159. The Pioneer of Post-Seed (Paul Martino)

Paul Martino of Bullpen Capital joins Nick to discuss the emergence of the Post-Seed round. In this episode, we cover:

• Why Paul passed on joining Mike Maples at Floodgate in order to start Bullpen
• The product/market fit algorithm he developed for Mike
• If the stages of funding are moving out or if there are just more of them
• How Bullpen is differentiated
• The metrics they require to engage with startups
• How his quant background has helped make this subjective discipline more objective
• The hardest aspect of developing new, young VCs
• We discuss lack of innovation in the asset class
• Why herd mentality is pervasive
• Other contrarian principles he and Bullpen embrace
• If it's harder to get A or B round funding for the non-traditional founders or industries that he invests in
• How Private Equity is impacting exits the differences in sourcing at post-seed and we wrap up w/ Paul's thoughts on how branding and investment focus helps drive opportunity for Bullpen

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