
VC 101: How Venture Capital Really Works (No Finance Degree Needed)
Tiger Sisters
Understanding Venture Capital Dynamics
This chapter explores the key principles of venture capital, distinguishing it from traditional loans and detailing the stages of investment through the lens of Airbnb's funding journey. It also discusses the rising significance of AI in startups and B2B SaaS, urging listeners to investigate their favorite startups using valuation tools.
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🧠 Think venture capital is just for tech bros and finance guys? Think again.
In this Tiger Sisters episode, we break down how venture capital really works — and how you can borrow the frameworks VCs use to make billion-dollar bets (and apply them to your own career, finances, and love life).
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲:
◦ What VCs actually do (explained in plain English)
◦ How investors evaluate startups — and how to evaluate yourself the same way
◦ Why venture capital is a power game, not just a money game
◦ The dark side of VC nobody talks about (and the pressure that comes with it)
◦ 3 frameworks you can steal from investors to level up your own life decisions
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⏰ Timestamps
00:00:00 What even is venture capital?
00:01:14 Case studies from HBS, GSB & real angel deals
00:03:35 Pre-seed to Series E: The VC funding ladder 🪜
00:05:53 Airbnb’s $600K seed round to $100B IPO
00:09:40 How VCs really evaluate startups (3-part framework)
00:13:06 TAM: Total Addressable Market vs. actual market
00:14:29 Why VC is a power game (not just a money game)
00:17:48 Burn book of venture capital 😈
00:19:10 The real pressure that comes with raising VC money
00:21:23 The biggest mistake founders make, according to Stanford
00:26:07 3 ways to apply VC thinking to your own life
00:29:56 “I turned down Harvard Business School” 🤯
00:30:46 Your mini-exercise: Make the bet you’re scared to make
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