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 97: Lessons Learned (Einstein, Cohen, Nof) Oct 19, 2018

Show notes

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

David Cohen

Ben Einstein

Jordan Nof

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

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.

172. Growth Investing in Biotech, Genomics and Pharma (Jim Tananbaum) Oct 12, 2018

Show notes

Jim Tananbaum of Foresite Capital joins Nick to discuss Growth Investing in Biotech, Genomics and Pharma. In this episode, we cover:

-His 25 years in the industry working as both an entrepreneur and investor.. often at the same time -Jim's investment focus at Foresight -The major changes in biotech over the past two decades -The key elements he looks for in a business -The main drivers causing more opportunity in the sector -The key challenges to investing in biotech, pharma and genomics -The role of data science in their process -How the experience of building and IPO'ing companies has helped Jim as an investor -How they target specific areas to invest in -Jim's take on predatory pharmaceutical pricing -And finally how some of these solutions might become more affordable for more people that need them

Investor Stories 96: What's Next (Ascher, Medved, Fontana) Oct 01, 2018

Show notes

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

Brian Ascher
Joe Medved
Ash Fontana

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

171. Sports Tech and the Future of eSports (Wayne Kimmel) Sep 20, 2018

Show notes

Wayne Kimmel of SeventySix Capital joins Nick to discuss Sports Tech and the Future of eSports. In this episode, we cover:

Talk about the investment focus and approach of your firm When did Ryan Howard start working w/ you and how did he become a part of the leadership team?
Talk a bit about sports tech has evolved over the past decade.
All these players or former players are getting involved on the investment-side... some pretty savvy, some more green... good thing or bad thing?
What lens or framework does your firm use to segment the sportstech landscape?
I've heard SportsTech categorized into Athlete performance tech, broadcast audience enjoyment tech, and In-person experience tech. Do you consider startups in these categories and where have you seen the most opportunities?
eSports (ie. video games as a sport)... has exploded in popularity. Talk a bit about what you're seeing in esports and how you're approaching it from an investment standpoint.
I know a number of sportstech investors that avoid the youth, amateur and collegiate markets, b/c they think all the money is in the professional markets. Missed opportunity or is there something to this position?
Lessons from owning the USFL champions, the Stars?
What are the specific ways you get involved with portfolio companies?
You've spoken a lot about the importance of networking, and even wrote a book about it. What key lessons do you have for listeners w/ regard to networking?

Investor Stories 95: Why I Passed (Kaden, Hardiman, Simoudis) Sep 07, 2018

Show notes

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

Rebecca Kaden
James Hardiman
Evangelos Simoudis

Each investor highlights a situation where

they decided not to invest, why they passed,

and how it played out.

170. Go-to-Market Fit, Tidal Waves, Category Leadership & Split-Personalities (Tae Hea Nahm) Aug 25, 2018

Show notes

Tae Hea Nahm of Storm Ventures joins Nick to discuss Go-to-Market Fit, Tidal Waves, Category Leadership & Split-Personalities. In this episode, we cover:

What was your path to Venture Capital like and why'd you make that career change?
You've been very successful with exits- is there a framework you apply to identify these?
Can you explain further about your tidal investing strategy and how it has changed?
With your expansive experience in Venture, do you believe are changes necessary in the silicon valley mentality?
How active of a role do you play with your portfolio founders?
You said you love to take the subway and observe what people are doing- what are some things you are spotting now and what are you spotting across the world.
Why'd you write "Survival to Thrival"?
Through your recent observations, what is the next big thing you are testing in Korea?
You talk a lot about split personalities, when did you realize this was a necessary quality and how long did it take you to develop this yourself? How has this also changed over your tenure as a CEO?
You've stated that founders have to stay both pragmatic and ambitious. In tech it's often a problem when you build out infrastructure or sales before everything is ready. On the flip side sharing too many problems or issues with your team and investors will make them wary. Have you had any of these occurrences with finding a balance and what would you advise the audience as solutions.
How have you developed a positive attitude despite the dichotomy of feelings day in and day out? How would you advise other founders and CEO's to deal with this?
How do you actually identify true passion in founders and what are the criteria you use for this?
How have you aligned Storm Ventures proclaimed company culture with the unofficial culture? What is your advice to other CEO's trying to find a fit?
In your book you talk about the 3 go to market elements. How long did it take you to realize these 3 things?
You talk about identifying problems versus disastrous in the book. Can you tell us just the first step you founders should take if a problem is disastrous?

Guest Links:

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 94: The Strange & Unusual (Ramanujam, Turner, Leitersdorf) Aug 16, 2018

Show notes

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

Madhavan Ramanujam Guy Turner Yoav Leitersdorf

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

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 93: Lessons Learned (Zuberi, Coelius, Galbut) Aug 08, 2018

Show notes

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

Bilal Zuberi Zach Coelius Elizabeth Galbut

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

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.

169. Product is Paramount (Brian Ascher) Jul 30, 2018

Show notes

Brian Ascher of Venrock joins Nick to discuss Product is Paramount. In this episode, we cover:

What is your story at Venrock and how have both you and your firm evolved over the past two decades.
Talk a little about Venrock and your focus there.
You were a product manager at Intuit, prior to Venrock.. what do you think is the VCs role in shaping product strategy?
What are your thoughts on SaaS investing and this increasing focus on the "Intelligent Enterprise"
You wrote an article a few years ago called "Goldilocks and the 3 SaaS Go To- Markets Models"... what are the three flavors of SaaS go-to-market and have they changed since you wrote the article?
Business Model: Price/seat vs. metered service vs. price for value
We're about to close on our first fintech investment for fund I-- can you talk a bit about fintech and why it's so hot?
Some have said that digital currencies and/or the blockchain itself will be as disruptive as the internet-- agree or disagree?
Something we've neglected a bit on the program is long-term governance. What are your thoughts on Managing a Board of Directors and what situations have you seen play out-- for better or worse?
What is the percentage of healthy, well-functioning boards vs unhealthy boards?
How are chairman roles assigned/elected-- are they often explicit and how useful is it to have an official Chairman?