LA Venture

We talk to Southern California VCs to get to know them, their funds, and their advice for entrepreneurs. Hosted by Minnie Ingersoll from TenOneTen, an LA-based seed fund investing in b2b software.

Avery Rosin -- Lead Edge Capital 05/01/2024

Avery Rosin -- Lead Edge Capital More growth rounds in 2024! Avery Rosin is writing $50-300M checks for Lead Edge Capital. He thinks PE firms are going to continue being acquisitive, companies are going to reorient around the Rule of 40 and more reasons for his optimism. /episode/index/show/laventure/id/31065208

Shamin Walsh - BAM Ventures 04/03/2024

Shamin Walsh - BAM Ventures Have VCs overreacted against investing in consumer? Shamin Walsh has a 10x fund and numerous case studies to show that consumer can provide huge returns when done right. Shamin shares how to win when investing in consumer (eg: invest in a cat litter company that raises $1.5M and exits for $500M!!) /episode/index/show/laventure/id/30671448

Michael Tubbs -- Tubbs Ventures 03/20/2024

Michael Tubbs -- Tubbs Ventures Michael Tubbs gained national prominence when he became the youngest mayor of any major American city at age 26. He was a hero of the universal basic income movement until he suddenly lost reelection. Listen to his lessons learned and think about what you're willing to stick your neck out and lose for. Tubbs is now investing out of Tubbs Ventures, where he focuses on government technology and solving fundamental societal problems. /episode/index/show/laventure/id/30452598

Josh Resnick - OpenSky Ventures 03/06/2024

Josh Resnick - OpenSky Ventures Josh Resnick is the co-founder of candy brand Sugarfina, where he sold very expensive gummy bears that made people happy. Before Sugarfina, he sold his video game developer Pandemic Studios for $860M. He is now a General Partner at OpenSky Ventures where he invests in the future of commerce and helps founders avoid pitfalls of growing too fast--adding SKUs too quickly, not having a handle on business data, overspending on legal and other lessons he's learned from his founder and angel investing journey. /episode/index/show/laventure/id/30242263

Kunal Tandon -- El Cap 02/21/2024

Kunal Tandon -- El Cap Kunal Tandon was running a family business importing paper and metal before cold calling his way into venture capital. Previously at Collaborative Fund, Kunal is now investing out of El Cap Fund II with his partner and former NFL player Stewart Bradley. /episode/index/show/laventure/id/30037813

Scott Nolan - Founders Fund 02/07/2024

Scott Nolan - Founders Fund Scott Nolan tells us what he thinks about the Elon-haters and how Founders Fund is unique in their investing approach. Scott, a partner at Founders Fund, has been there 12 years and was one of the first hires at SpaceX. /episode/index/show/laventure/id/29827858

Ivan Nikkhoo -- Navigate Ventures 01/17/2024

Ivan Nikkhoo -- Navigate Ventures From fleeing revolution at 14 to shaping the future of B2B SaaS investments, Ivan's journey is nothing short of inspirational. Uncover secrets to startup success and the art of building a vibrant venture community. /episode/index/show/laventure/id/29519863

Josh Porter -- FirstLook Partners 01/03/2024

Josh Porter -- FirstLook Partners FirstLook Partners is a hybrid fund of funds actively investing in funds under $50M. Josh Porter, co-founder of FirstLook, explains why he thinks smaller funds make the best investment opportunities. Josh has seen hundreds of decks and digs in on how to evaluate funds and his unique approach to co-investments. /episode/index/show/laventure/id/29313918

Will Weisman -- KittyHawk Ventures 11/29/2023

Will Weisman -- KittyHawk Ventures Can you live to be 150!? Our podcast guest Will Weisman thinks so! Explore the realm where future tech intertwines with the quest for immortality. From his start as a couch-surfing entrepreneur to Executive Director of Singularity University to founder of KittyHawk Ventures. Predicting a world where immortality is possible, this episode dives into the cutting edge of longevity, the power of psychedelics, and reimagining our lifetimes. Tune in for an inspiring journey into tomorrow! /episode/index/show/laventure/id/28834758

Everywhere Ventures -- Scott Hartley 11/15/2023

Everywhere Ventures -- Scott Hartley Scott Hartley shares what we get wrong about college degrees, how to identify and test founders and why seemingly disparate interests create innovation. Scott is the co-founder of Everywhere Ventures and Two Culture Capital, two global VC funds, a best-selling author and a team member on the Council on Foreign Relations. He has invested in >300 portfolio companies and gives heaps of tactical investing advice, thoughts from his book and some of the best lessons from his mentors. /episode/index/show/laventure/id/28620813

Sydney Thomas -- Symphonic Capital 10/31/2023

Sydney Thomas -- Symphonic Capital Unveil the truth about early stage funding and candid startup journeys with Sydney Thomas from Symphonic Capital. Tune in to learn more about: *Sydney's journey from Precursor to Symphonic Capital *Dive into the benefits of a long-term view in pre-seed funding *Discover the power of direct and candid feedback in entrepreneurship and more! /episode/index/show/laventure/id/28466555

Brian Frank -- FTW Ventures 10/04/2023

Brian Frank -- FTW Ventures Brian Frank talks about how everything in the food system can be improved, and how VCs are investing with a technology lens instead of a problem solving perspective. Tune in to learn more about: *The biggest opportunities ahead in the food system *Evolution of replacing animal protein, including synthetic biology *How Brian is perfectly positioned to help the next generation of founders in the industry /episode/index/show/laventure/id/28205996

Adrian Fenty - MaC Venture Capital 09/13/2023

Adrian Fenty - MaC Venture Capital Adrian Fenty has a fascinating perspective as founding managing partner at MaC Venture Capital and former mayor of Washington, DC. In this episode, Adrian dives into the intersections of government and technology, including: * Why governments should be run more like tech companies * Why governments are critical for real change (including insights from his massive educational reform in Washington, DC) * How VC is both art and science /episode/index/show/laventure/id/28015896

Brett Queener -- Bonfire Ventures 08/16/2023

Brett Queener -- Bonfire Ventures Brett Queener from Bonfire spends 20-30 hours onboarding each of his companies and shares some of his playbook and rules of thumb. I like a lot of his operational tips: * Founders should stay involved in sales (at the seed stage) * Seed companies should hire mechanics not scalers * 20% of employees should be quota carrying * Revenue growth is tied to the number of productive sales reps hired * And many more insights from his 13 years as an executive at Salesforce /episode/index/show/laventure/id/27736527

Katelyn Foley - UP.Labs 08/02/2023

Katelyn Foley - UP.Labs Katelyn Foley is the President of UP.Labs, a venture lab that builds SaaS companies in partnership with large corporations. Katelyn was previously a partner at BCG Digital Ventures. Follow Katelyn Foley: Follow Minnie Ingersoll: In this episode, you will learn: (1:03) How Katelyn has created 15 businesses in 8 years. (2:57) What about the studio model Katelyn changed when coming to UP.Labs (4:00) How Katelyn selects a strategic problem to build a business around. (6:49) Why startups should not be doing digital transformation work. (8:20) Why public companies struggle to incubate new businesses. (10:00) Why opportunities exist where high value and high friction meet. (11:59) In SaaS, you want to augment decisions that already happen. (14:04) Intelligence augmentation is the buzzword. (17:04) Where opportunity exists for OEMs while the industry shifts to EV. (21:30) How Katelyn sources new opportunities. (23:18) Katelyn’s opinion of CVCs. (27:27): Why businesses developed by UP.Labs only need seed funding. Available on: , , or wherever you listen to podcasts. Past Conversations and Transcripts available at: Follow the LA Venture podcast: Want episodes in your inbox? Share your email at /episode/index/show/laventure/id/27626118

Wes Nichols -- March Capital 07/12/2023

Wes Nichols -- March Capital March Capital was investing in generative AI long before ChatGPT went mainstream. In today's episode, we talk with Partner Wes Nichols, who has brought his 30 years of analytics and AI experience as an investor and entrepreneur to help March Capital with this area of focus. Wes is an industry authority in predictive analytics, marketing, AI/machine learning, and digital transformation. He authored the Harvard Business Review cover story, Analytics 2.0, on next-generation analytics to drive more predictive decision-making, with a follow-up article underway currently. A two-time entrepreneur, Wes has created high profile analytics software companies. Most recently, Wes was co-founder and CEO of MarketShare, which had a $450 million exit to Neustar. Prior to that, he was the founder and CEO of Direct Partners, one of the industry’s first data-driven analytics and CRM companies, which was acquired by Omnicom Group. In summary, he's one of the founders who really put LA on the map and set the foundation of LA Tech. Episode Details: (0:54): Wes’ entrepreneurial background (4:01): Creating one of the first digital marketing companies (8:10): What makes a VC valuable to an entrepreneur (10:15): From angel to full-time investor at March Capital (13:10): Comparing vertical vs horizontal applications of AI (15:33): Positive applications of data and sentiment analysis (17:45): What the military optimizes for (19:38): Joining the LAPD Reserve Police Officer Program (25:45): Why being an entrepreneur helps Wes be a better board member Follow Wes Nichols: Follow Minnie Ingersoll: Follow the LA Venture podcast: Explore other LA Venture episodes: /episode/index/show/laventure/id/27423876

Will Coffield -- Riot Ventures 06/28/2023

Will Coffield -- Riot Ventures Will Coffield is a co-founder and General Partner at Riot Ventures, a hard tech fund that invests at seed and Series B. In this episode Will shares: The technological renaissance taking place at the US Dept. of Defense. What caused the United States' lead in defense tech to narrow What is at stake in the ongoing defense technological race between the US and China /episode/index/show/laventure/id/27308850

Galen Shaffer -- Eos Venture Partners 06/14/2023

Galen Shaffer -- Eos Venture Partners Galen Shaffer is a Senior Vice President at Eos Venture Partners, a Series A fund, investing in the future of insurance. In this episode Galen shares: - Why cyber insurance is a $30B opportunity for startups. - What the first wave of D2C insurance startups got wrong. - Why novel data is often not impactful data. /episode/index/show/laventure/id/27128340

Carl Fritjofsson -- Creandum 05/31/2023

Carl Fritjofsson -- Creandum Carl Fritjofsson is a Partner at Creandum, one of Europe's leading VC firms. In this episode Carl shares: Why nearly every software category can be reimagined with a generative AI-first approach Why Q4 2023 and Q1 2024 could be "pretty bloody" and a "moment of truth" for startups Creandum's approach to winning competitive Series A deals Why VC poses career risk for associates early in their careers /episode/index/show/laventure/id/26973168

Aaron Samuels -- Collide Capital 05/17/2023

Aaron Samuels -- Collide Capital Aaron Samuels tells us about investing in intersectional founders, he explains what identity saliency is to Minnie and he shares how he and Brian Hollins were able to parlay their scout investing into $66M Collide Fund I. /episode/index/show/laventure/id/26863521

Dan Wenhold -- Fifth Wall 05/03/2023

Dan Wenhold -- Fifth Wall Dan Wenhold co-leads Fifth Wall's real estate technology fund. He tells us how Fifth Wall has massively grown their AUM by bringing in LPs from the real estate industry who want access to innovation in PropTech. He also tells us how Fifth Wall has stayed innovative and leaned into creative deal structures that are outside the typical VC playbook. /episode/index/show/laventure/id/26712072

Nick Chirls -- Notation Capital 04/19/2023

Nick Chirls -- Notation Capital Founder of Notation Capital Nick Chirls : * Likes to invest in companies that are too early * Prefers when it's hard to explain what the company is doing * Does not think now is a good time to invest in AI * And generally sounds nothing like a VC /episode/index/show/laventure/id/26560953

Ann Lai -- Bullpen Capital 04/05/2023

Ann Lai -- Bullpen Capital In this episode with Ann Lai from Bullpen we talk about: * The metrics that matter for fundraising * How Bullpen invests in overlooked businesses * And how Ann bounced back from her experience with Justin Caldbeck at Binary Capital /episode/index/show/laventure/id/26416923

Howard Morgan -- B Capital 03/22/2023

Howard Morgan -- B Capital Howard Morgan is the Chairman and General Partner at B Capital and previously the co-founder of First Round Capital. Howard shares his perspective on building successful seed funds (he's an LP in 80), what is exciting him today in tech and how he has chosen such great partners throughout his life. /episode/index/show/laventure/id/26293992

Patrick Mathieson -- Toba Capital 03/08/2023

Patrick Mathieson -- Toba Capital Another great Southern California Series A fund and another great investor moving from the Bay Area to LA. Toba partner Patrick Mathieson tells us why he moved from the Bay Area to LA to pursue his thesis around companies building platforms for SMB. Patrick has invested in Boulevard, PatientPop, FloQast, Luxury Presence and now Candid (a TenOneTen co-invest). /episode/index/show/laventure/id/26128653

David Zhang -- TCV 02/24/2023

David Zhang -- TCV David Zhang is a partner at TCV, a ~21B AUM growth fund that has invested in companies like Brex, Airbnb, Klarna, and Nubank. David leans in on FinTech investing and tells us about some of his theses on the unbundling (and bundling) of financial services. David comes from a hedge fund background and also shares why he prefers the alignment of private market investing over the more Darwinian nature of the public markets. /episode/index/show/laventure/id/26029803

Emilio Diez Barroso -- Bold Capital 02/08/2023

Emilio Diez Barroso -- Bold Capital Don't let the joy get sucked out of investing. Investor Emilio Diez Barroso reminds us to remain focused on the joys of creativity and creating value. Emilio invests from his own family office and as a partner at Bold Capital, a Series A fund with a focus on frontier tech, biotech and innovations that have the potential to transform humanity. /episode/index/show/laventure/id/25865667

Taylor Adams -- Rise Together Ventures 01/25/2023

Taylor Adams -- Rise Together Ventures When Taylor Adams advises family offices on setting up venture programs he recommends investing into fund of funds for coverage, emerging managers for access and direct investments for alpha. In addition to his family office work, Taylor is the co-founder of Rise Together Ventures, a fund enabling for-profit entrepreneurs to realize their full for-profit and philanthropic vision. /episode/index/show/laventure/id/25687440

Gaby Darbyshire -- Dangerous Ventures 01/11/2023

Gaby Darbyshire -- Dangerous Ventures "It would be delightful if all the brightest brains in the world focused their energies on solving climate problems." Gaby Darbyshire gained deep operational expertise as a founder of Gawker Media before starting climate tech focused Dangerous Ventures. There is a lot to learn from Gaby in many dimensions. /episode/index/show/laventure/id/25551480

Jason Yeh -- Patron 01/04/2023

Jason Yeh -- Patron The next version of the internet will feel a lot more like a game. Jason Yeh and partner Brian Cho helped Riot Games scale League of Legends to a massive global scale. They take a lot of lessons from gaming as they invest from $90M Patron Fund I into what they call the "spectrum of play". /episode/index/show/laventure/id/25469481

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