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 179: Post Mortems (Bonatsos, Koh, Adeeb, Suster) Feb 11, 2021

Show notes

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

Niko Bonatsos
Melody Koh
Ramy Adeeb
Mark Suster

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

268. Breaking the Founder Stereotype, Mastering Conviction Over Zoom, & the Contrast between European and American Entrepreneurs (Maren Bannon) Feb 08, 2021

Show notes

Maren Bannon of January Ventures joins Nick to discuss Breaking the Founder Stereotype, Mastering Conviction Over Zoom, & the Contrast between European and American Entrepreneurs. In this episode, we cover:

Walk us through your background and path to VC
What's the thesis at January Ventures?
How are you and your team at January Ventures making tech more of an equal opportunity?
What is your approach to portfolio construction in this fund and how will that evolve in the future?
What's one thing you know now that you wish you knew prior to raising the fund?
You take meetings with founders VERY early — no warm intro, no pitch deck, or no revenue required to pitch to January Ventures. How do you evaluate the potential this early?
How do you filter all of the opportunities -- what is your pre-filter process?
How have you changed your work/process at January post COVID?
What is your experience like moving from SF to Europe and what is your view of the European tech ecosystem?

Investor Stories 178: Strange & Unusual (Dubugras, Douglass, Clarkson, Garg) Feb 04, 2021

Show notes

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

Henrique Dubugras
Jim Douglass
Beezer Clarkson
Avichal Garg

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

267. Advice from a Unicorn Founder Turned VC, the Future of the VC Landscape for Founders & VCs, and the Founder Love Metric (Tim Guleri) Feb 01, 2021

Show notes

Tim Guleri of Sierra Ventures joins Nick to discuss Advice from a Unicorn Founder Turned VC, the Future of the VC Landscape for Founders & VCs, and the Founder Love Metric. In this episode, we cover:

Walk us through your background and path to VC
What's the thesis at Sierra Ventures?
What's been your biggest influence on the firm's ethos?
You've had two incredible outcomes as a founder... first question is do you think the process of building a company today is materially different than it was when you did it... if so how?
We've talked a lot on the show, over the past 8 months about the effects of COVID on venture... what have been you main observations on how VCs are adjusting to investing during COVID?
What do you think the new normal for startups looks like post-covid?
How do you advise a founder that's in a hot space, doesn't need capital, but has inbound interest and large investment offers, maybe at inflated valuations, from tier 1 coastal investors?
How do you handle situations where the product is just not a great fit for the market and the momentum is not building the way it should?
You've been through the exit process this yourself and, I'd imagine, even w/ great outcomes those are some of the hardest decision one faces as a CEO... Do you have a framework or an approach to assessing whether an exit offer is strong and should be taken or whether the founder should hold out for a bigger outcome.
There are a lot of factors that play into having to wind down a company... are there any that standout that signal to you that it's no longer working and we need to face to reality?
You mentioned something interesting recently pertaining to your relationship with founders and that's that you track a metric that you dub "Founder Love". Can you explain how you gauge and measure this?
What do you think the venture industry looks like in 5-10 year

Investor Stories 177: Lessons Learned (Warner, Findley, Toney, Deeter) Jan 28, 2021

Show notes

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

Check Warner
Ty Findley
Lo Toney
Byron Deeter

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

266. Velocity as a Superpower, Why Contrarians Win, The Role of a Board Member, and Why Some Challenge When they Should Chill (Ed Sim) Jan 25, 2021

Show notes

Ed Sim of boldstart ventures joins Nick to discuss: Velocity as a Superpower, Why Contrarians Win, The Role of a Board Member, and Why Some Challenge When they Should Chill

Walk us through your background and path to VC
What's the thesis at boldstart ventures?
What was it like starting Boldstart in NYC in 2010?
Tell us a bit about the thesis at investment and how things evolved over the years until the ultimate exit?
What's your preference... Niche and narrow problems or big and expansive opportunities?
What is your mental model for investing in enterprise founders with ideas?
category creation
Why only technical founders?
Will this enterprise bull market sustain?
You've talked about being involved and sitting on boards from "whiteboard to scale" ?... how do you manage ever-increasing board responsibilities with other demands of the job?
Where are VCs most lacking when it comes to the value that early-stage founders require?
Do you think there's too much money in venture?
How do you win in a seed with so many seed funds?

Investor Stories 176: What's Next (Blank, Pezeshki, Taub, Middleton) Jan 21, 2021

Show notes

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

Steve Blank
Niki Pezeshki
Lolita Taub
Jesse Middleton

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

265. Maintaining a Disciplined Fund Size and Strategy, The Rise of NYC Tech, and Changes in the Exit Environment (Brian Hirsch) Jan 18, 2021

Show notes

Brian Hirsch of Tribeca Venture Partners joins Nick to discuss Maintaining a Disciplined Fund Size and Strategy, The Rise of NYC Tech, and Changes in the Exit Environment. In this episode, we cover:

Walk us through your background and path to VC
What's the thesis at Tribeca Venture Partners (TVP)?
We've seen notable firms in the valley launch platform and service offerings to founders... have you considered this at Tribeca - why or why not?
Biggest differences between NYC tech vs Bay Area Tech
COVID is causing many people to move away from the city. Any concerns about losing tech talent?
How much does the exit environment for tech companies effects what you invest in?
what's most undervalued in the public market or exit market at large that will be more appropriately valued in 3-5 years from now
What's your take SPACs?
- 10/9 Brain's Tweet: "New 🦄 every 3 days this year vs. how many SPACs? Unicorns and SPACs are like pizza. If the ratio of cheese to sauce is off the 🍕 tastes bad and goes down poorly."
What's your take on rolling funds?

Investor Stories 175: Why I Passed (Bannister, Carolan, Christian, Iltchev) Jan 14, 2021

Show notes

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

Janet Bannister
Shawn Carolan
Reid Christian
Villi Iltchev

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

264. Starting a Fund w/ Life Savings, Why it Takes More than Just Performance to Find Success, and Sticking to Your Framework (Simeon Iheagwam) Jan 11, 2021

Show notes

Simeon Iheagwam of Noemis Ventures joins Nick to discuss Starting a Fund w/ Life Savings, Why it Takes More than Just Performance to Find Success, and Sticking to Your Framework. In this episode, we cover:

Walk us through your background and path to VC
What's the thesis at NOEMIS Ventures?
What is your process for investing?
Are there any must-haves?
Like Brad Feld... you are syndication agnostic... don't care about who else is in the round and you're willing to be the first yes. How do you get to conviction -- especially not having worked for a large VC fund?
Where do you help your portfolio companies the most?
In your words... why is it difficult to launch a fund as a diverse manager?
What were some of the most unexpected and challenging aspects of launching a fund?
Strangest question you've received from an LP?
What's your approach to investing in diverse founders?
You were recently highlighted by Grasshopper Bank and Left Tackle Capital as an extraordinary funder. And I believe you joined their inaugural cohort called the Future Funders Institute? We've seen a few different accelerator-like programs spin up, targeted at emerging GPs. Tell us a bit about the program.
3 data points...
- Let's say you are approached to invest in a Fintech SaaS business with $5k MRR, and 20% MoM growth for the last 3 months. The catch is you can only ask for 3 data points to make your decision.
- What 3 questions do you ask for?