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

Latest Episodes:

Investor Stories 452: Raising the Bar on Founders, What 100x Looks Like in Practice, and Why People Matter More Than Ever (Bussgang, Okike, Hudson) Jan 12, 2026

Show notes

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

Jeff Bussgang of Flybridge Capital
Nnamdi Okike of 645 Ventures
Charles Hudson of Precursor Ventures

We asked guests to describe the biggest change to their investment philosophy over the course of their career

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area.

We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached.

Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.

Investor Stories 451: Why I Passed: Moving Too Slowly, Misreading Return Drivers, and Passing on Lyft (Banks, Tananbaum, Cohen) Jan 08, 2026

Show notes

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

Lara Banks of Makena Capital Management
Jim Tananbaum of Foresite Capital
David Cohen of Techstars

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

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area.

We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached.

Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.

499. A 17 Time Midas Lister on Greatness, the $6T AI Teammate Market, Why AI Sovereignty Is Critical, and Who Wins the Battle Between Incumbents and Startups (Navin Chaddha) Jan 05, 2026

Show notes

Navin Chaddha of Mayfield joins Nick to discuss A 17 Time Midas Lister on Greatness, the $6T AI Teammate Market, Why AI Sovereignty Is Critical, and Who Wins the Battle Between Incumbents and Startups. In this episode we cover:

Challenges in Early Internet Video
Lessons from Interacting with Tech Luminaries
Investment Philosophy and Evaluation Process
The Role of Psychology in Venture Capital
The AI Collaboration Era
Geopolitical Implications of AI
Investment Strategy in a Competitive Market

Guest Links:

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area.

We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached.

Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.

Investor Stories 450. How to Succeed Early in VC: Slow Down, Commit to Relationships, and Become an Active Listener (Niehenke, York, Hilaly) Jan 01, 2026

Show notes

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

Alexander Niehenke of Scale Venture Partners
Kyle York of York IE
Aaref Hilaly of Bain Capital Ventures

We asked guests for the most important piece of advice that they'd share with folks early in their venture career.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area.

We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached.

Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.

Replay - The Biggest Misconceptions About AI Agents, Why Defensibility Doesn't Matter at Seed, and Whether the AI Center of Gravity Is Shifting to China (Aaref Hilaly) Dec 29, 2025

Show notes

In this special replay episode Aaref Hilaly of Bain Capital Ventures joins Nick to discuss The Biggest Misconceptions About AI Agents, Why Defensibility Doesn't Matter at Seed, and Whether the AI Center of Gravity Is Shifting to China. In this episode we cover:

AI Investment Strategy and Market Utility
Impact of AI on Jobs and Early Instances of Reasoning
Open vs. Closed Source Models and Data Control
Scenario Planning and Unique Insights of Backed Companies
Infrastructure and Application Investment Focus
Future of Vertical Solutions and Infrastructure Investment

Guest Links:

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area.

We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached.

Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.

Investor Stories 449: Exceptional Founders Up Close: Listening Over Posturing, Integrity Over Ease, and Deliberate Execution from Day One (Hsieh, Delk, Maples Jr.) Dec 25, 2025

Show notes

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

Vince Hsieh of Cypress Growth Capital
Ryan Delk of Primer
Mike Maples Jr. of Floodgate

We asked guests to discuss the most visionary founder that they've worked with and what makes them so special.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area.

We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached.

Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.

Investor Stories 448: Hard Lessons in Investing: Mistiming Trends, Relying on Partnership Debate, and Avoiding Good Money After Bad (Hilaly, Dash, Rizik) Dec 22, 2025

Show notes

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

Aaref Hilaly of Bain Capital Ventures
Somesh Dash of IVP
Chris Rizik of Renaissance Venture Capital

We asked guests to tell the most important lesson they've learned in their career.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area.

We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached.

Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.

Investor Stories 447: Choosing the Right VC: Understanding Value Add, Assessing Alignment, and Identifying the Best Board Partner (Jiang, Walsh, Saxena) Dec 18, 2025

Show notes

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

Kevin Jiang of Mangusta Capital
Shamin Walsh of BAM Ventures
Shashank Saxena of Sierra Ventures

We asked guests to share the best question they've ever been asked by an allocator.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area.

We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached.

Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.

498. The Crypto x AI Convergence, the Truth About Stablecoins, Tokens vs Equity, and Whether NFTs Will Make a Comeback (Arianna Simpson) Dec 15, 2025

Show notes

Arianna Simpson of Andreessen Horowitz joins Nick to discuss The Crypto x AI Convergence, the Truth About Stablecoins, Tokens vs Equity, and Whether NFTs Will Make a Comeback. In this episode we cover:

Stable Coins and Their Impact on Crypto
Geopolitical and Regulatory Risks for Stable Coins
Crypto's Role in the Financial System and Emerging Use Cases
Investing in Tokens and Equity
Institutional Adoption and Market Cycles
Challenges and Opportunities in the Crypto Market
Founders and Their Impact on Investment Decisions
The Future of NFTs and Emerging Technologies

Guest Links:

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area.

We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached.

Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.

Investor Stories 446: What Experience Teaches Investors: When to Trust Conviction, How to Read Founders, and Why Coachability Matters (Rizik, Wang, Agarwal) Dec 11, 2025

Show notes

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

Chris Rizik of Renaissance Venture Capital
Casber Wang of Sapphire Ventures
Medha Agarwal of Defy

We asked guests to describe the biggest change to their investment philosophy over the course of their career

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area.

We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached.

Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.

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