My guest today is Hemant Taneja. Hemant is the CEO and Managing Director of General Catalyst, the global venture capital firm you’ll hear us refer to as GC. GC has set out to build resiliency across critical industries worldwide. The firm leverages technology to retool sectors such as healthcare, energy, defense, and manufacturing and explores innovative capital structures to support founders and businesses. Hemant discusses how the firm is positioned to respond to the aftermath of crises, including the pandemic, wars, energy issues, and beyond. We also discuss the building of a category-defining healthcare company, Livongo and much more. Please enjoy this conversation with Hemant Taneja.
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Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.
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Show Notes:
(00:00:00) Our Partners: Ramp and Tegus
(00:03:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best
(00:03:57) Introducing Hemant Taneja and General Catalyst
(00:04:17) Global Resilience and Innovation Post-Pandemic
(00:05:56) Re-Globalization and Manufacturing
(00:07:03) Building Livongo: A 20-Year Overnight Success
(00:13:23) Aligning Incentives in Healthcare
(00:15:40) Re-imagining the Investment Business
(00:20:54) Evolution of General Catalyst
(00:27:04) Succession and Trust in Asset Management
(00:35:00) Founder-Centric Capital Goals
(00:36:32) Balancing Growth and Liquidity
(00:41:39) AI and Onshoring Productivity
(00:47:10) Defense Investments and Ethics
(00:50:11) Geopolitics and Regulation
(00:53:16) Reflections on Leadership and Strategy
(01:01:14) Hemant's Future Plans
(01:02:55) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done for Him
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