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

Latest Episodes:

154. NEA's Investment Process & The Key Ingredients for Startup Success (Ben Narasin) Jan 15, 2018

Show notes

Ben Narasin of NEA joins Nick to discuss how NEA makes decisions, why he joined the firm and the key traits he looks for in founders. In this episode, we cover:

-Why he made the move to NEA -His Investment focus -the role of Venture Partner at NEA -the investment process the firm... and if decisions are made by committee -Ben's Evaluation Process -the key factor that every successful founder possesses -The common red flags that pop up and cause him to say no to strong startups -Why he believes his job is to say no -How he assess opportunities with 100 reasons to say yes and one reason to say no -Ben's evolving approach toward weighing risk factors in startups -how the tech and investing industry has changed over the past decade -how AUM is driving a bifurcation in venture -finally we get Ben's response to the recent Techcrunch article highlighting the crash in early-stage VC funding

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 76: What's Next (Turner, Triest & DeMarrais, Mougayar, Ramanujam) Jan 10, 2018

Show notes

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

-Guy Turner -Jonathon Triest & Brett DeMarrais -William Mougayar -Madhavan Ramanujam

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

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.

153. How Experimentation Empowers Vision & How Corporates Create an Innovation Culture (Eric Ries) Jan 05, 2018

Show notes

Eric Ries, author of the Lean Startup and The Startup Way, joins Nick to discuss his new book and his response to the naysayers. In this episode, we cover:

Eric's backstory and path to working in tech Steve Blank was on the program and mentioned Peter Thiel's famous comments where he decried the MVP and lean startup approach. Steve thought he was entirely wrong. But I'd love to hear your response to Peter.
Peter said in his book, "forget minimum viable products. Ever since Apple started in 1976, Jobs saw that you could change the world through careful planning, not by listening to focus group feedback or copying other's successes."
For those that read the lean startup some time ago or maybe those that are newer to tech, can you provide a refresher of the key concepts?
Why'd you write The Startup Way?
Who is the audience for The Startup Way?
Is this for transforming existing, large organizations or for companies establishing their culture and their process?
In part one of the book, you talk about the modern company... What, in your estimation, is the biggest problem with the today's corporation?
You've said that "the way to stay on top can be traced to two things: treating employees like customers, and treating business units like startups." This runs counter to the common capitalist mentality where there is a focus on margins, incremental product development and creating value for shareholders, not necessarily employees. Are you suggesting significant cultural and strategic change and, if so, how is that possible to achieve?
Can large organizations really apply the concepts from the lean startup in the way that a startup can?
Do you have a tech and non-tech example of organizations that have successfully applied this methodology?
Tell us about the 'Big Picture' elements and your unified theory of entrepreneurship.
Mark Suster was on the program and stated that it's nearly impossible to innovate behind the moat... meaning that large corporations should invest in venture and startups on the outside b/c it's too hard for them to disrupt from the inside. How would you respond to Mark's comments?
What would you say to those that claim that the entrepreneurial-minded folks often leave large corporations and those that stay are not inclined to embrace these principles?

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.

152. Cram Session, Episodes 96-103 (Nick Moran) Dec 28, 2017

Show notes

Welcome back to TFR for another Cram Session. In these special releases, we have aggregated the takeaways and tips from previous episodes. In this installment, we will be recapping the following episodes:

96. Student-Focused VC Funds, Part 1 (Peter Boyce II)
97. Student-Focused VC Funds, Part 2 (Peter Boyce II)
98. Public Policy for Angel Investors, Part 1 (David Verrill)
99. Public Policy for Angel Investors, Part 2 (David Verrill)
102. The Limited Partner, Part 1 (Lindel Eakman)
103. The Limited Partner, Part 2 (Lindel Eakman)

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 75: Lessons Learned (Buttrick, Shah, Paley) Dec 24, 2017

Show notes

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

John Buttrick
Semil Shah
Eric Paley

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.

151. Kingmaking, De-Risking Every Investment & the Future of Real Estate Tech (Brendan Wallace) Dec 14, 2017

Show notes

Brendan Wallace of Fifth Wall Ventures joins Nick to discuss Kingmaking, De-Risking Every Investment & the Future of Real Estate Tech. In this episode, we cover:

how building a fund is different from a startup
why fifth wall invests in real estate tech
why they take a different approach to workign with LPs and portcos
how large corporate LPs get comfortable with threatening tech that can destroy existing asset value
Brendan gives an overview of the real estate tech landscape and how it's segmented
why he thinks no other funds are focused on this sector the common demoniator he looks for in startups
the concept of the built world and how tech will bridge the gap between physical and digital
the most disruptive ideas he's come across in real estate
how the hot trends like AI, AV, robotics and VR/AR will effect the sector
and finally, what's surprised him most since raising fifth wall fund 1

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.

150. From Running a VC Firm to Running for Governor (J.B. Pritzker) Dec 06, 2017

Show notes

J.B. Pritzker of Pritzker Group Venture Capital joins Nick to discuss his impact on tech in Illinois, where he gets his motivation and why he's running for Governor. In this episode, we cover the following questions:

Take me back to your childhood...What was it like growing up in your family and what did you learn from your parents?
Your father and uncle famously built and managed Hyatt Hotels...Who was your biggest inspiration in the family?
You could have gone in many directions with your career... hotel industry, education, straight into politics. Why'd you choose the path you did?
Who were your primary inspirations in tech?
Looking through your accomplishments, you're clearly a builder, a creator, you've got internal drive. Where do you get your motivation?
What's the greatest lesson you've learned from your career in venture that informs your bid for governor?
If you could go back and talk to young J.B... a J.B. in his teens, what would you tell him?
What's the best lesson that you've learned from your kids that has changed the way you approach business and/or politics?
We've got Donald Trump in the office of the president and Bruce Rauner in the office of Illinois Governor...Do we really need another rich guy in office?
The talent vacuum is real and everyone experiences it. In Illinois, the best and brightest in rural areas, leave for the metro areas. In Chicago, many of the best in tech leave for the coasts. How do we approach talent suck more thoughtfully and address a real problem?
Can you highlight your plans for tech and innovation, if you are elected?

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 74: Why I Invested (Tsai, Greathouse, Eakman) Dec 01, 2017

Show notes

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

-Christine Tsai -John Greathouse -Lindel Eakman Each investor describes a situation where they did decide to invest, what the key factors were that led to "Yes" and how that investment has worked out.

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.

149. Startup Moats, Deep Tech & Where Science Fiction becomes Science Fact (Bilal Zuberi) Nov 29, 2017

Show notes

Bilal Zuberi of Lux Capital joins Nick to discuss Startup Moats. In this episode, we cover:

An overview of moats
Example companies with moats
How to build a monopoly from the outset and if Bilal requires in startups he invests in
Incremental vs. step-change innovation and the implications on the breadth and depth of the moat
The types of moats
Bilal's take on data and network effect-based moats using a business model as a moat
His thoughts on building brand as a sustainable competitive advantage
How NPS score plays a role
An example where Bilal thought there was a moat but it proved not to have the defensibility predicted
And finally I get Bilal's take on Lux's investment strategy, their portfolio and how they are building value in the water, on the ground, in the air and even up in space

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.

148. New Founders, New Stages, New Offerings-- The Only Constant in Venture is Change (Vic Pascucci) Nov 22, 2017

Show notes

Vic Pascucci of Lightbank joins Nick to discuss New Founders, New Stages, New Offerings-- The Only Constant in Venture is Change. In this episode, we cover:

Where'd you get your start in venture and how'd your path lead to Lightbank?
Can you walk us through the Lightbank backstory... before you joined?
What's the current thesis and investment focus for the firm?
How active a role do you play with portfolio companies?
What, if anything, do you think the team at Lightbank can do a better job of going forward?
Do you think your approach is different than Eric and Brad's?
Recently spoke w/ Semil Shah about the multiple stages, within seed... pre-seed, seed, inst seed, post seed, seed extension. WTF is going on with the seed round?
There's been an explosion of seed funds... do you think this is a problem? Is there a bubble at seed or, w/ the way barriers to startup have come down, is the influx of capital warranted?
I'm noticing entrepreneurs moving away from SAFEs and Convertibles... are you seeing the same? If so, why do you think that's the case?
How have you seen startup capital raises change over time and do you think it's moving in the right direction?
What should every founder be thinking about, during a fundraise, that most often they're not even considering?
Are you seeing a difference in the makeup of founding teams and their capabilities? From personal experience, I certainly notice a difference in the style and approach of a early-20's tech founder vs. a mid-30s founder w/ domain knowledge.
So, you're a blockchain guy... I see you on various blockchain boards and I know that you invested in Coinbase in 2015... and, on the record, you were very bullish on cryptocurrency's at the time, when many were not. But what's the deal w/ all these token offerings and ICOs? I'm a relative novice here... can you explain to me what's going on and where you see it going?

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.

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