In this special episode of the Slow Hunch, I sat down with Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham, founding partners of USV.

Since founding USV in 2003, Fred and Brad have backed companies like Twitter, Etsy, Cloudflare, and Coinbase while developing an investment thesis focused on enabling new forms of value creation through open access to networks, capital, and knowledge.

Fred and Brad bring decades of investment experience, having seen multiple tech cycles from the early internet to mobile, cloud, crypto, and now AI. What makes their partnership unique is how they've maintained their intellectual curiosity and drive to understand emerging technologies and business models, after 20+ years of working together.

I've been lucky enough to have a front-row seat to their approach, and it was really special to have this conversation over multiple mugs of tea in my living room in New York City.

In many ways, USV has been their collective slow hunch - an exploration of how emerging tech intersects with the world and how to be part of it.

Hope you enjoy this conversation!

Chapters:

00:00:00 Cold open
00:10:40 How USV was formed
00:17:16 Fred and Brad on their investment philosophy
00:24:01 Overcoming early challenges
00:27:43 The emergence of web2
00:30:59 The initial promise of social media
00:34:04 Investing in Twitter
00:39:11 The early days of Bitcoin
00:45:55 The risk of market consolidation in AI
00:49:39 Fred and Brad reflect on their mistakes
00:57:18 The Impact of AI
01:07:23 The future of technology
01:09:50 What keeps them going after 30+ years

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