The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified

In this special replay episode Grace Isford of Canvas Ventures joins Nick on a special Crisis Coverage installment to discuss the GTM Playbook; Building a Career in VC; Societal Challenges and Opportunities Post-COVID; and a Comprehensive Analysis of Successful GPs and Venture Investments. In this episode, we cover: You’re an extroverted, people-person… how you holding up w/ the quarantine? Quick overview of your background and path to VC? Your focus (and thesis) at Canvas? You developed a 30 page GTM Playbook based on interviews w/ 10+ CROs/VPs of Sales across major B2B companies. First of all, is this publicly available and also what were some takeaways that really stood out? There’s a segment of VCs that believe that one must be an operator to be a good VC… what’s your stance? Examples of successful non-operators? You completed a comprehensive analysis of the portfolios of over 200 venture firms, looked at 100 successful GPs, and winning, U.S.-based investments w/ a valuation greater than $500M… what were your key takeaways? A bit about signaling… Many in the industry and those observing determine the value of a startup based on whether a brand name venture firm is in the deal… “If Sequoia is in the deal, startup must be great”… what are your thoughts on this common perception? What does your weekly routine look like and how have you prioritized the various demands of the job? What have you found to be most challenging in your career as a VC? What advice do you have for young folks trying to make an impact as an investor or board observer? You wrote a great piece that analyzed three areas where VCs could invest to address the societal challenges of COVID-19. Can you walk us through each of these and why the opportunity here is greater? What do you think the future holds for venture & entrepreneurship in a post-COVID world? The old playbook for winning deals is gone… Any idea on how one might win a deal virtually? Guest Links: Grace’s Twitter Grace’s LinkedIn Canvas Ventures The hosts of The Full Ratchet are Nick Moran and Nate Pierotti of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter. Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and we’ll send a list of potential investors right to your inbox!

In this special replay episode Semil Shah of Haystack joins Nick to discuss 1st Institutional VC Fund Raised– Key Learnings.  We address questions including: Maybe we can start off with how your investment focus has evolved since the last time you joined us. What are your thoughts on how seed has split into pre-seed, seed, seed extension, and post seed? Are you investing once with a company or reserving for these various stages within seed? You just closed fund 3… tell us about the first two funds that set the stage. Would you do things differently if you could go back? Which raise was the hardest? How did the expectations of LPs change from the early funds to the institutional fund? What surprised you most about the raise? Did you connect w/ prospectives through referrals, cold calls, a combination? Walk us through the metrics… how many targets, meetings, avg commitment amt, etc. Did you ever think you might not complete the raise? What’s the best advice you got on the raise and who’d you get it from? In our first interview, you talked about how you couldn’t get a full-time job at a venture firm. I’m sure you’ve had plenty of offers as you’ve built a track record. Did you ever consider making the jump? When I sent my fund deck to you, you said “Awesome and looks good. As I always say, the deck matters much less than having capital partners who believe in you” For anyone listening that aspires to raise… talk about what you meant by this comment. Guest Links: Semil’s Blog Semil on Twitter How To Transform A VC Fund Capital Base From Individuals To Institutional LPs The hosts of The Full Ratchet are Nick Moran and Nate Pierotti of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter. Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and we’ll send a list of potential investors right to your inbox!

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Peter Wagner Lily Lyman Michael Jones Each investor highlights a situation where they decided not to invest, why they passed, and how it played out. The hosts of The Full Ratchet are Nick Moran and Nate Pierotti of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter. Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and we’ll send a list of potential investors right to your inbox!

In this special replay episode Ed Sim of Boldstart ventures joins Nick to discuss Maintaining a Disciplined Fund Size and Strategy, The Rise of NYC Tech, and Changes in the Exit Environment. In this episode, we cover: Walk us through your background and path to VC What’s the thesis at boldstart ventures? What was it like starting Boldstart in NYC in 2010? Tell us a bit about the thesis at investment and how things evolved over the years until the ultimate exit? What’s your preference…  Niche and narrow problems or big and expansive opportunities? What is your mental model for investing in enterprise founders with ideas? category creation Why only technical founders? Will this enterprise bull market sustain? You’ve talked about being involved and sitting on boards from “whiteboard to scale” ?…  how do you manage ever-increasing board responsibilities with other demands of the job? Where are VCs most lacking when it comes to the value that early-stage founders require? Do you think there’s too much money in venture? How do you win in a seed with so many seed funds? Guest Links: boldstart ventures Ed’s Twitter Ed’s LinkedIn The hosts of The Full Ratchet are Nick Moran and Nate Pierotti of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter. Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and we’ll send a list of potential investors right to your inbox!

In this special replay episode Jason Calacanis joins Nick to discuss his new book and his secrets to successful angel investing. We address questions including: Why Jason wrote the book What drives him to continue angel investing after all his success His thoughts on angels that make large investments during their first year of angel investing His focus on finding 5,000x returns and his response to those that say he is discouraging innovation w/ this approach How he thinks about the economics and business model of early-stage businesses in nascent markets If he takes a contrarian or adversarial approach with founders Guest Links: Calacanis.com Jason on Twitter The hosts of The Full Ratchet are Nick Moran and Nate Pierotti of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter. Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and we’ll send a list of potential investors right to your inbox!

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Roger Ehrenberg Sebastian Duesterhoeft Risa Stack We asked guests to discuss the factor that could cause the most disruption to the industry going forward and how that will change the next decade of venture. The hosts of The Full Ratchet are Nick Moran and Nate Pierotti of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter. Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and we’ll send a list of potential investors right to your inbox!

Jon Keidan of Torch Capital joins Nate to discuss The Consumer Investing Framework, The Importance of Building a Brand, And Tactical Advice for Founders on how to find Product-Market Fit. In this episode we cover: Investing in Consumer Companies, Pain Points, Market Size, and Founder Qualities Balancing Top-Down and Bottom-Up Investing Strategies Consumer Distribution and Unit Economics in Early-Stage Investing Building a Strong Brand and Moat for a Successful Business Consumer Social Platforms and Their Potential for Growth Fundraising Strategies for Early-Stage Startups Guest Links: Twitter LinkedIn Torch Capital The hosts of The Full Ratchet are Nick Moran and Nate Pierotti of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter. Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and we’ll send a list of potential investors right to your inbox!

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: John Cowgill Jerry Neumann Lily Lyman We asked guests to share the best question they've ever been asked by an allocator. The hosts of The Full Ratchet are Nick Moran and Nate Pierotti of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter. Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and we’ll send a list of potential investors right to your inbox!

Investor Jules Schwerin discusses AI's impact on legacy industries, the bull case for vertical SaaS, and the future of the Series A market. They explore road mapping, RTP Global's structure, and the role of AI in legal tech. Market size and competitive funding rounds are highlighted, along with logistics investments in procurement automation and transportation management systems. The guest suggests potential interview ideas and encourages listeners to connect through email.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Risa Stack Joe Kaiser Tim Tully Each investor highlights a situation where they decided not to invest, why they passed, and how it played out. The hosts of The Full Ratchet are Nick Moran and Nate Pierotti of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter. Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and we’ll send a list of potential investors right to your inbox!