Panic with Friends - Howard Lindzon

Latest Episodes:

Jim Lanzone, CEO of Tinder, on the Internet’s Battle for Attention (EP.153) Jun 10, 2021

Show notes

Jim Lanzone is somewhat of a legend in the internet industry. He’s racked up over 20 years of experience in the space, with former CEO titles at companies like Ask.com (formerly Ask Jeeves), Clicker Media (which he founded) and CBS Interactive (where he was my boss for a brief moment). Currently, he is the CEO of the popular online dating and networking app, Tinder. It was great to have someone like Jim on to not only offer his insights on all things media, streaming, and the internet – but also help give some tips to our Panic co-host Nikita on her own adventures into the world of online dating. In this episode, we chatted with Jim about branding, growth, the early days of video, his experiences as a CEO, content consumption, generational trends in dating, brands he’s rooting for and more. Enjoy!

Guest - Jim Lanzone, CEO of Tinder

howardlindzon.com, tinder.com

Twitter: @howardlindzon, @jlanzone, @Tinder, @knutjensen @Nikita_Arora17

linkedin.com/in/jimlanzone

#fintech #invest #investment #venturecapital #stockmarket #finance

Charlie Bilello of Compound Capital Advisors on Inflation and Irrational Exuberance (EP.152) Jun 03, 2021

Show notes

My good friend Charlie Bilello is back for his second episode of Panic with Friends. He originally came on way back for episode two of our show and offered insights on the markets during peak COVID panic. If you go back and listen, you’ll see Charlie actually got a lot right. So now I figured it would be a good time to check back in with him as we make our way out of the COVID panic. Charlie has over a decade of experience as an analyst, lawyer, CPA, and overall nerd about the markets and money. But he’s more than just my crazy smart friend, I’ve also partnered with Charlie at his company Compound Capital Advisors. There, he oversees all facets of the firm, from research, to portfolio management, to product development, to content creation, to investor relationships. In this episode, we talk about inflation, the markets, crypto, shifts in trends, SPACs, irrational exuberance, bonds, the next generation of investors, and more. Enjoy!

Guest - Charlie Bilello, Founder and CEO at Compound Capital Advisors

howardlindzon.com, compoundadvisors.com, compoundadvisors.com/newsletter

Twitter: @howardlindzon, @charliebilello, @knutjensen, @Nikita_Arora17

#fintech #invest #investment #venturecapital #stockmarket #finance

Dan McMurtrie of Tyro Partners on Information Overload and Behavioral Investing (EP.151) May 27, 2021

Show notes

Dan McMurtie is a 28-year-old founder, portfolio manager, and Twitter legend more commonly known to his nearly 60,000 followers as @SuperMugatu. He’s an insanely funny, original and inspiring guy who knows a lot about social media, maintaining an audience and the behavioral side of investing. Dan’s New York-based hedge fund, Tyro Partners LLC, focuses on trends and supply chains driving technology, healthcare, industrial, and consumer markets. In this episode, we cover a lot of topics: Dan’s big social media break, Wall Street culture, crypto, information overload, the 90% rule, Warren Buffett’s cult-like branding, the markets, and more. Enjoy!

Guest - Dan McMurtrie, Co-founder and CEO at Tyro Partners LLC

howardlindzon.com, tyropartners.com

Twitter: @howardlindzon, @SuperMugatu, @tyropartners, @AnchorlessBD, @knutjensen, @Nikita_Arora17

linkedin.com/in/danmcmurtrie

#fintech #invest #investment #venturecapital #stockmarket #finance

Kyle Samani of Multicoin Capital on the future of Crypto (EP.150) May 20, 2021

Show notes

Happy 150th episode of Panic with Friends! Thank you all for putting up with me 150 episodes; here’s to the next 150. For this episode, we are continuing to dive into crypto – a topic I’ve been fascinated by and discussing on the podcast for a while now. I’ve been astounded by the traction crypto has gotten, and there’s no better person to help give some context to what’s going on in this growing space than Kyle Samani. Kyle is co-founder and managing partner at Multicoin Capital, a firm that invests in all things crypto (including companies and tokens). I am a personal LP in his fund starting in 2017, and they have had positive results for me so far including the brutal bear market in crypto that began in January 2018. His firm is continuing to see excellent growth, just recently raising their second fund. He also came on the podcast back in October to discuss the “Wild West” of crypto and express his skepticism. A lot has changed just in those 8 months since his first appearance. This time around, we talked about how the crypto industry has evolved, what we can expect from crypto in the future, spotting trends, raising his second fund, decentralization and more. Enjoy!

Guest - Kyle Samani, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Multicoin Capital

howardlindzon.com, multicoin.capital

Twitter: @howardlindzon, @kylesamani, @Nikita_Arora17, @knutjensen

linkedin.com/in/kylesamani

#fintech #invest #investment #venturecapital #stockmarket #finance

Nithin Kamath of Zerodha on India’s Growing Market Opportunities (EP.149) May 13, 2021

Show notes

Not only are we on the heels of our 150th episode, but we’re bringing in a new face (or rather voice) to join Knut and me in hosting Panic with Friends – Nikita Arora. Nikita is a fellow Canadian working at Social Leverage in a Principal role helping us as we raise fund four and grow our firm. In this episode of Panic, entrepreneur, founder, and CEO of Zerodha Nithin Kamath calls in and joins us all the way from Bengaluru, india. Nithin spent over a decade trading the markets for a living since he was 17 years old. After feeling the fatigue of day trading, Nithin started his company Zerodha with the intention of being a catalyst for change and started a brokerage firm that traders didn't have. Zerodha focuses on building the best tools and services for traders and investors in India. In short, Zerodha basically puts Robinhood to shame. On top of the amazing work Nithin does at Zerodha, he’s also a great person to look to for thought leadership. You can check out his views and insights in building businesses and trading the markets through his podcasts, social media, and blog posts over on his website. In this episode, the Social Leverage team and I talk with Nithin about trading in indian markets, entrepreneurship, his company and their overall strategy, crypto, India’s COVID crisis and more. Enjoy!

Guest - Nithin Kamath, Founder and CEO at Zerodha

howardlindzon.com, zerodha.com, rainmatter.org

Twitter: @howardlindzon, @Nithin0dha, @zerodhaonline, @Rainmatterin, @knutjensen, @Nikita_Arora17

linkedin.com/in/nithin-kamath-81136242

#fintech #invest #investment #venturecapital #stockmarket #finance

Katherine Rosa, Social Leverage’s SPAC (SLAC) Board Member & former JP Morgan Global Head of Alternative Investments, on Navigating Risk in the Growing World of Alternative Investments (EP.148) May 06, 2021

Show notes

In this episode I had the pleasure of bringing on Katherine Rosa, a great investor, advisor and friend. Katherine is the former Global Head of Alternative Investments at JP Morgan and a current Board Member for Social Leverage’s SPAC. She has been in the banking world for quite some time, starting out at JP Morgan as a product specialist in the early 90s. So it’s great to have someone who is as knowledgeable and experienced as Katherine not only a part of our Social Leverage team, but also as a guest on Panic with Friends. And even more exciting, this is Katherine’s first ever time on a podcast! In this episode, we talk about the world of alternative investments, retail and institutional investors, her time working at JP Morgan, the best and worst parts of her work, risk, her first great investment, what trends she’s excited about and more. Enjoy!

Guest - Katherine Rosa, Board Member at NYSE: SLAC and Retired, Global Head of Alternative Investments at JP Morgan.

howardlindzon.com

Twitter: @howardlindzon, @knutjensen

linkedin.com/in/katherine-rosa-72732721

#fintech #invest #investment #venturecapital #stockmarket #finance

Gregg Spiridellis of HiHo, StoryBots and JibJab, on the Old and New Internet (EP.147) Apr 29, 2021

Show notes

Gregg is a super talented and creative entrepreneur, founder and storyteller. A former Goldman Sachs analyst, Gregg had a career shift and now works at the intersection of all things art, tech, and entertainment. Gregg is the co-creator, former CEO, writer and producer of Netflix’s StoryBots and co-founder and former CEO of JibJab, which was founded in 1999 and became somewhat of a legend in the history of the Internet. Now, Gregg is creating the Internet’s next best thing: HiHo. Gregg is HiHo’s CEO and co-founder, and I am also one of their investors. HiHo allows you to be in control of the conversations you engage with online, offering “asynchronous, threaded, vertical video conversations organized around areas of interest.” In this episode, Gregg and I talk about the future of video, apps, entrepreneurship, his companies, the old internet, what makes good content, algorithms, NFTs, decentralization and more.

Guest - Gregg Spiridellis, CEO and Co-founder at HiHo, Writer and Producer at StoryBots, and Co-founder of JibJab Media Inc.

howardlindzon.com, hiho.video

Twitter: @howardlindzon, @3GS, @HiHoVideo, @knutjensen

linkedin.com/in/greggspiridellis

#fintech #invest #investment #venturecapital #stockmarket #finance

Brad Feld of Foundry Group on Decentralization in a Post-COVID World (EP.146) Apr 22, 2021

Show notes

I had the joy of having my great friend Brad Feld join me for his FOURTH appearance on Panic With Friends. Brad is Boulder-based early-stage investor, entrepreneur, writer, and speaker. More specifically, he is managing director of Foundry Group, founder of Techstars, and writer for the Startup Revolution series and his blog Feld Thoughts. Brad has also been a mentor and supporter of mine, investing in my previous company Wallstrip as well as Stocktwits. With over 30 years of experience in the field, Brad has dealt with and invested through his fair share of panics. So I couldn’t think of anyone better to talk to about the future coming out of the COVID pandemic. In this episode, Brad and I talk about his family and what their past year has looked like, building stronger communities, our post-COVID future, startup culture, decentralization and more.

Guest - Brad Feld, Managing Director at Foundry Group - Tech Stars, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, author

howardlindzon.com, foundrygroup.com, feld.com

Twitter: @howardlindzon, @bfeld, @knutjensen

linkedin.com/in/bfeld

#fintech #invest #investment #venturecapital #stockmarket #finance

Daniel Cohen of Cohen and Company on the Past, Present, and Future of the SPAC Craze (EP.145) Apr 15, 2021

Show notes

If you want to learn about SPACs, look to Daniel Cohen. He has been with the SPAC phenomenon since the beginning and has been a major player in really innovating this space. He even inspired me to launch Social Leverage’s SPAC. In this episode, Daniel helps give some context into how the SPAC craze got to where it is today. Daniel is the Chairman of Cohen & Company and Managing Member of FinTech Masala, two SPAC powerhouses focused on Insurance and FinTech SPACs, president and CEO at FTAC Hera Acquisition Corp, chairman of Bancorp and former CEO of RAIT Financial Trust. Daniel’s a hustler, having launched 10 SPACs since his first deal in 2015 and currently working on his next. But as impressive as his resumé is, the most impressive aspect of Daniel’s career to me is that he works with his family. In fact, Daniel’s most notable and high-profile merger deal with eToro was with his mom Betsy Cohen. In this episode, Daniel and I chat about the SPAC craze’s opportunities and areas of concern, big data, money management, COVID’s impact on tech and business travel, working with his family and more.

Guest - Daniel G Cohen, President and CEO at FTAC Hera Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: HERA) and Chairman at Cohen & Company (Ticker - COHN)

howardlindzon.com, cohenandcompany.com

Twitter: @howardlindzon, @DanielCohenFTAC, @CohenCompanyAM, @knutjensen

linkedin.com/in/daniel-g-cohen

linkedIn.com/company/cohen-and-company-asset-management

#fintech #invest #investment #venturecapital #stockmarket #finance

Jens Hilgers of BITKRAFT Ventures on the Future of Gaming and ESports (EP.144) Apr 08, 2021

Show notes

Jens Hilgers is a Berlin-based serial gaming entrepreneur. He’s been investing at the center of tech, gaming and esports since the late ‘90s – so he has seen esports journeys to the mainstream and sees where it’s going. Over the years, Jens has racked up a laundry list of titles, including co-founder and former CEO of ESL, co-founder and Chairman of G2 Esports and co-founder and former CEO of Bayes. Most notably, he is the founding general partner of the global early- and mid-stage gaming-focused investment company BITKRAFT Ventures. Jens has helped the firm reach impressive and success numbers. He oversaw the firm’s growth to a portfolio of over 50 companies. More recently, he helped BITKRAFT raise a $165M Venture Fund I in 2020. For someone who is widely considered one of esports’ first entrepreneurs, I can firmly say Jens lives up to the hype. In this episode, we talk about how COVID accelerated the esports trend, predictions of the future of esports, gaming EFTs, cloud gaming, virtual reality, digital citizenship, emerging markets and more.

Guest - Jens Hilgers, Founding General Partner Bitkraft Ventures

howardlindzon.com, Bitkraft.vc, masterthemeta.com

Twitter: @howardlindzon, @JensHilgers, @BitkraftVC, @knutjensen

linkedin.com/in/jenshilgers

linkedin.com/company/bitkraftvc

#fintech #invest #investment #venturecapital #stockmarket #finance