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: Bilal Zuberi Zach Coelius Elizabeth Galbut 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.

Brian Ascher of Venrock joins Nick to discuss Product is Paramount. In this episode, we cover:  What is your story at Venrock and how have both you and your firm evolved over the past two decades. Talk a little about Venrock and your focus there. You were a product manager at Intuit, prior to Venrock.. what do you think is the VCs role in shaping product strategy? What are your thoughts on SaaS investing and this increasing focus on the "Intelligent Enterprise" You wrote an article a few years ago called “Goldilocks and the 3 SaaS Go To- Markets Models”... what are the three flavors of SaaS go-to-market and have they changed since you wrote the article? Business Model: Price/seat vs. metered service vs. price for value We're about to close on our first fintech investment for fund I-- can you talk a bit about fintech and why it's so hot? Some have said that digital currencies and/or the blockchain itself will be as disruptive as the internet-- agree or disagree? Something we've neglected a bit on th

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following investors are featured: Paul Martino Jason Calacanis Chris Farmer 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.

Carter Cast of Pritzker Group joins Nick to discuss Leadership from Origin to Scale. In this episode, we cover: You’ve been a manager and leader in early stage companies – from startups like Blue Nile (from $0 to $50 million in a couple years) to Walmart.com (from $0 – 5 billion in 7 years). I'm sure each was different but tell us about the experience of scaling such high growth companies? What were some of the key lessons or surprises from those experiences? You went from Operator to VC... Why'd you write the book? You present these catchy archetypes in the book... Captain Fantastic; the Solo Flier; Version 1.0; the One-Trick Pony; the Whirling Dervish. Can you give us a brief overview of each and then maybe we can talk about which, in particular, afflict entrepreneurs? Clearly you've thought deeply about the personal side of entrepreneurship and the psychology of founders. When you're looking at new deals, what sort of traits are you looking for in the founders? You and I have discussed your “Launching an

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Sarah Anderson Ash Fontana Chris Duovos 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.

Welcome back to TFR for another Cram Session. In these special releases, we have aggregated the takeaways and tips from previous episodes. In this installment, we will be recapping the following episodes: 113. The Next Great Startup Ecosystem is… Part 1 (Chris Olsen) 114. The Next Great Startup Ecosystem is… Part 2 (Chris Olsen) 116. Index Investing, Mastering Dealflow & Seeing Everything at Series A, Part 1 (Galen Mason & Brian Axelrad) 117. Index Investing, Mastering Dealflow & Seeing Everything at Series A, Part 2 (Galen Mason & Brian Axelrad) 118. Economic Theory in Venture Capital, Part 1 (Mark Suster) 119. Economic Theory in Venture Capital, Part 2 (Mark Suster)   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.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Brendan Wallace Semil Shah Joe Medved 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.

David Cohen of Techstars joins Nick to discuss Techstars: What Worked, What Didn't, What's Next. In this episode, we cover: "What was the original vision for Techstars, when you started? How has that vision changed and evolved to where it is now? Techstars Ventures-- any concern that it sends a bad signal for those cohort companies that the fund does not invest in? What does winning look like for Techstars? How do you measure success? Do you measure common VC fund metrics like TVPI, DPI, IRR, etc? Do you compare yourself against the other top accelerators? If so, where do you excel? Started Techstars Anywhere in 2017, first full class in '18... How does one run a remote accelerator w/ the same quality of an in person one? I'm going to put you on the spot here-- some founders do not have a positive experience going through Techstars or other accelerators for that matter. What type of founder is the program a great fit for and what is it a poor fit for? I've noticed a focus both from you and Techstars on Menta

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Chris Farmer Rebecca Kaden Ben Narasin 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.

Evangelos Simoudis of Synapse Partners joins Nick to discuss AV, Mobility, and the Disruption of Big Auto. In this episode, we cover:   Backstory / Path to becoming an investor What is the investment focus/philosophy of your firm? What are the key drivers of automotive disruption? Can you talk about the role of big data and machine intelligence in AV? Can you give us an overview of the framework you use for investing in mobility and talk about the new investment areas in the category What business models have and will emerge as we adopt autonomous vehicles for on-demand mobility services? What needs to happen for these business models to be implemented and what sort of timeline are we looking at? Talk about some of the notable companies funded in the space and potential exits in the short-, medium-, and long-term? What do you think will happen to the large, incumbent automakers? Where do you find interesting big data and AI startups working on mobility-related problems outside Silicon Valley, Israel, and Ch

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: James Hardiman Nathan Benaich Paul Martino 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.

Yoav Leitersdorf of YL Ventures joins Nick to discuss The Cat and Mouse Game of Cyber Security -- Israel, CISOs, and GDPR. In this episode, we cover: How the emergence of new technologies have changed cybersecurity The framework to think about cybersecurity from a VC perspective Where innovation in cybersecurity stems from and how VCs impact this innovation. Industries that have the most volume of devices and the most threatened by breaches The purchase drivers for CSOs/CISOs today and how they determine ROI The impact of GDPR on the cyber industry Asset-centric vs threat-centric approaches toward information security The cybersecurity Cat and Mouse analogy The biggest misconception of cybersecurity   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.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Jordan Nof Chris Olsen Elizabeth Galbut   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.

Joe Medved of Lerer Hippeau joins Nick to discuss The 'Softbank Effect', Financial Discipline and the Interworkings of a Top Seed Investment Firm. In this episode, we cover:   The focus at Lerer Hippeau The adoption and integration of the Binary Capital Portfolio Why they dropped ventures from the name Joe's take on the "Softbank Effect" and the challenges and opportunities created by it. how founders should think about raise amount and valuations The effect of late-stage capital on early stage investors The capital strategy mistakes that lead to startup death Joe's take on early-stage investors taking early exits when they are offered liquidity. The strategy for their sixth, $150 million fund How Joe's team approaches sourcing, vetting, diligence LH's focus on outbound vs. inbound Joe mentions a key analysis item that is often overlooked by many investors Lerer Hippeau's portfolio management process: How often they interact and what activities they engage in. The impact of raise amount on outco

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: -Bryce Roberts -Mike Collett -Niki Scevak   Each investor describes their investment thesis and how they evaluate startups for investment.   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.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following investors are featured: Vic Pascucci Ben Einstein Ethan Kurzweil David Verrill 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.

Sarah Anderson of Cintrifuse joins Nick to discuss LP Value Creation, Why DPI is King, and Secondaries as a Means of Exit. In this episode, we cover: What is the investment focus/philosophy at Cintrifuse? Can you tell us a bit more about the Cintrifuse model? What impact has the Cintrifuse Syndicate Fund had? Can you explain how this benefits large corporates? What about startups-- what's in it for them? Are the corporate LPs hesitant to invest directly in funds-- Is that why they come to you? Does your diversified portfolio preclude certain vertically-focused corporates from investing in a fund of funds model? Does Cintrifuse work w/ other types of financial institutions, aside from insurance? If so, how have you seen them react to the explosion in crypto and disruptive fintech? Tell us about your role as matchmaker-- how do you get involved and facilitate between VCs, startups and corporations? What's the strategic value-add to a VC fund manager? What industry disruptions have you observed and what are the

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following investors are featured: Bilal Zuberi Madhavan Ramanujem Tim O'Reilly Each investor discusses a portfolio company that did not survive and why it 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.

Ash Fontana of Zetta Venture Partners joins Nick to discuss Why SaaS is not a fit for VC and How AI Compounds Competitive Advantage. In this episode, we cover: Categories of AI that Ash is most interested in The difference between real AI and AI-enabled companies Why SaaS will cease to be investable by VCs The current AI stage of adoption How he times the market The four phases of AI What phase of AI they invest in How AI is and will be affected by limited data How startups can compete for talent w/ GAFA (Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple) The moats being created by their AI-first portcos How they think about metrics and milestones for AI-backed companies If AI should be feared and finally we wrap up w/ Ash's thoughts on Chris Dixon's position that we will see a movement from centralization back to decentralization in tech-- and the role that AI will play   To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updat

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following investors are featured: Lindel Eakman Chris Duovos Semil Shah 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.