Something Ventured - Silicon Valley Podcast

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#96 Monique Woodard, Venture Capitalist Apr 23, 2019

Show notes

Monique Woodard fell into venture capital. Or...wait. Actually, no. Monique grew up in rural Florida. Starting with an Atari game system and moving to a Commodore computer, she learned to write computer code This, in a place where coding was far from the norm, and computer class required a drive into town. She eventually became a venture capitalist, investing in such companies as: Blavity, Court Buddy, Silvernest, and Mented Cosmetics.

In this podcast we discuss Monique's journey from the farms of rural Northern Florida to Miami's music scene, to Silicon Valley. We discuss how she established herself as an entrepreneur, and founded the organization Black Founders, eventually becoming a venture capitalist. We cover a wide range of topics, including her demographic investment thesis, and why it should not be conflated with 'diversity initiatives'.

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In the Something Ventured podcast Silicon Valley insider Kent Lindstrom explores the reality behind the Silicon Valley headlines as he sits down with the people who are shaping the way we view the world online...and beyond.

#95 Alan Eagle on Bill Campbell, "Trillion Dollar Coach" Apr 15, 2019

Show notes

Alan Eagle is Director of Executive Communications at Google. He is the coauthor of Trillion Dollar Coach, a book he co-wrote with Google's former CEO Eric Schmidt and Google's former SVP Jonathan Rosenberg. Trillion Dollar Coach tells the story of Bill Campbell – a football coach who became an executive at Apple, and then one of the most beloved coaches to a "who's who" of Silicon Valley.

Among those coached by Bill Campbell are Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Eric Schmidt, Sundar Pichai at Google; Steve Jobs at Apple; Brad Smith at Intuit; John Donahoe at eBay; and Marissa Mayer at Yahoo.

In this podcast, Alan discusses what made Bill Campbell so special. How did a football coach become beloved in Silicon Valley? Why is Bill Campbell called a 'trillion dollar coach"? Finally, Alan discusses and what lessons we can take from Bill today: How to run a meeting, the meaning of leadership…and the power of love.

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In the Something Ventured Podcast (https://somethingventured.us) Silicon Valley insider Kent Lindstrom explores the reality behind the Silicon Valley headlines as he sits down with the people who are shaping the way we view the world online...and beyond

#94: James Currier -- The Soul of Silicon Valley Apr 11, 2019

Show notes

James Currier is a partner at NFX a venture firm he co-founded with partners Gigi Levy-Weiss and Pete Flint, and advisor Stan Chudnovsky. As an investor, he has funded companies before or alongside firms like Sequoia, Greylock, CRV, A16z, First Round, Mayfield, Shasta, and GGV. He's also a four-time serial entrepreneur with unique expertise in network effects businesses (his firm has identified 13 different network effects models https://www.nfx.com/post/network-effects-manual )

James is also deeply understands the ebbs and flows of Silicon Valley: Its technology, its trends, its tribes. In this episode James and Kent cover myriad topics – including James' perspectives on why Silicon Valley works, who should (and shouldn't) come to Silicon Valley, and whether or not Silicon Valley has lost its soul.

In the Something Ventured Podcast (https://somethingventured.us) Silicon Valley insider Kent Lindstrom explores the reality behind the Silicon Valley headlines as he sits down with the people changing the way we view the world online…and beyond.

#93 Miyoko Schinner's Entrepreneurial Journey Feb 26, 2019

Show notes

Miyoko Schinner is the founder and CEO of Miyoko's – a vegan creamery that is leading the way to a dairy-free future.

She an award-winning celebrity chef, restauranteur, cookbook author, and TV host. She brought all these experiences to bear as she founded and built Miyoko's from a small storefront to over 100 employees distributing vegan cheese around the country. Miyoko's has raised venture capital from firms like Obvious (Ev William's venture firm) and Stray Dog capital.

In this conversation Miyoko and Kent discuss her entrepreneurial journey from delivering bread in a backpack in Tokyo, to founding and building one of the fastest growing venture-backed food production companies in America.

#92 Carter Cohen -- Gen Z Up Close Feb 07, 2019

Show notes

Whether you call it "Gen Z" or "Post Millenial" -- Carter Cohen is one of them, embedded and here to tell you about the world as he sees it.

Carter is the kind of guy who makes you feel bad about what you were doing in college. He's a biochemistry major at Georgetown, speaks 3 languages, studies electrochemistry and...well he's a member of Gen Z, also called "post millennial".

In this wide-ranging conversation, Kent and Carter discuss the myths and realities about how Gen Z uses technology, what they expect from the future of work and....much more.

#91 Ryan Bethencourt -- Wild Earth Founder on Meatless Dog Food and More Nov 27, 2018

Show notes

Ryan Bethencourt is the CEO of Wild Earth, a biotech startup developing meatless dog food. Its investors include Peter Thiel, Founders Fund, and Felicis Ventures. He is a Partner at Babel Ventures and Investor/Advisor to over 80 biotech startups. He also co-founded the Biotech accelerator Indiebio.

We discuss why meatless pet food isn't as crazy as it sounds, the idea that animal-free meat is coming way faster than you think, and the decision between being a VC or an entrepreneur. We also discuss the path from legalizing marijuana to legalizing psychedelics.

In the Something Ventured podcast, Silicon Valley insider Kent Lindstrom takes a look behind the scenes in Silicon Valley as he sits down with the people who are shaping the way we view the world online..and beyond.

#90 Codepath's Michael Ellison -- Racism, poverty and Silicon Valley Oct 09, 2018

Show notes

You may think you know about diversity in Silicon Valley, but you may not have heard it this straight up and candid before. Michael Ellison is African American and grew up poor as far from Silicon Valley as possible. Here he discusses how he made his unlikely way to Silicon Valley to become CEO of Codepath.org. Codepath is the the hugely influential engineering training organization working with Silicon Valley's tech giants, and universities across the country. We discuss problems with diversity programs, income inequality and racism on the road to Silicon Valley. A bonus : what you should really think of the movie Black Panther.

#89 -- Silicon Valley Goes to Burning Man Aug 22, 2018

Show notes

In this replay episode, Kent Lindstrom and Michael White have a bit of fun at the expense of Burning Man. Burning Man is the the, um, art fest in the desert to which half of Silicon Valley decamps each year.

We discuss the history of Burning Man, what might make people go to Burning Man, and the myriad benefits of hanging out in San Francisco while everyone else is away.

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In the Something Ventured podcast, Silicon Valley insider Kent Lindstrom goes behind the scenes as he sits down with the people who are shaping the way we view the world online....and beyond.

#88 Rick Marini of Protocol Ventures 2 of 2 Aug 14, 2018

Show notes

Rick Marini is the founder of Protocol Ventures -- a cryptocurrency fund-of-funds, which is rapidly becoming a dominant force in the emerging cryptocurrency space. Previously, Rick has been an entrepreneur building and selling multiple companies, including early social network Tickle and professional networking site Branchout. Along the way, he has been a prolific angel investor, investing early in companies like Snapchat. For these efforts, Rick was recently named one of the Top 50 Angel Investors by Forbes.

In our wide ranging conversation, we cover various trends in Silicon Valley, and dig in on cryptocurrency. We discuss the value of a 'fund-of-funds" for an emerging asset class like cryptocurrency, the brief history of cryptocurrency, why crypto is such a huge deal and a lot more. We also answer the question: "Is Rick Marini Satoshi"?

In the Something Ventured podcast, Silicon Valley Insider Kent Lindstrom goes behind the scenes in Silicon Valley as he goes behind the scenes with the people who are shaping the way we view the world online...and beyond.

#87 Rick Marini of Protocol Ventures 1 of 2 Aug 07, 2018

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