How to navigate an economic downturn as a venture builder and investor :: with Gary Raju

In this episode of Ventures, my guest Gary Raju (https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-raju-a014865/) and I discuss how venture builders and investors should be thinking about the upcoming economic downturn. We talk about the role of a CFO in a growing company, an overall assessment of the market conditions globally and in the US, how new and existing entrepreneurs should prepare, how Web3/Crypto will play a role, and market areas that Gary is most excited about in the future.

Visit https://satchel.works/@wclittle/ventures-episode-103 for detailed notes and links to resources (videos, articles, etc…) mentioned. 

You can watch this episode via video here. 

1:44 - Tee-up for the episode

2:05 - Gary introduction and background

2:35 - What is a CFO? How does the role change as a company grows?

3:21 - At what point does the CFO become an appropriate role in a growing startup?

4:30 - As a company scales, what are the day-to-day and quarter-to-quarter roles of a CFO?

5:47 - Overall assessment of the US and global economy…what is going on?

11:10 - How should established entrepreneurs think about the current and near-term future, given the economic climate?

15:32 - What should new entrepreneurs think about this upcoming recession?

19:55 - What does Gary think about Crypto/Web3?

23:15 - What does Gary think about DeFi (Decentralized Finance)?

26:00 - What are the spaces/markets that Gary is most interested in from an investor perspective? 

29:13 - Final words / summary for the venture-builders/investors out there. 1. Don’t be overly concerned. 2. You can do it. 3. Prota Ventures is here to help.

30:28 - Where can people find Gary and continue the conversation? gary.ragu@protaventures.com // https://www.protaventures.com/ // https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-raju-a014865/