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

Sach Chitnis of Jump Capital joins Nick to discuss Discovering the Next Sectors of Opportunity, The Impact Platform, & The Exit Discussion. In this episode, we cover: Walk us through your background and path to VC What’s the thesis at Jump Capital? Talk about developing a thesis on a specific market opportunity — can you give us the broad strokes on your process of how you dissect emerging markets and identify where existing offerings are lacking? How do you determine who will be the winner?  Is it common that, of the existing set of players, none will emerge as the winner and you need to wait for a fresh approach? Having a portfolio support platform is unusual for your size — how are you able to make it work at your fund size and what all does it entail? In what areas do you find a Series A funded company needs the most help? How do you advise a founder that's in a hot space, doesn't need capital but has inbound interest and large investment offers, maybe at inflated valuations, from tier 1 coastal investors? Let's talk about exits a bit...  you've been around for 8 years, I noticed the good news of both 4C and Personal Capital's recent large exit,  where are you finding most of the exit discussions begin... do they start w/ the founder considering it, do you discuss it as an option, or do meetings/partnerships start coming from strategics that get the process rolling? How do you advise founders on negotiation and getting the right offer, not just any offer? What is "swing time" and how do you systematically build that into your schedule?

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Niko Bonatsos Melody Koh Ramy Adeeb Mark Suster Each investor discusses a portfolio company that did not survive and why it was that they failed.

Maren Bannon of January Ventures joins Nick to discuss Breaking the Founder Stereotype, Mastering Conviction Over Zoom, & the Contrast between European and American Entrepreneurs. In this episode, we cover: Walk us through your background and path to VC What’s the thesis at  January Ventures? How are you and your team at January Ventures making tech more of an equal opportunity? What is your approach to portfolio construction in this fund and how will that evolve in the future? What's one thing you know now that you wish you knew prior to raising the fund? You take meetings with founders VERY early — no warm intro, no pitch deck, or no revenue required to pitch to January Ventures. How do you evaluate the potential this early? How do you filter all of the opportunities -- what is your pre-filter process? How have you changed your work/process at January post COVID? What is your experience like moving from SF to Europe and what is your view of the European tech ecosystem?

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Henrique Dubugras Jim Douglass Beezer Clarkson Avichal Garg Each investor describes the most unusual situation or pitch that they've encountered as an investor.

Tim Guleri of Sierra Ventures joins Nick to discuss Advice from a Unicorn Founder Turned VC, the Future of the VC Landscape for Founders & VCs, and the Founder Love Metric. In this episode, we cover: Walk us through your background and path to VC What’s the thesis at Sierra Ventures? What's been your biggest influence on the firm's ethos? You've had two incredible outcomes as a founder... first question is do you think the process of building a company today is materially different than it was when you did it... if so how? We've talked a lot on the show, over the past 8 months about the effects of COVID on venture... what have been you main observations on how VCs are adjusting to investing during COVID? What do you think the new normal for startups looks like post-covid? How do you advise a founder that's in a hot space, doesn't need capital, but has inbound interest and large investment offers, maybe at inflated valuations, from tier 1 coastal investors? How do you handle situations where the product is just not a great fit for the market and the momentum is not building the way it should? You've been through the exit process this yourself and, I'd imagine, even w/ great outcomes those are some of the hardest decision one faces as a CEO... Do you have a framework or an approach to assessing whether an exit offer is strong and should be taken or whether the founder should hold out for a bigger outcome. There are a lot of factors that play into having to wind down a company...  are there any that standout that signal to you that it's no longer working and we need to face to reality? You mentioned something interesting recently pertaining to your relationship with founders and that’s that you track a metric that you dub “Founder Love”. Can you explain how you gauge and measure this? What do you think the venture industry looks like in 5-10 year

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Check Warner Ty Findley Lo Toney Byron Deeter Each investor illustrates a critical lesson learned about startup investing and how it's changed their approach.

Ed Sim of boldstart ventures joins Nick to discuss: Velocity as a Superpower, Why Contrarians Win, The Role of a Board Member, and Why Some Challenge When they Should Chill 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?

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Steve Blank Niki Pezeshki Lolita Taub Jesse Middleton Each investor discusses sectors, drivers and/or trends that may have significant impact in the future and are potentially positioned for outsized-returns.

Brian Hirsch of Tribeca Venture Partners 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 Tribeca Venture Partners (TVP)? We've seen notable firms in the valley launch platform and service offerings to founders... have you considered this at Tribeca - why or why not? Biggest differences between NYC tech vs Bay Area Tech COVID is causing many people to move away from the city. Any concerns about losing tech talent? How much does the exit environment for tech companies effects what you invest in? what's most undervalued in the public market or exit market at large that will be more appropriately valued in 3-5 years from now What's your take SPACs? 10/9 Brain's Tweet: "New 🦄 every 3 days this year vs. how many SPACs?  Unicorns and SPACs are like pizza. If the ratio of cheese to sauce is off the 🍕 tastes bad and goes down poorly." What's your take on rolling funds?

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Janet Bannister Shawn Carolan Reid Christian Villi Iltchev Each investor highlights a situation where they decided not to invest, why they passed, and how it played out.