Investor Stories 443. Why Great Investors Move Slowly, Go Deep, and Surround Themselves with the Right People (Hsieh, Madera, Bussgang)
The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified
Release Date: 11/27/2025
Replay - The Biggest Misconceptions About AI Agents, Why Defensibility Doesn’t Matter at Seed, and Whether the AI Center of Gravity Is Shifting to China (Aaref Hilaly)
The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified
In this special replay episode Aaref Hilaly of Bain Capital Ventures joins Nick to discuss The Biggest Misconceptions About AI Agents, Why Defensibility Doesn’t Matter at Seed, and Whether the AI Center of Gravity Is Shifting to China. In this episode we cover: AI Investment Strategy and Market Utility Impact of AI on Jobs and Early Instances of Reasoning Open vs. Closed Source Models and Data Control Scenario Planning and Unique Insights of Backed Companies Infrastructure and Application Investment Focus Future of Vertical Solutions and Infrastructure Investment Guest Links: ...
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Investor Stories 449: Exceptional Founders Up Close: Listening Over Posturing, Integrity Over Ease, and Deliberate Execution from Day One (Hsieh, Delk, Maples Jr.)
The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Vince Hsieh of Cypress Growth Capital Ryan Delk of Primer Mike Maples Jr. of Floodgate We asked guests to discuss the most visionary founder that they've worked with and what makes them so special. The host of The Full Ratchet is of , 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. and get $150—no strings attached. Want to keep up to date...
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Investor Stories 448: Hard Lessons in Investing: Mistiming Trends, Relying on Partnership Debate, and Avoiding Good Money After Bad (Hilaly, Dash, Rizik)
The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Aaref Hilaly of Bain Capital Ventures Somesh Dash of IVP Chris Rizik of Renaissance Venture Capital We asked guests to tell the most important lesson they've learned in their career. The host of The Full Ratchet is of , 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. and get $150—no strings attached. Want to keep up to date with The Full...
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Investor Stories 447: Choosing the Right VC: Understanding Value Add, Assessing Alignment, and Identifying the Best Board Partner (Jiang, Walsh, Saxena)
The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Kevin Jiang of Mangusta Capital Shamin Walsh of BAM Ventures Shashank Saxena of Sierra Ventures We asked guests to share the best question they've ever been asked by an allocator. The host of The Full Ratchet is of , 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. and get $150—no strings attached. Want to keep up to date with The Full...
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498. The Crypto x AI Convergence, the Truth About Stablecoins, Tokens vs Equity, and Whether NFTs Will Make a Comeback (Arianna Simpson)
The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified
Arianna Simpson of Andreessen Horowitz joins Nick to discuss The Crypto x AI Convergence, the Truth About Stablecoins, Tokens vs Equity, and Whether NFTs Will Make a Comeback. In this episode we cover: Stable Coins and Their Impact on Crypto Geopolitical and Regulatory Risks for Stable Coins Crypto's Role in the Financial System and Emerging Use Cases Investing in Tokens and Equity Institutional Adoption and Market Cycles Challenges and Opportunities in the Crypto Market Founders and Their Impact on Investment Decisions The Future of NFTs and Emerging Technologies Guest Links: ...
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Investor Stories 446: What Experience Teaches Investors: When to Trust Conviction, How to Read Founders, and Why Coachability Matters (Rizik, Wang, Agarwal)
The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Chris Rizik of Renaissance Venture Capital Casber Wang of Sapphire Ventures Medha Agarwal of Defy We asked guests to describe the biggest change to their investment philosophy over the course of their career The host of The Full Ratchet is of , 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. and get $150—no strings attached. Want to keep up...
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Investor Stories 445: Navigating High Stakes Conflicts: Partnership Tension, Capital Inflection Points, and the Risks of Underfunding (Terbell and Clark, Banks, Tananbaum)
The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Jon Terbell and Ted Clark of FourBridge Partners Lara Banks of Makena Capital Management Jim Tananbaum of Foresite Capital We discuss major conflicts that guests have faced and how they resolved them. The host of The Full Ratchet is of , 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. and get $150—no strings attached. Want to keep up to date...
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Investor Stories 444. The Biggest Misses in VC: Passing on Airbnb, Overlooking Skype, and Arriving Hours After Postman Closed (Maples, Okike, Mohapatra)
The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Mike Maples Jr. of Floodgate Nnamdi Okike of 645 Ventures Hemant Mohapatra of Lightspeed India Each investor highlights a situation where they decided not to invest, why they passed, and how it played out. The host of The Full Ratchet is of , 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. and get $150—no strings attached. Want to keep up to...
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497. Investing in Outsiders, Why Extreme Personalities Win, Weighing Timing versus Trends, and Rethinking Liquidity and Option Exercise Windows (Ethan Austin)
The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified
Ethan Austin of Outside VC joins Nick to discuss Investing in Outsiders, Why Extreme Personalities Win, Weighing Timing versus Trends, and Rethinking Liquidity and Option Exercise Windows. In this episode we cover: Lessons from Founding Give Forward Investment Philosophy and Timing Founding Outside VC Characteristics of Strong Investment Candidates Supporting Founders and Building Knowledge Trends in FinTech and Climate Role of a VC and Early Liquidity Guest Links: The host of The Full Ratchet is of , a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders...
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Investor Stories 443. Why Great Investors Move Slowly, Go Deep, and Surround Themselves with the Right People (Hsieh, Madera, Bussgang)
The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Vince Hsieh of Cypress Growth Capital Paul Madera of Meritech Capital Jeff Bussgang of Flybridge Capital We asked guests for the most important piece of advice that they'd share with folks early in their venture career. The host of The Full Ratchet is of , 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. and get $150—no strings attached. Want...
info_outlineOn this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:
- Vince Hsieh of Cypress Growth Capital
- Paul Madera of Meritech Capital
- Jeff Bussgang of Flybridge Capital
We asked guests for the most important piece of advice that they'd share with folks early in their venture career.
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.