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

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Madhavan Ramanujam Guy Turner Yoav Leitersdorf Each investor describes the most unusual situation or pitch that they've encountered as an investor.   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: Bilal Zuberi Zach Coelius Elizabeth Galbut 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.

Brian Ascher of Venrock joins Nick to discuss Product is Paramount. In this episode, we cover:  What is your story at Venrock and how have both you and your firm evolved over the past two decades. Talk a little about Venrock and your focus there. You were a product manager at Intuit, prior to Venrock.. what do you think is the VCs role in shaping product strategy? What are your thoughts on SaaS investing and this increasing focus on the "Intelligent Enterprise" You wrote an article a few years ago called “Goldilocks and the 3 SaaS Go To- Markets Models”... what are the three flavors of SaaS go-to-market and have they changed since you wrote the article? Business Model: Price/seat vs. metered service vs. price for value We're about to close on our first fintech investment for fund I-- can you talk a bit about fintech and why it's so hot? Some have said that digital currencies and/or the blockchain itself will be as disruptive as the internet-- agree or disagree? Something we've neglected a bit on the program is long-term governance. What are your thoughts on Managing a Board of Directors and what situations have you seen play out-- for better or worse? What is the percentage of healthy, well-functioning boards vs unhealthy boards? How are chairman roles assigned/elected-- are they often explicit and how useful is it to have an official Chairman? 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: Paul Martino Jason Calacanis Chris Farmer 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.

Carter Cast of Pritzker Group joins Nick to discuss Leadership from Origin to Scale. In this episode, we cover: You’ve been a manager and leader in early stage companies – from startups like Blue Nile (from $0 to $50 million in a couple years) to Walmart.com (from $0 – 5 billion in 7 years). I'm sure each was different but tell us about the experience of scaling such high growth companies? What were some of the key lessons or surprises from those experiences? You went from Operator to VC... Why'd you write the book? You present these catchy archetypes in the book... Captain Fantastic; the Solo Flier; Version 1.0; the One-Trick Pony; the Whirling Dervish. Can you give us a brief overview of each and then maybe we can talk about which, in particular, afflict entrepreneurs? Clearly you've thought deeply about the personal side of entrepreneurship and the psychology of founders. When you're looking at new deals, what sort of traits are you looking for in the founders? You and I have discussed your “Launching and Leading Startups” class at Kellogg-- what do you focus on in the class and why? I tend to see different skill sets and strengths of those running an early stage business vs. those running an IPO-ready company and we recently had David Cohen on the show who said that often the person to start a company is not the right person to scale it or take it public. Do you agree or disagree and how do you think about the changing leadership requirements through scale?   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: Sarah Anderson Ash Fontana Chris Duovos 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.

Welcome back to TFR for another Cram Session. In these special releases, we have aggregated the takeaways and tips from previous episodes. In this installment, we will be recapping the following episodes: 113. The Next Great Startup Ecosystem is… Part 1 (Chris Olsen) 114. The Next Great Startup Ecosystem is… Part 2 (Chris Olsen) 116. Index Investing, Mastering Dealflow & Seeing Everything at Series A, Part 1 (Galen Mason & Brian Axelrad) 117. Index Investing, Mastering Dealflow & Seeing Everything at Series A, Part 2 (Galen Mason & Brian Axelrad) 118. Economic Theory in Venture Capital, Part 1 (Mark Suster) 119. Economic Theory in Venture Capital, Part 2 (Mark Suster)   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: Brendan Wallace Semil Shah Joe Medved Each investor discusses a portfolio company that did not survive and why it was that they failed.   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.

David Cohen of Techstars joins Nick to discuss Techstars: What Worked, What Didn't, What's Next. In this episode, we cover: "What was the original vision for Techstars, when you started? How has that vision changed and evolved to where it is now? Techstars Ventures-- any concern that it sends a bad signal for those cohort companies that the fund does not invest in? What does winning look like for Techstars? How do you measure success? Do you measure common VC fund metrics like TVPI, DPI, IRR, etc? Do you compare yourself against the other top accelerators? If so, where do you excel? Started Techstars Anywhere in 2017, first full class in '18... How does one run a remote accelerator w/ the same quality of an in person one? I'm going to put you on the spot here-- some founders do not have a positive experience going through Techstars or other accelerators for that matter. What type of founder is the program a great fit for and what is it a poor fit for? I've noticed a focus both from you and Techstars on Mental health and wellness-- what are your thoughts on this area as an opportunity for startup innovation? How about the Cannabis industry. You’re based in Boulder-- what are your thoughts on the sector and opportunity for founders? Do More Faster is one of the must-have books for every founder. Super pragmatic, actionable insights. What lesson or piece of advice doesn't appear in the book that, now in 2018, you'd add as a critical item for founder's to appreciate as they go through their journey Techstars’s FounderCon Europe 2018 was less than 2 weeks ago-- What would you say is the biggest difference you’ve found when working with European startups vs ones in the US? What do you think Techstars looks like in five years? How do you balance time spent between companies that are succeeding vs. those that are failing? If you were to do it all over again, what would you change? What have you learned most about yourself through your experience at Techstars?" 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: Chris Farmer Rebecca Kaden Ben Narasin Each investor describes the most unusual situation or pitch that they've encountered as an investor.   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.