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James Wang, General Partner at Creative Ventures and author of “What You Need to Know About AI” joins Other People’s Money to discuss the most pressing issues facing venture capital right now including: VC’s collision with public markets, the “RIAifaction” of VC firms, and the reality that there is still too much dry powder propping up venture valuations. Wang also discusses the difficulty of judging VC funds off of typical metrics like MOIC and TVPI, especially when the fund is still in the middle of its life cycle. Wang closes the podcast with his views on AI as expressed in his new book and the reasons why he believes many are being distracted by first-order effects.

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Timestamps

00:00 Intro

01:22 The Collision of Public and Private Markets

04:13 Venture Capital is Following the Same Path as Other Asset Classes

05:52 Venture's Shifting Role in Portfolios

13:36 Venture Capital Emerging Managers

18:39 Corporate Venture Capital

20:58 The Most Active Venture LPs

22:45 Sovereign Wealth Funds and Strategic Venture

26:56 RIAs and Private Wealth as the Next Source of Capital

31:58 The Emergence of Star Athletes and Actors as VCs

33:41 Most VCs Don't Add Value to Portfolio Companies

35:31 Comparing VC Funds: The Metrics That Lie

43:32 Sneaky VC Marketing Tricks and Marketing Materials

48:33 Reference Checks and Speaking with Founders

50:17 The Dry Powder Bubble

57:41 What You Need to Know About AI

59:47 Tracking AI Progress

01:03:42 The Politics of AI

01:07:32 The Next Stage of Training AI Models

Redefining productivity, with Natalie Nixon

Before Breakfast

Using AI as a thinking partner

The AI-powered Podcast Player