple devices. On iPhones, et cetera. We’ll see how that will continue going, but I feel the writing’s on the wall. Both Apple and Google will have to open up a bit more of their platforms. I’m not sure it will have a huge impact in the medium to long term, but definitely we need to see more openness in access to apps as given by the two big platform owners, Apple and Google, out there. Bertrand Schmitt Let’s be clear. Google is way more open than Apple. We both have Android devices. You can install alternative app stores. It’s a different ballgame by very far. Nuno Goncalves Pedro Google does other nasty stuff. It’s public. You can check which board I’m a part of. You can see what that company has done towards Google over time. But to your point, yes. It is true that Google has been more open than Apple, but Google has done their own things. Just to be very clear, so I’ll just leave that caveat bracketed there for people to think about it and maybe read a little bit about it as well. Bertrand Schmitt I can say that, me, from my perspective, that path of total control that Apple has been going through on all their devices, that includes macOS, pushed me to, over the past 2, 3 years, to completely live and abandon the Apple ecosystem. I just couldn’t accept that level of control, that golden handcuff approach of the Apple ecosystem, each their own obviously, they are golden, their handcuffs, but they are still handcuffs. Personally, that pushed me way more to Linux, Android, Windows, back to Windows after all these years. I just couldn’t stand it anymore. I want to pick my devices. I want to pick what I install on them, and I don’t want to be controlled like this by just one entity for all my tech devices. For me, at some point, it was just not acceptable anymore. It’s still very warm, very golden handcuffs, but for me, they were just handcuffs at this stage. Yes, what they are doing with the App Store is very typical of that mindset. I think it’s quite sad because I think it started with good intention in some ways. “We need a new computing paradigm, we need to make things smoother and safer,” but it has really become a way to control your clients. For me, it has reached a point where it’s just way too much. Nuno Goncalves Pedro There’s obviously the great power comes great responsibility that uncle Ben told Spider-Man or Peter Parker. But there’s also with great power comes shitload of money, and control. So it’s like, “Yeah. Should we open the server? Do we want to delay opening it up?” “Yeah.” Anyway, it is what it is. Maybe let’s end on the more difficult note of the episode, which is going to be around wars. What’s our prediction? Will we have an end to the Gaza situation with Israel? Will we have an end to Ukraine and, obviously, Russia? What will happen in Iran? Those are the three big, big conflicts right now. Then, obviously, if we want to add just bonus points, what’s going to happen to Greenland, and what’s going to happen to Taiwan, and what’s going to happen to Venezuela? Let’s throw the whole basket in there. We’ve never had like… Let’s talk about all these territories and all these countries. At some point in time, I’m saying this in a light manner, but it’s obviously more tragic than it should be light, and people are dying, and there’s a lot of implications of all of that that is happening right now. Do you have any predictions, Bertrand, for this year? Bertrand Schmitt No. It’s tough to predict on an individual basis. I think on a more bigger picture basis is on one side, obviously, the rise of China on one side. You have also the rise of other countries like India, while very indirectly connected to some of these conflicts are still part of the game, buying oil from Russia, for instance. At the same time, I think overall, the US is more clear about with the sheriff in town. I think it’s good because in some ways, you cannot pay for the goods, you cannot have such a massive advantage versus nearly every other country on earth and just not be clear about who is the boss in some ways. As a result, what are the rules of the game and how it should be played? The US is not alone, obviously, you have China, you have Russia, you have India, you have Europe. You have different other countries. But at some point, it’s not good when countries are not rational and are not clear. I think I prefer the current situation where things are more clear and where you have to assume responsibilities about what you are doing. It’s time to be rational again about how the world behave. Yes, the concept of power and balance of power. I think there has been that dream, maybe mostly coming from Europe, about the end of history. I think that’s simply not the case. It’s not the end of history. It’s still about the balance of power. It has always been about the balance of power. If you are dumb enough to think it was not about that anymore, I just have a bridge to nowhere to sell you. I don’t have specific prediction, but I think it’s clear there is a new sheriff in town. There is a new doctrine about the Western Hemisphere that has been in some ways resurrected on the [inaudible 00:51:35] train, and I think we’ll see more of it. I think at this point, the biggest question is for the Europeans. What do they want to do? Because right now, their position of being a dwarf militarily while being a pretty big giant economically, I don’t think it works. Nuno Goncalves Pedro I agreed on everything that you said. I do have predictions. I’ll stick a flag on the ground just with my predictions. Bertrand Schmitt Good luck. Nuno Goncalves Pedro They are mostly positive. I do think we’ll see an end or, for the most, end to the two big conflicts, the one in Gaza and the one in Ukraine. I think Ukraine will end up in readjustment of territory and splitting between Russia and the Ukraine, but the end of hostilities, I think that we will see an end to the conflict in Gaza also with a readjustment on what that will mean for the Palestinian territories and the Palestinians in general. That I’m not sure, but I feel that there will be an end to those two big conflicts. Iran, I have no clue. I will not put a stick on the ground that I have no clue. There are so many things that could go wrong there. I’ve been reading some really interesting thoughts about even some aggressive thoughts that this might be the time to really change regimes in Iran and for the US to have a bit more of an aggressive stance. I really don’t have a perspective. Obviously, there’s a lot at stake there. Then, if we talk about the other parts, Greenland, I will not opine too much on. Maybe we’re done for now. Maybe there’ll be some other concessions to the US that weren’t already there in the ’50s. Taiwan, I won’t bet either. I’m sad to say I think it might happen at some point in time, but I’m not sure when and what would drive it. Last but not the least, Venezuela is my only really negative prediction. I feel it will continue to be a significant dictatorship as it was before managed enough by other people with the difference now that it has a tax to be paid to the US in the form of oil of some sort, etcetera, and maybe gas, maybe other things as well that it didn’t have before. That’s probably my most negative prediction for the coming year on the geopolitical side. Bertrand Schmitt Without going into detail, I would mostly agree with what you shared. At least that makes sense. But as we know, it’s not always what makes sense, but what might happen. I can tell you 100% I would not have guessed this operation against Maduro. This was so well done, well executed, and shocking at the same time that it’s… I think it shows that it’s hard to guess some of this stuff because there are certainly some new ways to wage limited war, for instance. So it’s certainly interesting, and we certainly need to get used to pretty bombastic statements. But for Venezuela, I don’t think it can be worse than what it was before. I’m probably more optimistic that gradually it can get better. Nuno Goncalves Pedro Just to put perspective on why we’re not making predictions on some of these elements, I think this is a funny story, but I was in Madeira. Actually, first time I was in Madeira, although I’m originally from Portugal. I’ve never been to the islands. Obviously, as you guys know, or some of you might know, there’s a lot of connection between Madeira and Venezuela. There’s a lot of immigration from Madeira Islands to Venezuela. One of my Uber or Bolt drivers there in Madeira was Venezuelan. Was born in Venezuela, but Portuguese descent, et cetera. He was telling me this was still last year. Late last year. Because I told him I lived in US, et cetera, and he was like, “Oh, hopefully, Trump will get Maduro out of there.” In my mind, I was like, “Dude.” No disrespect to the gentleman, but it’s like, “Okay. Mike, your perspective on geopolitics is maybe a little bit exaggerated.” And a couple of days later, we know what happened. When geopolitical decisions are better predicted by some probably very astute Uber drivers, you’re like, “Maybe I shouldn’t make a bet. I have no clue what’s going to happen, no clue what’s going to happen in Greenland, et cetera.” Anyway, a couple of predictions on that element. Bertrand Schmitt That’s why it’s so right. You have to be careful with the prediction, but it doesn’t remove the fact that I think nations and companies that have to play a global game have to understand in some ways what is the game, what are the powers in place, what could happen potentially, but also be realistic. Not be about wish and dreams, but more about, what’s the power relationship? Who has the money? Who has the means? Who has the capacity to do this or that? Because if you start that way, at least the scope of what’s possible, what’s reasonable is more and more clear more quickly. Some stuff like happened with Maduro, I would never have predicted, but for sure, if there’s one country that can do this sort of stuff, it’s the US. I’m not sure anyone has a technology and the means in terms of support infrastructure to do something like this. It’s tough to predict what will happen a year from now for any specific country, but I think that even trying to get a better understanding about the forces in play and their capacity and understanding and accepting that at some point, it’s all about real politic and relationship of power, the more your eyes would be wide open about what’s possible versus simple, wishful thinking. Nuno Goncalves Pedro Fintech, Crypto and Frontier Tech Moving maybe to our last section around fintech, crypto, and frontier tech. For me, just two very quick predictions, views of the world. I think on the frontier tech side, I won’t make a prediction. I will just tell you all to go and listen to our episodes, the one on infrastructure, which is immediately prior to this one, and the episodes that we’ve had around a couple of other topics including AI, what’s the future of your children, because I think they illustrate a lot of the points that we’re seeing and manifesting themselves over the next year and over the next 2 or 3 years as well beyond that. I feel those tomes are complete in and out of themselves, so you can just go and listen to them. Then my second comment is on crypto. I feel crypto has become of the essence, particularly under the current administration in the US, very favored. Obviously, we are now in a world where crypto is just part of the economic system, and I think we’ll see more and more of that emerging, and in some ways, crypto is becoming mainstream. Question is what blockchains will be the blockchains of the future? Obviously, there’s a bunch of bets put out there. We, ourselves, as Chamaeleon, have one investment in one of the significant bets in the space. But besides that, who’s going to win or not, we feel that we’re past the crypto winter. It’s now mainstream days, and we’ll see a lot more activity in there. Bertrand Schmitt I must say with crypto, I’m a bit confused. As you say, we are past the crypto winter. There is much less uncertainty in regul

On this week's episode of The Liquidity Event, Shane and AJ break down the viral "Settrini Report," a fictional yet plausible AI scenario that rattled markets and raised serious questions about productivity, white-collar job displacement, and the future of labor's share of GDP. They discuss whether AI pricing is sustainable, what new data center infrastructure means for small-town America, and why we may be closer than ever to a zero-employee unicorn company. The conversation then shifts to the ethics and economics of organ donor compensation, including whether families should be reimbursed for funeral expenses and how incentives shape real-world outcomes. The episode wraps with a Reddit debate about paying 1.25% on a $10 million portfolio, what that fee should actually buy you, and why behavioral discipline often matters more than cost. Key Timestamps: 01:52 – How the "Settrini Report" went viral and moved markets 04:18 – AI agents replacing $180K product managers 07:02 – What happens if labor's share of GDP collapses 09:40 – Is AI pricing real, or just VC-subsidized for now? 12:11 – AI infrastructure, power plants, and small-town impact 15:03 – The rise of the zero-employee unicorn founder 18:27 – Organ donor compensation and the ethics debate 22:10 – How other countries structure organ donor incentives 24:54 – Paying 1.25% on a $10M portfolio… is it worth it? 28:41 – Market volatility, geopolitical tension, and staying disciplined

In this episode, Christian Lund, Co-Founder of Templafy, reveals how the company built an AI-powered instruction and orchestration layer that helps over 800 enterprise customers — including KPMG, IKEA, and BDO — generate millions of compliant, on-brand business documents 100x faster. Christian shares why the real defensibility in AI isn't the model itself, but the mid-layer that tells the model exactly what to do. Christian breaks down how Templafy turns a simple 8-word user prompt into a 30-page AI instruction book, how their orchestration layer ensures consistent, high-quality outputs across millions of documents, and why enterprises that tried to build AI solutions internally ended up coming back to purpose-built tools. He also shares his honest take on whether AI is a force for good, what skills knowledge workers need to survive, and what he's teaching his three kids about working in an AI-first world. Key Topics Covered - How Templafy's AI instruction layer turns 8-word prompts into 30-page agent briefs - Why the orchestration mid-layer between users and AI models is the most defensible position in enterprise tech - How a Big Four accounting firm became Templafy's very first customer - The transition from rules-based automation to AI-first document generation with agents - Why enterprises took surprisingly long to move from AI toys to enterprise-grade tools - How Templafy integrates with Microsoft 365, Salesforce, and Copilot without getting swallowed by the SaaSpocalypse - The only 2 skills knowledge workers need to stay relevant: setting direction and validating output - Why brand and thought leadership are more important than ever for SaaS companies in 2026 - How BDO Canada saved $1.65 million in one year using Templafy's document automation - Christian's investor perspective on VC moonshots vs. real businesses that generate EBITDA **Episode Timestamps** 00:00 - Introduction and what problem Templafy solves 02:01 - The origin story: from consultants with no product to enterprise SaaS 04:18 - Why finance, law, and pharma became the core customer segment 05:41 - How a Big Four firm became the first customer during the cloud transition 09:02 - What makes a company good at adopting new technology 11:00 - How Templafy sits on top of Microsoft 365, Salesforce, and Copilot 11:37 - Surviving the SaaSpocalypse and finding the new world order 17:08 - Growth in the AI era and why enterprise demand took longer than expected 21:16 - Inside the boardroom: where Templafy fits in the AI landscape 23:31 - The recipe vs. cookbook analogy: how instruction books power AI agents 28:38 - How to become defensible when every company has the same AI models 31:58 - Why humans are more important than ever in enterprise sales 35:11 - The only 2 skills left for knowledge workers 35:52 - Educating children in the age of AI 40:01 - Christian's journey from CEO to CPO to CMO to co-founder 41:17 - Why brand and trust are hyper important in 2026 45:11 - B2B vs. B2C: Templafy's enterprise focus and how it compares to Gamma 49:21 - Christian evaluates the podcast's business model as an investor 54:57 - Is AI a force for good? Christian's honest answer 57:32 - Why do you do what you do? Christian's Socials: LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianlundcph/ Partner Links Book Enterprise Training — https://www.upscaile.com/ Subscribe to our free newsletter — https://www.theaireport.ai/subscribe-theaireport-youtube

From losing his entire $25,000 life savings on his first investment to backing over 70 startups, Andrew Ackerman shares proven strategies for evaluating founders, testing assumptions cheaply, and why the best entrepreneurs see deals where others see nothing. In this episode of the DealQuest Podcast, host Corey Kupfer sits down with Andrew Ackerman, a serial entrepreneur turned early-stage investor and innovation expert. Andrew is currently a strategic advisor and head of Reach Labs at Second Century Ventures, consults on corporate innovation strategies and venture studios, and serves as an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship. He previously served as managing director at DreamIt Adventures, one of the top five accelerator programs in the world. He has invested in over 70 startups and written over 60 published articles for Forbes, Fortune, and other major publications. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: In this episode, you'll discover why Andrew looks for the instinct to hustle for deals rather than focusing on the idea itself, how accelerators fill the gap between friends and family money and proper VC rounds, and why testing assumptions with a five-dollar pack of index cards can save months of development time. Andrew explains the real difference between SAFE notes and convertible notes, what makes lawyers often terrible startup advisors, and the SeatGeek origin story that proves early testing can turn a failing startup into a billion-dollar company. ANDREW'S JOURNEY: Andrew's path started with both grandfathers as entrepreneurs, one running candy shops and the other creating insurance products. Coming out of University of Chicago in the 90s when startups weren't a thing, he chose consulting before realizing the startup world had caught up. His first venture Bunk One provided internet services for summer camps and exited successfully. His second startup taught harder lessons through founder drama and failure. Angel investing came accidentally through a pharma deal he admits he had no business making, but getting lucky early hooked him. Eventually he joined DreamIt Adventures, running their New York office. KEY INSIGHTS: When evaluating founders, Andrew looks for the instinct to hustle. He shared an example of a founder who rented pencils in fifth grade for a nickel a day. Not sold. Rented. That entrepreneurial DNA shows up early and separates successful founders from everyone else. The SeatGeek story proves early testing works. A startup in his accelerator tested conversion rates early instead of waiting, discovered they were completely off, pivoted in seven weeks, and built a billion-dollar company. Lawyers often make terrible startup advisors because their incentive structure is backwards. Billing by the hour doesn't reward speed, and careers focused on avoiding mistakes rather than making deals happen. Perfect for founders thinking about raising capital, anyone curious about how accelerators work, aspiring angel investors wondering how to evaluate founders, and entrepreneurs who want practical frameworks for testing assumptions. FOR MORE ON THIS EPISODE: https://www.coreykupfer.com/blog/andrewackerman FOR MORE ON ANDREW ACKERMAN:https://www.andrewbackerman.comhttps://www.amazon.com/Entrepreneurs-Odyssey-Approach-Startup-Success/dp/1032883545/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewbackermanhttps://x.com/andrewackermanhttps://www.instagram.com/andrewbackerman/FOR MORE ON COREY KUPFER https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykupfer/ https://www.coreykupfer.com/ Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast. Get deal-ready with the DealQuest Podcast with Corey Kupfer, where like-minded entrepreneurs and business leaders converge, share insights and challenges, and success stories. Equip yourself with the tools, resources, and support necessary to navigate the complex yet rewarding world of dealmaking. Dive into the world of deal-driven growth today! Guest Bio Andrew Ackerman is a serial entrepreneur turned early-stage investor who has invested in over 70 startups. He heads Reach Labs at Second Century Ventures, previously ran DreamIt Adventures' New York office, and teaches entrepreneurship. He has written over 60 articles for Forbes and Fortune and authored The Entrepreneur's Odyssey, written as a novel because stories stick better than frameworks. Related Episodes Episode 370 - Gerry Hays: Democratizing Venture Capital Through VentureStaking Episode 350 - Tom Dillon: Understanding Business Valuation and Exit Planning Realities Episode 89 - Sherisse Hawkins: Capital Raising Journey and Funding Realities Keywords/Tags angel investing, accelerator programs, startup evaluation, founder assessment, SAFE notes, convertible notes, early stage investing, venture capital, startup testing, lean startup, DreamIt Adventures, Second Century Ventures, startup validation, startup pivots, SeatGeek

I walk through a complete 30-step playbook for building a modern SaaS company using AI agents, media, and sub-niche positioning. The core argument is that SaaS is evolving rather than dying, and the builders who win are the ones who combine a focused workflow product with a media flywheel and agent-powered execution. Drawing on my experience advising TikTok, Reddit, and building three venture-backed companies, I lay out a step-by-step framework any solo builder or small team can follow from niche selection through to becoming the default execution layer in their market. I'm hosting a free workshop so you can build your business in the age of AI. Sign up here: https://startup-ideas-pod.link/build-with-ai-2026 Timestamps 00:00 – Intro 01:18 – Step 1: Start with a sub-niche inside a big market 02:21 – Step 2-5: Map Workflow end to end 06:37 – Step 6-7: Create scroll-stopping content 10:15 – Steps 8–9: Double down on organic and run paid ads on winners 11:11 – Step 10: Capture emails from day one 11:47 – Steps 11–13: Manually perform the workflow and document every step 13:40 – Steps 14–16: Turn mechanical tasks into agent workflows and connect to real tools 14:47 – Step 17: Add orchestration, retries, and verifications 16:32 – Steps 18–19: Store user preferences and launch with high-touch onboarding 18:20 – Steps 20–21: Publish measurable proof and move to per-task pricing 21:21 – Steps 22–23: Outcome pricing and compounding value 22:07 – Steps 24–27: Expand workflows, build switching costs, create case studies 23:25 – Steps 28–30: Hire from the niche, reinvest profits, become the default layer 24:08 – Closing thoughts Key Points Start in a specific sub-niche, not a broad market — that is where sustainable cash flow lives, not VC competition. The future of SaaS starts as a service business: manually performing the workflow is how I learn what to automate. Media is a core business function, not an afterthought — content creation runs in parallel with product development from day one. Mechanical tasks are AI's strongest suit; separating judgment tasks from mechanical tasks is the key architectural decision. Per-task and outcome-based pricing is replacing per-seat models, and indie builders have a structural advantage in making that shift. Orchestration — coordinating agents, validating outputs, and resolving issues — is the new interface layer and the highest-value position to own. The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/ The Vibe Marketer - Resources for people into vibe marketing/marketing with AI: https://www.thevibemarketer.com/ FIND ME ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/

Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training Most agency owners don't fail because they're bad at delivery. They fail because they underprice, overcomplicate, and build businesses that trap them instead of freeing them. Today's featured guest unpacks the type of life he envisioned when he set out to start an agency, it took to scale from charging $2,500 a month to closing $45,000/month retainers, surviving a market collapse, and making the counterintuitive decision to split one agency into two. Eli Rubel is the founder of Matter Made, a B2B SaaS marketing agency, and No Boring Design, a premium design studio serving high-growth tech companies. He entered the agency world in 2019 after burning out on the venture-backed SaaS model, despite a previous exit. What drew him to agencies wasn't prestige or scale; it was a desire to take control over his time, lifestyle, income, and location. Agencies, when built correctly, offered the fastest path to freedom without sacrificing ambition. Over the next few years, Eli scaled MatterMade aggressively, navigated a brutal tech downturn, and rebuilt his business with sharper positioning, stronger pricing, and clearer operational boundaries. In this episode, we discussed: Why hiking prices was the right choice early one How and why he decided to create his second agency The reason that shared services failed fast Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio Sponsors and Resources E2M Solutions: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by E2M Solutions, a web design, and development agency that has provided white-label services for the past 10 years to agencies all over the world. Check out e2msolutions.com/smartagency and get 10% off for the first three months of service. Toggl: Agencies could be losing 15–30% of their profit every year without seeing it. The usual suspects are time tracking, messy manual timesheets, scope creep, untracked revisions, and all those "quick" client requests that never get billed. That's why Toggl created the Agency Profit Heist, a fast, interactive way to uncover exactly where your margins are leaking. Start your investigation now at toggl.com/smartagency and use the code SMARTAGENCY10 at checkout for a 10% off annual plans. Why Agencies Beat Venture-Backed SaaS (If You Want Freedom) After years in venture-backed SaaS, chasing growth at all costs, Eli was done with a model he realized was grinding him down. The pressure, the lack of control, and the delayed payoff didn't align with what he actually wanted: family, flexibility, and financial independence. Agencies offered speed to cash and autonomy, which SaaS didn't. Instead of swinging for a hypothetical future exit, Eli chose a business model that paid well now and let him design his life intentionally. It was a shift he made with eyes wide open and clear expectations. The "best" business model depends on what you want your life to look like. For Eli, agencies weren't a step down. They were a strategic upgrade. Hiking His Prices Relying on Capacity and Confidence Eli's agency launched at $2,500 a month, not because that was the "right" price, but because he backed into a simple income goal. Sixteen clients at $2,500 got him to $40,000 a month. On paper, it worked. In reality, it broke fast. As soon as clients started saying "yes" too quickly, Eli knew something was off. The work was heavy, margins were thin, and building a team at that price point wasn't sustainable. Instead of obsessing over competitive pricing, he leaned into price sensitivity testing. Every time the team hit capacity, prices went up. If prospects said no, it didn't matter, they couldn't take on more work anyway. If prospects said yes, it justified hiring and scaling. Over three years, pricing climbed from $2,500 to $45,000 per month. What he learned was that underpricing doesn't just hurt margins. It traps you in constant hiring, delivery stress, and low-leverage work. Raising prices isn't greedy, it's operational discipline. What Actually Changes When You Raise Prices Eli didn't wake up one day and charge $45,000 for the same work he was doing at $2,500. Early on, the offering was vague: "We'll help with demand gen." Strategy was loose, scope was unclear, and the team was tiny. As pricing increased, the delivery model matured into a defined pod structure with paid media, design, strategy, and leadership baked in. However, once his agency hit around $15,000 per month, the services didn't change much after that. What changed was credibility. Case studies stacked up. Results became undeniable. Sales conversations shifted from "this is a great deal" to "this is what it costs to remove risk." Eli was upfront with prospects: MatterMade would be $10,000–$15,000 more per month than competitors, and nothing about the deliverables would look different. The difference was the track record. For buyers who weren't cash-sensitive, that pitch landed hard. They weren't paying for tasks. They were paying for certainty. Why Splitting One Agency into Two Was the Right Move At its peak in 2021, MatterMade was flying high, with $4.2M in EBITDA, tech clients everywhere, and acquisition talks underway. Then the tech market collapsed. Almost overnight, VC-backed clients cut agencies, froze spending, and hunkered down. They went from crushing it to losing nearly $200,000 a month. Eli held on too long, assuming it was temporary, and paid dearly for it. During the restructuring, Eli noticed something interesting: design had become a bottleneck across tech companies. Designers were laid off, but the need for creative work didn't disappear. So he spun up No Boring Design as a separate entity, fast. New brand, new site, launched in a weekend. Within months, it was profitable. Separating the businesses allowed each to have crystal-clear positioning. MatterMade stayed focused on growth marketing. No Boring Design became a premium creative solution for companies stuck in hiring freezes. Trying to keep design tucked inside the marketing agency would have slowed everything down. Separation created speed, clarity, and growth. Why Shared Services Across Agencies Sound Smart and Fail Fast One of Eli's biggest mistakes came after the split. He tried to create a shared management company to handle leadership, recruiting, and operations across multiple agencies. On paper, it looked efficient. In practice, it was chaos. Each agency had subtle but important differences in how it worked. SOPs drifted. Leaders got stretched thin. The "squeaky wheel" agency got attention while others suffered. Eventually, Eli unwound the entire structure. The hard truth: unless your companies operate almost identically, shared services create more friction than savings. Clarity beats efficiency. Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset? Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.

Most job search advice comes from people still in the thick of it—anxious, second-guessing, pattern-matching off too little data. This episode is different. We sat down with three product leaders who recently landed roles at Netflix, OpenAI, and Abridge, and did a full postmortem. What they shared upends a lot of conventional wisdom: the spray-and-pray pipeline doesn't work, your AI credentials matter less than you think, and the relationships that land jobs are often years in the making.Key topics• Why you need curiosity, not experience• The "AI hungry" mindset: searching for environments that match your learning goals, not just your resume• Why the best job search intelligence comes from people who just landed, not people still looking• Why prototypes are now table stakes in take-homes• How Janie built a shortlist of 5–10 companies in a week of 50–60 conversations• Why Ben's Netflix role traces back to a cold application seven years ago• What OpenAI's interview process actually looks like—and why it's less about the past than you expect• Why most AI-native jobs aren't posted, and how to land them• How to use investor attention as a proxy for company quality• Why Ben's early interview mistake (not enough AI mindset) became the fuel for his take-homeBrought to you by• Framer—Build websites with enterprise needs at startup speeds: https://framer.link/dFacxBQ• Dust—The operating system for AI agents: https://dust.tt/skipWhere to find Nikhyl• Twitter/X• LinkedInWhere to find Ben• LinkedInWhere to find Janie• LinkedInWhere to find Julia• LinkedInJoin The Skip• Skip Coach• Skip CommunityFind The Skip• Website• Substack• YouTube• Spotify• Apple PodcastsTimestamps(00:00) How to prove your AI credentials(04:42) Introducing the three product leaders(06:00) Ben Dreier: from DoorDash to Netflix, the "AI hungry" move(08:18) Julia Roberts: nine years at Pinterest, six months off, then OpenAI(12:46) Janie Lee: going all-in on AI native at Abridge(15:26) How to build a shortlist: 50–60 conversations in a week(18:10) Ben's process: VC signals and insider conversations over job boards(21:45) Cold outreach that actually works(23:51) Ben: how curiosity, not networking, built his network(25:14) Julia's different path: cold applies, inbound, and exec recruiters(27:06) What exec recruiters are actually useful for(30:30) Ben's Netflix backstory — tracing back to a cold apply seven years ago(34:06) Staying connected with recruiters, coworkers, and people who said no(41:10) What the OpenAI interview process actually looks like(44:55) Authentic storytelling(46:40) The Netflix take-home: how mid-process feedback became a turning point(51:40) Janie: how to ace take-homes by using AI(57:52) Julia's final takeaway: know what you want before you search(59:03) Ben's final takeaway: follow the fun and genuine curiosity(59:56) Janie's final takeaway: high agency, high effort, put yourself in their shoesDon't forget to subscribe to The Skip to hear me coach you through timely career lessons. Access exclusive sessions from 100+ top product leaders at skip.coach. If you're interested in joining me on a future call, send me a note on LinkedIn, Threads, or Twitter. You can also email me at nikhyl@skip.community This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theskip.substack.com

From time to time, we'll re-air a previous episode of the show that our newer audience may have missed. During this episode, Santosh is joined by Ian Fletcher and Marc Fasteau, Co-Authors of “Industrial Policy for the United States: Winning the Competition for Good Jobs and High-Value Industries." In this conversation, Marc and Ian emphasize the need for a strategic approach to support key industries, highlighting the importance of government-sponsored research, trade protection, and a competitively valued currency. The conversation also covers the role of tariffs, workforce development, and the necessity of a unified economic strategy. The group advocates for intentional policies to foster economic growth, innovation, competitiveness in the global market, and more.  Highlights from their conversation include: Introducing Marc and Ian and the New Book (0:41) Defining Modern Industrial Policy (4:33) Industry-Based Economic View (5:35) Importance of Industry Selection (7:23) Global Perspectives on Industrial Policy (11:25) Three Pillars of Industrial Policy (17:26) List of Industrial Policy Tools (19:16) Granularity of Industrial Policy (25:27) Role of Tariffs in Industrial Policy (26:49) Workforce Development and Automation (29:00) Future of U.S. Industrial Policy (30:58) Challenges of Policy Silos (31:36) Hope for Unified Discipline in Industrial Policy (32:24) Dynamo is a VC firm led by supply chain and mobility specialists that focus on seed-stage, enterprise startups. Find out more at: https://www.dynamo.vc/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week on Swimming with Allocators, Earnest and Alexa welcome Iliana Oris Valiente, a F500 corporate executive, independent LP,   and founder of the Capital Decoded program, to explore the evolving landscape of venture capital. Iliana shares insights from her global background, discusses why generalists excel in the AI era, and outlines the challenges next-gen family offices face when entering VC. The conversation also covers the importance of clear investment thesis, trends in emerging markets, and the critical need for trust and education between GPs and LPs. Listeners will gain practical frameworks and actionable advice for navigating today's rapidly changing investment world. Also, don't miss Sidley's Shane Goudey discussing current trends in venture capital fundraising, with an emphasis on where LP investment is coming from and the growing interest in co-investment opportunities. Iliana Oris Valiente, CPA, CA  is an accomplished corporate executive, emerging tech pioneer, board member, author, and global citizen. She is a recognized media figure, having been featured from Bloomberg to The Financial Times, across TV and print.  Iliana is an angel investor, fund LP, and regularly advises family offices on emerging trends. She built Capital Decoded — an investor education program specifically designed to demystify VC as an asset class. Learn more at IlianaOV.com  Sidley Austin LLP is a premier global law firm with a dedicated Venture Funds practice, advising top venture capital firms, institutional investors, and private equity sponsors on fund formation, investment structuring, and regulatory compliance. With deep expertise across private markets, Sidley provides strategic legal counsel to help funds scale effectively. Learn more at sidley.com. Swimming with Allocators is a podcast that dives into the intriguing world of Venture Capital from an LP (Limited Partner) perspective. Hosts Alexa Binns and Earnest Sweat are seasoned professionals who have donned various hats in the VC ecosystem. Each episode, we explore where the future opportunities lie in the VC landscape with insights from top LPs on their investment strategies and industry experts shedding light on emerging trends and technologies.  The information provided on this podcast does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this podcast are for general informational purposes only. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Lonsdale shares what Elon Musk and Peter Thiel were really like at PayPal, how getting rejected by every top VC fueled Palantir's founding, and how the CIA became an unlikely early investor.

Breaking into investment banking from a non-target university isn't easy — especially after 150+ applications, months of rejection, and zero connections. In this student testimonial, Kitty shares how she went from studying politics at the University of Birmingham to landing offers from UBS, Lazard, and Rothschild. From struggling with confidence to facing non-target fears head-on, this is the real story behind breaking into investment banking as a student. Segments  01:19 – Music vs Finance  03:04 – Why University of Birmingham?  03:34 – Switching from Politics to Finance  04:05 – When Banking Became Real  05:27 – Why She Joined Academy  06:55 – Networking Strategy  07:45 – 150+ Applications  08:33 – First Interview Breakthrough  10:44 – Offers from UBS, Lazard & Rothschild  11:58 – Advice to Students Check out WSO Academy — the prep that has helped thousands break into high finance. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In "The Logistics of Growth: Scaling Freight Tech Companies", Joe Lynch and Will Urban, Founder and Principal of Will Urban Consulting, discuss the strategic intersection of traditional logistics discipline and high-velocity tech innovation to drive multi-billion dollar scale. About Will Urban Will Urban is the Founder and Principal of Will Urban Consulting, a premier advisory firm specializing in scaling global logistics and freight tech organizations. With over 30 years of executive leadership experience, Will has navigated the evolution of the industry at the highest levels, holding pivotal roles at both the traditional logistics powerhouse Expeditors and the digital disruptor Flexport. During his tenure as Chief Revenue Officer at Flexport, he was instrumental in driving the company's organic revenue growth from $600 million to over $5 billion. Today, Will leverages his extensive background as a full partner at R7 and a venture partner at firms like Companyon and Nine Realms. He is a deeply connected figure in the supply chain ecosystem, serving as an investor, advisor, and board member for numerous startups and venture capital firms, where he bridges the gap between complex logistics operations and institutional investment. About Will Urban Consulting (WUC) Will Urban Consulting (WUC) is an elite consultancy dedicated to helping supply chain and freight tech companies master the "Logistics of Growth." Founded by Will Urban following his successful tenure at Flexport, the firm occupies a unique niche by providing executive-level expertise that blends traditional logistics excellence with modern digital scale. WUC is comprised of a global team of specialists—many of whom are veterans of Expeditors and Flexport—who focus on refining go-to-market strategies, accelerating revenue growth, and building sustainable sales organizations. Beyond operational consulting, WUC acts as a strategic bridge to the capital markets, helping startups navigate the complexities of fundraising by leveraging a deep network of venture capital and private equity investors. Operating on a flexible, month-to-month model, WUC provides clients with immediate ROI and unparalleled access to a global network of shippers, carriers, and industry leaders. Key Takeaways: The Logistics of Growth: Scaling Freight Tech Companies In "The Logistics of Growth: Scaling Freight Tech Companies", Joe Lynch and Will Urban, Founder and Principal of Will Urban Consulting, discuss the strategic intersection of traditional logistics discipline and high-velocity tech innovation to drive multi-billion dollar scale. The Power of Hybrid Expertise: Will Urban offers a unique "ground-up" perspective by bridging the gap between traditional logistics giants (Expeditors) and modern digital disruptors (Flexport). This dual experience allows him to help companies balance the disciplined, P&L-focused rigor of established firms with the "move fast" agility of tech unicorns. The "Inside Man" for Fundraising: For startups, navigating the VC world is often a translation problem. Will acts as a strategic bridge, helping founders articulate the value of supply chain nuances to generalist investors and ensuring they pitch to the right firms whose investment appetite matches their specific business model. A "Disciplined Grind" for Scaling: There is no "silver bullet" for massive growth. Drawing from his experience leading Flexport from $600 million to over $5 billion in organic revenue, Will emphasizes that scaling requires a disciplined, high-execution grind and a focus on building sustainable, global go-to-market programs. Democratizing Technology (The Convoy/DAT Model): A significant trend in freight tech is the transition from standalone products to integrated ecosystems. The acquisition of Convoy's platform by DAT illustrates how best-in-class technology can be used to drastically reduce the "cost to cover" a load, democratizing high-end tools for smaller trucking operations. Economics Matter (P&L Discipline): Despite the high-growth expectations of venture capital, Will maintains that the P&L always matters. He advises tech companies to align their pricing with the transactional nature of the logistics industry, as many clients prefer transactional costs over fixed, bottom-line software fees. Leveraging Relational Capital: In an increasingly digital industry, deep human networks remain a primary driver of success. Will's 30-year network of shippers, carriers, and executives provides "warm" entry points that are often more valuable than any piece of software for securing market share. Identifying and Investing in "Grit": Beyond just technical viability, Will looks for "gumption" and persistence in founders. His investment philosophy—often through his family office or as a venture partner—prioritizes individuals who demonstrate the hustle and resilience required to survive the volatile cycles of the global supply chain. Learn More About The Logistics of Growth: Scaling Freight Tech Companies Will Urban | Linkedin Will Urban Consulting (WUC) | Linkedin Will Urban Consulting (WUC) Inside the DAT – Convoy Platform Deal: What This Acquisiton Means for the Freight with Bill Driegert The Logistics of Logistics Podcast If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues. The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube  

Formula 1 is three competitions in one: a 200mph battle of the world's best race car drivers, the world cup of engineering where thousand-person teams spend hundreds of millions designing cars from scratch, and — as one of our listeners perfectly put it — the “Real Housewives of the Garage”, a soap opera of billionaire egos, team politics, and paddock drama that makes for incredible reality television. It's also the world's most popular annual sporting series with over 827 million fans globally — a fact that would shock most Americans, who until a recent viral Netflix series had barely heard of it.Today we tell the story of how a chaotic, deadly, and gloriously dysfunctional European racing series became one of the greatest business stories in sports. For decades, brilliant engineers and daredevil drivers dedicated their lives (and too often lost them) to a league controlled for 45 years by a single man: a former London car dealer named Bernie Ecclestone, who centralized power and extracted billions, while also undeniably single-handedly making the sport successful. Then, in a move no one saw coming, the American company Liberty Media bought the whole thing in 2017, installed a team of Fox Sports and ESPN veterans, and did what Bernie never would — professionalized it. All of a sudden famously money-losing F1 teams turned into real businesses, with the average team valuation today clocking in at an astounding $3.6 billion. Buckle up for one of our most-requested episodes: the wild story of Formula 1.Sponsors:Many thanks to our fantastic Spring '26 Season partners:J.P. Morgan PaymentsServiceNowVercelStatsigLinks:Sign up for email updates and vote on future episodes!The Formula by Joshua Robinson and Jonathan CleggDrive to Survive on NetflixF1 The Movie on Apple TVAdrian Newey, How to Build a CarSenna documentaryWorldly Partners' Multi-Decade Formula One StudyAll episode sourcesCarve Outs:Cirque du Soleil EchoSuper Bowl LX Mic'd UpTonalPrincess Peach: Showtime! on Nintendo SwitchDaloopa for historical financial dataMore Acquired:Get email updates and vote on future episodes!Join the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Check out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store!‍Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

Awwwwwwkwaaaard… In this review episode, Mark and Dan discuss Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 7) #21, which is legacy issue #985. This issue was written by Joe Kelly. The cover features artwork by John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna, and Marcio Menyz. The interiors feature pencils by John Romita Jr. and Todd Nauck, inks by Scott Hanna and Todd Nauck, colors by Marcio Menyz, Erick Arciniega, and Marte Gracia, and, of course, letters by VC's Joe Caramagna. This issue was first released on February 4th, 2025. Rick Coste edited this episode. Alex Galucki edited the video version of this podcast. Our artwork is handcrafted by artists Ron Frenz, Sal Buscema, and Nick Cagnetti. Our theme songs were produced by Ryland Bojack, Tony Thaxton, and Spider-Maj. Our animated introduction to the show is by Josh Sutton of Panels to Pixels. Watch the show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOPCnjzQZNViyEnoOuckaVQ We would also love to see you join our Amazing Spider-Slack community board. If you'd like to join in on our amazing conversations, click this link to get started: https://join.slack.com/t/amazingspider/shared_invite/zt-42tsfhs2-yBaH6KkRmOWiW_8gCf9SmQ This week's Patreon podcasts include a review of Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 7) #22, our review of Part 1 of “Death Spiral,” and two episodes of the Whatever a Spider Can Diaries, which documents Dan’s process of writing a book about Spider-Man. If you'd like to follow along with our reviews as they are released, please check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/superiorspidertalk Read our B-Title reviews, collecting memories, and more in the Amazing Spider-Talk Substack! http://www.amazingspider.substack.com You can email questions to our show at amazingspidertalk@gmail.com or by clicking here. You can also BUY MARK'S BOOK, 100 Things Spider-Man Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. The post The Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 7) #21 / LGY #985 – REVIEW appeared first on Amazing Spider-Talk.

Think your 75% EBITDA margins look impressive? Unless you're running a drug cartel, Alex Rubalcava says you're probably just showing a lack of financial sophistication.In this episode of the Demo Day podcast, we sit down with Alex Rubalcava, Managing Partner of Amplify LA, to deconstruct the "delusional" financial modeling that keeps most founders from getting funded. Alex shares why grounded, realistic forecasts are the ultimate signal of a sophisticated founder and why many pitch decks are rejected before the first meeting even ends.As a veteran in the Los Angeles venture capital scene, Alex has seen thousands of pitch decks. He explains the nuance between ambitious growth and impossible math, helping entrepreneurs understand what venture capital firms actually look for in a business model. We dive deep into the mechanics of startup fundraising, the importance of unit economics, and how to build a financial model that builds trust rather than destroying it.We cover why "Mafia-level" margins are a massive red flag for VCs and the difference between financial optimism and a lack of sophistication. Alex breaks down how to present a forecast that stands up to VC due diligence and shares his current outlook on founder success in 2026. Whether you are a first-time founder preparing your seed round or a seasoned entrepreneur looking to sharpen your Series A pitch, Alex's insights on financial reality will change how you view your startup's data.Key Highlights:The "Cartel Margin" trap: Why 75% margins are a red flag.How to signal financial sophistication to investors.The current state of venture capital and startup valuation.Why your fundraising strategy needs a reality check.Lessons from Amplify LA on what makes a pitch deck stand out.

What does it take to rebuild the foundation of American military power? Michael Cadenazzi, assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy, joined Ryan at a live event a few weeks back for a fascinating discussion on the state of the defense industrial base (from new VC-backed entrants to the primes), the race for critical minerals, supply chain vulnerabilities, the unsexy realities of implementation, the role of allies, and the challenges of scaling production.   He is also looking for your ideas.    Special thanks to Altana for hosting the event at which this episode was recorded.

From 100+ rejections to landing an Investment Banking role in London — this is the real story of how one student broke into IB with zero connections and no roadmap. Nikita shares his journey from Bocconi and ESSEC to securing a full-time Investment Banking offer, including the struggles, internship experience, networking strategy, and key lessons that helped him succeed. Check out WSO Academy — the prep that has helped thousands break into high finance. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Robinhood revealed the companies their VC fund invested in… because it's IPOing this month.Stanley's Quencher sales are dropping… so it's pivoting to guys, gym bags, and protein #ManlyHow do you save Colorado's worst ski season?… With one innovative fence. And a trick from Fenway park.Plus, forget Olympic gold… because a Girl Scout just set the record for most cookies ever sold: $700K$HOOD $MTN $BTCBuy tickets to The IPO Tour (our In-Person Offering) TODAYAustin, TX (2/25): SOLD OUTArlington, VA (3/11): https://www.arlingtondrafthouse.com/shows/341317 New York, NY (4/8): https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0000637AE43ED0C2Los Angeles, CA (6/3): SOLD OUTGet your TBOY Yeti Doll gift here: https://tboypod.com/shop/product/economic-support-yeti-doll NEWSLETTER:https://tboypod.com/newsletter OUR 2ND SHOW:Want more business storytelling from us? Check our weekly deepdive show, The Best Idea Yet: The untold origin story of the products you're obsessed with. Listen for free to The Best Idea Yet: https://wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/NEW LISTENERSFill out our 2 minute survey: https://qualtricsxm88y5r986q.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dp1FDYiJgt6lHy6GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Linkedin (Nick): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/Linkedin (Jack): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ About Us: The daily pop-biz news show making today's top stories your business. Formerly known as Robinhood Snacks, The Best One Yet is hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.