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

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

The podcast dedicated to demystifying Venture Capital. Nick Moran and Nate Pierotti interview VC’s & Startup Founders and on how they build great technology startups.

Latest Episodes:

Investor Stories 209: Post Mortems (Christian, Goldberg, Conwell, Sequeira) Sep 09, 2021

Show notes

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

Reid Christian
David Goldberg
McKeever "Mac" Conwell II
Neil Sequeira

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?

Reid Christian Episode 259 David Goldberg Episode 272 McKeever "Mac" Conwell II Episode 277 Neil Sequeira Episode 281

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions. To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter. Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We'll send a list of possible investors right to your email's InBox!

298. The $61B Cannabis Market, Overcoming Compliance and Regulation, and the Declining Social Stigma Around Cannabis (Emily Paxhia) Sep 06, 2021

Show notes

Emily Paxhia of Poseidon Asset Management joins Nick to discuss The $61B Cannabis Market, Overcoming Compliance and Regulation, and the Declining Social Stigma Around Cannabis. In this episode we cover:

Can you give us an overview of the Cannabis Space -- size, growth, major sub-segments?
Which segments are you most interested in?
What areas do you not invest in and why?
Raising a cannabis fund in 2013... I have to imagine you had to find a certain type of LP for that pitch to land. How hard was that?
Regulation can be a break or a gas pedal --how have you or do you assess and underwrite the regulatory and legal risks in the space?
To what extent are Cannabis businesses shut out of the existing financial system?
Are there any other major differences in sourcing or diligence for a cannabis focused fund vs. your standard VC fund?
How many cannabis focused funds are there and is follow-on financing risk significant when you're dealing with a smaller pool of capital providers?
In 2018 we saw this massive boom and bust cycle for cannabis and hemp companies. How cyclical is the industry and, aside from consumer consumption behaviors, what macro drivers do you watch closely?
There's recently been news that Molson-Coors has launched a CBD-infused drink and several major health and wellness retailers will offer CBD topicals. 5 years from now will all of the major household CPGs have CBD and Cannabis products available?

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

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We'll send a list of possible investors right to your email's InBox!

Investor Stories 208: Strange & Unusual (Grayson & Holt, Tamaseb, Hung, Larco) Sep 02, 2021

Show notes

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

Dayna Grayson & Rachel Holt
Ali Tamaseb
Jonathan Hung
Vanessa Larco

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

Did you miss our guest's full-length episodes?

Dayna Grayson & Rachel Holt Episode 291 Ali Tamaseb Episode 289 Jonathan Hung Episode 292 Vanessa Larco Episode 295

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

297. How to Raise a VC Fund, The YC for Emerging Managers, and Family Office Trends (Winter Mead) Aug 30, 2021

Show notes

Winter Mead of Oper8r joins Nick to discuss How to Raise a VC Fund, The YC for Emerging Managers, and Family Office Trends. In this episode we cover:

Tell us a little more about Oper8or. Why did you leave Sapphire to start this program?
Give us an overview of Oper8or?
Walk us through the selection process and what you're looking for.
Bring us up to speed on progress-to-date, how you measure success, and what the plan is going forward?
You published your first book last year -- "How to Raise a Venture Capital Fund". The target audience for the book is fairly obvious... was the motivation to write the book similar to why you started Oper8r?
What are the most common mistakes new fund managers make?
How do you think about types of LPs or profiles that fund managers should be targeting?
What are the patterns, practices or even tactics of the most successful fundraisers that you've observed?
You co-authored a research effort w/ First Republic on Family Office Investors -- what were the key takeaways?
What are some of the common reasons that LPs pass that might not be so obvious?
What's the biggest difference between winning fund strategies of the early 2010s vs winning fund strategies in the next decade?
What factor do you find to be of critical importance that is most often underappreciated by LPs?
Currently over 1500 active venture funds... Do you think the market can support this high of a volume of funds?
Often, a startup investor may get early positive or negative signals on an investment within the first 18-24 months. As an LP, how long does it take to get a sense whether the decision to invest was good or you might want to have that one back?
Why is emerging VC compelling as an sub-asset class of VC?

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

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We'll send a list of possible investors right to your email's InBox!

Investor Stories 207: Lessons Learned (Woodard, Maughan, Martino, Casnocha) Aug 26, 2021

Show notes

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

Monique Woodard
Spencer Maughan
Paul Martino
Ben Casnocha

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

Did you miss our guest's full length episodes?

Monique Woodard Episode 273 Spencer Maughan Episode 284 Paul Martino Episode 275 Ben Casnocha Episode 245

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

296. Investing in Jerusalem, Applying Helmer's 7 Powers to VC, and Writing a Business Murder Mystery (Ben Wiener) Aug 23, 2021

Show notes

Ben Wiener of Jumpspeed Ventures joins Nick to discuss Investing in Jerusalem, Applying Helmer's 7 Powers to VC, and Writing a Business Murder Mystery. In this episode we cover:

How difficult was it raising a fund to invest only in Jerusalem-originated startups?
What do you say to critics who claim that "focusing only one one geo is too limiting?"
Are there specific sectors or types of tech that are uniquely positioned to thrive in Jerusalem?
What are the similarities and differences in raising a fund vs. raising funds for a startup?
You've spoken before about the mismatch between supply and demand for early stage capital in Jerusalem. Has it been tough finding reliable and persistent follow-on capital for A or B rounds?
Since inception ~35% of your investments have been in female-led (female founder/CEO) startups, which is an order of magnitude greater than the 2-3% industry average. Talk about sourcing and what you do on the sourcing side to increase the number of diverse and women led startups you meet with?
You recently wrote a Murder Mystery novel. It's a startup fiction based on Hamilton Helmer's 7 Powers. Why did you write a business strategy murder mystery?
The book focuses on Addie Morita, a young crime researcher working on a serial killer case with clues buried in Hamilton's 7 Powers. What similarities can be drawn from 7 Powers and from solving a murder?

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

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We'll send a list of possible investors right to your email's InBox!

Investor Stories 206: What's Next (McIntyre, Luerssen, Findley, Shirota) Aug 19, 2021

Show notes

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

Stephen McIntyre
Brian Luerssen
Ty Findley
Tsune Shirota

Each investor discusses sectors, drivers and/or trends that may have significant impact in the future and are potentially positioned for outsized-returns.

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

Stephen McIntyre Episode #244 Brian Luerssen Episode #290 Ty Findley Episode #250 Tsune Shirota Episode #288

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

295. Product Manager Turned Investor, Navigating Turbulence pre-IPO on Robinhood's Board, and Unique Sourcing Strategies (Vanessa Larco) Aug 16, 2021

Show notes

Vanessa Larco of NEA joins Nick to discuss Product Manager Turned Investor, Navigating Turbulence pre-IPO on Robinhood's Board, and Unique Sourcing Strategies. In this episode we cover:

Walk us through your background and path to VC.
Why did you leave product to join NEA?
Give us a update on NEA - AUM, stage, thesis, etc.
What is your focus area at the firm?
Are you ever tempted to jump back to the startup side (or launch your own startup)?
You have significant and formative experience leading product. How do you think that shapes your approach as an investor.
Do you think product managers are born or made?
I also have a background in product and that has contributed greatly to our culture here at New Stack... I'm curious what, if any, blind spots one might have if they are an investor with a very strong product background or orientation?
- What KPI's/north star metrics do you use to hold yourself accountable?
I'd love to hear the details of your process for sourcing and leading an investment.
Everyone getting into tech gets the cliche advice... you've got to network... or "you are your network"... and that leads to a lot of productive and unproductive behavior. What is your approach to building and strengthening relationships and what advice would you give to newer folks in the tech community?
Up until the recent IPO you were on the board of Robinhood. You're a board member for four companies and a board observer for several more-- How has your perception of being a good board member differed from the reality of the role after having had some experience on very notable boards.
- Re. Robinhood What did you learn from Vlad and Baiju that surprised you?
- I have to ask, take us behind the scenes a bit -- what was happening at Robinhood during the Gamestop and AMC run-ups when trading was halted?
Do you invest in emerging tech hubs outside of NY & SF? If so what are the areas of highest interest and how do you see the evolving in the coming years?
There's a lot of VC content across many blogs and Twitter threads. How do you cut through the noise? What do you read to stay educated?

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

Investor Stories 205: Why I Passed (Warner, Torenberg, Garg, Grayson & Holt) Aug 12, 2021

Show notes

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

Check Warner
Dayna Grayson & Rachel Holt
Erik Torenberg
Avichal Garg

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

Check Warner Episode #242 Dayna Grayson & Rachel Holt Episode #291 Erik Torenberg Episode #252 Avichal Garg Episode #261

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

294. How to Value AI, Data Network Effects vs. Data Learning Effects, and Evolution of the VC Asset Class (Ash Fontana) Aug 09, 2021

Show notes

Ash Fontana of Zetta Venture Partners joins Nick to discuss How to Value AI, Data Network Effects vs. Data Learning Effects, and Evolution of the VC Asset Class. In this episode we cover:

What was the inspiration for the new book?
What's the difference between a Data Network Effect and a DLE (data learning effect)?
How do you advise those that are building tech where AI will be a valuable piece in the distant future but doesn't really play a role until the growth stage or beyond?
Tell us about the Lean AI Method, described in the book, and how companies can use it to start implementing AI. How do you feel about companies using "off-the-shelf" AI, like TensorFlow?
Why is now the right time for AI to pervade throughout tech and industry?
How do you value AI and determine what's real?
How does one put a valuation multiple on fairly nascent category where the value can be exponential and the moat can be unbreachable but there's not a whole lot of precedent?
What are the key data categories or types that are most valuable for startups to be capturing and analyzing from day one?
How do you find the right types of people with the right capability and mindset to join a startup if they have no formal training or experience directly w/ AI?
How do you see the asset class evolving?
Do you think the rolling fund product can make the leap to institutional investors, or will it continue to serve smaller, retail investors?
What's your opinion on insider rounds?
Thoughts on Tiger Global?
Does China surpass the U.S. in tech innovation (and AI) over the next decade? Why or Why Not?

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

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