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

Steve Glickman of Develop Advisors joins Nick to discuss Opportunity Zones --- A Fit for VC?. In this episode, we cover: Quick overview of your background prior to Develop Advisors? Walk us through the origin story of EIG? You are also the founder & CEO of Develop Advisors - tell us more about the work you do with fund managers. Let's talk about OZ's -- and we'll start with the basics -- Give us an overview of the $6T OZ program. Incentives aside from tax benefits? Which asset classes are best suited to invest in OZs? How is an Opportunity Zone defined? What credentials make a community an OZ? As governors change -- are these OZs going to change with different administrations? Is the expectation that entrepreneurs will actually relocate to these areas for the HQ of their business? It seems like that is a bit of a stretch. Are there statistics on the number and amount of private capital funds that have been raised with a mandate to invest in OZs? In your estimation, what are some risks factors and/or potential unintended consequences that we should be mindful of? Part of my hesitation around this topic and why I've waited to cover it until I could get you specifically on the program, is because with any new gov't incentive program or over-hyped area in general (like we saw with crypto last year), it attracts a lot of "opportunists" or even "charlatans" looking to capitalize on something that's new and not well understood. How do we avoid and discourage "bad actors" from taking advantage of either LPs or Entrepreneurs? One of the services that Develop Advisor's provides is the OZI or Opportunity Zone Index. What is this attempting to measure? What do you say to the pundits that claim the majority of the benefits will accrue to the financial services investors and not to the distressed communities? To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Adeyemi Ajao Cyan Banister Jeff Clavier

Jim Kim of Builders VC joins Nick to discuss Transformative Tech for Old World Industry. In this episode, we cover: Quick Backstory/ Path to founding tech? Big news a few years ago that Formation 8 decided not to raise a fund 3. What happened with Formation 8 - why the decision not to raise fund 3? Tell us about the thesis at Builders. Why do you think these old world industries haven't been re-invented? I've worked in some old world industries myself... that move quite slowly. I'm curious if you think the timeline is a bit longer for tech companies to scale in these industries, if, for nothing else than the decision makers are much more methodical?  What are some of the key technology characteristics you're looking for in the companies you back? Aside from technology, what are the other key ingredients your hunting for? Vertical integration... building your own brand and own the customer relationship vs. serving many others as a component provider? What percentage of your new investments are serial founders vs. first-time and how does your approach differ with each? You've stated that "Synthetic biology will be the most important enabling technology of our lifetimes." Why? Talk about some exciting innovations in the science and data space and what industries will they be most beneficial to? How do you measure success with the companies in your portfolio and how do you help them get to that place?   To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Jim Tananbaum Brian Ascher Tae Hea Nahm Each investor illustrates a critical lesson learned about startup investing and how it's changed their approach. To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.  

Jenny Rooke of Genoa Ventures joins Nick to discuss Seed Investing at the Intersection of Biology & Technology. In this episode, we cover: Her background in genetics, physics, computer science... and how that lead to venture. How was it to work with Melinda and Bill Gates? You also successfully built the largest life-sciences syndicate on Angellist that is also one of the highest performing syndicates of any sector... I just took a peek at the rankings this morning and both New Stack and Genoa are in the top 5. Of course those rankings are done based on follow-on rate... so, it's nice to see we are in good company, up there w/ you Jenny... but talk a bit about why you started with a syndicate and how you've been able to drive such high performance. You launched the Genoa fund last year... Syndicate and fund now? "Genoa ventures invests in early-stage companies innovating at the intersection of biology and technology"... Jenny, what does that mean to you and what types of companies are you looking for? Adverse effects from Theranos? How and where do you source dealflow? Talk a bit about your evaluation process and some of the unique things that you do when vetting prospective portfolio companies? What's your take on VCs that pick a focus area and stay distinctly in their lane vs. those VCs that may have a focus but tend to dabble in variety of other areas? A position I've heard from many tech VCs is... "There are additional layers of risk in life sciences... the science itself, clinical trials, regulatory approvals, etc. that don't apply w/ traditional tech startups... making it a very difficult category to successfully invest in"... Jenny, agree or disagree? What's the biggest hindrance to either more or faster advancements in the life sciences space? With regard to life sciences... What's required, in terms of progress, to raise a seed round... what about a series A? How do you help your founders navigate the fundraising process where many VCs don't understand the science? Have you invested in startups where the chief scientist is CEO? If so, how to you assess for and/or help coach the commercial skills and leadership skills required to build and scale a venture-backed startup? How do you think the usage of automation and data will play a role in healthcare, therapeutics or other sectors? If early performance is an indication of long-term results, Genoa is well positioned as an emerging brand in venture... but I'm curious to hear what winning looks like for you? How are you keeping score on yourself and portfolio you're building? Talk about some exciting new innovations or trends that you’re seeing. Where do you think they will have a big impact and when? To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following individuals are featured: Nick Moran Rick Stokes Joe Dwyer This will be a unique segment where, Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures and Joe Dwyer of Founder Equity will discuss why they invested in Winston Privacy. Founder of Winston, Rich Stokes, will join Nick and Joe to discuss his startup story and how he chose New Stack to lead the investment and Founder Equity to participate in the funding round.   To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.  

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Craig Wortmann SC Moatti Bradley Tusk Each investor discusses sectors, drivers and/or trends that may have significant impact in the future and are potentially positioned for outsized-returns. To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Ash Rust of Sterling Road joins Nick to discuss "Blessed" Teams, Pseudo Deal Leads, and Caps at Pre vs Post. In this episode, we cover: His beginnings in tech and how that led to starting the fund What's the investment thesis at Sterling Road? What's unique about your approach that other firms aren't doing? Something that I think is frustrating for many founders is seeing these idealistic stories of founders that are raising $5M on a $20M cap with zero traction. And, it's also misleading in that I have a number of founders that think they need to be raising a lot more than they are... very early on before indications of product fit or even a focused commercial plan. Can you talk about the profile of these teams that are able to raise seemingly irrational seed rounds and then later let's jump into consequences. The seed round has now divided into a series of phases... we have pre-seed, seed, mango seed, seed+, seed exensions, etc. We've spoken to Semil Shah about this and how it's no longer a stage it's a series of phases and gates. Can you talk about these phases and how founders should think about milestones and raise amounts prior to raising an A? At New Stack we've encountered some strange and troubling circumstances regarding who the lead investor is on a deal and who is not. What are you seeing in terms of who takes the lead and how has that evolved over the past few years? Pro Rata has always been a hot button issue, for a variety of reasons and we're seeing some new challenges emerge as our portcos are raising up-rounds. What are the key issues you're observing with pro rata and what's your opinion on how it should be handled? A number of my founders are either raising more in their seed round or trying to pull-in and raise their A rounds before their ready b/c everyone is sounding the alarms about an impending recession... raise the money now, before it dries up. This seems curious and a bit misleading from my standpoint... What are your thoughts on founders raising more money or raising sooner because of a potential recession? I've been getting a number of pitch decks from so-called "CFOs" at startups... yet, upon review of a LinkedIN profile, it's pretty clear that these folks are bankers. Are you seeing the same and what are your thoughts? I think it was about eight months ago that YC changed its SAFE to a post-money cap, instead of a pre-money cap. They claimed to have the right intentions when they made the switch but we were immediately suspect for a few obvious reasons, some less so. Talk about about SAFEs as an investment instrument and your thoughts on the switch to post money caps. To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Cyan Banister David Cohen John Fein Each investor highlights a situation where they decided not to invest, why they passed, and how it played out. To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Aydin Senkut of Felicis Ventures joins Nick to discuss Iconic Companies, Frontier Markets & a Truly Founder Centric Approach. In this episode, we cover: Backstory / Path to tech in SF? Prior to founding Felicis Ventures, you were a Product Manager at Google, launching their first 10 international sites, its first online search licensing products, and its first Safe Search…talk about what lead to your transition to investing. What’s the story behind founding Felicis Ventures? Talk about the investment focus and approach of your firm. It states on the firms website that you back founders looking to open up frontier markets, such as longevity and engineered foods, and reinvent critical markets such as mental health and insurance….what are some of the success factors you've observed in startups trying to create or reinvent markets. You’ve invested in many iconic companies that have revolutionized their industry such as Shopify, Fitbit and CreditKarma, when investing at early stages, how do you differentiate between the ideas or trends that are going to have this long term affect from the ones that may not be so successful? Felicis states on the site that "The difference between a good product and a great product is one incalculably better than the current alternative. Successful founders have laser sharp focus on true product differentiation, intelligent time and capital allocation" Help us understand what seperates good product from great product. Differences in investing in domestic vs. international startups? You do this survey every year of your portfolio companies... can you talk about the key insights you've learned from doing that?   To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.