How to Read Investors Like a Book | Thorsten Claus | Superclusters | S6E1

“You need to make space for weird types of conversations to happen on the fringes that really inform you what’s going on at the frontier.” — Thorsten Claus

Thorsten Claus is a venture investor and builder with more than 15 years of private equity and venture capital experience. He has raised nine funds, managed over $4.8B across global platforms, and led or overseen more than 120 direct investments, generating returns of 3x–7x net to investors.

His current work focuses on dual-use technologies at the intersection of defense, security, and national resilience. Guided by the discipline of Howard Marks, the systems-level thinking of the Consilience Project, and a commitment to internalizing externalities, he invests in teams and technologies that strengthen sovereign capability and long-term societal stability.

Beyond capital, Thorsten is a hands-on builder. He machines defense-critical and space components, restores historic race engines, and writes on production systems and resilience at blog.thinkstorm.com. This grounding in physical production complements his investment practice, keeping judgment tied to real-world constraints.

You can find Thor on his socials here:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thorstenclaus/X / Twitter: https://x.com/thinkstorm

OUTLINE:

[00:00] Intro

[02:31] Downhill skateboarding

[05:58] How do you see behind a corner when downhill skateboarding?

[07:42] Hill hunting

[10:15] How long does it take to go down the Sierras?

[11:41] The most important part of the body for downhill skateboarding

[16:02] David's dumb question of the day

[17:25] The accident that pivoted Thor's life

[19:34] The first race car Thor bought

[20:51] Why Thor is a terrible race car driver?

[23:52] How did Thor come to use the race oil that Porsche Racing uses?

[24:59] The 3 things you need to welcome fringe conversations

[27:07] Just another David misattribution

[27:34] Truth is difficult these days

[29:20] How do you prioritize which advice to take?

[30:33] Thor's weird definition of risk

[31:59] How do you know if someone is giving you authentic advice?

[34:40] How does Thor understand someone's past without asking about it?

[39:42] Lessons from fictional storytelling in diligencing GPs

[43:22] Questions and responses that reveal a GP's past

[46:10] Books that Thor read to ask better questions

[49:18] What is the USMC Christmas Tree?

[53:40] The Christmas Tree in an investor's portfolio

[57:49] Can beggars be choosers?

[1:00:41] The difference between capital formation and fundraising

[1:03:00] Production vs product for a GP

[1:06:54] Thor and cardistry

[1:10:21] What are moments that reminds Thor we're still in the good old days?

[1:13:50] The post-credit scene

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For podcast show notes: https://cupofzhou.com/superclusters

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