Collin West is the Founder and Managing Partner of Ensemble VC, a venture capital firm he launched in 2020 to harness data science for discovering and supporting exceptional founding teams. Collin’s investment track record spans industry leaders like Zoom, Carta, Groww, ICON, Tally, and Sidecar Health.
⭐ Sponsored by Podcast10x - Podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.com
Ensemble VC website - https://www.ensemble.vc/
Collin West on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/collinwest/
🎙️ Hosted by Prashant Choubey
Follow Prashant on X - https://x.com/ChoubeySahab
Follow Prashant on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab
In this episode we talk about -
- How they leverage data & algorithms to find the startups with the best founding teams
- What defines a good founding team for them?
- The secret behind his great track record with multiple unicorn outcomes like Zoom, Carta, Groww among several others
- How AI will change how VCs operate?
- The new AI co-pilot for VCs that they've recently launched
& lots more
Timestamps:
(00:00) Introduction
(01:00) Collin's background and early entrepreneurial journey
(02:59) Story of crossing the Arctic Ocean and lessons learned
(05:11) How Ensemble VC uses data to identify and invest in startup teams
(09:50) Discussion of successful investments like Zoom, Gro, and Carta
(13:23) Addressing potential limitations of data-driven investment approach
(15:19) How Ensemble VC wins access to the best deals
(19:28) Detailed discussion about specific investments, including Zoom
(23:14) Introduction of AI co-pilot for VCs
(25:16) Traits of successful founders and team building
(27:28) Current trends in venture capital and AI
(29:35) How Ensemble VC supports portfolio companies post-investment
(31:31) Biggest learning in startup investing
(33:44) Potential of AI to preserve investment strategies
(35:16) Advice for startup founders
(36:19) Rapid fire round of questions about Ensemble VC's investment strategy
For sponsorship or guest appearance requests, write to prashantchoubey3@gmail.com
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