Grant's Promotion to Partner, the State of Seed Investing, and Quantum vs Classical Risks

Today’s episode is a day late but for good reason — Grant was recently promoted to Partner(!), so Hammad wanted to open the pod congratulating him, and let Grant share some thank you’s to those that have helped him reach this amazing milestone.

We then shift to a topic that’s seemingly on everyone’s minds: why is early stage (seed) investing so competitive? And what will happen from here? Grant opens with an iconic Jerry Neumann post from 10 years ago, and connects it to two other posts on the differences in risks between early and late stage startups.

This is one of our most wide-ranging episodes to date. We cover everything from quantum vs classical risks to lessons from Grant’s recent dinner with a founder of an iconic venture firm. Grant was also semi-caffeinated for this, which if you know him well, means you’re in for a high-tempo convo. Enjoy!

“I like hitting the tennis ball.” —Novak Djokovic

🔗 Show Resource Links

⁠The Purity of Obsession⁠ - Grant’s post on becoming Partner
⁠Heat Death: Venture Capital in the 1980s⁠ - Reaction Wheel (Jerry Neumann)
⁠Slow Ventures’ State of VC 2025 Deck⁠
⁠There are No Stages, Just Early and Late⁠ - Yoni Rechtman
⁠Classical Risk vs Quantum Risk⁠ - Kanyi Maqubela
⁠Odds of Success⁠ - Grant’s Ignition essay

🎙️ Podcast Links

🌀 About Motion Blur

Exploring what makes great companies and technologies work. Brought to you by Grant Gregory & Hammad Aslam. Grant is a Partner at ⁠⁠⁠Cantos⁠⁠⁠ where he focuses on physical world technologies. Hammad is a Partner at Kivu Ventures, ⁠⁠⁠Susa⁠⁠⁠’s growth fund. Learn more about the hosts:

Grant Gregory, ⁠⁠⁠⁠@grant__gregory⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Embers⁠⁠⁠⁠
Hammad Aslam, ⁠⁠⁠⁠@_hammad_aslamh⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Susa Ventures⁠⁠⁠

If you're interested in the real inside baseball of tech, entrepreneurship, and start-up investing, tune in every week for new episodes.

Intro music credit: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Will Harrison⁠⁠⁠⁠

Thanks for reading and listening to Motion Blur! ⁠⁠⁠Subscribe⁠⁠⁠ to get notified for future episodes.

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