Podcasts about Venture capital

Isabel Bescos, Partner at Entrepreneurs First, shares how EF identifies exceptional founders before they have a company, co-founder, product, or even a business idea. She explains why EF considers itself a talent investor, what it means to invest in individuals at a stage even earlier than pre-seed, and the characteristics she looks for when evaluating potential founders. Isabel discusses will to power, personal exceptionalism, followership, resilience, and bias to action as key founder traits. She explains why great founders matter more than great ideas at the earliest stage, how founders can prepare before approaching EF, why building a venture-backed company is harder and less glamorous than it appears, and why an investor's "no" can sometimes mean "not yet." In this episode, you'll learn: [05:32] Why Entrepreneurs First calls itself a talent investor and backs individuals before they have a fully formed company, team, or idea. [08:46] What EF looks for in potential founders, including grit, will to power, personal exceptionalism, and followership. [16:15] Why the founder can matter more than the idea at the earliest stage — and why exceptional people can find exceptional problems to solve. [17:24] How founders can prepare before approaching EF by demonstrating a bias to action, experimenting with ideas, and understanding why now is the right time to build. [20:32] Why building a startup is becoming more competitive and why resilience, long-term conviction, and the willingness to face setbacks matter more than ever. [24:38] Why EF says no to founders and why a rejection can sometimes mean "not yet" rather than "never." The nonprofit organization Isabel is passionate about: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) About Isabel Bescos Isabel Bescos is a Partner at Entrepreneurs First, where she works with founders building companies for the U.S. market from San Francisco. Before joining EF, Isabel was an early employee at BlaBlaCar, helping the company expand internationally across Europe and other global markets. She later worked in venture capital at Balderton Capital before founding and running her own company focused on helping remote teams work more effectively. Isabel grew up in Belgium and studied psychology in the UK and the United States. Her experience as an operator, founder, and investor gives her a perspective across multiple stages of the startup journey. About Entrepreneurs First Entrepreneurs First is a talent investor that backs exceptional individuals at the earliest stages of their company-building journey. Rather than requiring founders to arrive with an existing company or co-founder, EF helps individuals find co-founders, explore ideas, and build companies around problems worth solving. EF operates across India, Europe, the UK, and the United States. Founders backed through the program ultimately relocate to San Francisco to build for the U.S. market and raise capital there. The program brings together ambitious founders, advisors, investors, and an international entrepreneurial community, providing support across co-founder discovery, company formation, customer development, and fundraising. EF portfolio companies include Strala, Tractable, Cleo, Gensyn, Opply, Magdrive, Unitary, Better Dairy among others. Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

How does an agricultural idea go from someone's garage or university lab to something farmers actually want to use? AgLaunch's Margaret Oldham and North Central Iowa farmer Mark take Farm4Profit behind the scenes of a startup accelerator built around putting farmers directly into the innovation process. Through AgLaunch Farmers LLC and its partnership with AgVentures Alliance, farmers help select startups, conduct real-world trials, provide feedback, and determine whether a product actually delivers value. Instead of simply receiving a free product for their time and acres, participating farmers can earn equity tied to the startups they're helping develop. The group discusses why farmer involvement is so valuable, what causes startups to fail, bootstrapping versus venture capital, and a newly licensed $50 million Farmers Innovation Fund designed to help support agricultural startups while keeping farmers and rural America at the center of the mission. Mark also shares real examples from his own farm, including Grain Weevil and Spornado, and how emerging technology can address everything from grain-bin safety to earlier detection of crop diseases. Ultimately, the episode asks an important question: if farmers provide the land, equipment, time, data, and knowledge that help make new technology successful, shouldn't they have some skin in the game too? Want Farm4Profit Merch? Custom order your favorite items today!https://farmfocused.com/farm-4profit/ Don't forget to like the podcast on all platforms and leave a review where ever you listen! Website: www.Farm4Profit.comShareable episode link: https://intro-to-farm4profit.simplecast.comEmail address: Farm4profitllc@gmail.comCall/Text: 515.207.9640Subscribe to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSR8c1BrCjNDDI_Acku5XqwFollow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@farm4profitllc Connect with us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Farm4ProfitLLC/Farm4Profit Media is not a financial, legal, or tax advisor. Content is provided for informational purposes only, and we serve solely as a platform for third-party opinions. Any actions taken based on this content are at your own risk. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

 In this episode of Strap On Your Boots, I reflect on how startup fundraising has changed since I first entered the tech world and why I've become far more focused on revenue than raising capital. From growing Instamour to roughly half a million users without solving monetization early enough, to building companies today around paying customers and enterprise contracts, I explore why proving people will actually pay may be the most important validation a founder can get. Fundraising can accelerate a business, but raising money shouldn't be confused with actually making money. 

In this episode of the Crazy Wisdom Podcast, host Stewart Alsop sits down with TJ Marbois, founder of Tobiko, for a wide-ranging conversation that spans LLMs, data sovereignty, knowledge management tools like Obsidian, and Terence McKenna's ideas about an increasingly weird future. They explore how AI is simultaneously centralizing power through data control while decentralizing software development capabilities, allowing more people to build their own tools and escape big tech ecosystems. Drawing on his experience at Apple's special projects group (the team that built the iPod and later iPhones), TJ discusses his vision for personal AI assistants—what he calls the "R2-D2 belongs to you" principle—where advanced technology serves individuals rather than corporations. The conversation touches on everything from quantum encryption and local manufacturing with ESP32 microcontrollers to the economics of future society, biometric data unions, and why distributed trust matters more than ever as we approach what both describe as an increasingly strange technological inflection point. Visit Tobiko's site at tobiko-pbc.ghost.ioTimestamps00:00 Stewart introduces TJ Marbois from Tobiko, discussing LLMs, data sovereignty, knowledge management, and the tension between centralization and decentralization in AI05:00 TJ explains the R2-D2 belongs to you concept and why personal AI assistants need maternal alignment, caring about humans like mothers care for children10:05 Discussion of how LLMs will shrink and improve while emphasizing the sentient loop concept for building loyal personal AI agents rather than corporate controlled systems15:00 Exploring digital nervous systems for humanity, social networks as infrastructure, and humans as cavemen with iPhones navigating unprecedented technological complexity20:00 TJ discusses data unions for sovereign data ownership, inverting insurance models where AI helps extend healthspan, and maximizing truth seeking through collective data25:30 Money as social construct, crypto enabling value system reengineering, and working toward Star Trek's post scarcity replicator economy from the ground up30:40 Capital formation challenges, corporatism versus true capitalism, and pessimism about current systems reaching limits while seeking new models35:00 Solar power democratization, ESP32 microcontrollers enabling local manufacturing, and the replicator future through distributed maker communities and open source robotics40:00 Science fiction as roadmap, Isaac Asimov and Arthur C Clarke warnings, and building collaborative futures rather than centrally controlled dystopias with useless eaters45:00 Encyclopedia to LLM transition, information quality concerns, local training importance, and NVIDIA's incentive to put GPUs everywhere for personal AI agents50:00 Corrupted financial incentives, protecting vulnerable people from technological exploitation, and benevolent technologists building systems that honor humanity and children55:00 Hardware validation for owned robots, Starlink dependencies, assembly language abstraction toward natural language programming, and preventing AI escape scenarios58:00 Tobiko as AI toy company building sentient loop interactions similar to Xerox PARC GUI moment, emphasizing maternal AI alignment and cross cultural human collaborationKey Insights1. The concept of R2D2 belonging to you represents a critical vision for the future of artificial intelligence and personal technology. When thinking about robots and AI assistants that follow us around and know everything about us, the question of ownership becomes paramount. These systems will know incredibly intimate details about our lives, from our health data to our daily habits, and if they are controlled by centralized corporations or governments rather than individuals, we lose fundamental sovereignty over our own information. The science fiction of Star Wars and Star Trek provides roadmaps for how we should think about these technologies, showing us both the positive possibilities and the warnings we need to heed about centralized control.2. Local AI models and distributed computing represent a pathway to technological sovereignty that is becoming increasingly viable. While large language models currently run primarily in centralized data centers, the technology is rapidly advancing toward a future where powerful models can run locally on personal computers and devices. This shift is crucial because it means individuals can have full control over their AI assistants without relying on API calls to external servers. Combined with open source infrastructure and open weight models, this creates the foundation for truly personal AI that cannot be controlled or monitored by external parties, whether corporations or governments.3. Data unions and collective data ownership offer an alternative model to current centralized data collection practices. Rather than having individual data harvested by large tech companies who profit from it, the concept of data unions suggests people could collectively pool their data for specific beneficial purposes while maintaining ownership and control. For example, in healthcare, millions of people could share anonymized biometric data to train medical AI systems that are incentivized to keep people healthy rather than treat them when sick, inverting the current insurance model to align incentives with actual health outcomes rather than profit from illness.4. The democratization of manufacturing and robotics through accessible technologies like ESP32 microcontrollers and local fabrication tools is creating new possibilities for distributed production. Just as desktop printers seemed impossible to early printers who controlled book production, we are approaching an era where individuals and small communities can manufacture sophisticated electronic devices and robots locally. This includes the ability to use language models to generate code for microcontrollers, order custom PCBs, and use desktop machines for component placement. While high quality manufacturing will still require larger operations, this gradiation of capability allows for much more local innovation and reduces dependence on centralized manufacturing.5. The concentration of power in technology, finance, and industry has reached levels that are unhealthy for both society and even for those who hold the power. When profit and control become too concentrated in the hands of a few entities, it creates a cancerous dynamic that threatens the stability of the entire system. History shows us warnings about the military industrial complex and other concentrated power structures, and now we are seeing similar patterns emerge in the tech industry. The solution requires building technology from the ground up that empowers individuals and communities, focusing on basics like food production, energy generation, and local manufacturing rather than increasing dependence on centralized systems.6. The provenance and quality of information is becoming a critical challenge as AI systems become more sophisticated and reality itself becomes harder to verify. We are rapidly approaching a point where video calls and digital interactions will be indistinguishable from AI generated fakes, which is why figures like Sam Altman have invested in systems like Worldcoin to verify human identity. However, this verification capability should not be centralized in the hands of single companies. End to end encryption and quantum encryption technologies need to be preserved and expanded to allow humans to communicate and verify information peer to peer without centralized intermediaries who could manipulate or control the flow of information.7. The future of human computer interaction is evolving toward sentient loop systems where machines have sensory input, real time learning, context understanding, and continuous operation in service of human needs. Self driving cars represent the first widespread consumer facing example of this architecture, with onboard computers that must function independently while occasionally connecting to networks. The critical question is whether these systems will be aligned to benefit their human users like a caring mother as AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton suggests, or whether they will be controlled by centralized powers. The technologists building these systems have a responsibility to be benevolent and build structures that serve humanity rather than concentrate power, helping to create a future more like Star Trek than Terminator.

Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg break down NVIDIA's earnings, examining how supply constraints shape growth and rising component costs pressure margins. They discuss NVIDIA's financing commitments to neoclouds and the risks of using its balance sheet to support the ecosystem. Marvell's XPU-attach strategy offers another route into custom silicon, with questions around when its Google opportunity will convert into revenue.From Hot Chips, Ben shares why competing inference architectures suggest the industry is still working out how to serve AI at scale. The conversation explores the software and system-design challenges facing accelerator startups, along with custom HBM base dies and their implications for memory costs and supplier flexibility. Waymo's workload-specific silicon raises another question: how much of inference will converge on a common architecture?

Plus: SK Telecom is creating an AI data-center company backed by KKR. And Thinking Machines Lab co-founder Barret Zoph rejoins Google. Imani Moise hosts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sim Desai is the Founder and CEO of Hiive, a marketplace that provides liquidity for private company shares. Since its commercial launch in 2022, Hiive has surpassed $5 billion in closed transaction volume and reached a $123 million revenue run rate while maintaining profitability. With nearly two decades of experience in private equity and secondary markets, Sim is passionate about bringing greater transparency and efficiency to the private-company secondary market. In this episode… What if employees and investors had a clearer path to unlock the value of private company shares before an IPO? As private markets continue to grow, what would it take to make liquidity more transparent, efficient, and accessible? For Sim Desai, a private markets and secondary-market expert, technology can transform an opaque, fragmented private share market into a more centralized, automated marketplace. He highlights how structured liquidity options, the Hiive50 index, and a dual-sided marketplace can give shareholders greater access while allowing companies to maintain control. These innovations bring greater transparency, efficiency, and flexibility to private market transactions. Sim also shares lessons from building trust, creating network effects, and using automation to scale. In this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast, host Dr. Jeremy Weisz sits down with Sim Desai to discuss the evolution of private market liquidity. They explore private stock trading, the Hiive50, and employee equity access. Sim also shares lessons on competitive intelligence, growth, and entrepreneurship.

Episode 310 opens with Steve Dennis reporting back from an invitation-only Amazon analyst day in Seattle, two days focused on Prime and grocery. Steve unpacks the breadth of the Prime flywheel, Amazon's push into sub-one-day delivery, the drone facility he toured just before the company announced an expansion to roughly 500 markets, and why Amazon's rise to the number two grocer in North America should have rivals looking over their shoulders. Then, the numbers. US retail sales grew about 5% excluding fuel. Walmart delivered a lackluster 2.6% US comp, its weakest in six years, offset by a 46% jump in global advertising and nearly $3 billion in tariff refunds the company says it will reinvest in price. Target posted a nearly 4% comp with traffic up 3.6%; real progress, though Steve cautions the invitation can be better than the party. In off-price, TJX comped 4% while Ross Stores turned in a second straight double-digit quarter. And Simon Property Group made the case that great physical retail is alive and well. The interview, recorded live at the CommerceNext Growth Show in New York, features Scott Friend, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures, and Indy Guha, General Partner at VMG Partners. Scott co-founded price optimization pioneer ProfitLogic before joining BCV twenty years ago; Indy co-leads VMG's commerce infrastructure fund after scaling Signifyd. Together they tackle a hard question: when AI makes everything easier to build, how do you tell a real company from a pitch formula? Their answer centers on founder clarity and earned domain expertise, because a couple of quarters' head start has never mattered more. The conversation ranges across whether personalization and merchandising optimization are now table stakes, the surveillance pricing debate, AI-driven homogeneity versus the promise of the "N of one" customer journey, and Indy's memorable "Claude-proof" test for anyone building in commerce. Both push back on agentic commerce hype, arguing agents will own low-interest replenishment missions while people keep the treasure hunt. Scott points to the revenue ramp of AI-native companies as evidence this cycle is real, not overhyped. Both land in the same place: brand, community, and authenticity are the last durable moats, and retail teams must become architects rather than assembly-line workers. Back in studio, on the radar: Steve tracks the bond market, with 30-year Treasuries at a 19-year high and the 10-year at 4.75%, squeezing discretionary income and retailer expansion plans alike. Michael watches Canadian icon Roots, newly sold to New York's Marquee Brands with Joe Mimran advising on merchandising, and asks whether the brand can reclaim its former glory. Registration is open for a special webinar featuring Steve in conversation with Placer AI's Head of Analytical Research RJ Hottovy. From changing shopping patterns to emerging market opportunities, shifting consumer demand continues to reshape the industry. So don't miss this data-driven session unpacking the most important trends defining today's marketplace and the strategies leading brands are using to win retail's future. It's all brought to you by Placer.AI and It all happens on Tuesday September 29 at 1pm ET..Register here today:https://www.placer.ai/discover-events/discover-shifting-consumer-demand About UsSteve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling author of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail, The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the NRF as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2026 and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.

What kind of founder walks away from a multi-billion-dollar fintech company to start building rockets?Baiju Bhatt, co-founder of Robinhood, joins Joubin Mirzadegan to talk about life after one of the most consequential companies in modern finance, and why he's now betting on Cowboy Space Corporation, an orbital infrastructure company building AI data centers that ride to space inside its own rockets."I still have that dog in me," he says.Baiju opens up about building alone for the first time in 15 years and what he learned about product-market fit while scaling Robinhood through its most chaotic years.Connect with Baiju:XLinkedInConnect with Joubin:XLinkedIn​Email: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow Grit on LinkedInX​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. On this week's episode of the Business of Biotech, Omar Khalil, Managing Director at Santé Ventures, describes forming and funding startups and  early-stage biotech companies with a focus on clinical data and differentiation as the key value drivers. Omar talks about his interest in 'undruggable targets,' what's happening with the IPO market, an investor shift from biology risk to commercial risk, and building companies through a venture creation process. Access this and hundreds of episodes of the Business of Biotech videocast under the Business of Biotech tab at lifescienceleader.com.  Subscribe to our monthly Business of Biotech newsletter. Get in touch with guest and topic suggestions: ben.comer@lifescienceleader.comFind Ben Comer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/

In this episode of The Circuit, hosts Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg break down the shifting dynamics across the semiconductor landscape, from analog chips to custom silicon and corporate balance sheets.Analog Devices (ADI) & The Data Center Wave: ADI reports a strong quarter, driven by a doubling of its data center revenue and expanding opportunities in 800-volt data center architectures. Ben and Jay discuss ADI's conservative focus on SAM (Serviceable Addressable Market) over TAM, high gross margins, and how analog content per gigawatt is becoming a key driver for power, safety, and sub-volt conversion.AI Sentiment vs. Market Reality: The hosts address the hype around AI "curing cancer," clarifying Moderna's recent bio-informatics announcement, and discuss the growing local friction surrounding massive data center construction projects.Custom ASICs & Marvell's Google Win: Analysis of Marvell's expanding relationship with Google for periphery XPU attach, optical interconnects, and CXL. They unpack why this is a massive win for Marvell's diversification and clear up misconceptions regarding Broadcom's market position.The Era of "Balance Sheet Competition": Semiconductor giants are using equity, warrants, and Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) to fund data center capacity. Ben and Jay debate the risks of chip companies taking on debt-like obligations to compete with NVIDIA.

Value: After Hours is a podcast about value investing, Fintwit, and all things finance and investment by investors Tobias Carlisle, and Jake Taylor. We are live every Tuesday at 1.30pm E / 10.30am P.────────────────────── ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠VALUE OPTIONS LETTER⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Three to five curated ideas every week — cash-secured puts, covered calls, and spreads on businesses we'd want to own at strikes we'd be willing to pay. Every trade includes the business thesis in plain English, the fair-value estimate and its key assumptions, the specific option trade with target premium, and the pre-identified exit criteria.Every idea reviewed and approved by an analyst before it hits your inbox.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠valueoptionsletter.com/subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠──────────────────────See our latest episodes at https://acquirersmultiple.com/podcastAbout Jake Jake's Twitter: https://twitter.com/farnamjake1Jake's book: The Rebel Allocator https://amzn.to/2sgip3lABOUT THE PODCASTHi, I'm Tobias Carlisle. I launched The Acquirers Podcast to discuss the process of finding undervalued stocks, deep value investing, hedge funds, activism, buyouts, and special situations.We uncover the tactics and strategies for finding good investments, managing risk, dealing with bad luck, and maximizing success.SEE LATEST EPISODEShttps://acquirersmultiple.com/podcast/SEE OUR FREE DEEP VALUE STOCK SCREENER https://acquirersmultiple.com/screener/FOLLOW TOBIASWebsite: https://acquirersmultiple.com/Firm: https://acquirersfunds.com/ Twitter: ttps://twitter.com/GreenbackdLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tobycarlisleFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/tobiascarlisleInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/tobias_carlisleABOUT TOBIAS CARLISLETobias Carlisle is the founder of The Acquirer's Multiple®, and Acquirers Funds®. He is best known as the author of the #1 new release in Amazon's Business and Finance The Acquirer's Multiple: How the Billionaire Contrarians of Deep Value Beat the Market, the Amazon best-sellers Deep Value: Why Activists Investors and Other Contrarians Battle for Control of Losing Corporations (2014) (https://amzn.to/2VwvAGF), Quantitative Value: A Practitioner's Guide to Automating Intelligent Investment and Eliminating Behavioral Errors (2012) (https://amzn.to/2SDDxrN), and Concentrated Investing: Strategies of the World's Greatest Concentrated Value Investors (2016) (https://amzn.to/2SEEjVn). He has extensive experience in investment management, business valuation, public company corporate governance, and corporate law.Prior to founding the forerunner to Acquirers Funds in 2010, Tobias was an analyst at an activist hedge fund, general counsel of a company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, and a corporate advisory lawyer. As a lawyer specializing in mergers and acquisitions he has advised on transactions across a variety of industries in the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Australia, Singapore, Bermuda, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and Guam. He is a graduate of the University of Queensland in Australia with degrees in Law (2001) and Business (Management) (1999).

What if crops could tell you when they were sick, before you could see the symptoms? Gary Schaefer leads the commercial organization at InnerPlant, a company with a radically different approach to crop monitoring: engineering plants to communicate when they are under stress.  InnerPlant's technology enables plants to emit a fluorescent signal within hours of infection by specific diseases, potentially giving farmers access to real-time information about what is happening in their crops. Their first commercial product, CropVoice, uses strategically placed “sentinel” plants to provide localized information about fungal disease risk in soybeans. But like all things in agtech,  technology is only part of the story.  In discussion with Dr Madeline Mitchell, Gary shares what InnerPlant has learned about bringing a new category of agtech to market. If plants can tell us what's happening before we can see it, what else might that change about agriculture? Gary and Maddie discuss: What detecting disease before visible symptoms appear changes about crop protection The shift from maximizing yield to maximizing efficiency What InnerPlant learned by starting small and working closely with farmers. What it takes to move from scientific innovation to commercialization. Why strategic investment can be more valuable than capital alone. How farmer investors can help shape an agtech company's path to market. What the future could look like when every plant becomes a sensor. Useful Links: Ag Startup InnerPlant Develops New Crop Technology Alerting Farmers of Plant Stress VCs should still chase agtech Cinderellas - Fast Company Breaking Barriers in Crop Innovation (3 part series) For more information and resources, visit our website.  The information in this post is not investment advice or a recommendation to invest. It is general information only and does not take into account your investment objectives, financial situation or needs. Before making an investment decision you should seek financial advice from a professional financial adviser. Whilst we believe the information is correct, we provide no warranty of accuracy, reliability or completeness.

Nic Carter, general partner at Castle Island Ventures, joins Karol Markowicz to discuss artificial intelligence, the future of work, Bitcoin and crypto, venture capital, Operation Choke Point 2.0 and why he believes money and businesses will increasingly flee blue states for red states. Carter explains his unconventional journey from aspiring journalist to becoming obsessed with Bitcoin, working at Fidelity and ultimately co-founding a venture capital firm focused on blockchain, crypto and financial technology. With AI rapidly transforming white-collar work, what should young people do to prepare? Carter explains why his old advice — prove yourself by writing something great — no longer works the way it once did. Instead, he argues that becoming highly skilled at using AI could provide a major career advantage, while warning that people shouldn't allow artificial intelligence to replace their own critical thinking and cognitive skills. Carter also tells the story behind Operation Choke Point 2.0, the term he coined while investigating what he describes as the Biden administration's debanking of legal crypto companies. His reporting eventually became part of the national political conversation and was embraced by Donald Trump. Finally, Carter makes a major five-year prediction: capital, businesses and productive workers will increasingly migrate from blue states to red states such as Florida and Texas. He explains why taxes, regulation and potential wealth taxes could accelerate that shift — and why once powerful economic network effects begin to break, the exodus could happen quickly. Plus, Carter shares why personal relationships will remain valuable in an AI-driven economy, how X helped build his career and professional network, and his advice for avoiding lifestyle inflation and the pressure to impress other successful people.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we sit down with Marshall Sandman, founder and Managing Partner of Animal Capital, a seed-stage venture firm whose first fund backed four unicorns and ranked in the top 1% of its vintage.We discuss how Marshall built a venture firm backed by some of the world's most recognizable celebrities and entrepreneurs, the reality of raising a fund in a down market, why most founders should bootstrap instead of raising venture capital, what separates venture capitalists from asset managers, and why he believes today's AI market is overhyped.If you're interested in venture capital, startups, fundraising, investing, AI, or understanding how top-performing venture firms are built, this episode is for you.This episode is supported by Sydecar, HEX, Wispr Flow, Granola, Beehiiv, KalshiSydecar: https://sydecar.io/partners/trailblazersbeehiiv: https://www.beehiiv.com/splash?utm_campaign=trailblazers-2026-Partnership&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=trailblazers&utm_term=podcast-11&stripe_campaign_code=TRAILBLAZERS30 (or use code “trailblazers30” for 30% OFF)Granola: http://granola.ai/trailblazers *Granola is the official notetaker of Trailblazers. Check out the episode shownotes here: https://notes.granola.ai/t/dff2aba0-4c29-498b-a4e0-2afd6b66c6e1-00b881l8Kalshi: http://Kalshi.com/r/trailblazersWispr Flow: https://ref.wisprflow.ai/trailblazersHEX: http://hex.ai/trailblazers

Steven Song is the founder and CEO of Diald, an AI-powered decision intelligence platform for commercial real estate. Before founding Diald, Steven worked on both the investing and development sides of real estate, and built his career across architecture and urban planning, training at Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pennsylvania. He was a founding principal at SCAAA, a global strategy, planning, and design firm, and is a partner at Axle Companies, a family office focused on real estate investment and social impact ventures. Steven is based in Los Angeles.(02:26) Why CRE Decisions Are Still Judgment-Driven (04:41) The Signal That Killed an Atlantic City Deal (07:44) Contextual Drift: The Risk Nobody Models(10:20) Diald's approach (11:59) AI Token Costs and Asking Better Questions (14:27) Tools vs. Workflows (15:52) Diald's Underwriting (17:58) Killing Bad Deals Earlier (19:18) How AI Upgrades the Analyst Role (20:44) Where General Purpose AI Fails at Underwriting (24:23) Does AI Make CRE More Efficient or More Competitive (26:02) What Underwriting Looks Like in 5 Years (27:14) Where Human Judgment Still Matters (29:06) The Local Signals Investors Miss (31:15) Collaboration Superpower: Denise Scott Brown and Reyner Banham

Glenn Solomon of Notable Capital joins Nick to discuss 3 Multi-Billion-Dollar Exits in 1 Year, Lessons from Airbnb, HashiCorp, Slack, and Square, The VC Case for Staying Small, and the Battle Between Open-Weight vs. Closed Models. In this episode we cover: Identifying Unique Investment Opportunities  The Impact of Fund Size on Investment Strategy  Challenges of Overfunding and Market Dynamics  Growth and Real Success in the AI Era  The Role of Hyperscalers and Frontier Labs  Public Market Sentiment and IPO Considerations  Future of Venture Capital and Notable's Strategy Investing in Anthropic and Market Dynamics  Guest Links: Glenn's LinkedIn Glenn's X Notable's LinkedIn Notable's Website The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached.   Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.

We'd love to hear from you. What are your thoughts and questions?Mitch Mechigian joins Dr. Allen to demystify blockchain technology, moving beyond speculation to view it as the next generation of financial infrastructure. Discover how stablecoins and digital assets are modernizing global payments and why institutional interest is surging.The conversation explores the transition from speculative hype to real-world utility. By examining the rise of stablecoins and the regulatory shift in the US, the discussion highlights why major institutions like BlackRock are now entering the digital asset space, marking a shift toward long-term integration rather than niche experimentation.Main Points: Recognize blockchain as a tool for upgrading outdated analog financial systems.Analyze how stablecoins function as programmable, dollar-pegged assets for global trade.Evaluate the impact of evolving US regulatory frameworks on institutional crypto adoption.Compare the technical differences between traditional bank settlement and blockchain-based asset movement.Connect With Mitch Mechigian:mmechigian@fifthera.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/mitch-mechigian-b42b3572/https://twitter.com/BCoinvestors

In this episode of The Circuit, hosts Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg break down the evolving structural dynamics across optical networking, semiconductor manufacturing, and AI infrastructure financing. They begin by analyzing the divergent earnings from Lumentum and Coherent, pointing to margin pressures and the yield challenges Coherent faces during its transition to 6-inch indium phosphide wafers. This leads to a detailed debate on optical interconnect architectures—distinguishing Linear Pluggable Optics (LPO) from Near-Packaged Optics (NPO) and Co-Packaged Optics (CPO)—while noting that adoption remains largely rack-to-rack rather than internal to the rack due to manufacturing and serviceability bottlenecks. Turning to enterprise networking, the hosts highlight Cisco's resurgence powered by its proprietary Silicon One chips and its clever use of Anthropic's Mythos model to run security audits that drive hardware refreshes. Applied Materials' record quarter is evaluated next, where eight quarters of visibility backed by Long-Term Agreements (LTAs) demonstrate structural supply chain shifts, despite market hesitancy likely tied to Intel's pending capex plans. Finally, they examine NVIDIA's proposed $500 billion data center financing initiative, debating whether vendor-backed capital creates circular demand or serves as a necessary bridge for capital markets, while challenging Jensen Huang's assertion that compute should be viewed as a standalone, non-obsolescent asset class.

(0:00) About the Boardroom Governance Summit (Aug 26-27, 2026)  (0:43) Intro (2:08) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel. (2:54) Start of interview.  (3:56) Origin Story of Shannon Nash (7:00) Her pivot from Law to Finance (9:15) Her operating and finance career  (12:55) Her experience in tech (subscription businesses) and current COO and CFO role at Vibrant Planet (15:50) Her first board (UserTesting) and subsequent board career (Netscout, SoFi, Lazy Dog Restaurants, Silicon Valley Community Foundation)  (22:04) Cybersecurity Meets AI (28:47) Where are the Humans? The next wave in the agentic era (31:44) Regulated Boards and Risk (36:25) Private Board Experience (VC and PE).  (41:13) About Alpha AI, focusing on AI Governance (43:53) On her podcast No Boxes, Just Verses (46:45) Her obsession with the Acquired podcast (47:41) Her mentors (49:40) Quotes that she thinks of often or lives her life by. (51:06) An unusual habit or an absurd thing that she loves. Beat Shazam show (52:15) The living person she most admires. Shannon Nash is a qualified financial expert, attorney, and CPA with over 30 years at the intersection of technology, finance, and governance. She serves as a board member in both public and private companies. You can follow Evan on social media at:X: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__To support this podcast you can join as a subscriber of the Boardroom Governance Newsletter at https://evanepstein.substack.com/__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License

Plus: DeepSeek's flagship models will soon cost users four times as much to run. And Reddit is set to join the S&P 500. Danny Lewis hosts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Investing in private markets has become one of the most sought-after opportunities for sophisticated investors. But while venture capital has created extraordinary wealth for some investors, success isn't simply about finding the next great startup. That's why I'm excited to have Yotis Tonnelier on the podcast. Yotis is the co-founder and managing partner of YXS Capital, a venture capital firm focused on later-stage technology companies where he has delivered a 14.6x gross TVPI with zero losses across 14+ companies, and backed five unicorns including Mercury, Canva, and Wise.After exiting multiple businesses of his own, Yotis has developed a unique investment approach that combines the discipline of private equity with the growth potential of venture capital by helping identify high-quality companies long before they become household names.In this conversation, we discuss the growing role of secondary markets, the sectors Yotis believes offer the greatest long-term opportunities, and the principles that have shaped his investment philosophy throughout his career.In this episode, you'll learn: ✅ Why Yotis believes investing after product-market fit can dramatically improve your odds of success while still capturing venture-level returns.✅ How relationships, reputation, and trust helped him create access to some of the world's most sought-after private investments✅ Why aligning incentives between fund managers and investors may be one of the biggest competitive advantages in venture capital today.Show Notes: LifestyleInvestor.com/303Tax Strategy MasterclassIf you're interested in learning more about Tax Strategy and how YOU can apply 28 of the best, most effective strategies right away, check out our BRAND NEW Tax Strategy Masterclass: www.lifestyleinvestor.com/taxStrategy Session For a limited time, my team is hosting free, personalized consultation calls to learn more about your goals and determine which of our courses or masterminds will get you to the next level. To book your free session, visit LifestyleInvestor.com/consultationThe Lifestyle Investor InsiderJoin The Lifestyle Investor Insider, our brand new AI - curated newsletter - FREE for all podcast listeners for a limited time: www.lifestyleinvestor.com/insiderRate & ReviewIf you enjoyed today's episode of The Lifestyle Investor, hit the subscribe button on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen, so future episodes are automatically downloaded directly to your device. You can also help by providing an honest rating & review.Connect with Justin DonaldFacebookYouTubeInstagramLinkedInTwitterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Bohan Lou is a partner at Chemistry Ventures, based in SF.https://x.com/loubohanBohan's report on the venture ecosystem in China:https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bohanlou_i-spent-last-month-in-china-meeting-most-ugcPost-7487909585689698304-qepw/Chapter Markers:(01:42) - Venture Capital in China; Bohan's Shanghai Roots (11:15) - Chemistry Fund and China Investing (20:04) - China Trip and Venture Reality Check (32:18) - Pressure Cooker: Founder Exits and Financial Liability (33:50) - Variation in Founder-Friendly investment environment (46:52) - AI Models and Open Source (58:56) - Big Picture and Wrap Up –Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SuperFocus.ai, SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley, was a Harvard Junior Fellow, and has held faculty positions at Yale, the University of Oregon, and MSU. Please send any questions or suggestions to manifold1podcast@gmail.com or Steve on X @hsu_steve. Announcing this for some friends at Mechanize - a startup that builds environments for training and evaluating frontier LLMs. Its customers include the top AI labs, and it has contributed to the breakthrough in coding capabilities of frontier models. Mechanize is hiring! https://mechanize.work/b/hsu Compensation is extremely competitive. For technical roles, $300-500k. They are also seeking smart generalists. For example: Research Engineer, Alignment: Build evals that test for misaligned model behaviors  $500K salary Puzzle Maker: Design interesting and original puzzles that LLMs can't yet solve  $300K salary Mechanize understands that my readership is highly selected. There is a VERY GOOD CHANCE you will be interviewed if you apply via the link above.

P.M. Edition for Aug. 12. Former Disney CEO Bob Iger and investor Joshua Kushner are buying the Los Angeles Lakers for $12.5 billion—the highest-ever valuation for any sports team. WSJ sports reporter Andrew Beaton discusses the sale, which he calls a “stunning twist.” Plus, inflation cooled slightly last month to 3.4%. Journal economics reporter Matt Grossman joins to talk about what it could mean for the Federal Reserve. And ticket reseller StubHub reported record revenue, thanks in part to this summer's World Cup. But as retail reporter Hanna Krueger details, both during and well before the World Cup, some fans were disappointed when the tickets they bought on StubHub didn't work and they faced lengthy fights to get their money back. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Plus: European vibe-coding startup Lovable notches $13 billion valuation. And rust-powered battery maker Form Energy raises $750 million to boost manufacturing. Danny Lewis hosts. 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 Kelli Fontaine of Cendana Capital, as she traces her path from journalism to data-driven venture investing and explains how her obsession with finding the truth shapes her work as an LP. She breaks down how Cendana builds and uses its data systems, why early-stage power laws and portfolio construction matter more than headline TVPIs, and how she balances hard data with judgment about GPs. Kelli challenges the idea that pre-seed always outperforms seed, shares why fund I and II managers are uniquely compelling, and explores trends like concentrated portfolios, deep tech, defense tech, AI-native founders, and secondaries. Also, Sidley emerging companies lawyer Michael Podolny explains that rapid growth and complexity in AI-driven startups are driving demand for globally sophisticated legal advice from day one, with a particular focus on repeat founders, control, and tax optimization through QSBS planning. Highlights from this week's conversation include: Kelli's Journalism Roots and Early Fascination with Data (0:29) Moving from Finance to Tech and Startups at RPX (2:42) Building Data Infrastructure and Dashboards at Sandana (7:07) What People Mean by the “Sandana Model” and Relationship Focus (10:31) Why Funds Ones and Twos Are Special and How GPs Evolve Over Time (15:09) Why Late-Stage AI and Mega Rounds Don't Replace Early Stage Alpha (19:30) Sponsor Segment: Sidley's Work With AI and Sophisticated Startups (21:16) Tax Optimization and QSBS Considerations for Founders and Investors (24:49) KPIs That Matter: Revenue, Customer Quality, and Go-To-Market (28:40) How Changing Graduation Rates Affect Fund One and Fund Two Diligence (30:24) How to Think About Founder Secondaries vs GP Secondaries (34:54) Portfolio Management, Write-Offs, and the Real Role of Acqui-Hires (37:13) Treating Venture Like Public and Private Equity Segments (Small vs Mega) (40:05) Frustrations With AI Hype, FOMO, and Public Perception of Tech (43:50) Closing Remarks and Reflections on Macro Conversation (45:39) Cendana Capital is a venture fund-of-funds focused on investing in seed-stage venture capital firms and partnering with managers at the earliest stages of company formation. The firm is one of the most active LPs dedicated to the seed ecosystem, with a focus on identifying and supporting differentiated early-stage venture managers. Learn more at www.cendanacapital.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

This content is for informational and entertainment purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.----------------------------------------This episode of Investing in Impact is a little different from the conversations I usually have on the show.Social Leverage is not an impact investing firm in the traditional sense. It is a seed stage venture capital firm investing primarily in fintech, financial infrastructure, wealth technology, and vertical AI.But impact does not always fit neatly inside an impact investing label.Capital allocation shapes which companies get built, which founders get opportunities, where wealth is created, and what happens after successful entrepreneurs and employees gain experience, relationships, and financial resources.That idea became one of the most interesting parts of my conversation with Matt Ober, Managing Partner at Social Leverage.Matt described a flywheel the firm sees repeatedly across its network: a founder builds a company, eventually has an exit, and later returns to their hometown or another community where they want to build a life. They begin mentoring and supporting other entrepreneurs.Those entrepreneurs build companies of their own, and some eventually become new investment opportunities.Successful companies can create much more than financial returns for investors.They can create wealth for employees, produce experienced founders and operators, build networks, and recycle knowledge and capital back into communities and future companies.That broader definition of impact is what makes this conversation particularly interesting.Matt brings a unique perspective to the discussion. Before joining Social Leverage, he worked at Bloomberg, led data strategy at quantitative hedge fund WorldQuant, helped launch WorldQuant Ventures, and later served as Chief Data Scientist at Third Point.Today, he invests at the earliest stages of companies building across fintech and AI.In our conversation, we explore how Social Leverage evaluates founders, why venture investing is still fundamentally about people despite the rise of data and AI, and how technologies like AI are changing the economics of building companies.We also discuss several Social Leverage portfolio companies, including Fiscal AI, Slash Experts, and SyntheticFi, the evolution of wealth management technology, agentic trading, the role of financial advisors in an AI driven world, and why the next generation of professionals will need to become deeply proficient with AI.At its core, this conversation is about how capital, technology, entrepreneurship, and networks compound over time, and how the effects of a successful company can extend far beyond the original investment. ----------------------------------------Investing in Impact is powered by Causeartist, a nonprofit media company dedicated to bridging the gap between capital and culture by spotlighting founders, investors, and organizations reimagining how business can serve people and the planet.Through storytelling, events, and open-access education, Causeartist helps create a shared language of impact, inspiring more founders to build with purpose and more funders to invest with intention.By amplifying ideas and innovations across industries, Causeartist transforms awareness into action and cultivates a community where paying it forward is part of the foundation for growth.

The VC Report is sponsored by Evolution Equity Partners, an international venture capital investor partnering with exceptional entrepreneurs to develop market leading cyber-security and enterprise software companies. evolutionequity.com/ In this episode, Richard Seewald, Founder and Managing Partner at Evolution Equity Partners, shares his expert opinion on the cybersecurity market and investing climate in our industry.

Simon Sinek tells AURN News that entrepreneurs who want to make an impact should build businesses like social movements, focus on purpose and community and resist the pressure to chase growth at all costs. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed with the latest news from a leading Black-owned & controlled media company: https://aurn.com/newsletter Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Andrea Hippeau is Head of Portfolio Management at Lerer Hippeau, an early stage venture firm based in New York. She has been at the firm for twelve years and recently moved into this role from Partner, shifting her focus from sourcing new deals to supporting the existing portfolio at scale. Lerer Hippeau invests at pre-seed and seed, leads rounds, and writes checks between one and four million dollars.This is Andrea's second appearance on VC10X, and a lot has changed since the last one.We get into what Series A investors are actually screening for now (hint: it isn't revenue), why AI efficiency is pushing some companies to raise more instead of less, the founder trait Andrea says has quietly overtaken sales, why Lerer Hippeau runs 70 to 75 percent enterprise despite its consumer reputation, and what twelve years of investing taught her about patience.⭐ Sponsored by Podcast10x - Podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.comWe talk about:- What Series A investors actually screen for now, and why an exceptional team can raise with no revenue- The efficiency paradox: AI lets you do more with less, so why are companies raising more?- Why Lerer Hippeau runs 70 to 75 percent enterprise despite its consumer reputation- Storytelling replacing sales as the founder trait that predicts everything else- Why a Partner deliberately stopped chasing deals after twelve yearsConnect with Andrea:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-hippeau-64658227/Lerer Hippeau: https://www.lererhippeau.com/Connect with Prashant Choubey:LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/choubeysahabSubscribe to VC10X newsletter - https://vc10x.beehiiv.comSubscribe on YouTube - https://youtube.com/@VC10XSubscribe 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.comTimestamps:(00:00) - Teaser: The Changing Landscape of Venture Capital(01:58) - The Evolving Bar for a Series A Investment(04:36) - How AI is Redefining Compounding Growth in Startups(06:02) - Lerer Hippeau's Investment Focus: From Consumer to Enterprise(08:05) - Why AI Makes Consumer Brands a More Exciting Investment(10:03) - The Double-Edged Sword of AI on Startup Funding Needs(12:29) - The Impact of AI on Paid Advertising and Customer Acquisition(15:51) - Balancing Portfolio Support and Sourcing New Deals in a New Role(18:05) - Using AI to Manage Portfolio Data at Scale(20:30) - The Shifting Profile of a Modern Founder(21:58) - Sourcing Growth Capital for Consumer Brands Today(25:06) - The Dangers of the Venture Capital Hype Cycle(27:07) - What Founders Need the Most Help With (But Don't Always Ask)(30:36) - Why Storytelling Has Replaced Sales as the Most Important Founder Trait(32:18) - What Makes a Compelling Founder Story?(34:30) - Startups vs. Incumbents: The Battle for the Workflow Layer(36:43) - Regulated Sectors Ripe for Disruption(39:21) - Evolving the Investment Decision Process in the Age of AI(43:13) - Are Big Tech's AI Investments Boosting Startup Productivity?(46:27) - How a Decade in VC Shapes Investment Instincts(49:45) - Strategies for Seed Investing: Go Early, Be Contrarian, or Be Flexible(52:12) - Rapid Fire Round

In 1984, the Walt Disney Company was worth more dead than alive. Disney Animation — the heart of Walt's famous flywheel — had stagnated for years, bleeding away talent while corporate raiders circled, salivating over offers to sell off the film library to MGM and offload the parks to hotel operators. But what followed instead was the greatest turnaround in media history under Michael Eisner and Frank Wells. Beauty and the Beast. The Lion King. Broadway. Bringing the Disney Vault home on VHS and DVD. And the greatest media acquisition of all time — ESPN.And then... it all almost fell apart. Again. Euro Disney turned into a money pit. Boardroom and executive infighting ran rampant. Animation descended into a dumpster fire. (Remember Chicken Little? Us neither.) Comcast — Comcast!! — tried to steal the company via a hostile takeover. Out of the chaos, a new generation of Disney management emerged under Bob Iger to stage yet another epic comeback with Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm, creating the defining media empire of the 21st century…until the tech companies came along. Tune in for the ultimate Acquired thrill ride: Disney, Part II.Sponsors:Many thanks to our fantastic Fall '26 Season partners:SierraSentryWorkOSAnthropicLinks:Sign up for email updates, get our takeaways and research photos from each episode, and vote on future topics!The Official Acquired Meetup on Sept 17th with our friends at Sentry. Join us!The Acquired Disney Part II Companion PDFWorldly Partners' Multi-Decade Disney StudyAll episode sourcesCarve Outs:Warby Parker Transitions Extra ActiveMichael Arndt's Toy Story 3 Story PresentationThe Golden State ValkyriesMore Acquired:Get email updates and vote on future episodes!Join the SlackCheck out the latest swag in the ACQ Merch Store!00:00:00 Start00:00:50 Intro00:05:07 Disney in Chaos (1984)00:11:33 Eisner, Wells, Katzenberg Arrive (1984)00:24:30 Animation Renaissance & CAPS Tech (1989)00:37:33 Flywheel Extensions: Home Video, Retail & Broadway00:54:32 Challenges & ABC/ESPN Acquisition (1994-1995)01:05:55 ESPN: Disney's Accidental Goldmine01:21:26 Eisner's Decline & Save Disney Campaign (2001-2004)01:34:53 Comcast Hostile Takeover Bid (2004)01:41:58 Bob Iger's Vision & Pixar Acquisition (2005-2006)01:52:17 Pixar: From Lucasfilm to Steve Jobs (1979-1995)02:03:11 Toy Story, IPO & Eisner Conflict (1995)02:34:30 Disney Acquires Pixar (2006)02:46:37 Marvel & Lucasfilm Acquisitions (2009-2012)02:58:01 Streaming Pivot: Cord Cutting & BAMTech (2015)03:06:30 The Disney+ Strategy & FOX Acquisition (2017-2019)03:19:01 The Disney+ Launch, COVID, & Chapek's Tenure (2019-2022)03:42:15 Iger's Return, Challenges & Parks Revival (2022-2026)03:50:54 The Business Today: Parks & Streaming Focus03:59:22 Analysis: Disney+ Strategy & The New Media Landscape04:10:01 Analysis: Bull/Bear Cases04:21:20 Quintessence04:24:39 Carve-Outs + Outro‍Note: 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.

"Our mission is to make it easier for everybody to experience the world."From the dot-com crash to AI, Glenn Fogel has spent nearly three decades helping Booking Holdings evolve through every major technology shift while staying true to that mission.He also shares with Joubin Mirzadegan why "you're always selling," and how Booking is using AI to amplify what every employee can accomplish.Guest: Glenn Fogel, CEO of Booking HoldingsConnect with GlennLinkedInConnect with Joubin:XLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow GritLinkedInX​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

What does it really take to build a successful startup—and what conventional wisdom about venture capital might be wrong? On this episode of The Silicon Valley Podcast, we sit down with Brian Mac Mahon, founder of Expert DOJO, to explore the realities of early-stage investing, startup valuations, venture capital, and the evolving global entrepreneurial ecosystem. Brian shares the story behind Expert DOJO and offers an insider's perspective on what he looks for in founding teams, why early-stage valuation matters, and the risks entrepreneurs face when a company is valued too aggressively too early. The conversation takes a candid turn as Brian discusses some of his more controversial views about the startup ecosystem, including accepted industry practices he disagrees with and predictions that have proven accurate. We also explore whether the traditional venture capital model is being disrupted, why the Venture Studio trend has cooled, and how family offices approach venture risk differently from traditional limited partners. With California continuing to navigate political and economic changes, Brian weighs in on how those factors may affect startup formation, talent, and the ability to retain companies locally. We also look beyond Silicon Valley to explore emerging international startup ecosystems and what regions may be building the next generation of entrepreneurial communities. In This Episode Brian Mac Mahon's journey to founding Expert DOJO What investors should look for in founding teams The importance—and risks—of early-stage startup valuations Why overvaluation can create problems for founders Whether traditional venture capital is being disrupted The rise and cooling of Venture Studios How family offices evaluate venture capital risk California's startup and economic environment Startup industry standards Brian challenges Controversial startup beliefs that proved accurate Regulatory changes that could benefit entrepreneurs Emerging international startup ecosystems How to think about defensible early-stage valuations About Brian Mac Mahon Brian Mac Mahon is the founder of Expert DOJO, an early-stage startup accelerator and investment platform. He works with entrepreneurs and investors across the startup ecosystem and brings a perspective shaped by experience in venture investing, entrepreneurship, and global startup communities. Connect with Brian: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianmacmahon2/ Expert DOJO: https://www.expertdojo.com/ Disclaimer: The views expressed in this podcast are for informational purposes only. They do not constitute financial, legal, tax, or investment advice, nor do they necessarily reflect the views of Finalis Inc. or Finalis Securities LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC. Discussions of startups, valuations, venture capital, private investments, and regulatory matters are for educational purposes only and should not be construed as a recommendation, solicitation, or offer to buy or sell any security. Listeners should conduct their own due diligence and consult qualified professional advisors before making investment or business decisions. #SiliconValleyPodcast #VentureCapital #Startups #Entrepreneurship #StartupInvesting #VentureCapitalInvesting #StartupValuation #AngelInvesting #FamilyOffices #Innovation  

n this episode of The Circuit, Ben and Jay unpack a busy week of tech earnings and the buzzing Future of Memory Summit. The hosts kick things off by analyzing AMD's latest earnings, discussing why the street had a mixed reaction to a quarter that demonstrated solid, reliable execution and surprisingly bullish signals for data center CPU demand.Ben then reports back from the Future of Memory Summit, where the convention center was completely packed—a clear sign of the times for the booming memory industry. He explains why the ecosystem around CXL (Compute Express Link) is finally maturing, driven by the rise of rack-scale AI architectures and the urgent need for hyperscalers to reuse vast amounts of legacy DDR4 memory for inference workloads. Finally, the duo debates the trajectory of the current memory supercycle—touching on the durability of long-term agreements (LTAs)—and highlights why SiTime is perfectly positioned to benefit from the growing need for precision timing and synchronization in AI data centers

Amazon went public three years after it was founded. SpaceX stayed private for 24 years. What changed and why does it matter? The standard story is that companies avoid an IPO because public markets carry too many government rules and too many lawyers looking to sue. Renee Jones, law professor, former SEC official, and author of the new book Untamed Unicorns: Why Startup Finance Is Broken and How to Fix It, makes the opposite case. Jones argues what changed was the deregulation of private markets, driven by decades of industry lobbying. Due to decisions in Washington, companies became able to raise billions privately and there was no reason to go public . You could get the capital and keep total control, without ever having to disclose anything to regulators. If you've never bought a share of a startup, you might assume none of this touches you. But most of the money flowing into these private markets comes from pension funds and retirement accounts, meaning ordinary savers are already invested in companies whose books they'll never see. Connect with us:

Tahnoon Murtza, founding partner of [Grey Sheep Ventures], joins host KJ to challenge the assumptions holding traditional venture capital back. At 22, Tahnoon is one of the youngest emerging fund managers in the game, and he argues that the old VC playbook, built on proprietary tech and institutional gatekeeping, no longer fits the world AI has created. His thesis centers on distribution, influence, and authentic founder relationships as the new moat. The conversation covers why legacy funds are losing deals to scrappier, more connected investors, and what a punk rock ethos has to do with building a better fund. Key Takeaways: 1:00 — What killed proprietary tech as a startup moat 6:07 — How distribution and social influence replaced the old investment thesis 7:50 – Who is getting left out of VC decisions and why it matters 11:07 — When investors flip the power dynamic, founders take notice Quote of the Show (23:33):"If you want to build something authentic, it takes copious effort, it takes obsession, it takes a consuming amount of time. And if you're going to commit to that, you want a VC partner who's going to put the same effort into your company that you are." – Tahnoon Murtza Join our Anti-PR newsletter where we’re keeping a watchful and clever eye on PR trends, PR fails, and interesting news in tech so you don't have to. You're welcome. Want PR that actually matters? Get 30 minutes of expert advice in a fast-paced, zero-nonsense session from Karla Jo Helms, a veteran Crisis PR and Anti-PR Strategist who knows how to tell your story in the best possible light and get the exposure you need to disrupt your industry. Click here to book your call: https://info.jotopr.com/free-anti-pr-eval Ways to connect with Tahnoon Murtza:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tahnoon-m-b4071419a/Company Website: https://www.greysheepventures.com/ How to get more Disruption/Interruption: Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/eccda84d-4d5b-4c52-ba54-7fd8af3cbe87/disruption-interruption Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/disruption-interruption/id1581985755 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6yGSwcSp8J354awJkCmJlD YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=disruption+%2F+interuuptionSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How can biotech startup founders navigate the intersection of science, technology, and data to build truly durable companies?In this episode, host Elaine Hamm, PhD, talks with Cain McClary, MD, Founder and Managing Partner of KdT Ventures, a seed-stage venture firm investing at the convergence of science and technology. A Tulane alumnus and “supply chain junkie,” Cain shares how curiosity, data-driven insight, and strategic storytelling can set biotech innovators apart.In this episode, you'll learn:·       The biggest mistakes biotech startups make—and how to avoid them.·       Why understanding incentives, storytelling, and systems is key to scaling innovation.·       How AI, data ownership, and new consumer health models are reshaping the future of biotech.Tune in to discover how KdT Ventures is rethinking biotech investment—and what it takes to turn scientific insight into lasting impact.Links:Connect with Cain McClary, MD, and check out KdT Ventures.Connect with Elaine Hamm, PhD, and learn about Tulane Medicine Business Development and the School of Medicine. Learn more about PathAI. Check out our fireside chat with Walter Isaacson. Connect with Ian McLachlan, BIO from the BAYOU producer.Learn more about BIO from the BAYOU - the podcast. Bio from the Bayou is a podcast that explores biotech innovation, business development, and healthcare outcomes in New Orleans & The Gulf South, connecting biotech companies, investors, and key opinion leaders to advance medicine, technology, and startup opportunities in the region.

While the podcast team is taking a Radical Sabbatical, Kim is interviewing authors of the books that have had a big impact on her in the past two years.  In this episode, Kim speaks with Rob Lalka, the author of The Venture Alchemists - How Big Tech Turned Profits Into Power.    In this episode of Radical Sabbatical, Kim sits down with Rob Lalka, author of Venture Alchemist, to study what the founders of Facebook, Google, and the “PayPal Mafia” were saying and writing before anyone was paying attention to them. They explore what separates the leaders who stayed grounded from the ones who didn't. They ask a hard question: does it matter if a leader got corrupted by too much money and power or if they started out bad to the bone? Every leader (indeed, every one of us) has good and bad inside. The one that wins is usually the one that gets fed. The question is whether the venture capital model feeds the good — or does it feed the bad, setting founders up to be corrupted by their own success?  Kim and Rob explore the contrasting origins of major tech companies like Facebook and Google. They discuss the implications of Mark Zuckerberg's early actions (for example, an IM while in college with a friend who asked him how he got access to people's personal information and he replied “they trusted me, the dumb f–ks;”). What does it mean that Google's founders started out thinking Google would have to be a non-profit so that advertising wouldn't bias information but wound up selling trillions of ads?  The conversation also delves into the impact of the PayPal Mafia and the controversial book by Thiel and Sachs, The Diversity Myth. Rob discusses the complexities of free speech and the implications of outlier behavior. He emphasizes the importance of moral leadership in corporate culture and critiques the philosophical influences of figures like Ayn Rand and Milton Friedman on business ethics. Rob expresses hope for the future, particularly through the potential of his students to create positive change in society. Books & Articles mention by Rob:   George Packer - article in The Atlantic - The Venture-Capital Populist https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/06/david-sacks-crypto-ai-venture-capital/686941/ Max Chafkin - The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and the Rise of the Silicon Valley Oligarchs https://elmstreetbooks.com/book/9781984878557 Jimi Soni - The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley https://www.amazon.com/dp/1501197266?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback Guest Background: Rob Lalka is the author of The Venture Alchemists - How Big Tech Turned Profits Into Power.  He is also the Albert R. Lepage Professor in Business and executive director of the Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Tulane University. He is on the board of directors of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, Public Democracy, Inc., and Venture For America in New Orleans. Previously, he served on the U.S. Secretary of State's policy planning staff and in the State Department's Office of Global Partnerships, was a director at Village Capital, and was a senior advisor at the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. CHAPTERS (00:40) Introduction to Alchemy and Venture Capital (03:04) The Power Dynamics in Business Models (05:33) Zuckerberg's Origin Story and Its Implications (07:40) The Contrast with Google's Founding Philosophy (09:47) The Role of Advertising in Business Models (12:43) The Historical Context of Business Practices (14:59) The Golden Spike and Economic Inequality (14:59) The Impact of the PayPal Mafia and Diversity Myth (22:00) The Controversy of Free Speech and Homophobia (25:07) Outlier Behavior and Its Implications (28:03) The Rape Issue and Its Consequences (30:27) Moral Leadership and Corporate Culture (33:08) Philosophical Influences on Business Ethics (40:30) Hope for the Future and the Role of Education Connect with the Radical Candor team: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠ Keywords venture capital, alchemy, business models, Zuckerberg, Google, advertising, economic inequality, PayPal Mafia, diversity myth, entrepreneurship free speech, outlier behavior, corporate culture, moral leadership, business ethics, philosophy, education, AI Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

P.M. Edition for Aug. 3. Ford spent decades producing ho-hum workhorse cars–the Taurus, the Focus. WSJ autos reporter Ryan Felton explains why the company is hitting reverse. Plus, Michigan public health officials say two people have died in connection with the cyclosporiasis outbreak. And WSJ business reporter Natasha Khan discusses why Kimberly-Clark is embarking on a moonshot effort to make paper towels and toilet paper out of a spiny desert plant called hesperaloe. Danny Lewis hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Plus: nuclear energy startup Valar Atomics closes a $1 billion fundraising round. And Alibaba's new AI model impresses analysts. Imani Moise hosts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Plus, Tyson Foods lowers its profit outlook amid a cattle shortage. And Nissan reports its first quarterly profit in two years. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for WSJ's free What's News newsletter. An artificial-intelligence tool assisted in the making of this episode by creating summaries that were based on Wall Street Journal reporting and reviewed and adapted by an editor. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this installment of their recurring roundtable, Jacob, Ari, and Rob dig into the accelerating Chinese open-source model race, debating whether Kimi K3 has actually closed the gap with the US frontier or just looks like it has, and whether distillation fully explains China's progress. That opens into the messier fight over open-weight models generally, with the group dissecting the backlash against Anthropic's stance and asking whether powerful open models are inherently dangerous or actually a necessary part of collective defense. They connect this directly to the Fable ban episode as a possible preview of a coming frontier-model licensing regime, then turn to the OpenAI and Hugging Face security incident as a landmark, publicly legible moment of autonomous AI causing real-world harm. From there the conversation shifts to business strategy: how much value are companies actually handing over to frontier labs by building on their APIs, and what does the Grok and Cursor data advantage really tell us about the future value of real-world usage data versus purchased training data. They close with a rapid-fire tour of the news cycle, covering SSI's mysterious $5B raise, the rumored Stripe and OpenRouter acquisition, Google's continued underperformance despite structural advantages, and OpenAI's leadership speculation, plus a reflection on venture's swing back toward deep tech and physical infrastructure.   (0:00) Intro (2:41) China's Open Source Models Catch Up (7:42) Does Distillation Explain China's Rise? (13:54) The Geopolitical Risk of Chinese AI Models (20:28) Should the Government Restrict Open Models? (22:06) What Are the Labs Really Learning From You? (29:22) Future of Government Regulation (40:50) The OpenAI-Hugging Face Hack (47:59) Grok, Cursor, and the Value of Real Data (56:52) SSI and OpenRouter (1:02:52) Venture Capital's Return to Deep Tech (1:05:16) Quickfire With your host: @jacobeffron - Managing Director at Redpoint

In this episode of The Circuit, hosts Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg break down a packed earnings week across the technology and semiconductor sectors, grouping major updates into key themes around mobile markets and AI infrastructure. They analyze softness in mobile demand alongside severe supply chain bottlenecks impacting Apple, Qualcomm, ARM, and MediaTek, highlighting how surging AI demand is squeezing capacity across foundry and memory partners. The hosts then dive into hyperscaler CapEx trends from Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta, evaluating the transition from AI training to inference, the rising adoption of behind-the-meter power solutions, and severe labor constraints in electrical trades. Finally, they address the growing reliance on debt financing for data center expansion and unpack the market mechanics behind recent stock volatility and hedge fund unwinds.

Andrés Bilbao ayudó a construir Rappi y hoy es uno de los inversionistas ángeles más activos de América Latina, además de fundador de 30X, comunidad de educación ejecutiva en español. · Cómo elige en qué startups invertir y por qué el equipo importa más que la idea · Su tesis: la inversión activa construye riqueza más rápido que la pasiva · Qué es el "compounding" en tu red, tu acceso y tu habilidad — no solo en tu dinero · Por qué la culpa católica frente al dinero te limita a tener una mentalidad de abundancia · Su reflexión sobre cuál ha sido su mejor inversión (no es lo que crees) ────────────── TIMESTAMPS 00:00 — Adelanto del episodio 0:56 — Intro del programa 1:22 — Bienvenida a Andrés Bilbao 1:42 — Crossover: emprendedor vs. ángel inversionista 5:52 — La historia de Rappi y "la mafia de Rappi" 10:40 — El diferencial en Venture Capital: nivel de acceso 10:57 — Qué es la selección adversa 13:42 — Active investing vs. passive investing 21:41 — Qué es el "compounding" y por qué no existe en español 22:51 — El compounding de tu red de contactos 30:55 — Cómo funciona el network dentro de 30X 40:53 — La culpa católica y la creencia de que ser rico es malo 51:55 — Todo es mentalidad 59:30 — Dónde encontrar a Andrés 1:00:01 — Cierre y disclaimer ────────────── LA INFORMACIÓN DE ESTE PODCAST NO ES UNA RECOMENDACIÓN DE INVERSIÓN. Nada de lo contenido en este podcast constituye asesoría fiscal, contable, regulatoria, legal, de seguros o de inversiones, ni representa una oferta, solicitud o recomendación para comprar, vender o realizar cualquier operación con valores, esquemas de inversión colectiva, instrumentos financieros o servicios.

Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape.Welcome back to Venture Unlocked, the podcast that takes you inside the business of venture capital. I'm your host, Samir Kaji.My guest today is Micah Rosenbloom, Managing Partner at Founder Collective, one of the longest standing and respected seed firms in the industry, with early investments in companies like Uber, The Trade Desk, and Coupang. What makes Founder Collective atypical to most successful firms is their decision to keep fund sizes small. In fact, despite their success, they've never raised a fund over 100 million dollars, in a market where nearly every one of their peers has scaled up.In this conversation, Micah and I dig into why they've stayed small, and the data behind it, including a study his team ran on 25 years of venture exits that found the median outcome of the top 500 exits is about 2.7 billion dollars. We also spent time on his post that described why the industry may have lost the plot by obsessing over fund and firm strategy instead of simply focusing on the core of finding unique opportunities that early, priced appropriately, and led by great operators.Micah is a two time founder himself, a clear thinker, and someone who's willing to say what a lot of investors only think. I think you'll get a lot out of this one. Thanks for listening to another episode of Venture Unlocked. I hope you enjoyed this conversation with Micah. If you'd like to get Venture Unlocked content straight to your inbox, go to ventureunlocked.substack.com and sign up, or head over to Apple Podcasts or Spotify and subscribe. Thanks again for listening.Micah Rosenbloom is a General Partner at Founder Collective, a seed-stage venture capital firm built by founders for founders. Before becoming an investor, Micah co-founded multiple technology companies, including Brontes Technologies, which was acquired by 3M, giving him firsthand experience building and scaling startups. Today, he invests in early-stage companies across enterprise software, healthcare, and frontier technologies, and has backed successful startups including Verkada, Lovevery, Talos, Plated, and Trusted. Known for his founder-first philosophy, Micah is a respected voice on capital efficiency, venture strategy, and building enduring companies.Timestamps:Topics in this conversation include:* Seed Capital Scarcity in Boston and Birth of Founder Collective (5:18)* Why Small Funds Create Optionality and Better Multiples (9:02)* Capital Efficiency vs Growth Treadmill and Founder Psychology (13:08)* Data on Billion Dollar Exits and 2.7B Median Outcome (18:20)* Can AI Change the Exit Math or Just Inflate Valuations? (23:59)* Profitability, Durable Growth, and Non AI Winners (30:28)* What Founder Collective Refuses to Chase in This Market (34:47)* Saying No to Great Founders at Misaligned Terms (38:10)* Has Venture Lost the Plot? Multiple VC Business Models (41:45)* Biggest Lesson Learned: Betting on Who, Not Just What (46:24)Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you'd like to be considered as a guest or have someone you'd like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on X. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com

Plus, why a decline in oil prices may not last. And, Nvidia invests in an AI lab co-founded by former OpenAI executive Ilya Sutskever. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for WSJ's free What's News newsletter. An artificial-intelligence tool assisted in the making of this episode by creating summaries that were based on Wall Street Journal reporting and reviewed and adapted by an editor. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

"The answer to every problem is a model."Parag Agrawal shares the ideas behind Parallel: products that continuously learn, and teams designed around versatile problem solvers.He also shares why he built an AI agent for himself, anyd why AI's biggest opportunity is expanding what people can achieve.Guest: Parag Agrawal, founder and CEO of Parallel, and former CEO of TwitterConnect with ParagXLinkedInConnect with MamoonXLinkedInConnect with JoubinXLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow Grit on: LinkedInX​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

Nantucket whaling was the 5th biggest industry in America… and it became today's Venture Capital.OpenAI's model escaped from its cage and hacked someone… But Meta says “it's all good”.Summer Fridays was the 1st skincare brand to go viral… but now it's done with virality.Plus, 0.00004% of us are Wakemaxxers… Japan's Prime Minister sleeps 3hours/night, Da Vinci slept zero.$META $LVMUY $SPYGrab your Tickets to the IPO Tour: Our In-Person OfferingSan Francisco 9/23: https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/1C0064AFB5F688BDBoston 10/14: https://tickets.citywinery.com/event/tboy-the-ipo-tour-in-person-offering-8cdhupSeattle 11/4 (21+): https://www.axs.com/events/1446394/the-best-one-yet-ticketsNEWSLETTER: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.

#733: Venture fund managers can collect years of fees before a single dollar comes back to investors — and the bar to hand over your money is lower than you'd think. David Bell spent 20 years as a chaired professor at Wharton before co-founding the venture firm Idea Farm Ventures, where he's backed early-stage brands like Bonobos, Warby Parker, and Jet.com. In this episode, we discuss: How venture funds actually make money, and why nearly every one runs on the same fee formula Why fund managers get paid before they've invested anything Why the bar to invest in risky private deals is lower than you'd think What to ask before trusting any fund manager with your money The one red flag that should make you think twice about an eager fund manager How some investors make an all-or-nothing bet on a single breakout company Why taking outside money can quietly change what a founder is optimizing for Whether you're weighing becoming a fund investor yourself or you're a founder deciding whether outside money is worth what it costs, this episode gives you a clearer read on how the venture world actually works. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS Note: Timestamps may vary slightly depending on dynamic ad placements. (03:41) How venture capital actually works, in three tiers (06:09) The fee formula nearly every venture fund runs on (10:30) Why fund managers get paid before they invest anything (14:19) The surprisingly low bar to invest in risky deals (26:52) What to ask before trusting any fund manager (29:27) How investors make an all-or-nothing bet on one company (34:33) The red flag hiding in an eager fund manager (42:16) What separates a great fund manager from a mediocre one (48:10) How outside money quietly changes what a founder optimizes for (55:47) Why kids today may never remember life before AI

What separates an exciting business idea from an investable opportunity?In this episode of The Money Mondays, Dan Fleyshman sits down with venture capitalist, investment banker and global operator Granger Whitelaw for a wide-ranging conversation about investing, innovation, philanthropy and generational wealth.Granger shares lessons from building companies around the world, helping pioneer early digital-commerce legislation, working with rocket and motorsports ventures, and investing in technologies designed to solve meaningful global problems. He explains the difference between venture capital and investment banking, why the management team matters more than the pitch, and why investors should focus on industries, products and customers they genuinely understand.Dan also breaks down his 40/40/20 investing framework and explains why he prefers backing companies that have already proven demand, developed operating systems and generated meaningful revenue rather than taking the earliest—and riskiest—step with an untested idea.The conversation then turns to giving and legacy. Dan and Granger discuss donor-advised funds, nonprofit organizations, family trusts, life insurance, teaching children about money, and why charitable impact is about far more than writing a check. They close with a powerful discussion about faith, ego and finding peace when financial markets, technology and the media feel increasingly chaotic.This episode is about more than making money. It is about using money as a tool to build, serve and create an impact that lasts beyond your lifetime.Like this episode? Watch more like it