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

Latest Episodes:

260. The Fund that Started on Twitter, Why Community-driven Startups Win, and Embracing the Underestimated (Lolita Taub & Jesse Middleton) Dec 07, 2020

Show notes

Lolita Taub & Jesse Middleton of The Community Fund join Nick to discuss The Fund that Started on Twitter, Why Community-driven Startups Win, and Embracing the Underestimated. In this episode, we cover:

Background of Lolita & Jesse
How did the two of you meet and ultimately decide to launch a fund together?
What's the thesis at the Community Fund?
Conflicts or issues running multiple funds that invest at similar stages?
Why did you create a distributed investment team of 13?
How did you select them?
Approach to investing in cold reach outs?
How does decision-making work?
What does a great founder look like to you?
You invest in community-driven companies... what does that mean, and how do you define community-driven?

Investor Stories 169: Post Mortems (Pezeshki, Dash, Deeter, Vassallo) Dec 03, 2020

Show notes

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

Niki Pezeshki
Somesh Dash
Byron Deeter
Trae Vassallo

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

259. Developer Tools, The Surge of European Tech, and Why Founder Needs Differ Across Regions (Reid Christian) Nov 30, 2020

Show notes

Reid Christian of CRV joins Nick to discuss Developer Tools, The Surge of European Tech, and Why Founder Needs Differ Across Regions. In this episode, we cover:

Walk us through your background and path to VC
What's the thesis at CRV?
$600M closed in July... any change to approach or thesis?
What are some of the focus areas that you're leaning into amidst the circumstances?
How do you evaluate teams?
What type of founders excites you to invest?
Centralization — the shift from consumers to creators
Why is your focus on SAAS/CLOUD/ENTERPRISE IT/BIG DATA?
What does the future look like for Enterprise SaaS companies?
How has your sourcing of startups changed?
In another lifetime, would you like to be a professional basketball player or a venture capitalist?
Three data points question

Investor Stories 168: Strange & Unusual (Torenberg, Gembala, Hester, Hsu) Nov 26, 2020

Show notes

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

Erik Torenberg
Ryan Gembala
Jaclyn Hester
Jonathan Hsu

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

258. Why I Invested in Neu (Kwame Boler) Nov 23, 2020

Show notes

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

Nick Moran
Kwame Boler

This will be a unique segment where, Founder of Neu, Kwame Boler, will discuss his startup story and how he chose New Stack to participate in the funding round.

To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes.

Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Investor Stories 167: Lessons Learned (Ingersoll, Klaff, Whitney, Basu Trivedi) Nov 19, 2020

Show notes

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

Minnie Ingersoll
Oren Klaff
Jason Whitney
Nikhil Basu Trivedi

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

257. Investing in First-time Founders, the Evolution of Social, the Future of Big Tech, and the Freedom of Remote Work (Niko Bonatsos) Nov 16, 2020

Show notes

Niko Bonatsos of General Catalyst joins Nick to discuss Investing in First-time Founders, the Evolution of Social, the Future of Big Tech, and the Freedom of Remote Work. In this episode, we cover:

Walk us through your background and path to VC
What's the thesis at General Catalyst?
Livongo... up nearly 300% since public debut last year — I hear you were in the room during the early formation stages.
You have been at GC for almost 10 years — what has been the most significant change in VC, aside from the pandemic, since you began your career?
What are your thoughts on the explosion of seed funds and now many angel funds as well?
Since the pandemic broke, what's been the most significant adjustment at GC, and/or how do you see the approach to investing changing going forward?
What surging trends during the pandemic will continue to grow faster, and which will revert once the pandemic is over?
Do you think this fundamentally changes benefits that are offered to employees?
I'm not sure if you caught the recent documentary on Netflix — social dilemma explaining social media issues. Many experts argued that we are not evolved to handle all of these inputs and that big tech has and will continue to manipulate our beliefs and actions. What's your take?
Tweet: "Are you building a consumer product that is perceived as annoying, controversial, or stupid by most people? If yes, I'd love to hear from you!" What are some examples of consumer successes that started this way?
What qualities does a founder need to have for you to be interested in?
Break up big tech?
The three data points

Investor Stories 166: What's Next (Osterwalder, Suster, Koh, Abbasi) Nov 12, 2020

Show notes

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

Alex Osterwalder
Mark Suster
Melody Koh
Farooq Abbasi

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

256. A Proprietary Tool to Source Startups, The Commoditization of Capital, and the New Exit Environment (Villi Iltchev) Nov 09, 2020

Show notes

Villi Iltchev of Two Sigma Ventures joins Nick to discuss Using "George" a Proprietary Tool to Source Startups, The Commoditization of Capital, and the New Exit Environment. In this episode, we cover:

Walk us through your background and path to VC
What's the thesis at Two Sigma?
Tell us about George.
What's George's biggest blind spot?
What is your decision framework on investments?
What characteristics do you look for in markets when identifying new sectors/spaces of interest?
How long after investing in/working with a company do you tend to know whether it's going to work or not?
Do you attempt to handicap execution risk vs. technical risk vs. commercial risk?
Capital is a commodity and, largely speaking, there doesn't appear to be a lot of differentiation in venture. How do you combat the commoditization of venture?
Aside from bankers... who do you think stands to lose the most from the increase in SPACs and direct listings?
Any other downsides, unintended consequences, or problematic issues that could arise from the increase in SPACs?
A decade from now, will the U.S. be the best country to start a tech company? If it shifts, what are the prime candidate countries to replace the U.S.?
International investment strategy for Two Sigma?
Three data points... hypothetical investment scenario
- Let's say you're approached to invest in an enterprise SaaS startup.
- Founder has a great background.
- MRR is $200k, growing 20% MoM. LTV:CAC is 5:1. Quick Ratio greater than 4.
- Catch is, you can only ask 3 questions for 3 specific data points, in order to make your decision. What three questions do you ask?