Something Ventured -- Silicon Valley Podcast
Startup insider Kent Lindstrom explores the reality behind the Silicon Valley headlines as he sits down with the established veterans and up-and-comers who are shaping the way we view the world online and beyond. Topics include technology trends, startups, Silicon Valley politics, women in silicon valley and more. Learn the histories of each guest and be enlightened by their area of expertise. New episode released each Tuesday at Noon, Pacific Time.
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Homebrew’s Hunter Walk and Satya Patel: The Power of a Partnership
03/15/2024
Homebrew’s Hunter Walk and Satya Patel: The Power of a Partnership
Homebrew is one of the great venture firm names. It hearkens back to the 1970s era computer hobbyist group that included people like Steve Jobs. Hunter Walk and Satya Patel are the partners who founded and built Homebrew (the venture capital firm). Nevertheless, if you say “Hunter and Satya” in Silicon Valley, people will know exactly who you are talking about. Hunter Walk came to homebrew with experience as a product leader at YouTube and Google. Meanwhile, Satya Patel's background was as a seasoned investor at Battery Ventures and product leader at Twitter. In this episode we discuss the power of partnerships in Silicon Valley. In particular we talk about the power of the 2 -person partnership (see also: Andreessen Horowitz), why the alchemy has to be right, and why some don’t make it. We also discuss the evolution of Homebrew from a firm backed by outside capital (from Limited Partners or “LPs”) to one in which the two founders deploy their own capital. Finally, we cover Hunter and Satya’s newest fund: Screendoor. Screendoor has a mission of supporting underrepresented General Partners of emerging venture capital funds by providing capital, access and mentorship. Homebrew Screendoor Something Ventured
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Atari’s founder Nolan Bushnell and Dr. Leah Hanes Have a (Better) Plan for Educating America
12/23/2023
Atari’s founder Nolan Bushnell and Dr. Leah Hanes Have a (Better) Plan for Educating America
Nolan Bushnell’s career is extraordinary. Nolan has ignited two entertainment revolutions: first with Atari, birthing the video game industry through classics like Pong, and later with Chuck E. Cheese, merging pizza and arcade games for family fun. A serial entrepreneur, he's founded over 20 companies, venturing into robotics, personal computers, and beyond, forever changing the landscape of leisure and inspiration. Nolan has turned his thoughts to the state of education in the US and has teamed up with Dr. Leah Hanes to form ExoDexa, a developer of educational games that seek to ‘gamify’ education. Together, they’ve published a book “Shaping the Future of Education” outlining their ideas. Dr. Leah Hanes is a force to be reckoned with as well. Dr. Hanes has been a champion for STEAM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) for years, leading the Two Bit Circus Foundation since 2013 and using her expertise to advocate for a more engaging and future-proof approach to learning. In this episode Nolan and Dr. Hanes discuss the current state of education, and ways to transform the rate at which kids learn by 10X or even 20X. Exodexa: Nolan Bushnell: Dr. Leah Hanes:
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Richard Socher: Exploring AI with the Visionary AI Scientist, Entrepreneur and Investor
10/10/2023
Richard Socher: Exploring AI with the Visionary AI Scientist, Entrepreneur and Investor
Richard Socher is a visionary computer scientist, entrepreneur, and AI researcher who has dedicated his career to pushing the boundaries of what's possible in AI. With a Ph.D. from Stanford University, Richard's groundbreaking work in deep learning, neural networks, and NLP has paved the way for remarkable advances in AI applications. It may seem like everyone is an AI expert these days: Richard Socher really is. Richarrd is founder of the AI-focused venture firm AIX, and founder of the AI-powered search engine You.com. He is the former Chief Scientist at Salesforce and founder of the groundbreaking MetaMind AI startup (which was acquired by Salesforce). In short, when it comes to AI, Richard is the real deal. In this episode, we delve into Richard's insights on the latest AI trends, ethical considerations in AI development, the future of human-AI collaboration, and much more. Whether you’re new to AI – or have been investing in it for 10 years -- Richard's engaging discussions and visionary ideas will captivate and inspire you.
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Hadley Harris: Building Eniac Ventures with 3 Friends / Investing in AI
09/15/2023
Hadley Harris: Building Eniac Ventures with 3 Friends / Investing in AI
What are the odds that 4 friends can start a VC firm, and still be firing on all cylinders years later? Hadley Harris, one of Eniac Ventures’ 4 co-founders has the answer. Before co-founding Eniac, Hadley was as a developer and engineering team lead at Pegasystems, and later took on roles as a product manager at Microsoft and strategist at Samsung. His time at Microsoft and Samsung taught Hadley one thing: Big companies were not for him. So, Hadley joined a couple of talented AI founders out of MIT at Vlingo where he ran a several aspects of the business across product, strategy, and marketing until it was sold to Nuance for $225M. He rolled his experience building a successful startup into Thumb, where as CBO he helped the real-time recommendation app reach user engagement levels second only to Facebook before being acquired. In this episode we discuss how he co-founded and built Eniac, and what he is seeing when it comes to the recently hot trend of investing in Artificial intelligence. Last, but not least, we discuss how to pronounce “Eniac”.
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Samir Kaji: Building Allocate; The State of the Venture Market; Banking Meltdown (SVB/FRB) Post-mortem
09/06/2023
Samir Kaji: Building Allocate; The State of the Venture Market; Banking Meltdown (SVB/FRB) Post-mortem
Samir Kaji is the founder behind Allocate, a pioneering platform in the venture capital space. Samir has established himself as a key connector between venture capital firms and the “LPs” (Limited Partners) who invest in them. He is building Allocate to leverage his experience into a platform. After observing inefficiencies in the venture capital market – between venture firms and the LPs that fund them – he was inspired to create Allocate. Allocate is described as “a game-changing solution that empowers venture capital firms to streamline allocation processes, optimize portfolios, and make data-driven decisions.” Samir's position in the industry gives him a unique perspective. In this episode he parses what he sees from his vantage point, as the VC market undergoes upheaval at the same time one of the most exciting technologies (“AI”) in 20 years emerges. He also gives us a post-mortem on the turmoil that rocked SVB and First Republic Bank. Here he brings unique insight, given his years spent in venture banking working at SVB and First Republic Bank where he closely worked with and advised over 700 venture capital and private equity firms. . Samir is also an active writer on venture capital and is the host of a top venture podcast Venture Unlocked. Join us in exploring Samir Kaji's journey and the transformative impact he hopes to have with Allocate on the world of venture capital.
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Darian Shirazi, General Partner at Gradient Ventures (Google’s AI Fund): Unleashing AI's Investment Potential
08/21/2023
Darian Shirazi, General Partner at Gradient Ventures (Google’s AI Fund): Unleashing AI's Investment Potential
Darian Shirazi is a general partner at Gradient Ventures, Google’s AI fund. Gradient Ventures invests in companies that are “developing AI technologies that have the potential to make a significant impact on the world”. Darian is a serial entrepreneur and investor. He co-founded and served as CEO of Radius, a leading customer data platform, for over 7 years. Under his leadership, the company grew to over 100 employees, raised over $100 million in venture capital, and served dozens of Fortune 500 customers. Darian is also an early investor in many successful companies, including Lyft, Udemy, Carbon Health, and Palantir. At Gradient, he has invested in Seed and Series A rounds in prominent companies such as Mural, SecureFrame, Chili Piper, Writer, Stairwell, Gigs, FlutterFlow, and Oura. He started his career working at Facebook as a Software Engineer reporting to Mark Zuckerberg. In this episode we discuss his path to becoming an investor in Gradient. We also dive into the topic of the moment: Investing in artificial intelligence (“AI”). A lot of people believe AI is a more significant technology evolution than the internet. Many people believe AI is just a lot of hype. Some believe AI is a threat to our existence. We unpack what Darian sees from his unique vantage point at Gradient about how to think about and invest in companies driven by AI. We discuss what is real, what is probably hype, and what you should be most excited about.
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Anthony Soohoo: Bringing the Entrepreneurial Mindset to Walmart
07/24/2023
Anthony Soohoo: Bringing the Entrepreneurial Mindset to Walmart
Anthony Soohoo is a Venture Advisor at AI Fund. It is a role he took on after building a company (Dot & Bo) that was acquired. He went from buidling his own company to becoming a leader at -- Walmart. . In fact, Anthony became the head of Wal-Mart’s Home Division. It’s the largest US retailer for home goods, and one of six business units at Wal-Mart. Anthony discusses what it’s like going from a startup to operating at the scale of, essentially, a Fortune 500 CEO. Anthony also begins the “AI Series” – where we start discussing what is happening as AI technology begins to emerge. Anthony advises “AI Fund”, a venture studio that works with entrepreneurs to bring their AI companies to market. A note on the “AI Series”: A lot of people have expressed interest in the emergence of AI as a technological force driving the next wave of innovation. Many believe it is significant as the emergence of the Internet or mobile phones. So I’m beginning a series within Something Ventured where I talk to people who are experts in the field, and can bring insight as to what is happening, what to understand and what to look forward to as AI starts to…eat the world. AI Fund Something Ventured
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Nnamdi Okike on Building 645 Ventures, Bias in Fundraising, and Being a Boston Sports Fan in New York
06/07/2023
Nnamdi Okike on Building 645 Ventures, Bias in Fundraising, and Being a Boston Sports Fan in New York
Nnamdi Okike is rapidly becoming a prominent figure in the venture capital industry. He is the co-founder of 645 Ventures, along with his partner Aaron Holiday. Recently, 645 Ventures successfully raised its fourth fund, of about $350 million. Nnamdi's background includes an education at Harvard, membership on the prestigious NVCA board (with former Something Ventured Guest Charles Hudson serving as the chair), and time at Insight Partners. We discuss Nnamdi's path to finding a partner and establishing 645 Ventures. He shares why he left Insight to start his own fund, how he determined Aaron was the right partner, and the challenges they faced while raising funds from Limited Partners ("LPs"). Nnamdi also discusses how he applied his experience at Insight to 645 Ventures, their decision-making process for investments, and his perspective on the current state of the venture market. We conclude with a moment on how he manages to be a Boston sports fan living and working in…New York. Something Ventured: 645 Ventures:
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Coindesk’s David Z. Morris: The Wild Story of FTX and its CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried
01/06/2023
Coindesk’s David Z. Morris: The Wild Story of FTX and its CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried
David Z. Morris is part of the Coindesk reporting team that was critical in bringing to light the (apparently) massive fraud at FTX, the now bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange. FTX Trading Ltd., commonly known as FTX, abruptly collapsed in 2022, after having grown to become the world’s third largest crypto exchange with over a million users. While still unfolding, the FTX story so far has more layers, complexities and characters than a spy novel. David provides a thoughtful, nuanced explanation of what is known so far. We discuss what happened at FTX, how the events unfolded, and what Bankman-Fried’s role was in the multi-billion dollar collapse. David Z. Morris is CoinDesk's Chief Insights Columnist. He has written about crypto since 2013 for outlets including Fortune, Slate, and Aeon. He is the author of "Bitcoin is Magic," an introduction to Bitcoin's social dynamics. He is a former academic sociologist of technology with a PhD in Media Studies from the University of Iowa. He holds Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and small amounts of other crypto assets. David Z. Morris Something Ventured Podcast.
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Elad Gil: “A Startup is An Act of Desperation” and Other Wisdom from one of Silicon Valley's Best Investors
12/14/2022
Elad Gil: “A Startup is An Act of Desperation” and Other Wisdom from one of Silicon Valley's Best Investors
It is not a stretch to call Elad Gil one of Silicon Valley’s best investors. In a world where one big hit can make a venture capitalists’ career, Elad has invested in…Well, here’s a partial list Airbnb, Airtable, Anduril, Brex, Checkr, Coinbase, Deel, Figma, Flexport, Gitlab, Gusto, Instacart, Notion, Opendoor, PagerDuty, Pinterest, Retool, Rippling, Samsara, Square, Stripe, TripActions, Wish. It seems almost impossible. But there it is. Elad’s career includes working at Google, founding a company acquired by Twitter, and founding Color Genomics (you probably heard about them during the COVID response). He is also author of the book High Growth Handbook: Scaling Startups from 10 to 10,000 People. In this wide-ranging discussion, Elad shares his thoughts on everything from building companies to crypto, AI, and more. Elad’s home page: Elad on Twitter: Something Ventured:
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Adrian Fenty: From Mayor of Washington DC to…Venture Capitalist
10/26/2022
Adrian Fenty: From Mayor of Washington DC to…Venture Capitalist
There are a few – very few –non-traditional paths into venture capital. Adrian Fenty may have one of the most unusual ones. Adrian was the Mayor of Washington D.C., winning that post at the age of 35 (making him Washington D.C.’s youngest mayor ever). In this episode we discuss his path to becoming mayor of a major city and his refreshing style for governing in that office. But being mayor of a major US city was just the beginning. Adrian became a special advisor to the venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, where he had the chance to observe its founders in action. Today, Adrian is a Managing Director of the venture firm he founded, MaC Venture Capital.
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Michelle Tandler: An Entrepreneur’s “Growth Path”, and “What’s the Matter with San Francisco?”
08/11/2022
Michelle Tandler: An Entrepreneur’s “Growth Path”, and “What’s the Matter with San Francisco?”
Michelle Tandler is an entrepreneur – she founded “Growth Path”, a provider of audio courses for professional development. Her goal is to teach soft skills and management at scale. She previously worked at tech firms Thumbtack and Yammer, as well as the venture capital firm Trinity. In this episode we discuss her entrepreneurial journey, in which she gives us a pretty candid look at the highs and lows of being an entrepreneur. Michelle has also become a (fairly popular) voice of reason concerning the state of affairs in San Francisco. She regularly poses thoughtful questions about various policies while generally shedding light on the byzantine corners of San Francisco politics. Here, she shares her thoughts on a range of issues, providing thoughtful solutions, and frank explanations of various head-spinning policies. Substack Twitter Something Ventured
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Max Chafkin on Peter Thiel: “The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power”
06/17/2022
Max Chafkin on Peter Thiel: “The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power”
Max Chafkin is the author of “The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power”. Max is a technology reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek. “The Contrarian” isn’t just about Thiel. It’s about that, too, of course -- from PayPal to his Facebook investment to his failed hedge fund, etc. But it’s also about “Silicon Valley’s political coming-of-age”, as the New York Times describes it. We discuss how Peter Thiel came to wealth, and the many controversies surrounding him. We also discuss the calculations that led him to back Donald Trump’s presidency, and ultimately take a role in Trump’s transition campaign.
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Howard Morgan: From RenTec to First Round Capital, and Beyond
04/15/2022
Howard Morgan: From RenTec to First Round Capital, and Beyond
Howard Morgan is one of those few – very few – people who have built multiple game-changing firms. He is co-founder of Renaissance Technologies (sometimes known as “RenTec”). While a professor at the of the , he divined the opportunity to apply emerging computer technologies to investing. The resulting firm – Renaissance Technologies -- is one of the most famous, and successful, hedge funds. It pioneered systematic trading using quantitative models derived from mathematical models. It famously hires people who are incredibly smart – but don’t have previous investing experience. While some might consider that enough of a career for one lifetime – Howard went on to co-found First Round Capital with Josh Koppelman. First Round is one of the most respected seed venture capital firms, with investments in firms like Notion, Roblox, Uber, and Square. At last Howard is ready to retire….wait no. No, Howard is now the chairman of B Capital, the global investment firm founded by Eduardo Saverin. In this episode we discuss how this remarkable journey unfolded, and what he sees for the future. B Capital Partners Renaissance Technologies First Round Capital Something Ventured Podcast
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Jenny Lefcourt: Freestyle Capital Partner’s Path from Entrepreneur to VC
03/21/2022
Jenny Lefcourt: Freestyle Capital Partner’s Path from Entrepreneur to VC
Jenny Lefcourt is a partner at Freestyle Capital, a seed stage venture firm overseeing $450 million in seed investments. Jenny dropped out of her Stanford MBA program – before that was cool -- to co-found online wedding registry startup WeddingChannel.com (with classmate, Jessica Herrin) After The Knot acquired WeddingChannel.com, Jenny started another company – Bella Pictures – also subsequently acquired. Today she is a partner at Freestyle Capital, and was recently named one of Barron’s “100 Women Shaping the World of U.S. Finance”. In this conversation we discuss her path through these entrepreneurial experiences to becoming a prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalist, and co-founder of All Raise. She shares what it’s like to join and then become partner of a venture firm that already has a couple high-profile partners; why she thinks entrepreneurs make great VCs, and the role of All Raise in Silicon Valley. Freestyle Capital Something Ventured Podcast
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Joe Hudson: The Man Behind Silicon Valley’s Unicorn CEOs
01/17/2022
Joe Hudson: The Man Behind Silicon Valley’s Unicorn CEOs
I talk to a lot of founders and CEOs in Silicon Valley. They started telling me “you know, I couldn’t have done it without…” When I heard that multiple times, I just had to meet the guy they were talking about – Joe Hudson. Turns out, Joe Hudson is a sought after executive coach and creator of The Art of Accomplishment, an online learning platform for personal development. And get this – he quit his job as a venture capitalist to become a coach. Yep -- as a venture capitalist Joe found that the most rewarding aspect, and the part he was most successful at, was the mentorship and coaching of the leadership of his portfolio companies. This insight moved him to his present role as a coach, business consultant and teacher. He now coaches 12 CEOs and leaders in prominent companies and runs transformative programs for both individuals and businesses. He is says he is practicing a craft that makes big, lasting, and overwhelmingly positive impacts on the lives of people in his programs and in the companies he works with. In this episode we discuss his journey, why he only coaches 12 people a year – and how you can participate (since you’re not one of those 12 people!) (Hint: Go to and use code “VENTURED”) The Art of Accomplishment. Something Ventured Podcast
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Eliot Brown on the Crazy Life and Wild Times of We Work Founder Adam Neumann
10/27/2021
Eliot Brown on the Crazy Life and Wild Times of We Work Founder Adam Neumann
Eliot Brown, with Maureen Farrell, is co-author of “The Cult of We: WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion”. As a reporter for the Wall Street Journal he became intrigued by the messianic founder who had raised billions of dollars, and developed a cult-like following at his startup WeWork. “In little more than a decade, Neumann transformed himself from a struggling baby clothes salesman into the charismatic, hard-partying CEO of a company worth $47 billion - on paper. With his long hair and feel-good mantras, the six-foot-five Israeli transplant looked the part of a messianic truth teller. Investors swooned, and billions poured in. Soon, however, WeWork was burning through cash faster than Neumann could bring it in. From his private jet, sometimes clouded with marijuana smoke, he scoured the globe for more capital. Then, as WeWork readied a Hail Mary IPO, it all fell apart. Nearly $40 billion of value vaporized in one of corporate America’s most spectacular meltdowns.” In this episode Eliot Brown shares what he learned studying WeWork and it’s larger-than-life founder.
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Brad Feld: “Friedrich Nietzsche is the Patron Philosopher of Today’s Entrepreneurs”
09/15/2021
Brad Feld: “Friedrich Nietzsche is the Patron Philosopher of Today’s Entrepreneurs”
Brad Feld’s latest book (with David Jilk) is “Entrepreneur’s Weekly Nietzsche (A Book for Disruptors)”. Those familiar with Brad’s “Feld Thoughts” blog, will find the unexpected title – unsurprising. While reading Nietzsche (um, yes) Brad noted that his favorite personality was a “free spirit: An obsessed individual with a vision of the future and the will to make it so, a rebel who creates the future with childlike enthusiasm.” That, thought Brad, sounded a lot like…an entrepreneur. The book is “a modern Art of War, connecting the dots to our high-tech business environment”. Each short chapter takes a quote from Nietzsche and applies it to an area of entrepreneurship. Brad Feld has been a famous venture capitalist for a long time. He has been an early stage investor and entrepreneur since 1987. He currently runs Foundry group, which he co-founded. Before that Brad co-founded Mobius Venture Capital and, prior to that, founded Intensity Ventures. Brad is also a co-founder of Techstars. Brad is a writer and speaker on the topics of venture capital investing and entrepreneurship. He’s written a number of books as part of the Startup Revolution series and writes the blogs “Feld Thoughts” and “Venture Deals”.
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165 Auren Hoffman -- Silicon Valley's Hyper-connected Founder, CEO and Investor Shares his Wisdom
08/18/2021
165 Auren Hoffman -- Silicon Valley's Hyper-connected Founder, CEO and Investor Shares his Wisdom
Auren Hoffman is one of the most connected people in Silicon Valley. In a place where the currency of the land is connections – Auren is near the top of the heap. Auren is a Founder and CEO -- He founded SafeGraph in 2016, and previously founded LiveRamp, which is now public (NYSE: RAMP) – a leading data platform. Auren is also an investor – he has invested in more than 120 active technology companies. Auren went to UC Berkeley a B.S.E. in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from UC Berkeley. But perhaps most importantly – Auren shares his wisdom: Often in napkin sketches, shared on Twitter. In this podcast we discuss Auren’s journey, his wisdom and his view from his unique perch in Silicon Valley. Auren on Twitter Something Ventured
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164 Nicole Taylor: Silicon Valley Community Foundation’s CEO On Giving in Silicon Valley; Responding to Black Lives Matter
07/30/2021
164 Nicole Taylor: Silicon Valley Community Foundation’s CEO On Giving in Silicon Valley; Responding to Black Lives Matter
In Silicon Valley enormous wealth and huge need sit side by side. The gap is bridged in large part by an important organization – Silicon Valley Community Foundation (“SVCF”). SVCF manages more than $10 billion. In this episode Nicole Taylor, SVCF’s CEO, tells us where the money comes from, where it goes, and the practical issues of giving to support Black Lives Matter. Since taking the helm at SVCF, Nicole has led the organization to renew its focus on the many challenges facing residents of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties – two of the largest counties in Silicon Valley. In April 2020, Nicole was invited by San José Mayor Sam Liccardo to be among the five co-chairs of the Silicon Valley Recovery Roundtable. This group was formed to address how Silicon Valley will adapt and thrive in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the early months of pandemic response, SVCF raised over $50 million for funds to meet the needs of individuals, families, nonprofit organizations, small businesses and education systems across 10 counties in the Bay Area. Before joining SVCF, Nicole served as vice president of the ASU Foundation, and as dean of Students at Arizona State University. Prior to her time at ASU, Nicole was the associate vice provost of student affairs. She has also served as dean of community engagement and diversity at Stanford University. In this episode we discuss what SVCF does, how the increase in Bay Area wealth has impacted it. We also discuss the practical giving aspects related to solving problems highlighted by the Black Lives Matter movement. SVCF Something Ventured
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163 Avi Loeb -- Extraterrestrials in our Solar System: What Happened in October of 2017?
06/25/2021
163 Avi Loeb -- Extraterrestrials in our Solar System: What Happened in October of 2017?
Avi Loeb is author of the book “Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth”. It’s a story you can hardly believe, once you hear it. But here it is -- the story of the day in 2017 when telescopes around the world started tracking an object in our solar system. It was moving in such a way that scientists around the world came to the same, startling conclusion: It was an extraterrestrial spaceship. Avi Loeb is a professor of the Harvard Astronomy Department. He is also a member of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (which is a collaboration of Harvard College Observatory and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Professor Loeb received a PhD in plasma physics at age 24 from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1986) and was subsequently a long-term member at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton (1988-1993), where he started to work in theoretical astrophysics. In 1993 he moved to Harvard University where he was tenured three years later. He is now the Frank B. Baird Jr. Professor of Science and former chair of the department. He also holds a visiting professorship at the Weizmann Institute of Science and a Sackler Senior Professorship by special appointment in the School of Physics and Astronomy at Tel Aviv University. Loeb has authored nearly 700 research articles and 4 books. Avi Loeb: Something Ventured:
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162 Jamie Ducharme on her Book “Big Vape: The Incendiary Rise of Juul”
06/18/2021
162 Jamie Ducharme on her Book “Big Vape: The Incendiary Rise of Juul”
Big Vape is a nicotine-high of a book: An intense ride-along with the story of the rise of Juul. The story begins innocently – a couple guys don’t want to quit smoking, but also do not want to suffer the ill effects of cigarettes. They start Juul, and its rise – the massive wealth created, the social phenomenon, and the arrival of Big Tobacco -- are the touchpoints of Jamie Ducharme’s book “Big Vape: The Incendiary Rise of Juul”. Jamie Ducharme is a staff writer at TIME magazine, where she covers health and science. (Right now, that means she’s writing almost exclusively about COVID-19.) Her work has won awards from the New York Press Club, the Deadline Club, and the Newswomen’s Club of New York. Previously, she was the health editor at Boston magazine. Jamie Ducharme’s first book, Big Vape: The Incendiary Rise of Juul, was published by Henry Holt on May 25, 2021. It’s a deep-dive into the e-cigarette company Juul Labs and an exploration of the complicated search for an alternative to cigarettes.
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161 Ryan Nece of Next Play Capital: From the NFL to Venture Capitalist
06/03/2021
161 Ryan Nece of Next Play Capital: From the NFL to Venture Capitalist
Ryan and his dad are one of only two father/son NFL players to both win Superbowl rings. Today Ryan a venture capitalist at the firm he founded, Next Play Capital. His many co-investments include Hippo, ByteDance (TikTok), Flexport, Hims, Impossible Foods, Peloton, (IPO), and Rubrik among others. We’ve covered a lot of paths to becoming a VC on Something Ventured, but none has run through the NFL! In this episode we discuss the football roots of the name “Next Play”, and why there were historically so few Black people in venture capital, among many other topics. We finish with an amazing thought from Ryan on how someone might be supportive of diversity in Silicon Valley – one of the most thoughtful and poignant I’ve heard. Next Play Capital Something Ventured
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160 Ali Tamaseb – “Super Founders: What Data Reveals About Billion Dollar Startups”
05/18/2021
160 Ali Tamaseb – “Super Founders: What Data Reveals About Billion Dollar Startups”
Ali Tamaseb pulls the curtain back on the myths about billion-dollar startups – and he does it with data. That’s not surprising for a guy who is a partner at DCVC, the multi-billion dollar venture firm focused on deep tech. Ali is a scientist turned engineer who works on a broad spectrum of areas ranging from computational health/bio to cybersecurity. More specifically, Ali identifies early-stage highly technical and defensible startups in diagnostics tools, neuro-technology, precision medicine, synthetic bio and bio-logic, disruptive healthcare models, financial technologies, alternative data, next-generation computing, cryptography and blockchain. “Super Founders” analyzes 65 factors to determine what differentiates billion-dollar companies. Interviewees in the book include: Arie Belldegrun - Co-founder, Allogene, Kite Pharma: Founded Two Billion-Dollar Startups While a University Professor Nat Turner - Co-founder, Flatiron Health: Founded a Billion-Dollar Startup With No Industry Experience Max Mullen - Co-founder, Instacart: Founded a Massively Successful Business in The Second Try Neha Narkhede - Co-founder, Confluent: Built a Billion-Dollar Startup Initially Originated at a Large Tech Company Tony Fadell - Co-founder, Nest – Inventor of the iPod: Built Highly Differentiated Products That Generated Billion Dollar Outcomes Rachel Carlson - Co-founder, Guild Education: Built a Billion-Dollar Startup Outside Traditional Tech Hubs Max Levchin - Co-founder, PayPal and Affirm: Did Both Market Creation and Market Expansion Mario Schlosser - Co-founder, Oscar Health: Founded a Billion-Dollar Startup With Perfect Market Timing Eric Yuan - Founder, Zoom: Founded a Billion-Dollar Startup That Won Against Fierce Competitors Tom Preston-Werner - Co-founder, GitHub: Bootstrapped a 7.5 Billion-Dollar Company For Over Four Years Michelle Zatlyn - Co-founder, Cloudflare: Founded a Billion-Dollar Startup In the Depth of the Financial Recession Elad Gil - Angel Investor: Invested in Over 20 Unicorns Including Coinbase, Stripe, Gusto, Square, Wish Keith Rabois - General Partner, Founders Fund: Invested in YouTube, LinkedIn, Palantir, Yelp, Lyft Alfred Lin - Partner, Sequoia Capital: Invested in iconic companies like Airbnb, Houzz, DoorDash, Zipline Peter Thiel - Co-founder Palantir, PayPal: Invested in Facebook, SpaceX, Stripe, Spotify, Asana, TransferWise DCVC: Something Ventured:
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159 Suneel Gupta on The Surprising Truth Behind What Makes People Take a Chance
05/05/2021
159 Suneel Gupta on The Surprising Truth Behind What Makes People Take a Chance
Suneel Gupta is author of the book “Backable: The Surprising Truth Behind What Makes People Take a Chance”. Backable tells Suneel’s journey from first-time entrepreneur to being named “The New Face of Innovation” by the New York Stock Exchange. Suneel’s ideas have been adopted by firms like Greylock and Google Ventures, and he served as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. He has personally backed startups including Impossible Foods, AirBnB, 23&Me, Calm, and SpaceX. Also -- In 2018, Suneel ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Michigan’s 11th Congressional District. Before running for Congress, Suneel co-founded and served as CEO of RISE, a mobile health company that partnered with Michelle Obama to lower the cost of quality care for thousands of patients. Just two years after launch, One Medical acquired RISE. If that wasn’t enough: Suneel is also a lawyer and filmmaker. Yup. He started his career in the Clinton White House where he served as a speechwriter, learning from West Wing staffers like Michael McCurry and Rahm Emanuel. A few years later, he was asked to co-author the national platform for the Democratic Party. Suneel produced the Kahani Movement, an interactive film project about the first generation of Indian-Americans, which debuted at South by Southwest with his brother, Dr. Sanjay Gupta (CNN). He also worked for the president of Sony Pictures Television when the studio was investing in new creative concepts like Breaking Bad. And then there’s…happiness. Suneel is the co-founder at Gross National Happiness Center of America in partnership with the Kingdom of Bhutan.
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158 David Bohnett -- GeoCities Founder Turned Philanthropist and Social Activist
04/13/2021
158 David Bohnett -- GeoCities Founder Turned Philanthropist and Social Activist
David Bohnett founded GeoCities in the 1990s, well before the internet attained its current ubiquity. GeoCities became publicly traded on NASDAQ and was acquired by Yahoo! Inc. in 1999. In a 2007 article, the Wall Street Journal described it as a Facebook prototype and noted, “Back then, entries were known as home pages, not profiles. But the basic, expressive elements of today’s Facebook and competitor MySpace … were all right there.” David found himself wealthy with the ability to do whatever he wanted for the rest of his life. He became a philanthropist and social activist. In addition to serving as Chair of the David Bohnett Foundation, he is the Chairman of the Executive Committee on the Board of the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Vice Chairman of the Board of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and Trustee of the Brookings Institution, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the University of Southern California (USC). Since 1999, the David Bohnett Foundation has focused on several funding areas: The Fund for Los Angeles, supporting a broad spectrum of arts, educational and civic programs including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, LACMA and CicLAvia; LGBTQ-related causes; graduate school leadership programs at the University of Michigan, UCLA, NYU and Harvard; voting rights and registration initiatives; supporting research and public policies to reduce the toll of firearm violence; and animal research and rights. Grants totaling over $115 million to date have supported the work of a wide range of organizations including the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, The Wildlife Alliance, the ACLU Foundation, Equality California, and the David Bohnett Gay & Lesbian Leadership Fellows program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. The David Bohnett CyberCenters are another major undertaking — currently at over 60 LGBTQ centers nationwide, they offer business, educational, research, and recreational opportunities to the local gay and lesbian community via access to the Internet. David Bohnett Foundation. Something Ventured
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157 Kara Nortman: Upfront Venture’s co-Managing Partner on Becoming a Leader of a Major VC Firm, and Co-owner of Angel City FC
03/16/2021
157 Kara Nortman: Upfront Venture’s co-Managing Partner on Becoming a Leader of a Major VC Firm, and Co-owner of Angel City FC
Kara Nortman is a Managing Partner of venture firm Upfront. Upfront famously hosts the “Upfront Summit” – a hard-to-describe, but massive confab of celebrities, entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders held in Los Angeles. Kara is a founding member of All Raise – you’ve heard about All Raise a number of times on Something Ventured. She’s also an owner – along with Natalie Portman and Serena Williams – of LA’s women’s soccer team Angel City Football Club (“Angel City FC”). As co-Managing partner of Upfront, she is one of the first women promoted to a leadership role at a major venture capital firm. EPISODE QUOTES: On Being Asked to Join Natalie Portman and Serena Williams as Co-owner of Angel City FC Soccer Team “It is probably the craziest story of my life and one that I have a great amount of gratitude for. I think it's made me realize that butterfly effects do happen. But you can't force them. When you get the pocket of energy in from a butterfly flapping, you have to follow it. And that’s what happened with the soccer team.” On Choosing People You Want to Work with for the Long Term “You should pick people you want to look at in your cap table and you want to see show up on your cell phone late at night and you enjoy spending time with and whose bar mitzvahs and weddings you might want to go to.” On Being a Great Board Member “One of my venture capital mentors said to me at one point in time, ‘You have three daughters. You are going to learn more from raising your daughters around how to be a good board member than you are going to learn from any board.’ And I think about that a lot. It's role modeling, right? Treating people the way you want to be treated.” Twitter: Upfront: Something Ventured:
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156: Is “Working Backwards” the Most Important Business Book Ever? Lessons from Amazon
02/19/2021
156: Is “Working Backwards” the Most Important Business Book Ever? Lessons from Amazon
In their new book “WORKING BACKWARDS: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon” (St. Martin’s Press, February 9, 2021.) Bill Carr and Colin Bryar share Amazon’s secrets. They had a front row seat for most of Amazon's history, and they are sharing what they learned in their new book. Not only is Amazon one of the most valuable companies in the world, it has succeeded across a stunning array of categories from web services to movies. So it’s hyperbolic, but possible to make the case that this is the most important business book….ever. “Like being in the room with Jeff Bezos” Working Backwards is a practical guidebook and a corporate narrative, filled with the authors’ in-the-room recollections of what “Being Amazonian” is like and how it has affected their personal and professional lives. They demonstrate that success on Amazon’s scale is not achieved by the genius of any single leader, but rather through commitment to and execution of a set of well-defined, rigorously-executed principles and practices—shared here for the very first time. The authors you’ll spend some time with on this episode: Bill Carr joined Amazon in 1999 and spent more than 15 years with the company. As Vice President of Digital Media, Bill launched and managed the company's global digital music and video businesses, including Amazon Music, Prime Video, and Amazon Studios. After Amazon, Bill was an Executive In Residence with Maveron, LLC, an early-stage, consumer-only venture capital firm. Bill later served as the Chief Operating Officer of OfferUp, the largest mobile marketplace for local buyers and sellers in the U.S. Today Bill is co-founder of Working Backwards LLC where he coaches executives at both large and early-stage companies on how to implement the management practices developed at Amazon. Colin Bryar joined Amazon in 1998 — four years after its founding — and spent the next 12 years as part of Amazon's senior leadership team as Amazon grew from a domestic (US-only) seller of books to a global, multi-dimensional powerhouse and innovator. Colin served as a Vice President at Amazon, and for two of his years was "Chief of Staff" to Jeff Bezos, AKA "Jeff's shadow", during which he spent each day attending meetings, traveling with, and discussing business and life with Jeff. After Amazon, he and his family relocated to Singapore for two years where Colin served as Chief Operating Officer of e-commerce company RedMart, which was subsequently sold to Alibaba. Colin is co-founder of Working Backwards LLC where he coaches executives at both large and early-stage companies on how to implement the management practices developed at Amazon. Working Backwards Something Ventured
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155 Amy Nauiokas: The CEO of Anthemis Group’s Journey from the Peace Corps to Managing Nearly $1 Billion
01/29/2021
155 Amy Nauiokas: The CEO of Anthemis Group’s Journey from the Peace Corps to Managing Nearly $1 Billion
Amy Nauiokas is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Anthemis, a leading digital financial services investment firm. Anthemis manages nearly $1 billion. Amy is also Founder and Chair of Archer Gray, a media production and content company. Straightforward for a venture capitalist, right? Except maybe for the TV/Movie company she also runs. But wait – she’s also a liberal arts major who joined the Peace Corps out of college. In this episode we discuss how she made her way from the Peace Corps to leading one of the biggest fintech venture capital firms. We also talk about the early 80s women in finance who she views as pioneers truly worth paying homage to, and whose issues she contrasts to those faced by women in today’s finance/venture world. EPISODE QUOTES On the Diversity of Anthemis and Its Investments “We brought together people of very eclectic, different and diverse backgrounds to form this platform. And now we're 50 people around the world and we're working out of three physical offices and probably about 10 virtual offices. And we're north of 50 percent female. Sixty five percent of the decision-makers at the firm are women. We have, I think, about 40 percent people of color and and 12 percent LGBTQ. Twenty five percent of our portfolio is led by women. Twenty percent of our portfolio is led by someone who is Black or a person of color.” On Sand Hill Road “We’re realizing it's a lot of the same people with the same backgrounds, with the same capital base sitting in the same office on Sand Hill Road, which isn't even in San Francisco, it’s in the Valley. Entrepreneurs elsewhere don’t realize these guys aren't leaving their desks, let alone going to Oakland to meet a company or going to San Francisco to meet a company.” On How to Support Women and People of Color “Shut up, listen and make some space. I honestly think that's the main thing. Imagine that anybody who isn't you is thinking about it all the time. Every single part of every single day, I think about my identity and what it means to my existence. I think we have a responsibility as allies to any community to take the time to be quiet and to listen and see what we might be able to learn in that very quiet moment when we let other voices be heard.” Anthemis Group: Something Ventured:
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154 Vern Howard: Hallo's CEO is NOT Your Deliveryman
01/11/2021
154 Vern Howard: Hallo's CEO is NOT Your Deliveryman
Vern Howard’s story is remarkable. Vern was a math prodigy who left high school early, when he tested into Virginia Commonwealth University to study Computer Science and Math. He paid his way through school by teaching math and serving as a janitor on campus. He went on to sell men’s suits, which taught him the art of selling. After joining Capital One – whose signing bonus he used to rebuild an Alpha Romeo – he built Capital One’s first mobile banking application. He also built out the Application Security Team at Capital One before, naturally, becoming a securities trader. Hang on, we’re not done yet. He became an entrepreneur. He sent a book to Steve Case’s partner at Revolution and….well, listen to find out what happens! Episode Quotes On Getting Started as an Entrepreneur “So two people I met accelerated everything. Ted Leonsis kind of introduced me to this network of people. Mike Lincoln over at Cooley was like, “Yeah, everyone is raving about you. You didn't go to an Ivy League school, you're not from this background. But you’re just going into all these office and people are saying: Who's this kid? Vern, right.” So they got me started and did our legal work for free, util we got funded.” On Why Employers are So Focused on “Top Colleges” “So I think it's a two pronged problem. One is, these are businesses, right? So there's budget, and once you start talking about like numbers and budgets you start looking at ROI. And every recruiter says, OK, great. If we spend one hundred thousand dollars to go to thirty one schools this season, what's the ROI now? If we go to Stanford or we go to Michigan, we kind of know what we get there, because some of our current engineers went to school there. So we know their level of output is XYZ, as far as coding goes. But if we take a risk and go with something we've haven't done before, like going to Sweetbriar College, which is an all-women's college in Virginia, (the founder of TaskRabbit went there). We may want to take a risk, by going there. We might spend fifty thousand dollars and have no ROI to show. So the best play, much like VC culture, is we go to Stanford, we get 3 students --great. But what happens is the competition, right? If your brand isn't as big as you think it is as a company, your recruiting line is nonexistent. Everyone went over to the Robinhood line.” On Black Founders Being “Over-Mentored” One thing I see amongst the Black founder community is a ton of mentors. And I think Black founders are over-mentored and under-funded. I don't know who coined that term, but a ton of people DO want to mentor. That's funny. I have people fill my inbox from the top VC's in the nation and just say, hey, Vern, let me be your mentor. And, you know, I'm always greatly appreciative, I like the advice. But I’d also like to get funded” Hallo: Something Ventured:
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