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

Latest Episodes:

Investor Stories 498: When Investors Get It Wrong: Lessons in Humility, Focus, and TAM (Fubini and Patel, Rosenbloom, Sagalov) Oct 29, 2026

Show notes

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

Ross Fubini and Manish Patel of XYZ Venture Capital
Micah Rosenbloom of Founder Collective
Yuri Sagalov of General Catalyst

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.

520. The Inner Workings of Seed Investing at GC, Why Sector Focus Can Be Limiting, Why Seed Milestones Are Obsolete, and Who to Hire Among Your First 10 Employees (Yuri Sagalov) Oct 26, 2026

Show notes

Yuri Sagalov of General Catalyst joins Nick to discuss The Inner Workings of Seed Investing at GC, Why Sector Focus Can Be Limiting, Why Seed Milestones Are Obsolete, and Who to Hire Among Your First 10 Employees. In this episode we cover:

Seed Investing Strategy
Evaluating Founder Quality
Impact of AI on Development
Building Early Teams
Capital and Market Dynamics

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 497: Passing on Snapchat, Canva, and Hugging Face: The Rules of Thumb That Cost VCs Billions (Vaidya, Fubini and Patel, Rosenbloom) Oct 15, 2026

Show notes

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

Vivek Vaidya of super{set}
Ross Fubini and Manish Patel of XYZ Venture Capital
Micah Rosenbloom of Founder Collective

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.

519. Don't Play the Game on the Field, What the 500 Largest Exits Tell Us, How and When to Sell Secondary, and VC's Identity Crisis (Micah Rosenbloom) Oct 12, 2026

Show notes

Micah Rosenbloom of Founder Collective joins Nick to discuss Don't Play the Game on the Field, What the 500 Largest Exits Tell Us, How and When to Sell Secondary, and VC's Identity Crisis. In this episode we cover:

Investment Patterns and Risk Management
Strategic Deviations in Investing
The Mechanics of Picking Winners
Liquidity and Exit Strategies
Future Outlook on AI and Industry Trends

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 496: Three Lessons for the Next Generation of VCs: Find Your Edge, Build Your Network, Stay in the Game (Solomon, Vaidya, Chen) Oct 08, 2026

Show notes

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

Glenn Solomon of Notable Capital
Vivek Vaidya of super{set}
John Chen of Fika 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.

Investor Stories 495: Perseverance at Roofstock, Speed at Zero, Discovery at Anduril — Why These Founders Stand Out (Black, Chen, Fubini and Patel) Oct 01, 2026

Show notes

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

Ben Black of Akkadian Ventures
John Chen of Fika Ventures
Ross Fubini and Manish Patel of XYZ Venture Capital

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.

518. The Power of Founder Mafias, Why Venture is Bifurcating, and Lessons from Good Strategy, Bad Strategy (Ross Fubini and Manish Patel) Sep 28, 2026

Show notes

Ross Fubini and Manish Patel of XYZ Venture Capital joins Nick to discuss The Power of Founder Mafias, Why Venture is Bifurcating, and Lessons from Good Strategy, Bad Strategy. In this episode we cover:

The Palantir Mafia Culture
Comparing Ramp and Palantir Cultures
Building Successful Partnerships
Google Alumni vs Palantir Alumni
Navigating AI Trends and Value
Underwriting Future Successes
The Evolution of Venture Capital Firms

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 494: Passing on Outliers, Misjudging Founder Quality, and Holding Too Tightly — Lessons from Notable, Superset, and Fika (Solomon, Vaidya, Chen) Sep 24, 2026

Show notes

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

Glenn Solomon of Notable Capital
Vivek Vaidya of super{set}
John Chen of Fika Ventures

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 493: Founder CEO Removal, Acquisition Pressure, and Co-Founder Conflict — Lessons from Investors at Volition, Notable, and Fika (Cheng, Solomon, Chen) Sep 17, 2026

Show notes

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

Larry Cheng of Volition Capital
Glenn Solomon of Notable Capital
John Chen of Fika Ventures

We discuss major conflicts that guests have faced and how they resolved them.

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.

517. Fear and Greed in AI, The Rise of Kingmakers, and Is Seed the Sucker Round? (John Chen) Sep 14, 2026

Show notes

John Chen of Fika Ventures joins Nick to discuss Fear and Greed in AI, The Rise of Kingmakers, and Is Seed the Sucker Round?. In this episode we cover: