In a captivating discussion, Mike Maples, co-founding partner at Floodgate and veteran seed investor, shares his insights from two decades in venture capital. He tackles the effectiveness of seed funding as an asset class and lays out strategies for achieving a 10x return. Mike reflects on valuable lessons learned from missing out on Airbnb and Pinterest, while revealing three frameworks for evaluating startups. He also addresses challenges posed by overfunding and the critical importance of product-market fit in today’s investment landscape.

Mike Maples Jr. is a founding partner at Floodgate, known for investing early in giant startups like Twitter and Lyft. He discusses his journey from childhood entrepreneurship to venture capital, emphasizing the importance of curiosity and adaptability. The conversation dives into his framework for identifying successful startups, highlighting concepts like inflection points and founder-future fit. Mike also explores how unconventional ideas can transition into mainstream success, dispelling the myth of luck versus skill in entrepreneurship.

Silicon Valley investor Mike Maples Jr., known for his 'Midas Touch', shares insights on founding groundbreaking startups and navigating the AI revolution with host Reid Hoffman. They discuss identifying inflection points, the impact of AI, and the future of mass cognition driven by artificial intelligence.

Mike Maples Jr., co-founder of Floodgate, discusses Pattern Breakers and non-consensus thinking in startups. He emphasizes the need for disruptive ideas, challenging norms, and staying authentic. The conversation explores creating a different future, taking high-risk bets, and rejecting mediocrity for greatness.

Mike Maples Jr., co-founder of the VC firm Floodgate and author of "Pattern Breakers," shares insights into what makes a successful startup. He highlights the importance of adaptability and timing in entrepreneurship. The discussion covers the financial ups and downs of OpenAI, raising questions for investors. Maples also reflects on his biggest investment miss and the lessons learned from it. The conversation navigates through the shifting landscape of tech funding and the role of 'pattern breakers' in innovation.

Mike Maples Jr., Founding Partner at Floodgate and author of "Pattern Breakers," shares insights from his experiences investing in groundbreaking startups like Lyft and Twitter. He discusses the importance of non-consensus thinking and identifying unique founder traits. The conversation delves into the critical role of inflection points in entrepreneurship, shaping product-market fit, and the strategies for navigating investment challenges. Maples emphasizes staying true to one's vision and the value of originality in venture capital.

On this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different, we have a dialogue with Mike Maples Jr. on how artificial intelligence is changing startups and venture capital. Mike Maples Jr. is the co-founder of Floodgate, one of the highest profile early stage venture capitalists. He also has a podcast called Starting Greatness, and it is one of my absolute favorites. By the end of it, we hope that you'll gain a new way to think about both technical risk for startups and market risk. And why in an AI world, you must either be radically different or radically disintermediate something. You’re listening to Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different. We are the real dialogue podcast for people with a different mind. So get your mind in a different place, and hey ho, let’s go. Mike Maples Jr. on AI We begin the discussion on the topic of challenges of making sense of the rapidly evolving field of AI. Mike also talks about the traditional funding model of startups, where the primary focus was taking out technical risk, and how the LAMP stack, which commoditized what was once expensive, made it easier to start a startup. Mike notes that the nature of the LAMP stack changed what startups were funded for. “What I like to say is that the LAMP stack was deflationary in terms of the cost of starting startup. And so what does that mean? It meant that what you were funding was different, because if Kevin Rose can start dig for $1,500, over a weekend, there's no technical risks there. I mean, he hired a contractor to do it that he didn't even know at the time.” – Mike Maples Jr.   Who gets Product Market Fit first The conversation then moves on to the changing dynamics of venture capital investment. The discussion continues with the notion that technical risk and market risk are inversely related. Solving a technically difficult problem that is valuable to society will create a market; if the problem is easy to solve technically, it will all come down to who achieves product-market fit first. To add value to the business, Floodgate and YC have taken the approach of funding market risk takedown. As technology becomes more commoditized and innovations become more accessible, the person who creates something people want the quickest wins. This is why YC was so successful: it offered young people $100,000 to either take market risks or leave. He also mentions that the traditional venture capital model may not be appropriate for all businesses and that deflationary factors such as content, code, and data may change the way businesses are built. Mike Maples Jr. on AI and the future of Venture Capital Mike Maples Jr. then returns to the topic of artificial intelligence and its implications for the future of venture capital. Here, Mike emphasizes two ends of the risk spectrum: high technical risk and high market risk. On the one hand, some projects require large amounts of funding for mass computation in order to build massive models that have the potential to change humanity. On the other hand, AI is being used in a variety of fields, including content generation for marketing, customer service chatbots, and lead generation, resulting in a deflationary effect on content, code, and data. According to Mike, some businesses may not require traditional venture capital funding and should instead focus on achieving $50 million in revenue with a small team and minimal funding. There is also speculation that the current billion-dollar funds may be providing the wrong incentives to these companies. To hear more from Mike Maples Jr. and how AI can affect the future of startups and venture capital, download and listen to this episode. Bio Mike Maples Jr. is an entrepreneur turned venture capitalist. He’s co-founder of Silicon Valley based, early-stage VC Floodgate. And the host of the popular “Starting Greatness” podcast. Investments include Twitter, Lyft, Bazaarvoice, Sparefoot, Ayasdi, Xamarin, Doubledutch, Twitch.tv, Playdom, Chegg,

Jai Das, President and Partner at Sapphire Ventures, is a veteran in enterprise investing with a portfolio that includes Box and Square. Mike Maples Jr., co-founder of Floodgate, is a pioneer of seed investing with successes like Twitter and Lyft. They discuss their contrasting focuses in venture capital and the challenges of identifying future winners. The conversation dives into how AI reshapes investment opportunities, the importance of adaptable management teams, and navigating exit strategies in a shifting market.

Mike Maples Jr. is a venture capital trailblazer and author of "Pattern Breakers," known for his influential investments in startups like Twitter and Twitch. In this lively discussion, he breaks down the concept of inflection points, showcasing how startups can leverage these pivotal moments for growth. Mike emphasizes the need for radical change over mere improvements in business models. He also highlights the importance of embracing uniqueness in marketing and product development, encouraging entrepreneurs to carve out new niches and drive transformational change.

Mike Maples Jr. is a founding partner at Floodgate Partners with a rich background in venture capital. He delves into the evolution of VC, emphasizing the shift from mass computation to mass cognition. The concept of 'pattern-breaking' is highlighted as crucial for startup success. Maples discusses the future of AI and its potential to revolutionize industries, alongside the delicate balance of being 'founder-friendly' while meeting the needs of LPs. The conversation also touches on the changing dynamics of founder-investor relationships.