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Loved having Brian Singerman Brian Singerman on Uncapped. We talked about his time at Founders Fund, his strategies for identifying outlier people, what type of VCs he believes are best set up for success, what he's doing with GPx, and a bunch more. He's an extremely clear thinker and...

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Jack Altman

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205,909 views • 4 days ago •via X (Twitter)

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NEW: Brian Singerman, fmr Founders Fund, now GPx, on why he only invests in *people* SpaceX is the reason he joined Founders Fund in 2008 "If SpaceX didn't work, Founders Fund would not exist." From Elon & SpaceX to Karp & Palantir, to Anduril, Airbnb, Stripe, & Stemcentrx, Brian Singerman's whole framework is one question: Is this the best founder in the world at their particular thing? We get into: - What makes Founders Fund unique: a team of strong-willed, genuinely authentic individuals - Why a 3x fund loses to the S&P - How a lifetime of strategy gaming shapes how he reads founders & now GPs - Why he bets against the end of the world every time - Why he's bullish on N-of-1 human cultural artifacts in an AI world - Why Cyan Banister & Palmer Luckey are genuinely N-of-1 people Thank you to Max Levchin, Trae Stephens & Scott Nolan for great questions 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒 (00:00) Brian Singerman, Co-Founder of GPx, Former Partner at Founders Fund (00:42) Founders Fund (02:09) Max Levchin's unfiltered questions (05:25) How gaming shaped his investing (06:11) Joining Founders Fund in 2008 (07:34) Silicon Valley's most fascinating characters (09:29) Lessons from Peter Thiel (11:26) Building a culture of conviction (11:59) The art of spotting A+ founders (13:55) Trae's biggest lesson from Peter Thiel (14:41) Is socialism a threat to America? (15:58) Why capital is leaving California (17:03) The obsession with Hawaii (20:59) The Founders Fund playbook (24:51) "If SpaceX didn't work, Founders Fund would not exist" (26:03) Why Elon is one of one (27:30) Why everyone knew Starlink would win (28:42) Inside Founders Fund's biggest bets (31:06) The Founders Fund founder archetype (33:25) Backing fund managers instead of startups (35:22) The new generation of GPs (36:34) The most authentic people in tech (41:38) Why other VCs aren't the audience (44:05) Music, Memorabilia & N-of-1 Artifacts (46:25) The story behind Brian's music studio (49:22) What's next for Brian?
51:06

NEW: Brian Singerman, fmr Founders Fund, now GPx, on why he only invests in *people* SpaceX is the reason he joined Founders Fund in 2008 "If SpaceX didn't work, Founders Fund would not exist." From Elon & SpaceX to Karp & Palantir, to Anduril, Airbnb, Stripe, & Stemcentrx, Brian Singerman's whole framework is one question: Is this the best founder in the world at their particular thing? We get into: - What makes Founders Fund unique: a team of strong-willed, genuinely authentic individuals - Why a 3x fund loses to the S&P - How a lifetime of strategy gaming shapes how he reads founders & now GPs - Why he bets against the end of the world every time - Why he's bullish on N-of-1 human cultural artifacts in an AI world - Why Cyan Banister & Palmer Luckey are genuinely N-of-1 people Thank you to Max Levchin, Trae Stephens & Scott Nolan for great questions 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒 (00:00) Brian Singerman, Co-Founder of GPx, Former Partner at Founders Fund (00:42) Founders Fund (02:09) Max Levchin's unfiltered questions (05:25) How gaming shaped his investing (06:11) Joining Founders Fund in 2008 (07:34) Silicon Valley's most fascinating characters (09:29) Lessons from Peter Thiel (11:26) Building a culture of conviction (11:59) The art of spotting A+ founders (13:55) Trae's biggest lesson from Peter Thiel (14:41) Is socialism a threat to America? (15:58) Why capital is leaving California (17:03) The obsession with Hawaii (20:59) The Founders Fund playbook (24:51) "If SpaceX didn't work, Founders Fund would not exist" (26:03) Why Elon is one of one (27:30) Why everyone knew Starlink would win (28:42) Inside Founders Fund's biggest bets (31:06) The Founders Fund founder archetype (33:25) Backing fund managers instead of startups (35:22) The new generation of GPs (36:34) The most authentic people in tech (41:38) Why other VCs aren't the audience (44:05) Music, Memorabilia & N-of-1 Artifacts (46:25) The story behind Brian's music studio (49:22) What's next for Brian?

Molly O’Shea

252,040 views • 2 months ago

I'm excited to bring you a very special episode with Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb. Brian is one of the most inspiring, driven, and first-principled thinkers on product, growth, and leadership. In our conversation, Brian shares: → A deep dive into how Airbnb does product management → The importance of founders staying very close to the details → Why Airbnb moved away from traditional growth channels and what they are doing instead → Advice for founders on how to lead → Tips for preventing burnout, and personal growth → Why he still has a lot to prove → Much more
1:08

I'm excited to bring you a very special episode with Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb. Brian is one of the most inspiring, driven, and first-principled thinkers on product, growth, and leadership. In our conversation, Brian shares: → A deep dive into how Airbnb does product management → The importance of founders staying very close to the details → Why Airbnb moved away from traditional growth channels and what they are doing instead → Advice for founders on how to lead → Tips for preventing burnout, and personal growth → Why he still has a lot to prove → Much more

Lenny Rachitsky

536,385 views • 2 years ago

For this episode of Uncapped I got to sit down with my close friend Max Mullen, cofounder of Instacart 🥕 We talked about the key moments of Instacart...how it got started, critical wins, tough losses, competitive dynamics, earned insights, going public, and Instacart's future. Max is also an awesome startup investor, and we talked about what he looks for in founders, consumer investing, and what he's building with Workshop. He's one of the best people I know, hope you enjoy. (0:00) Intro (0:36) The inception of Instacart (4:55) Finding product market fit (7:20) Landing Trader Joe’s (11:04) Big levers for growth (13:36) Operationally complex businesses (14:55) Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods (17:50) COVID and Instacart’s IPO (20:02) Prioritizing profitability (23:21) Avoiding temptations (24:59) The future of Instacart (25:53) Investing in consumer (28:21) Irrationally optimistic founders (29:49) B2B vs consumer founders (30:35) How to work with investors (33:38) Building Workshop
35:28

For this episode of Uncapped I got to sit down with my close friend Max Mullen, cofounder of Instacart 🥕 We talked about the key moments of Instacart...how it got started, critical wins, tough losses, competitive dynamics, earned insights, going public, and Instacart's future. Max is also an awesome startup investor, and we talked about what he looks for in founders, consumer investing, and what he's building with Workshop. He's one of the best people I know, hope you enjoy. (0:00) Intro (0:36) The inception of Instacart (4:55) Finding product market fit (7:20) Landing Trader Joe’s (11:04) Big levers for growth (13:36) Operationally complex businesses (14:55) Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods (17:50) COVID and Instacart’s IPO (20:02) Prioritizing profitability (23:21) Avoiding temptations (24:59) The future of Instacart (25:53) Investing in consumer (28:21) Irrationally optimistic founders (29:49) B2B vs consumer founders (30:35) How to work with investors (33:38) Building Workshop

Jack Altman

234,072 views • 4 months ago

Episode #93: Michael Kim @ Cendana Michael Kim is the Founder of Cendana Capital, making anchor investments in very early stage VC funds. We talk 204x DPI funds, characteristics of the top performing venture investors, how Cendana does diligence on fund managers, portfolio construction best practices + Michael’s 60x rule, and why a high ownership to fund size ratio drives outlier returns. We also get into how VCs are using AI, the competition between Seed and multi-stage investors, why US endowments are under siege, and how secondaries are driving most early stage venture returns today. Michael also opens up about the early days of starting Cendana, the 18 month grind raising Cendana Fund 1, the day he almost died, and ranking in the top 2% globally in Call of Duty. Shoutout to Roger Ehrenberg, Kevin Hartz, Semil, Jeff Clavier, Beezer Clarkson, Jack Altman, Jeff Morris Jr., Sheel Mohnot, Nichole Wischoff, Ted Alling, and Rick Zullo for their help putting this together. Thanks bolt.new for supporting this episode (check out their Hackathon with $1m in prizes!) Full episode here on X, or grab a link in the replies. Timestamps: 4:24 The day Michael almost died 5:10 Call of Duty & video games 9:34 Hiring @ Cendana 10:31 How Cendana uses structured and unstructured data 16:51 How VCs are using AI 19:55 Why secondaries are driving most early stage venture returns 22:01 Deciding when to sell secondaries 24:28 Best performing venture funds ever 27:26 The best VCs have amazing access to the best founders 33:42 Why Cendana backs Solo GPs 35:57 How to invest over time and hype cycles 41:35 Why multi-stage firms are investing earlier 44:45 Cendana’s current thesis: High ownership % to fund size 45:51 Why Cendana started backing non-lead VCs 48:41 How Cendana does diligence on fund managers 52:22 VC NPS Scores and Ron Conway’s Silver Bullet 53:49 Good vs bad new VC firm strategies 56:36 Determining defensibility of a strategy 57:57 “Messy middle” software buyout fund 1:03:25 Portfolio construction best practice 1:08:11 Michael’s 60x Rule 1:14:28 How Seed funds compete with multi-stage funds 1:20:05 Should you collect logos writing small checks? 1:21:07 Becoming an LP for the city of SF 1:24:42 Taking 18+ months to raise Cendana Fund 1 in the GFC 1:26:48 Warehousing the first Cendana Fund 1 investments 1:29:56 How to do a first close 1:34:29 Why it’s hard to kill a VC firm 1:37:00 What happens to ZIRP tourist fund managers 1:40:22 How to raise a Fund 2 or 3 today 1:42:07 “US endowments are under siege” 1:44:55 What the best GP LP relationships look like 1:46:41 What Fund of Funds get wrong 1:50:43 The three most interesting trends in venture today
1:54:58

Episode #93: Michael Kim @ Cendana Michael Kim is the Founder of Cendana Capital, making anchor investments in very early stage VC funds. We talk 204x DPI funds, characteristics of the top performing venture investors, how Cendana does diligence on fund managers, portfolio construction best practices + Michael’s 60x rule, and why a high ownership to fund size ratio drives outlier returns. We also get into how VCs are using AI, the competition between Seed and multi-stage investors, why US endowments are under siege, and how secondaries are driving most early stage venture returns today. Michael also opens up about the early days of starting Cendana, the 18 month grind raising Cendana Fund 1, the day he almost died, and ranking in the top 2% globally in Call of Duty. Shoutout to Roger Ehrenberg, Kevin Hartz, Semil, Jeff Clavier, Beezer Clarkson, Jack Altman, Jeff Morris Jr., Sheel Mohnot, Nichole Wischoff, Ted Alling, and Rick Zullo for their help putting this together. Thanks bolt.new for supporting this episode (check out their Hackathon with $1m in prizes!) Full episode here on X, or grab a link in the replies. Timestamps: 4:24 The day Michael almost died 5:10 Call of Duty & video games 9:34 Hiring @ Cendana 10:31 How Cendana uses structured and unstructured data 16:51 How VCs are using AI 19:55 Why secondaries are driving most early stage venture returns 22:01 Deciding when to sell secondaries 24:28 Best performing venture funds ever 27:26 The best VCs have amazing access to the best founders 33:42 Why Cendana backs Solo GPs 35:57 How to invest over time and hype cycles 41:35 Why multi-stage firms are investing earlier 44:45 Cendana’s current thesis: High ownership % to fund size 45:51 Why Cendana started backing non-lead VCs 48:41 How Cendana does diligence on fund managers 52:22 VC NPS Scores and Ron Conway’s Silver Bullet 53:49 Good vs bad new VC firm strategies 56:36 Determining defensibility of a strategy 57:57 “Messy middle” software buyout fund 1:03:25 Portfolio construction best practice 1:08:11 Michael’s 60x Rule 1:14:28 How Seed funds compete with multi-stage funds 1:20:05 Should you collect logos writing small checks? 1:21:07 Becoming an LP for the city of SF 1:24:42 Taking 18+ months to raise Cendana Fund 1 in the GFC 1:26:48 Warehousing the first Cendana Fund 1 investments 1:29:56 How to do a first close 1:34:29 Why it’s hard to kill a VC firm 1:37:00 What happens to ZIRP tourist fund managers 1:40:22 How to raise a Fund 2 or 3 today 1:42:07 “US endowments are under siege” 1:44:55 What the best GP LP relationships look like 1:46:41 What Fund of Funds get wrong 1:50:43 The three most interesting trends in venture today

The Peel

61,859 views • 1 year ago

My guests on Uncapped this week are Kevin Hartz and Bennett Siegel, co-founders of the early stage VC firm A*. They've backed companies like Notion, Mercor, Ramp, Decagon, Similie, and many more. They also announced a new $450m fund today. We discussed the state of venture capital firms in the current AI cycle, what it means for seed specialists, trends with great founders, and what they're seeing in AI. Timestamps: (0:00) Intro (0:25) The A* Capital story (1:16) Why big funds went into seed (7:50) The mother of all bubbles (10:46) Why founders are getting younger (13:00) Mapping talent, not markets (16:31) The rise of AI researcher founders (19:16) Why seed investing is so hard (22:54) Concentration and venture returns (27:34) The AI rollup craze (31:15) AI vs traditional software (33:15) Robotics and the future of AI (35:39) What’s next for A*
36:59

My guests on Uncapped this week are Kevin Hartz and Bennett Siegel, co-founders of the early stage VC firm A*. They've backed companies like Notion, Mercor, Ramp, Decagon, Similie, and many more. They also announced a new $450m fund today. We discussed the state of venture capital firms in the current AI cycle, what it means for seed specialists, trends with great founders, and what they're seeing in AI. Timestamps: (0:00) Intro (0:25) The A* Capital story (1:16) Why big funds went into seed (7:50) The mother of all bubbles (10:46) Why founders are getting younger (13:00) Mapping talent, not markets (16:31) The rise of AI researcher founders (19:16) Why seed investing is so hard (22:54) Concentration and venture returns (27:34) The AI rollup craze (31:15) AI vs traditional software (33:15) Robotics and the future of AI (35:39) What’s next for A*

Jack Altman

57,630 views • 3 months ago

New episode of Uncapped with Trae Stephens and delian from Founders Fund, and my partner Everett Randle. We talked about Founders Fund, the role of VCs, operating versus investing, their current views on the market, and dynamics in the AI supply chain and China. The conversation stayed almost entirely on the rails and as always I learned a bunch from the way they think. Timestamps: (0:00) Intro (0:54) What makes FF unique (8:01) Why lacking EQ can be an asset (12:10) Delian on working with Keith (18:30) Why Trae hates board meetings (24:13) Benchmark vs. Founders Fund (26:31) Investing as the exhaust of operating (28:52) Venture as a micro asset class (30:42) The infamous 2021 offsite (34:21) Current market sentiment (39:18) Can you beat the S&P? (48:53) America's semiconductor blind spot (51:56) Taiwan and the 90% probability (57:58) Robotics, humanoids, and the China question
1:11:56

New episode of Uncapped with Trae Stephens and delian from Founders Fund, and my partner Everett Randle. We talked about Founders Fund, the role of VCs, operating versus investing, their current views on the market, and dynamics in the AI supply chain and China. The conversation stayed almost entirely on the rails and as always I learned a bunch from the way they think. Timestamps: (0:00) Intro (0:54) What makes FF unique (8:01) Why lacking EQ can be an asset (12:10) Delian on working with Keith (18:30) Why Trae hates board meetings (24:13) Benchmark vs. Founders Fund (26:31) Investing as the exhaust of operating (28:52) Venture as a micro asset class (30:42) The infamous 2021 offsite (34:21) Current market sentiment (39:18) Can you beat the S&P? (48:53) America's semiconductor blind spot (51:56) Taiwan and the 90% probability (57:58) Robotics, humanoids, and the China question

Jack Altman

277,844 views • 2 months ago

My conversation with Kate McAndrew (katepmcandrew). Kate McAndrew is the Co-Founder and General Partner of Baukunst, a $100 million pre-seed venture fund that backs founders at the earliest stages of company building. Over the past decade, she has invested in more than 100 pre-seed companies, giving her a front-row seat to what separates exceptional founders from everyone else. In this episode we discuss: - What makes a startup worth investing in - How investors actually evaluate founders - How to spot an exceptional entrepreneur - The secret to building institutions that outlive you - Kate's unconventional path into venture capital - The investing philosophy behind a $100M fund Enjoy! Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 1:37 Kate’s Biggest Struggle 3:55 How Going To An All-Girls School Impacted Kate's Life 8:38 What Going To An All-Girls School Is Actually Like 11:21 How Kate Thinks About Investing 12:41 What Makes A Great Founder 14:23 How Companies Survive 100+ Years 17:14 Kate’s Unconventional Path To VC 23:15 The Philosophy Of Building A Great Company 27:54 How Kate Got Her First Job In VC 30:04 Kate’s Best Advice For Entrepreneurs 33:29 What Makes A Brand’s Identity 36:49 Why Kate Makes Content 43:30 The Purpose Behind Baukunst 48:04 How Baukunst Operates Internally 52:34 What Kate’s Most Excited To Invest In 54:57 Every VC Hates A Creator Business 58:04 The Value Of Creator Businesses 59:37 Rapid Fire Questions
1:12:17

My conversation with Kate McAndrew (katepmcandrew). Kate McAndrew is the Co-Founder and General Partner of Baukunst, a $100 million pre-seed venture fund that backs founders at the earliest stages of company building. Over the past decade, she has invested in more than 100 pre-seed companies, giving her a front-row seat to what separates exceptional founders from everyone else. In this episode we discuss: - What makes a startup worth investing in - How investors actually evaluate founders - How to spot an exceptional entrepreneur - The secret to building institutions that outlive you - Kate's unconventional path into venture capital - The investing philosophy behind a $100M fund Enjoy! Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 1:37 Kate’s Biggest Struggle 3:55 How Going To An All-Girls School Impacted Kate's Life 8:38 What Going To An All-Girls School Is Actually Like 11:21 How Kate Thinks About Investing 12:41 What Makes A Great Founder 14:23 How Companies Survive 100+ Years 17:14 Kate’s Unconventional Path To VC 23:15 The Philosophy Of Building A Great Company 27:54 How Kate Got Her First Job In VC 30:04 Kate’s Best Advice For Entrepreneurs 33:29 What Makes A Brand’s Identity 36:49 Why Kate Makes Content 43:30 The Purpose Behind Baukunst 48:04 How Baukunst Operates Internally 52:34 What Kate’s Most Excited To Invest In 54:57 Every VC Hates A Creator Business 58:04 The Value Of Creator Businesses 59:37 Rapid Fire Questions

Erica Wenger

12,689 views • 1 month ago

Venture studios are quietly becoming one of the most effective models for company creation, but most people still don't understand what happens inside one. For this podcast episode I sat down with Andy Bilinsky, Partner at Interplay leading our Studio, to break down exactly how we build companies from the ground up. During our conversation, we covered: - What a venture studio actually is and how it differs from traditional VC - Why we research industries deeply before ever writing a business plan - The role of operating partners as true co-founders - Why second- and third-time founders are choosing to build with a studio instead of going solo - How Interplay went from 3 new companies in Q4 2025 to targeting 10+ in 2026 Big thanks to Andy for pulling back the curtain on how we build. Grateful to have him here at Interplay.
27:02

Venture studios are quietly becoming one of the most effective models for company creation, but most people still don't understand what happens inside one. For this podcast episode I sat down with Andy Bilinsky, Partner at Interplay leading our Studio, to break down exactly how we build companies from the ground up. During our conversation, we covered: - What a venture studio actually is and how it differs from traditional VC - Why we research industries deeply before ever writing a business plan - The role of operating partners as true co-founders - Why second- and third-time founders are choosing to build with a studio instead of going solo - How Interplay went from 3 new companies in Q4 2025 to targeting 10+ in 2026 Big thanks to Andy for pulling back the curtain on how we build. Grateful to have him here at Interplay.

Mark Peter Davis

54,633 views • 3 months ago

.William Hockey is one of the least visible founders in tech relative to what he has created. He co-founded Plaid and is now building Column, a software company that owns a bank, and powers Ramp, Wise, Bilt, Mercury, and others. He funded it himself by borrowing against nearly everything he had in Plaid shares, and has never raised any outside capital. His story matters because so much of the value in our industry gets created through exactly this kind of extreme personal risk. He is maniacal about being the best in the world at his thing, and has spent his entire career betting on himself and doing whatever it takes to win. He also spends a lot of time outside the US (in places like Kinshasa) which has given him a rare perch on the power of the US dollar. We discuss: - Why emerging markets are often the most financially innovative - What owning 100% of his company allows him to do that VC-backed founders cannot - Getting margin called and nearly going bankrupt - Why the best founders are specialists - What it takes to be the best in the world at your thing - How Silicon Valley's consensus culture produces consensus founders - How the US dollar functions as an instrument of national security Enjoy! Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 9:19 Emerging Markets 14:03 Silicon Valley's Elite Consensus Problem 16:03 Rejecting the VC Hamster Wheel 21:45 Equity and Liquidity 26:03 Funding a Bank 29:45 The Necessity of Extreme Founder Risk 37:18 Finding Leverage 45:20 Longevity and Profitability in Banking 48:46 Matching Your Capital Structure to Your Business 51:44 The Unseen Power of the US Dollar 1:02:30 How AI Will Transform Legacy Banks 1:09:23 The Kindest Thing
1:17:12

.William Hockey is one of the least visible founders in tech relative to what he has created. He co-founded Plaid and is now building Column, a software company that owns a bank, and powers Ramp, Wise, Bilt, Mercury, and others. He funded it himself by borrowing against nearly everything he had in Plaid shares, and has never raised any outside capital. His story matters because so much of the value in our industry gets created through exactly this kind of extreme personal risk. He is maniacal about being the best in the world at his thing, and has spent his entire career betting on himself and doing whatever it takes to win. He also spends a lot of time outside the US (in places like Kinshasa) which has given him a rare perch on the power of the US dollar. We discuss: - Why emerging markets are often the most financially innovative - What owning 100% of his company allows him to do that VC-backed founders cannot - Getting margin called and nearly going bankrupt - Why the best founders are specialists - What it takes to be the best in the world at your thing - How Silicon Valley's consensus culture produces consensus founders - How the US dollar functions as an instrument of national security Enjoy! Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 9:19 Emerging Markets 14:03 Silicon Valley's Elite Consensus Problem 16:03 Rejecting the VC Hamster Wheel 21:45 Equity and Liquidity 26:03 Funding a Bank 29:45 The Necessity of Extreme Founder Risk 37:18 Finding Leverage 45:20 Longevity and Profitability in Banking 48:46 Matching Your Capital Structure to Your Business 51:44 The Unseen Power of the US Dollar 1:02:30 How AI Will Transform Legacy Banks 1:09:23 The Kindest Thing

Patrick OShaughnessy

1,665,467 views • 5 months ago

Oren Zeev is truly one of a kind in venture capital. The man manages $1BN as a solo capitalist. He does not take a single $0 in fees. (unheard of) He has 30% carry. (wow) He is the largest LP in every single one of his funds. (13% per fund = over $20M per fund, wow again!!!) He does not adhere to traditional rules around deployment period or cross-fund investing. The man is the most authentic and awesome GP in venture. Spotify 👉 Youtube 👉 Apple Podcasts 👉 My 6 takeaways with oren zeev 👇 Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:38 Why the Best Investments Always Look "Wrong" at the Start 03:43 The AI Tsunami: How to Spot Beneficiaries vs Victims 06:57 The Death of Incumbents? Why Most AI Predictions Are Wrong 11:29 Why Chasing Hyper-Growth is a "Disaster Waiting to Happen" 18:43 The Biggest Mistakes From 2021 and Investing Lessons From It? 33:20 Is the Future of Venture Boutique or Mega Fund: Does the Middle Die? 35:54 The Great VC Shakeout: Why 50% of Funds Will Slowly Die 44:02 Why Oren Zeev Takes $0 in Management Fees 57:50 Why VCs Should Never Tell Their LPs What They Are Doing? 01:02:41 Quick-Fire Round 01:07:21 How I Missed Investing in Facebook and Lessons Learned
1:15:08

Oren Zeev is truly one of a kind in venture capital. The man manages $1BN as a solo capitalist. He does not take a single $0 in fees. (unheard of) He has 30% carry. (wow) He is the largest LP in every single one of his funds. (13% per fund = over $20M per fund, wow again!!!) He does not adhere to traditional rules around deployment period or cross-fund investing. The man is the most authentic and awesome GP in venture. Spotify 👉 Youtube 👉 Apple Podcasts 👉 My 6 takeaways with oren zeev 👇 Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:38 Why the Best Investments Always Look "Wrong" at the Start 03:43 The AI Tsunami: How to Spot Beneficiaries vs Victims 06:57 The Death of Incumbents? Why Most AI Predictions Are Wrong 11:29 Why Chasing Hyper-Growth is a "Disaster Waiting to Happen" 18:43 The Biggest Mistakes From 2021 and Investing Lessons From It? 33:20 Is the Future of Venture Boutique or Mega Fund: Does the Middle Die? 35:54 The Great VC Shakeout: Why 50% of Funds Will Slowly Die 44:02 Why Oren Zeev Takes $0 in Management Fees 57:50 Why VCs Should Never Tell Their LPs What They Are Doing? 01:02:41 Quick-Fire Round 01:07:21 How I Missed Investing in Facebook and Lessons Learned

Harry Stebbings

132,755 views • 7 months ago

E148: Brian Armstrong Brian Armstrong is the CoFounder & CEO of Coinbase 🛡️ Brian opens up about building and leading Coinbase through chaos, burnouts, lawsuits and political attacks while staying focused on the ultimate mission: creating more economic freedom in the World. Timestamps 0:00 Introduction 1:57 You Need Security? 3:45 Who Are You 5:21 More About Being An Introverted Kid 6:33 What Gave Brian The Chip On The Shoulder 11:38 Partnerships: Jupiter (🐱, 🐐) Paradex KAST 12:31 How Much Of Your Mission Is Driven By Your Past 15:25 The Baldness Story 17:24 Turning Bald Into A Superpower 21:30 Brian's Thoughts On Solo Founders 25:26 How Did Your Co-Founder Leaving Make You Feel 29:24 Another Tough Moment In The History Of Coinbase 31:09 Accepting Co-Founder Departure Without Feeling The Burnout 33:00 Partnerships: Trezor Bitwise Sui Story 34:15 How Brian Got Fascinated By Bitcoin & Blockchain 37:02 How Long Did It Take To Go All In 38:47 Creating More Economic Freedom In The World Meaning 44:16 The Role Of Privacy Creating More Economic Freedom 47:23 Coinbase Explained To Your Mom 52:05 Trying To Help But Running Into Unreasonable People 56:40 Lasting So Long Through Wall After Wall, How? 1:02:06 Big Things That Needed To Change Before Burnout 1:05:53 What Do The Audience Not Know About Being Brian 1:10:10 Gaining Self Irrational Beliefs 1:11:53 Something Brian Can’t Do 1:13:15 Things You Were Wrong About That Turned Into Successes 1:15:21 How Brian Felt On The IPO Day & The Day After 1:20:27 Do You Look Back At Many Milestones 1:21:56 When Is The Job Done For Brian 1:23:48 Having A Minimalist Lifestyle 1:25:50 One Secret To Building A Business Plus Finding The Right Partner 1:30:43 The Fundraising System For Entrepreneurs Is Broken 1:33:09 The Role Of Centralized Exchanges 1:35:26 Endgame For Coinbase 1:36:00 Are You Happy 1:37:33 The Impact Of Being Worth Billion On Your Fulfillment 1:40:53 One Thing You’re Holding On To That You Should Let Go Of 1:43:06 The Voice In Your Head Is Saying? 1:45:03 One Lesson To Takeaway 1:46:20 A Belief Brian Has That Most Don’t
1:51:23

E148: Brian Armstrong Brian Armstrong is the CoFounder & CEO of Coinbase 🛡️ Brian opens up about building and leading Coinbase through chaos, burnouts, lawsuits and political attacks while staying focused on the ultimate mission: creating more economic freedom in the World. Timestamps 0:00 Introduction 1:57 You Need Security? 3:45 Who Are You 5:21 More About Being An Introverted Kid 6:33 What Gave Brian The Chip On The Shoulder 11:38 Partnerships: Jupiter (🐱, 🐐) Paradex KAST 12:31 How Much Of Your Mission Is Driven By Your Past 15:25 The Baldness Story 17:24 Turning Bald Into A Superpower 21:30 Brian's Thoughts On Solo Founders 25:26 How Did Your Co-Founder Leaving Make You Feel 29:24 Another Tough Moment In The History Of Coinbase 31:09 Accepting Co-Founder Departure Without Feeling The Burnout 33:00 Partnerships: Trezor Bitwise Sui Story 34:15 How Brian Got Fascinated By Bitcoin & Blockchain 37:02 How Long Did It Take To Go All In 38:47 Creating More Economic Freedom In The World Meaning 44:16 The Role Of Privacy Creating More Economic Freedom 47:23 Coinbase Explained To Your Mom 52:05 Trying To Help But Running Into Unreasonable People 56:40 Lasting So Long Through Wall After Wall, How? 1:02:06 Big Things That Needed To Change Before Burnout 1:05:53 What Do The Audience Not Know About Being Brian 1:10:10 Gaining Self Irrational Beliefs 1:11:53 Something Brian Can’t Do 1:13:15 Things You Were Wrong About That Turned Into Successes 1:15:21 How Brian Felt On The IPO Day & The Day After 1:20:27 Do You Look Back At Many Milestones 1:21:56 When Is The Job Done For Brian 1:23:48 Having A Minimalist Lifestyle 1:25:50 One Secret To Building A Business Plus Finding The Right Partner 1:30:43 The Fundraising System For Entrepreneurs Is Broken 1:33:09 The Role Of Centralized Exchanges 1:35:26 Endgame For Coinbase 1:36:00 Are You Happy 1:37:33 The Impact Of Being Worth Billion On Your Fulfillment 1:40:53 One Thing You’re Holding On To That You Should Let Go Of 1:43:06 The Voice In Your Head Is Saying? 1:45:03 One Lesson To Takeaway 1:46:20 A Belief Brian Has That Most Don’t

MR SHIFT 🦁

229,818 views • 9 months ago

While active at Benchmark, Bill Gurley would give an annual “state of the markets” presentation to his investors. This conversation renews that format, with Bill exploring what he sees as both worrying and exciting about the investing landscape, with a special focus on private assets. Timestamps 0:00 Intro 0:23 State of the Union: VC Edition 2:58 The Rise of Mega VC Funds 4:38 Zombie Unicorns 12:29 The IPO and M&A Market Stalemate 19:08 The AI Wave and Its Impact 21:03 Private Markets and LP Liquidity Issues 24:57 The Future of Capital Markets 32:49 Advice for Founders in a Changing Landscape 34:27 The High-Stakes Game of Capital Battles 37:57 Challenges & Opportunities in AI Revenue Models 39:37 The Role of Founders in the AI Revolution 41:44 The Impact of Time and Liquidity on Venture Capital 45:35 Navigating the Future of Venture Capital 53:45 International Dynamics in the AI Race 1:08:58 Advice for Founders in the AI Era
1:26:38

While active at Benchmark, Bill Gurley would give an annual “state of the markets” presentation to his investors. This conversation renews that format, with Bill exploring what he sees as both worrying and exciting about the investing landscape, with a special focus on private assets. Timestamps 0:00 Intro 0:23 State of the Union: VC Edition 2:58 The Rise of Mega VC Funds 4:38 Zombie Unicorns 12:29 The IPO and M&A Market Stalemate 19:08 The AI Wave and Its Impact 21:03 Private Markets and LP Liquidity Issues 24:57 The Future of Capital Markets 32:49 Advice for Founders in a Changing Landscape 34:27 The High-Stakes Game of Capital Battles 37:57 Challenges & Opportunities in AI Revenue Models 39:37 The Role of Founders in the AI Revolution 41:44 The Impact of Time and Liquidity on Venture Capital 45:35 Navigating the Future of Venture Capital 53:45 International Dynamics in the AI Race 1:08:58 Advice for Founders in the AI Era

Patrick OShaughnessy

389,091 views • 1 year ago

Last week, CZ 🔶 BNB ran a workshop for EASY Residency Season 3 founders. He shared his 0-to-1 playbook from Binance, and what he keeps seeing across founders he backs now. Highlights from the session: 00:30 Great founding teams are complementary 04:20 Teams don't break under pressure -- they break under boredom 08:45 Win by serving users well and iterating fast on what they love 16:10 Why projects fail after early traction 20:50 The signal of early product-market fit 25:45 The tradeoff between privacy and usability in crypto 30:05 Passion as the foundation for long-term discipline A look inside EASY Residency as CZ answers questions from early-stage founders in frontier tech 👇
31:47

Last week, CZ 🔶 BNB ran a workshop for EASY Residency Season 3 founders. He shared his 0-to-1 playbook from Binance, and what he keeps seeing across founders he backs now. Highlights from the session: 00:30 Great founding teams are complementary 04:20 Teams don't break under pressure -- they break under boredom 08:45 Win by serving users well and iterating fast on what they love 16:10 Why projects fail after early traction 20:50 The signal of early product-market fit 25:45 The tradeoff between privacy and usability in crypto 30:05 Passion as the foundation for long-term discipline A look inside EASY Residency as CZ answers questions from early-stage founders in frontier tech 👇

YZi Labs

131,477 views • 4 months ago

I spent 7 years helping people finding co-founders (1,000 startups, $10B) Then I went all-in on Solo Founders. Solo Founders Podcast ep 8 live. I swapped seats and was interviewed by David J Phillips (solo founder of Fondo.com) We talk about: 01:46 The Co-Founder Myth & Origins of ODF 06:23 The Moment That Sparked Solo Founders 08:30 The New $100K Investment 12:31 Why There's No Demo Day 17:34 Solo Founders Program 20:59 Why Startups Really Implode 27:15 The Solo Founding Trend & Denominator Delusion 30:55 When to Raise a Seed Round 32:10 True Solo, Free Solo, Juiced Solo 36:40 The Tailwinds Behind Solo Founding 40:03 The Bear Case for Solo Founding 43:12 The Bull Case: The Company Only Dies If You Do 47:14 Solo Together, Not Solo Alone 49:08 Outro & How to Apply
50:01

I spent 7 years helping people finding co-founders (1,000 startups, $10B) Then I went all-in on Solo Founders. Solo Founders Podcast ep 8 live. I swapped seats and was interviewed by David J Phillips (solo founder of Fondo.com) We talk about: 01:46 The Co-Founder Myth & Origins of ODF 06:23 The Moment That Sparked Solo Founders 08:30 The New $100K Investment 12:31 Why There's No Demo Day 17:34 Solo Founders Program 20:59 Why Startups Really Implode 27:15 The Solo Founding Trend & Denominator Delusion 30:55 When to Raise a Seed Round 32:10 True Solo, Free Solo, Juiced Solo 36:40 The Tailwinds Behind Solo Founding 40:03 The Bear Case for Solo Founding 43:12 The Bull Case: The Company Only Dies If You Do 47:14 Solo Together, Not Solo Alone 49:08 Outro & How to Apply

weisser

48,621 views • 4 months ago

Bob McGrew (Bob McGrew) helped build some of the most influential technologies of the past two decades. He was an early engineer at PayPal, an early executive at Palantir—where he helped pioneer the Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) model— and was recently Chief Research Officer at OpenAI - where he led the development of ChatGPT, GPT-4, and o1. On this episode of Lightcone Podcast, he explains how FDEs became central to today's startups, why "doing things that don't scale at scale" works, and where he sees the biggest opportunities for founders working in AI. 00:29 – From PayPal to Palantir to OpenAI 02:19 – The Role of a Forward Deployed Engineer 03:19 – How Palantir Invented It 07:56 – Product Discovery in the Field vs. Sales 09:51 – Echo and Delta Teams Explained 13:34 – Training Ground for Founders 14:35 – Consulting or Real Software? 17:54 – The Birth of Palantir’s Ontology 23:04 – Why AI Companies Adopt It 36:17 – What Success Metrics Look Like 41:14 – Building with Demo-Driven Development 44:56 – Joining the US Army Reserve 47:43 – Opportunities for Founders
50:42

Bob McGrew (Bob McGrew) helped build some of the most influential technologies of the past two decades. He was an early engineer at PayPal, an early executive at Palantir—where he helped pioneer the Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) model— and was recently Chief Research Officer at OpenAI - where he led the development of ChatGPT, GPT-4, and o1. On this episode of Lightcone Podcast, he explains how FDEs became central to today's startups, why "doing things that don't scale at scale" works, and where he sees the biggest opportunities for founders working in AI. 00:29 – From PayPal to Palantir to OpenAI 02:19 – The Role of a Forward Deployed Engineer 03:19 – How Palantir Invented It 07:56 – Product Discovery in the Field vs. Sales 09:51 – Echo and Delta Teams Explained 13:34 – Training Ground for Founders 14:35 – Consulting or Real Software? 17:54 – The Birth of Palantir’s Ontology 23:04 – Why AI Companies Adopt It 36:17 – What Success Metrics Look Like 41:14 – Building with Demo-Driven Development 44:56 – Joining the US Army Reserve 47:43 – Opportunities for Founders

Y Combinator

409,322 views • 1 year ago

He's built 2 companies that have reached over $1B+ in FDV each, and continues to build the future of gaming. I sat down with Jihoz.ron, co-founder of Ronin and Axie Infinity, to discuss leadership, marketing, the future of crypto & more. 00:00 Coming up 1:17 Who's Jihoz, and what has the journey been like 2:25 How was it starting Axie and Ronin 4:17 Why was Axie such a success 6:50 How Axie went to market and gathered mass attention 9:40 New Aixe MMO coming soon 11:50 Who Jihoz looks up to in business 14:15 Why do you think businesses shut down so easily in web3 16:20 How to spot teams with strong potential 18:00 Traits of successful founders 20:20 Biggest lessons after build 2, $1B+ companies 22:54 How was it being invite to have dinner with Trump 24:30 Thoughts on another mass onboarding phase of crypto 26:45 What the future looks like for Jihoz 30:25 One piece of advice for founders building today
32:52

He's built 2 companies that have reached over $1B+ in FDV each, and continues to build the future of gaming. I sat down with Jihoz.ron, co-founder of Ronin and Axie Infinity, to discuss leadership, marketing, the future of crypto & more. 00:00 Coming up 1:17 Who's Jihoz, and what has the journey been like 2:25 How was it starting Axie and Ronin 4:17 Why was Axie such a success 6:50 How Axie went to market and gathered mass attention 9:40 New Aixe MMO coming soon 11:50 Who Jihoz looks up to in business 14:15 Why do you think businesses shut down so easily in web3 16:20 How to spot teams with strong potential 18:00 Traits of successful founders 20:20 Biggest lessons after build 2, $1B+ companies 22:54 How was it being invite to have dinner with Trump 24:30 Thoughts on another mass onboarding phase of crypto 26:45 What the future looks like for Jihoz 30:25 One piece of advice for founders building today

Juan

17,203 views • 1 year ago