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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Kobie Fuller: Upfront Ventures Partner’s High-Speed Sprint from Track Star to Venture Capital Powerhouse
05/07/2025
Kobie Fuller: Upfront Ventures Partner’s High-Speed Sprint from Track Star to Venture Capital Powerhouse
Kobie Fuller is a partner at Upfront Ventures. He came to the firm after investing at Accel and leading marketing efforts at EVOLVE, the large global fashion ecommerce platform. Highlights from our conversation. -- we covered a lot of ground, so this is just a small part: Kobie’s Athletic Background and Vision for Track and Field: Kobie, a former track and field athlete who competed in the 400m and 200m, believes the sport deserves greater mainstream attention due to its purity and universal accessibility. He discusses a new professional track league, Grand Slam Track, started by Olympian Michael Johnson, aimed at elevating the sport’s profile, potentially rivaling soccer’s popularity. 2 Journey into Venture Capital: Kobie’s entry into venture capital was sparked during the dot-com boom when he co-founded a soccer portal in college. Exposure to VCs visiting his startup led him to pursue a career in VC, despite initial rejections. His persistence, including sending physical letters to Boston VCs, eventually landed him a role at Insight Partners. Decision to Pass on Oculus: We’ve all done it! At a career crossroads, Kobie chose not to join Oculus as CMO, opting instead for a VC role at Accel. He later invested in Oculus. He remains optimistic about AR/VR’s future, noting improved devices like the Oculus Quest, though he notes it’s not his primary investment focus. Advocacy for Black Founders: Kobie addresses the underrepresentation of Black founders in tech, emphasizing the need for more diverse capital allocators and intentional outreach beyond traditional networks. He founded Valence, a platform to connect Black professionals, which grew to 30,000 members, highlighting his continued commitment to fostering inclusivity in the startup ecosystem. AI’s Transformative Potential in Venture Capital: Kobie is bullish on AI, particularly its ability to augment human capabilities in enterprise software. He cies examples like portfolio company 1Up, which reduces RFP completion from weeks to minutes. He contrasts this with concerns about AI’s potential to erode human connection, as illustrated by a great story about an essay his son wrote. dUpfront Ventures 8-Bit Capital Something Ventured Podcast
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David Anderman: Space (Investing) is Big. Really Big. From Lucasfilm’s Star Wars to SpaceX to…The Final Frontier
03/28/2025
David Anderman: Space (Investing) is Big. Really Big. From Lucasfilm’s Star Wars to SpaceX to…The Final Frontier
David Anderman is co-founder and General Partner of Stellar Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on early-stage space technology startups. He spent 16 years at Lucasfilm Ltd., creator of the Star Wars franchise. As Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel, he notably negotiated Lucasfilm’s $4 billion sale to Disney in 2012. Moving from imagined space to real space: David became General Counsel at SpaceX, where he played a key role in landmark projects like the launch of Starlink and the first private human spaceflight to the International Space Station. David is also founder of Red Rock Media Group, which is the media company for humanity's expansion into the cosmos. This episode covers a lot of ground (well, space): - What it’s like to work for George Lucas - What it’s like to work for Elon Musk (and what motivates him) - The media rights to SpaceX’s journey to Mars (‘Big Brother’ in space?) - Timeline for humans on Mars - How space has been opened up to entrepreneurs and investors who support them
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Cyan Banister: The Future is Cool Again / Falling in Love with Technology / A Brush with Star Wars
02/20/2025
Cyan Banister: The Future is Cool Again / Falling in Love with Technology / A Brush with Star Wars
Cyan Banister of Long Journey Ventures is truly one of the most successful and interesting early stage venture investors. And by ‘successful investor’, I mean “invested early in Uber and SpaceX” kind of successful. She overcame a challenging childhood that included periods of homelessness (a surprisingly uplifting story, covered deeply in Tim Ferriss’ interview with Cyan). Here we discuss Cyan’s journey from these early struggles to becoming a prominent figure in . Along the way she learns to program computers, and co-founds Zivity – an early social networking site one might compare to OnlyFans. She was a partner at VC juggernaut Founders Fund (the VC fund founded by Peter Thiel, that invested in AirBnB, Spotify and OpenAI among others). She also is author of “The Ugly Duckling” substack. This episode also includes her brush with Star Wars’ “Lucasfilm” (the singular matters), her meeting with Marc Andreesen and her (incredible) plans for the future.
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Roger Ehrenberg: From IA Ventures to Eberg Capital – A Top Silicon Valley Investor Turns to Sports
01/26/2025
Roger Ehrenberg: From IA Ventures to Eberg Capital – A Top Silicon Valley Investor Turns to Sports
Roger Ehrenberg's career spans three remarkable acts, each of which would be impressive on its own. He founded IA Ventures, a seed-stage venture capital firm, in 2010. IA Ventures invested in numerous successful startups, including Datadog, Digital Ocean, The Trade Desk, and Wise. His work with IA Ventures has earned him recognition as a three-time winner of the “Midas Award” – the coveted ranking of venture capitalists by Forbes. Before founding IA Ventures, Roger spent 17 years on Wall Street at Citibank and Deutsche Bank, specializing in derivatives and quantitative trading, managing over $10 billion in investor assets at its peak. In 2021, Roger stepped back from day-to-day operations at IA Ventures to focus on Eberg Capital, which he founded with his two sons to invest in sports franchises, sports betting, media, and entertainment. Through Eberg Capital, he has made strategic investments in sports teams like the Miami Marlins, Real Salt Lake, and the Utah Royals, as well as in the Alpine Formula 1 Racing Team. In this episode he discusses building IA Ventures as well as why he thinks sports is the next great investing opportunity.
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Mark Scianna: From Palantir Engineer to Venture Capitalist / Inside Palantir’s Early Days / VC Discovers Defense Tech
01/08/2025
Mark Scianna: From Palantir Engineer to Venture Capitalist / Inside Palantir’s Early Days / VC Discovers Defense Tech
Mark Scianna, the founder of venture firm "Forward Deployed," which targets sectors like Defense, Energy, and A.I., was spotlighted as a 'top emerging manager' in 2022. Starting his journey as an engineer and an early investor at Palantir, Scianna offers an insider's perspective in this episode, unraveling the enigma of Palantir's inception and meteoric rise. Scianna delves into what makes Palantir so unique, shedding light on how its unconventional management style has been a cornerstone of its success. He doesn't shy away from the intense realities of being 'forward deployed'—a term that for him meant being physically stationed in war zones to deploy Palantir's groundbreaking solutions firsthand. Scianna also talks about the newly popular trend of investing in ‘defense tech’ – and who should (or shouldn’t) be doing it. Links:
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Winter Mead: How to Raise a Venture Capital Fund (and more!), From Coolwater Capital’s Founder
11/08/2024
Winter Mead: How to Raise a Venture Capital Fund (and more!), From Coolwater Capital’s Founder
Winter Mead is the author of How to Raise a Venture Capital Fund: The Essential Guide on Fundraising and Understanding Limited Partners. He is also founder of Coolwater Capital, a new model that helps launch, build, and scale emerging fund managers While there are a lot of investors (known in the parlance as “LPs”), and certainly a lot of funds – the set of people who sit at the intersection of these two is much smaller. So Winter has an unusual perspective and point of view to share. Winter shares his journey from Harvard and Hall Capital to Sapphire Ventures and ultimately to founding Coolwater. He explains the complex and often overlooked challenges new fund managers face in securing funding, managing portfolios, and building effective business strategies. With insights on the evolving venture ecosystem, the role of emerging managers in fueling innovation, and the rising focus on sectors like AI, climate tech, and longevity, Winter offers a compelling look at how Coolwater helps guide and co-build alongside new managers. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the future of venture capital and the critical role of emerging fund managers in driving technological innovation.
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Max Altman and Ben Braverman: Returning to Tradition with Saga Ventures
10/14/2024
Max Altman and Ben Braverman: Returning to Tradition with Saga Ventures
Max Altman and Ben Braverman were both pretty close to Silicon Valley royalty before they started Saga Ventures. Max had built Alt Capital with his brothers Sam and Jack. Ben had helped Ryan Peterson build Flexport as its Chief Revenue Officer. Recently, they came together with a third partner (Thomson Nguyen, who does not appear in this episode) to form Saga Ventures. In this episode, Max and Ben talk about building their new fund, discussing its structure, goals, and the nature of VC partnerships. We continue with a look at the Silicon Valley Ecosystem: There is a focus on people, the interconnected nature of Silicon Valley, and how certain patterns of behavior and community dynamics influence the startup and venture capital space. We finish by covering a range of other topics: - How venture capital lost its way - The rise of VC podcasting - Billionaire VCs fighting over politics Join us as Max Altman and Ben Braverman discuss building Saga Ventures.
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Alexis Gay: Silicon Valley’s Favorite Comedian Makes her “Unprofessional” Debut
10/02/2024
Alexis Gay: Silicon Valley’s Favorite Comedian Makes her “Unprofessional” Debut
If you don’t already know about Alexis Gay, you’re about to. Alexis is the creator and star of her solo comedy show, “Unprofessional”. Recently, her show was a hit at the world-renowned Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and she's now touring the show for audiences across the United States. Alexis previously worked in the tech industry running Business Operations and Creator Partnerships at Patreon. Outside of work, she started creating videos featuring dead-on takes on tech culture -- and everyday life. These soon went viral, racking up more than 24 million views across social media. Her sharp insights into startup life and its absurdities resonated far and wide, transforming her into a favorite amongst both tech insiders and comedy fans alike. From viral videos to her successful podcast, Alexis has kept audiences hooked. She’s been profiled by Fast Company, Nightline, Business Insider, SFGate, and CNBC. And now, she's stepping onto the stage as a standup comedian. Now comes her debut solo show, “Unprofessional”. It has received numerous four-star reviews and played to sold out audiences. Chortle, the leading UK comedy publication, called it “an entertaining and – ironically/appropriately – professional hour set in a world that’s rarely covered in stand-up.” Whether you're a startup founder or someone who's never heard of venture capital, her observations land with a sharp, comedic edge. Catch her live and see why she's bound to be way bigger than…John Mulaney. Alexis Gay “Unprofessional Something Ventured Podcast
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Adeyemi Ajao: A Founder Turned VC on Building Base10 Partners, and the Abundance Mindset
09/17/2024
Adeyemi Ajao: A Founder Turned VC on Building Base10 Partners, and the Abundance Mindset
In this episode of Something Ventured, I talk to Adeyemi “Ade” Ajao, co-founder of Base10 Partners, one of the largest Black-led venture capital firms in the world. Ade shares his journey from growing up in Nigeria and Spain to building multiple successful companies, including Tuenti, which was sold to Telefonica. He also discusses his transition into venture capital, his mission to empower underrepresented founders, and the impact of Base10’s Advancement Initiative, which partners with top universities to support a diverse new generation of entrepreneurs. Other topics include: Sci-Fi Inspiration: Adi and his brother are avid readers of science fiction, which shaped their belief in the power of human imagination and technology. Global Entrepreneurship: Adi reflects on the scarcity mindset found in some parts of the world, like Spain and Mexico, and contrasts it with the abundance mindset in Silicon Valley, where entrepreneurs help each other succeed. Technological Evolution: The conversation touches on how social networking emerged due to advancements in technology, and the broader impact of automation on traditional industries. Philosophy on Venture Capital: Adi shares how Base10 gives back by donating 50% of their carry to fund scholarships for underrepresented students in STEM, and emphasizes the importance of mission-driven work.
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Ignition Partners' Nick Sturiale: Reflections on a Life in Venture
08/09/2024
Ignition Partners' Nick Sturiale: Reflections on a Life in Venture
Nick Sturiale reflects on a career working in venture capital, in which he invested early in companies such as Splunk, Bill.com, and Reputation.com. Nick shares insights from his extensive career, which spans roles at Ignition Partners, Icon Ventures, Seven Rosen Funds, and the Carlyle Group, among others. He reflects on the evolution of the venture capital landscape, the challenges of finding product-market fit, and the critical role of timing and luck in a startup's success. Nick also delves into the complexities of being a CEO as a company grows, discussing the shift from being a hands-on founder to potentially needing to bring in a new leader with different skills. He emphasizes the importance of understanding customer needs through active listening and the pitfalls that entrepreneurs and VCs alike must navigate. This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to gain a deeper understanding of the venture capital world and the nuanced journey of building successful startups. (I had an AI write that last sentence. Also: AI has a long way to go.)
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Founder Collective's Eric Paley on Empathy and Execution in Venture Capital
07/15/2024
Founder Collective's Eric Paley on Empathy and Execution in Venture Capital
Eric Paley is a General Partner at Founder Collective, one of the great seed-stage venture capital brands - and one of the relatively few venture firms led by startup founders. As the name suggests, Founder Collective is a "founder stage" venture capital fund that focuses on providing the first professional round of capital to “entrepreneurs with compelling business concepts”. Eric himself also founded several companies before becoming a VC. Founder Collective's investments include: Coupang, Cruise, Kaggle, Pill Pak, The Trade Desk, Uber and Venmo. In this episode we discuss the importance of Founder-led VC firms, and the evolution of seed VC firms - which barely existed when he started, and now number in the hundreds.We also discuss: · * Why the unique name "Collective" · * Fuzzy VC math · * VC 'revisionist history" · * What's next for Founder Collective Please subscribe to Something Ventured!
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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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