Eric Paley, Mike Maples, and Jason Lemkin discuss the viability of the seed model for boutique seed funds, the importance of product-market fit and business model fit, the appropriateness of founders asking for money back, investing with a sense of responsibility, predicting a hiring spree in the cloud industry, experiences with exiting companies and taking liquidity, and their investment strategy and long-term capital.

Mike Maples, a partner at the VC firm Floodgate, shares how mental models shape his decision-making process, where to find the next big idea, and how to rally people to your cause.   Go Premium: Members get early access, ad-free episodes, hand-edited transcripts, searchable transcripts, member-only episodes, and more. Sign up at: https://fs.blog/membership/   Every Sunday our newsletter shares timeless insights and ideas that you can use at work and home. Add it to your inbox: https://fs.blog/newsletter/   Follow Shane on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/ShaneAParrish

Mike Maples, an influential investor and co-founder of FLOODGATE, dives into the nitty-gritty of startup success. He discusses common investor pitfalls and the pivotal role of a startup's team versus its idea. Maples highlights what makes an idea 'pattern-breaking' and the unique traits of successful founders, including their resilience to feedback. He explores why some regions outshine the U.S. in unicorn startups and how storytelling can shape a startup's journey. Plus, learn why not every charismatic narrative leads to success.

Mike Maples shares insights on building successful startups, Thunder Lizard perspective, missed opportunities like Airbnb, and the future of VC. The discussion covers navigating the idea maze, investing in non-consensus ideas, fostering artistic vision in startup teams, and the evolution of Justin TV to Twitch. It also explores operator angels, the future of seed markets in venture capital, tech trends, fund strategies, blitz scaling, and the essence of entrepreneurship and investing.

Venture capitalist Mike Maples discusses the importance of identifying pattern-breaking founders in startups, emphasizing the value of insights and inflections for success. He shares insights on investing in non-consensus startups like Twitch, highlighting the need for unique visions and authenticity in founders. The podcast explores the power of unique insights, inflection points, and being non-consensus in the venture capital landscape.

In this engaging discussion, Mike Maples, a top VC and author of 'Pattern Breakers', shares his expertise on what drives successful startups. He emphasizes that founders shouldn't overthink their ideas and instead focus on timing, which he deems crucial yet challenging. The conversation dives into Elon Musk's Cybertruck, discussing its ambitious goals versus practicality. Maples also highlights the seismic impact of AI on the startup landscape and reflects on Silicon Valley's evolving political dynamics, offering vital advice for both founders and fund managers.

Mike Maples, an 8x Midas List investor and founding partner at Floodgate Fund, shares his insights on startup success and the future of venture capital. He explores how top startups redefine categories and discusses the significance of 'pattern-breaking' ideas. The conversation dives into pivotal moments in startup history, including the rise of Twitch and Tesla. Maples also highlights the traits of successful founders, emphasizing storytelling and community movements as key elements in creating impactful products.

Shaan (@ShaanVP) and Sam (@TheSamParr) talk with seed VC Mike Maples (@m2jr). Mike is a co-founding Partner at Floodgate. He has been on the Forbes Midas List eight times in the last decade due to notable investments like Twitter, Twitch, Lyft, and Okta. In this episode he talks about the four big trends he is excited about, the types of companies he likes to invest in, and why a startup isn’t a company. He shares a few of the mental models he uses at Floodgate to evaluate startups and shares the thoughts behind some of his unique turns of phrase.---------* Want to be featured in a future episode? Drop your question/comment/criticism/love here: https://www.mfmpod.com/p/hotline/* Support the pod by spreading the word, become a referrer here: https://refer.fm/million* Have you joined our private Facebook group yet? Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/ourfirstmillion and join thousands of other entrepreneurs and founders scheming up ideas.---------Show notes:* (1:02) – Debrief of the episode* (6:37) - Intro to Mike Maples* (9:02) - How Mike thinks about the next big thing* (11:00) – The 4 inflections Mike is excited about* (13:51) – Cloud Offices* (19:33) – A brief history of centralization & decentralization* (22:48) – Examples of software defined companies* (26:14) – A practical way to prepare for the future* (30:23) – How Mike thinks about investing in startups* (33:07) – Startup investing mental models* (37:39) – Mike’s take on "1 to n" businesses* (42:36) – Mike on Balaji* (47:11) – Mike on media companies * (49:49) – Force a choice, not a comparison* (54:46) – Mike’s information diet* (57:40) – Contact info & future topics

Mike Maples, Founding Partner at FLOODGATE, discusses startup capitalism, evaluating founders, stress testing ideas, pattern breaking actions, finding opportunities, and his new book. The podcast also explores Crypto IRAs, productivity tools, Bitcoin insurance, and contrasts between startup and corporate capitalism.

Mike Maples, Founder of Floodgate and Host of the Starting Greatness podcast, discusses insight hacking, inflections, effective leadership, and uniqueness in startups with Erik Torenberg. They explore navigating false positives, symptoms of failing companies, and finding market niches. The conversation provides valuable advice for startup success.

Children as young as two-years-old may soon start reading thanks to education apps accelerating the learning process. Bureaucracy and old teaching methods are the main obstacles to a better education system. The podcast discusses personalized learning, challenges in the K-12 system, creating superior products, and the shift to a computational economy.

Mike Maples is one of the OGs of seed investing. As the Co-Founder of Floodgate, he has backed the likes of Twitch, Okta, Lyft, Twitter and more. Mike has been on the Forbes Midas List eight times in the last decade and was also named a “Rising Star” by FORTUNE and profiled by Harvard Business School for his lifetime contributions to entrepreneurship.  In Today's Episode with Mike Maples We Discuss 1.) Lesson from SVB #1: The Importance of Scenario Planning: What is the right way to do scenario planning in startups? What is the difference between good vs bad scenario planning? What do the best scenario plans include and involve? What is the right way to communicate these scenario plans to your stakeholders? 2.) Lesson from SVB #2: The Importance of Financial Agility: What does it mean for a startup to be "financially agile"? From a banking relationships perspective, what can startups do to be financially agile? How many accounts should a startup have? How much runway should be in each? Should startups bank with startup banks as well as traditional banks? Should startups have their money in sweep accounts and money market accounts? 3.) Lesson from SVB #3: How to Master Crisis Communications: Why is it so important for founder to over-communicate in tough times? How transparent should they be in these communications? What does Mike mean when he says "be radically human"? If Mike were to face a crisis, what would he do differently in the way he communicates to his LPs? 4.) Lessons from SVB: The Wider World: Why does Mike believe the level of quantitative easing that occurred in COVID was scandalous? Does Mike believe the USD will continue to be the reserve currency of the world? Will we be in a better or worse macro situation by the end of the year? Has Mike ever had a company that achieved true PMF and failed?

Mike Maples, a seasoned venture capitalist, shares insights on the essence of startup innovation and success. He introduces the concept of 'Pattern Breakers,' emphasizing the importance of bold differentiation and authentic founder vision. The discussion covers navigating uncertainty in entrepreneurship, the significance of reconnecting with nature, and embracing unconventional thinking for radical breakthroughs. Mike also critiques shallow innovations in the AI space, advocating for a deeper, more meaningful approach to entrepreneurship.

Mike Maples of Floodgate discusses early-stage venture investing, highlighting investments in Lyft and Twitter. He emphasizes identifying non-consensus ideas and future-fit founders, along with the value of pursuing unique business models. The podcast covers insights on building relationships with LPs, advice for new VCs, and the importance of breakthroughs in startups.

In this podcast episode, Okta's founder shares insights on pursuing valuable ideas, evaluating markets, and the benefits of being a monopolist in a small market. He also discusses the challenges faced by Okta, the importance of balancing vision and realism, and navigating venture capital funding and investor partnerships.