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

In this special replay of Episode 154, Ben Narasin of NEA joins Nick to discuss NEA’s Investment Process & The Key Ingredients for Startup Success. In this episode we cover:  - Why he made the move to NEA - His Investment focus - The investment process the firm and if decisions are made by committee - Ben's Evaluation Process - The key factor that every successful founder possesses - The common red flags that pop up and cause him to say no to strong startups - Why he believes his job is to say no - How he assess opportunities with 100 reasons to say yes and one reason to say no - Ben's evolving approach toward weighing risk factors in startups - How the tech and investing industry has changed over the past decade - How AUM is driving a bifurcation in venture Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Mike Smerklo Spencer Maughan Vanessa Larco Ben Wiener Each investor discusses a portfolio company that did not survive and why it was that they failed. Did you miss our guests full length episodes? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Ruth Foxe Blader of Anthemis joins Nick to discuss The Embedded Opportunity in Insurtech, Crypto & Web 3.0 Applications, and the Future of Fintech. In this episode we cover: Ruth's Background and path from English Major to VC What trends she's following in Fintech and Insurtech Opportunities for developing market founders & more!  Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Andrew Antonio of Urban Sky and Nate Williams of Union Labs join Nick to discuss Why We Invested in Urban Sky. In this episode we cover: What is Urban Sky?  How did Andrew and Nate originally connect?  The thesis at Union Labs.  What does the future hold for Urban Sky?  Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Each investor highlights a situation where they decided not to invest, why they passed, and how it played out. Did you miss our guests full length episodes? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Nagraj Kashyap of Softbank joins Nick to discuss The Future of Softbank and Vision Fund 2, Creative Monetization of User Growth, and Why VC's Missed on Zoom. In this episode we cover: Nagraj's Background and Path to VC. How do you think through horizontal, vertical, or geographic expansion and when the right time is to do so? What did other VC's miss about Zoom? How do you evaluate an opportunity? What key things are you looking for in a consumer startup?  Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Each investor discusses a portfolio company that did not survive and why it was that they failed. Did you miss our guests full length episodes? For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).