The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified

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Replay — GP and LP Alignment, Challenges for Emerging Fund Managers, and How the Explosion in Seed Fund Volume Plays Out (Jaclyn Hester) Dec 23, 2021

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On this special replay, Jaclyn Hester of Foundry Group joins Nick on a special Crisis Coverage installment to discuss GP and LP Alignment, Challenges for Emerging Fund Managers, and How the Explosion in Seed Fund Volume Plays Out. Guest Update: Jaclyn is now Partner at Foundry Group. Congratulations Jaclyn! In this episode, we cover:

Tell us about your background and path to VC
For those who don't know talk about the approach at Foundry with both the LP and GP model
Foundry traditionally had no apprenticeship model and no junior investors… were you the first?
Pandemic… Are you making investments currently and what are you hearing from other LPs?
What's your advice for GPs re. building relationships and momentum w/ LPs during these uncertain times?
What's the biggest mistake emerging managers make when fundraising?
What do new fund managers underestimate when starting a venture firm?
Does it matter how specific a thesis is? Do you need to see a unique, focused and compelling edge or are you just as receptive to a generalist w/ a strong network and track record?
What question tends to trip up GPs?
What are some of the most important things GPs should ask LPs when raising?
What do you think are the most important things GPs and LPs need to be aligned on for a successful relationship?
How does the explosion in volume of seed funds affect you approach to selection?
How do you think this plays out — most funds fail? Returns more evenly distributed? Power law no longer applies (or is less pronounced)?
Fast forward 5 years and let's assume there's been a fundamental shift in early stage Venture. What do you think is the most likely, largest change that's occurred?
What advice do you have for young people that aspire to be a VC someday?
Not going to ask for favorite GPs but, I will ask, if you could break quarantine to grab a cocktail w/ one GP — who do you choose? ; )
3 Data Points…
- You're approached by an emerging VC firm raising fund II. The fund manager did not work for a large, brand-name venture firm before and she has never had an institutional investor. Net TVPI is 1.4, and Net IRR is 35% and it's a 2018 vintage.
- The catch is you can only ask 3 questions (for 3 additional data points) to make your decision.
- What 3 questions do you ask?

Replay — NEA's Investment Process & The Key Ingredients for Startup Success (Ben Narasin) Dec 20, 2021

Show notes

In this special replay of Episode 154, Ben Narasin of NEA joins Nick to discuss NEA's Investment Process & The Key Ingredients for Startup Success. In this episode we cover: - Why he made the move to NEA - His Investment focus - The investment process the firm and if decisions are made by committee - Ben's Evaluation Process - The key factor that every successful founder possesses - The common red flags that pop up and cause him to say no to strong startups - Why he believes his job is to say no - How he assess opportunities with 100 reasons to say yes and one reason to say no - Ben's evolving approach toward weighing risk factors in startups - How the tech and investing industry has changed over the past decade - How AUM is driving a bifurcation in venture

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Investor Stories 223: Post Mortems (Smerklo, Maughan, Larco, Wiener) Dec 16, 2021

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On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:

Mike Smerklo
Spencer Maughan
Vanessa Larco
Ben Wiener

Each investor discusses a portfolio company that did not survive and why it was that they failed.

Did you miss our guests full length episodes? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

312. The Embedded Opportunity in Insurtech, Crypto & Web 3.0 Applications, and the Future of Fintech (Ruth Foxe Blader) Dec 13, 2021

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Ruth Foxe Blader of Anthemis joins Nick to discuss The Embedded Opportunity in Insurtech, Crypto & Web 3.0 Applications, and the Future of Fintech. In this episode we cover:

Ruth's Background and path from English Major to VC
What trends she's following in Fintech and Insurtech
Opportunities for developing market founders & more!

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Investor Stories 222: Strange & Unusual (Mead, Sippel, Wilkins) Dec 09, 2021

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Each investor describes the most unusual situation or pitch that they've encountered as an investor.

311. Founding DocSend, Creating a Winning PLG Motion, and Data From 1000's of Pitch Decks (Russ Heddleston) Dec 06, 2021

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Russ Heddleston of Dropbox joins Nick to discuss Founding DocSend, Creating a Winning PLG Motion, and Data From 1000's of Pitch Decks. In this episode we cover:

Can you tell us a bit about your background and your path to founding DocSend?
How did you think about the PLG strategy for DocSend?
Why did you release the Seed Fundraising Report?
What are the typical numbers like for a seed round? How much are they raising? How many investors are people meeting with?
What makes for a successful pitch deck?
How to find a good co-founder?
Learnings from DocSend and a word of advice to founders.

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Investor Stories 221: Lessons Learned (Requarth, Mehta, Levine) Dec 02, 2021

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Each investor illustrates a critical lesson learned about startup investing and how it's changed their approach.

310. Why We Invested in Urban Sky (Andrew Antonio & Nate Williams) Nov 29, 2021

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Andrew Antonio of Urban Sky and Nate Williams of Union Labs join Nick to discuss Why We Invested in Urban Sky. In this episode we cover:

What is Urban Sky?
How did Andrew and Nate originally connect?
The thesis at Union Labs.
What does the future hold for Urban Sky?

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Investor Stories 220: Why I Passed (Shirota, Go, Sequeira) Nov 25, 2021

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Each investor highlights a situation where they decided not to invest, why they passed, and how it played out.

309. The Future of Softbank and Vision Fund 2, Creative Monetization of User Growth, and Why VC's Missed on Zoom (Nagraj Kashyap) Nov 22, 2021

Show notes

Nagraj Kashyap of Softbank joins Nick to discuss The Future of Softbank and Vision Fund 2, Creative Monetization of User Growth, and Why VC's Missed on Zoom. In this episode we cover:

Nagraj's Background and Path to VC.
How do you think through horizontal, vertical, or geographic expansion and when the right time is to do so?
What did other VC's miss about Zoom?
How do you evaluate an opportunity?
What key things are you looking for in a consumer startup?

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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