The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified 470. The Former CTO of Meta on DeepSeek, Lessons from Zuckerberg, The Next $10T Market Opportunity, and the Impact of DeepTech on Energy Costs and Climate Change (Mike Schroepfer)
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Feb 17, 2025 
Mike Schroepfer, founder of Gigascale Capital and former CTO of Meta, dives into the world of deep tech investment for climate change. He shares enlightening lessons from Zuckerberg and discusses the challenges faced while building a social media giant. Schroepfer explores the next $10T market opportunity in sustainable innovations, emphasizing the importance of energy technology. He highlights how advances in AI and regulation intersect with energy costs, advocating for a diversified energy grid to foster innovation. A must-listen for aspiring tech entrepreneurs!
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Navigating the Dot-Com Crash and Scaling Meta
- Mike Schroepfer's first company, funded by Sequoia in 2000, navigated the dot-com crash.
- He later led engineering at Mozilla (Firefox) and then Meta/Facebook, scaling the team from 100 to 35,000.
Facebook's Early Days
- When Schroepfer joined Facebook in 2008, it had fewer users than MySpace and Firefox.
- This highlights the potential of smaller companies on a high-growth trajectory.
Scaling Facebook's Infrastructure
- Scaling Facebook presented unique challenges like handling the "Bieber phenomenon" and preventing system crashes.
- This led to innovations in software, data centers, and cooling systems.
