Village Global Podcast

Latest Episodes:

How To Grow as a Product Manager with Andrew Yu Apr 13, 2021

Show notes

Andrew Yu (@andrewcyu), who is running the On Deck Product Management program, joins Erik on this episode to discuss:
- His non-traditional route to becoming a product manager. (Fun fact: He recently worked on the Biden campaign and inauguration).
- What the ODPM program will look like, including the “intentional networking” they have planned.
- What “productizing yourself” as a product manager looks like.
- How the field has evolved over time.
Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform.
Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.
Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

The Future of the Creator Economy, Social Media, and Internet Culture with Rex Woodbury Apr 11, 2021

Show notes

Rex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) of Index Ventures joins Erik on this episode to discuss:
- Where he’s looking to invest in the creator economy.
- Why authenticity and vulnerability are replacing performative and status-driven social media.
- The shift away from an ad-based model on the web.
- Why we won’t see mega-celebrities like Oprah ever again.
- What the financialization of culture means and how NFTs and staking fits into it.
- His learnings as a student of meme culture.
- The future of work and education as work gets disaggregated.
- Why gaming is underrated.
- His requests for startups.
Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform.
Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.
Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

Risk, Confidence, and Seriousness: Katherine Boyle’s Advice For Founders Apr 08, 2021

Show notes

Katherine Boyle (@KTmBoyle), partner at General Catalyst, joins Erik on this episode recorded as part of an event for Villagers. Due to technical difficulties, Mustafa Khan, part of the team at Village Global, conducted the first part of the interview. They discuss:
- Katherine’s focus on narrative when evaluating founders: “who’s the protagonist and what are they solving?”
- The fact that Katherine doesn’t have strong frameworks for investing — for her it’s about how the story makes her feel.
- How she spots extraordinary founders by looking for people who “don’t have a talk track.” These founders think about everything from first principles.
- Katherine’s idea that: “The most extraordinary founders are also historians. They get information obsessively because they are so paranoid they might be missing something."
- Why founders shouldn’t be afraid to be serious. "You know you're being serious when people are laughing at you."
- Why founders should always be transparent about the state of the business. “Authentically owning what is weak but having a plan for making it not weak is something I don't see enough in founders,” Katherine says.
Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform.
Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.
Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

The Future of Investing with Kyla Scanlon and Tom White Apr 06, 2021

Show notes

Kyla Scanlon (@kylascan) and Tom White (@ TomJWhiteIV), who are running On Deck Investing, join Erik on this episode to discuss:
- Why managing your own psychology is as important as your asset allocation.
- How to think about your own “life portfolio” holistically, instead of just paying attention to your investment portfolio.
- Why it’s “never been a better or worse time to be an investor” and how On Deck Investing can help.
- Why investing is like a liberal art, and how you can become a better investor by learning from economics, psychology, philosophy, and more.
- What they wish they knew about investing when they got started.
- What the On Deck Investing program will look like and who is a good fit for it.
Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform.
Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.
Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

The Scout Mindset with Julia Galef Apr 04, 2021

Show notes

Julia Galef (@juliagalef), author of The Scout Mindset, joins Erik on this episode to discuss:
- Why everyone, including entrepreneurs, should want to see reality more clearly.
- The fact that the bottleneck to more rationality is not lack of knowledge, but lack of motivation to see the world as it really is.
- Why the “soldier mindset” is the default mindset and why signalling keeps it that way.
- Why thinking probabilistically has a calming psychological effect.
- How to adopt the scout mindset by thinking in bets, considering what you’d do if another person was in your shoes, and noticing where you’re defensive of your beliefs.
- How to get your organization to adopt a scout mindset.
- Her thoughts on changing minds with mistake theory vs. conflict theory.
- The evolution of the rationality space over time.
Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform.
Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.
Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

Navigating Your Startup Through a Crisis with Pete Flint Apr 01, 2021

Show notes

Pete Flint (@peteflint), partner at NFX, joins Erik on this episode. It was recorded as part of an event for Villagers. They discuss:
- How to gain ground in a downturn as a startup by doubling down on the things that are working.
- Lessons from starting Trulia during the Great Recession, when no one was buying homes.
- How and why to “turn all fixed costs to variable costs.”
- Ideas for how to do teambuilding in an all-remote environment.
- Predictions for the future of work post-COVID.
- The differences in the fundraising landscape during COVID.
- Why founders should be transparent about the state of their business with their investors and board.
- How to go from a product manager (founder) to company manager (CEO).
- Where he’s investing these days and why he’s excited about labor marketplaces.
Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform.
Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.
Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

The State of Direct-To-Consumer in 2021 with Austin Rief and Nik Sharma Mar 30, 2021

Show notes

Austin Rief (@austin_rief), co-founder of Morning Brew, and Nik Sharma (@mrsharma), investor, advisor, and operator at Sharma Brands, join Erik to discuss:
- Their direct-to-consumer investment theses.
- Interesting ways that media companies are starting to get into commerce, like the hockey podcast that created a bestselling flavored vodka.
- Why it's a "game of audience in the direct-to-consumer world." They say that distribution is the key now.
- The difference between community and fandom and why people often confuse the two.
- Where the whitespace is and their requests for startups.
- The three stages of direct-to-consumer and examples of great DTC 3.0 brands.
Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform.
Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.
Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

Justin Kan on Happiness, Hiring, and Time Management Mar 28, 2021

Show notes

Justin Kan (@justinkan), investor and entrepreneur, joins Erik on this episode. It was recorded as part of a special event for Villagers. They discuss:
- The evolution of how Justin approached mental health.
- His playbook for being happier.
- Why he decided to pull the plug at Atrium with money in the bank.
- Why you should “go slow to go fast later” when you’re running an early-stage company.
- How to know if you’re hiring at the right speed.
- Why you should regularly do a calendar audit.
- How to deal with an employee who is unhappy.
- How to be authentic and transparent at work.
Check out Justin's podcast at https://listen.justin.quest and YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfRtwc6K_VU9N4OjNnU2P7g
Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform.
Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.
Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

How No-Code is Enabling Entrepreneurship and the Creator Economy with Emmanuel Straschnov and KP Mar 25, 2021

Show notes

Emmanuel Straschnov (@estraschnov), founder and co-CEO of Bubble, and KP (@thisiskp_) of On Deck, join Erik on this episode to discuss:
- The story of Bubble, which was founded in 2012.
- How no-code is changing the creation process for startups and the fact that they've seen companies raise millions of dollars without a single engineer.
- The phases of the evolution of no-code.
- Why they hope that in five years people don't talk about no-code as a separate category anymore.
- Some of the cool projects started by On Deck No-Code Fellows.
- Their advice on getting started in no-code.
- Where they would be investing if they were running a fund focused on the space.
Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform.
Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.
Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

The 2020s, Economic Growth, and Deep Tech with Eli Dourado Mar 23, 2021

Show notes

Eli Dourado (@elidourado) of the Center for Growth and Opportunity, joins Erik on this episode to discuss:
- Why Eli wants to radically increase GDP per capita and the current bottlenecks to achieving that.
- Why he thinks the 2020s will be the decade of atoms.
- Why amazing scientific breakthroughs like CRISPR haven't translated into new products or treatments.
- Why he's excited about geothermal power and how it could change geopolitics if its potential is realized.
- His breakdown of his position as a technological optimist and cultural pessimist.
- Where he agrees or disagrees with Tyler Cowen, Bryan Caplan, Peter Thiel, and Samuel Hammond.
- Why entrepreneurs shouldn't shy away from areas with regulatory risk, since "that's where all the action happens."
Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform.
Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.
Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

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