500. AI Native VC, Achieving 50%+ Graduation from Seed to Series A, Why Access Is the Key to Success, and Why Network Driven Firms Can No Longer Compete (Ben Orthlieb)
The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified
Release Date: 01/19/2026
Investor Stories 468: Selling Too Early, LP Pressure, and Investor Tension — Lessons from Investors at Foundry Group, Centana Growth, and Andreessen Horowitz (Levine, Byunn, Ulevitch)
The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Seth Levine of Foundry Eric Byunn of Centana Growth David Ulevitch of Andreessen Horowitz 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 with The Full Ratchet? . You...
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Investor Stories 467: Investors from Techstars, Redpoint, and Andreessen Horowitz on Strategy, Writing, and Building an Edge in Venture (Cohen, Effron, Simpson)
The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: David Cohen of Techstars Jacob Effron of Redpoint Arianna Simpson of Andreessen Horowitz 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 to keep up to...
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Investor Stories 466: Jim Tananbaum, Eric Byunn, and Ben Orthlieb on the Questions LPs Should Be Asking (Tananbaum, Orthlieb, Byunn)
The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Jim Tananbaum of Foresite Capital Ben Orthlieb of Blue Moon Eric Byunn of Centana Growth 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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504. American Dynamism: The Future of U.S. Industrials, Backing Companies with Major Production Components, Manufacturing Sovereignty, and Why Space Dominance is Critical (David Ulevitch)
The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified
David Ulevitch of Andreessen Horowitz joins Nick to discuss American Dynamism: The Future of U.S. Industrials, Backing Companies with Major Production Components, Manufacturing Sovereignty, and Why Space Dominance is Critical. In this episode we cover: Challenges in Venture Capital and Investment Philosophy Handling Startups and Market Pivots Navigating Dual-Use Startups Government Sales and Market Education Long-Term Revenue and Production Challenges American Dynamism Practice and Investment Thesis Supply Chain and Vertical Integration Policy Advocacy and Government Affairs Future...
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Investor Stories 465: Pricing Too Late, Selling Too Early, Investing Too Fast — Hard Lessons from Top VCs (Ramanujam, Cohen, Orlovski)
The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Madhavan Ramanujam of 49 Palms Ventures David Cohen of Techstars Victor Orlovski of R136 Ventures 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 464: Anti Portfolio Confessions: Missing Twilio, Zoom, DocuSign, MongoDB, and Solana (Austin, Simpson, Chaddha)
The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Ethan Austin of Outside VC Arianna Simpson of Andreessen Horowitz Navin Chaddha of Mayfield 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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Investor Stories 463: Selling Transformation Not Software, Managing Through Activists and Mergers, and Scaling Culture with Intent (Agarwal, Tananbaum, Cohen)
The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Medha Agarwal of Defy Jim Tananbaum of Foresite Capital David Cohen of Techstars 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 with...
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503. The Future of Fintech, If VC Growth Has Become a New Asset Class, and the Case For and Against Vertical Integration in the AI Age (Eric Byunn)
The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified
Eric Byunn of Centana Growth joins Nick to discuss The Future of Fintech, If VC Growth Has Become a New Asset Class, and the Case For and Against Vertical Integration in the AI Age. In this episode we cover: Due Diligence and Value Creation Investment in Jumio and Identity Verification Growth Expectations and Market Realities Lessons from Netscape and Industry Evolution Investor Responsiveness and Connectivity Guest Links: 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...
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Investor Stories 462: Study the Masters, Develop Your Own Eye, and Stop Outsourcing Conviction (Wang, Mohapatra, Banks)
The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Casber Wang of Sapphire Ventures Hemant Mohapatra of Lightspeed India Lara Banks of Makena Capital Management 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. ...
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Investor Stories 461: Feast and Famine in Crypto, When to Take the Off Ramp, and Evaluating Founder Temperament (Simpson, Chaddha, Orthlieb)
The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Arianna Simpson of Andreessen Horowitz Navin Chaddha of Mayfield Ben Orthlieb of Blue Moon 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 with The Full Ratchet? ....
info_outlineBen Orthlieb of Blue Moon joins Nick to discuss AI Native VC, Achieving 50%+ Graduation from Seed to Series A, Why Access Is the Key to Success, and Why Network Driven Firms Can No Longer Compete. In this episode we cover:
- Challenges of the Traditional Venture Model
- Blue Moon's AI-Assisted Human Judgment
- Evaluating Exceptional Founders
- Access vs. Picking in Venture Capital
- Blue Moon's Sourcing and Screening Process
- Non-Obvious Data Sources and Market Dynamics
- Winning Deals and Founder Relationships
- Future of Blue Moon and AI in Venture Capital
- Importance of Price and Pre-Commitments
Guest Links:
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.