The Full Ratchet: Vc | Venture Capital | Angel Investors | Startup Investing | Fundraising | Crowdfunding | Pitch | Private E

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Jason Whitney Shawn Carolan David Horowitz Jaclyn Hester Each investor discusses sectors, drivers and/or trends that may have significant impact in the future and are potentially positioned for outsized-returns.

Nikhil Basu Trivedi of joins Nick to discuss Agglomerators vs. Specialists, the Rise of the Solo-Capitalist, and the Importance of Founder-Investor Fit+. In this episode, we cover: Why did you decide to leave Shasta? What's the plan moving forward? The Rise of Solo Capitalists You wrote a great piece on the rise of this behavior, ‘The Rise of the Solo Capitalists’. What do you think has caused the rise in single GP funds? What are the main benefits to both investor and entrepreneur with this model? What are the limitations and/or downsides of this model? You wrote that an LP said that this model ‘may be the biggest threat traditional venture capital firms have seen in a long time’. Why? Founder-Investor Fit What do you think are the most important things for founders to consider when choosing an investor? There are many firms that don't care about the "fit" per se... they just want to get money into the best deals.  And it can be tough for a founder to turn down the best offer or the bi

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Oren Klaff Tamara Steffens Leo Polovets Byron Deeter Each investor highlights a situation where they decided not to invest, why they passed, and how it played out.

Ben Casnocha of Village Global joins Nick to discuss Backing from Bezos, Zuckerberg, and Gates; Lessons from Reid Hoffman; and Building a Network-centric Venture Firm. In this episode, we cover: - How have things changed for the firm since the pandemic broke? - You've raised from some very big names in tech -- Zuckerberg, Hoffman, Gates, Bezos, Greene, Blakely and many more.  How exactly did the formation of Village and fundraise from these notable tech leaders come together? - Village has a unique approach to sourcing...  Tell us about the scout network? - Decision making process, architecture when doing deals at this pace and volume? - Many firms talk about their founder networks and Slack Groups.  But often if you ask founders, the density and connectivity of those networks are lacking.  What is it about your broad founder community that succeeds where others don't? - Worked with Reid Hoffman for two years... what were some of the key lessons from that experience w/ Reid? - YC is in full swing right now.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: -Beezer Clarkson -Alex Osterwalder -Patrick Gallagher -Steve Blank Each investor discusses a portfolio company that did not survive and why it was that they failed.

- You recently published research on the expansion of 175 US companies into Europe. I’d like to discuss a number of points from the piece, but first off… what prompted you to do this research and write the piece? - Part of the report is about timing… ie. when is the right time is for a b2b SaaS company to make the leap and expand into Europe.  Talk us through your findings and conclusion w/ regard to timing. - In preparation to make that jump, you recently talked about the challenges for “globalizing” a company and that it really starts at the CEO’s desk… what do you mean by that? - As an investor, how do you prepare a CEO to shift mindset from US-centric to a more global one? - When a company makes the leap to Europe, what are some of the most common pitfalls/mistakes they make? - How do the challenges of growing a b2b software company across Europe differ from that of growing it in the United States? - Is there a particular playbook that you follow when bridging the gap between the US and European markets,

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Leah Solivan Kane Hsieh Richard Kerby James Currier Each investor describes the most unusual situation or pitch that they've encountered as an investor. To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Jonathan Hsu of Tribe Capital joins Nick to discuss how to Acquire Data, Build Abstractions and Do Research. In this episode, we cover: Walk us through your background and path to VC What’s the thesis at Tribe Capital? How do you define PMF? Could you explain what the 8 Ball diligence framework is? When is a deal too early -- how much data (or over what time continuum do you need data) in order for the model to assess appropriately? Just for evaluation or also sourcing? Can you apply this tool to a range of business types (ie. SaaS vs. Maretkplaces vs. User-Growth, etc.)? How to avoid false positives? Data looks great for early phase -- early market… How do you know that it isn’t luck and the company didn’t stumble onto something with early signals of PMF but they don’t have the insight or flexibility to evolve the business through growth and scale phases? What aspect of early stage investing don’t you use data for? Why is this not appropriate to measure with data? Loss ratio goes down -- do you think it inc

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Courtney Reum Mark Suster Sarah Tavel Jason Calacanis Each investor illustrates a critical lesson learned about startup investing and how it's changed their approach. To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Check Warner of Ada Ventures joins Nick to discuss Structural Disadvantages in Venture, Investing in the "Overlooked," and Open-Sourcing the VC Fund Raise and Investment Playbook. In this episode, we cover: Background / Path to Venture The thesis at Ada Ventures Is it tough getting the up-rounds from Tier 1 VCs when the profile of the founders doesn't look like the standard, obvious profile that's been funded for the past couple of decades? You look for founders and markets that have been mis-priced… what are the three that you believe to be underpriced? Novel scout program -- how many scouts and who are they? How did you recruit them and how are they incentivized? Talk about your recent fundraise… How did you determine how much to raise? Walk us through the timeline of the fundraise. What resonated most w/ LPs? What was the biggest surprise? How did you create urgency and get LPs to move from a maybe to a yes? What will you do differently next time? You and I have discussed your seed investing framework

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Ramy Adeeb Somesh Dash Jeremy Neilson Minnie Ingersoll Each investor discusses sectors, drivers and/or trends that may have significant impact in the future and are potentially positioned for outsized-returns. To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Niki Pezeshki of Felicis Ventures joins Nick to discuss Finding Markets with Long-Term Tailwinds; Macro Impacts on Venture; and Robust vs. Fragile Data. In this episode, we cover: Background and path to venture. Thesis at Felicis and your focus there? How has the pandemic affected your approach to investment? You’ve mentioned that you look for market tailwinds, especially tailwinds that will be lasting. Right now, we’re seeing a number of shifts that will have lasting effects -- which are you watching most closely? Why do you think the public markets have, largely, stayed high during a very large health and economic crisis? Can you give us an overview on your three-part investing framework for making investment decisions? Where do you look for these large shifts, creating opportunity -- aside from Mary Meeker's report? How do you make sure you are current on-trend instead of getting anchored on data that's old or fragile? What are you looking for in the business model that indicates to you that it is not onl

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: M.G. Siegler Grace Isford John Vrionis Ash Rust Each investor highlights a situation where they decided not to invest, why they passed, and how it played out. To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Henrique Dubugras of Brex joins Nick to discuss the Blazing Fast Path to $B+; Binary Outcomes; The Fintech Revolution; and A New Approach to Employee Comp. In this episode, we cover: Background -- path that led to Brex? Origin story for Brex Tag-line / One sentence overview What's so different about Brex? Why is more than just a credit card? How has the pandemic affected the business thus far? What do you offer that no one else does? Who do you consider to be competition? What is the moat here - why can't another well funded startup replicate your offering? A criticism I've heard is that, when businesses need credit most, when bank balance/working capital is low, is when Brex cuts off access to credit. What's your response? How would you describe your leadership philosophy? Are you recruiting/hiring? Is the approach different while 100% remote? What's the compensation structure at Brex? One of the fastest companies to multi-billion+ valuation -- more pressure w/ all that capital? With the raise and expectati

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Ryan Gembala Scott Dorsey Elizabeth Yin Jeff Fluhr Each investor discusses a portfolio company that did not survive and why it was that they failed. To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Gigi Levy-Weiss of NFX joins Nick on a special Crisis Coverage installment to discuss What's Next in Gaming; The True Essence of Product-Market-Fit; & Investing with an Emphasis on Retention and Engagement. In this episode, we cover: Background and path to venture. The thesis and your focus at NFX? Did you invest in Houseparty when it was Meerkat? You've written about your thoughts on PMF...  How do you assess whether a company has real product market fit? What advice would you have for those still trying to find it? With this focus on product and retention...  What's your response to investors that say distribution is more important than product? Why do you think VC interest has been declining in the gaming space? What has been the history/evolution in the gaming sector? What's next for gaming -- Is there a step beyond the platform? Are there any niches or segments within gaming or esports where you see the most potential? 3 Data points: Let's say a gaming startup comes to you... they have 50k DAUs, K

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Scott Kupor Melody Koh Tom Tunguz Jim Douglass

Jaclyn Hester of Foundry Group joins Nick on a special Crisis Coverage installment to discuss GP and LP Alignment, Challenges for Emerging Fund Managers, and How the Explosion in Seed Fund Volume Plays Out. In this episode, we cover: Tell us about your background and path to VC. For those who don't know, talk about the approach at Foundry with both the LP and GP model. Foundry traditionally had no apprenticeship model and no junior investors... were you the first? Pandemic... Are you making investments currently and what are you hearing from other LPs? What's your advice for GPs re. building relationships and momentum w/ LPs during these uncertain times? What's the biggest mistake emerging managers make when fundraising? What do new fund managers underestimate when starting a venture firm? Does it matter how specific a thesis is? Do you need to see a unique, focused and compelling edge or are you just as receptive to a generalist w/ a strong network and track record? What question tends to trip up GPs? What

Nick Rishwain and Hannah Konitshek of The LegalTechLive Podcast interview Nick to discuss Advice for Founders -- Reaching out to VCs, Pitching over Zoom, and Closing Capital Amidst a Pandemic. In this episode we cover: How have valuations been impacted from the pandemic? How long will lower valuations persist? Are VCs actively doing deals right now? What's the most common mistake that founders make when approaching you for funding? How much information would you prefer a founder share with you upfront (deck, financials, incorporation, docs, etc.)? How often have you met a founder early, been added to their monthly update list and then come back to make an investment? Should founders become more clinical when selecting investors? How do you convince founders on New Stack as an investor? There is one area that New Stack is really hands-on -- what is it? What are some things a founder can do to get funded while  he's only got a well thought out idea and business plan? Many founders don't know if their business

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Alex Osterwalder Beezer Clarkson Michael Cardamone Leo Polovets Each investor illustrates a critical lesson learned about startup investing and how it's changed their approach. To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.