The Dart Board with Daniel Dart

Bill Gurley, longtime Benchmark partner and author, shares his path from engineer to top venture capitalist. He explores obsessive learning, how to find and test a passion, and why going where the action is accelerates growth. He warns against the resume arms race, explains the value of reading and public writing, and discusses AI’s role in future-proofing careers.

Meet Mike Knoop — co-founder of Zapier, co-founder of Arc Prize, and co-founder of the NDEA AI Lab. In this wide-ranging conversation, Mike shares his journey from building one of the most capital-efficient SaaS companies ever to taking big swings at the frontier of artificial intelligence.We dive into why scaling language models alone won’t get us to AGI, how benchmarks like ARC expose the limits of today’s systems, and why program synthesis may be the missing piece. We close with what it means to build technology that truly expands human potential, innovation, and adaptation.

Meet Zal Bilimoria, founder & solo GP at Refactor Capital, a seed-stage fund focused on bio, climate, energy, aerospace, and other hard-but-world-changing industries.We discuss his 10-year journey building Refactor, how his product years at Google/Netflix/LinkedIn shaped his investing lens, and what he learned from launching A16Z’s first bio fund. We talk portfolio construction, ownership discipline, navigating follow-ons in an AI-inflated market, and how he supports founders in the fast, messy early days.Zal also discusses setbacks, down rounds, pay-to-plays, and the moments that shaped his perspective as an investor and partner to founders.

Seth Levine, co-founder of Foundry Group and author of Capital Evolution, dives into the evolution of his $4B platform and his decision to stop raising future funds. He highlights how venture capital can empower communities while discussing capitalism as a social compact. Seth delves into the importance of adaptability, sharing personal anecdotes about humility and life’s unexpected turns. He advises founders on cultivating company culture and underscores the need for gathering information over panic during critical decisions.

Meet Jessica McKellar, CEO and co-founder of Pilot. In this episode, she shares how she built three successful startups, including exits to Oracle and Dropbox, and breaks down why staying close to customers is a must for shaping strategy and culture.Jessica explains why founders should keep selling long after scaling begins—and how great teams come from values alignment, not titles.She also reflects on the lessons of being uncool and how empathy, integrity, and curiosity became her biggest superpowers as a leader.

Meet Aaron Epstein, partner at Y Combinator and co-founder of Creative Market. From building his first software as a teenager to selling his startup to Autodesk and later spinning it out again, Aaron’s story is one of curiosity, grit, and reinvention.In this conversation, he and Daniel talk about what YC looks for in founders, why great founders matter more than great ideas, and the power of focus in building something lasting. Aaron also shares lessons on failure, fear, and why creating opportunity for others is the ultimate success.

Meet Vanessa Larco, co-founder of the new venture firm Premise and former NEA partner. In this episode, Vanessa joins Daniel to talk about why she left one of the world’s largest VC firms to start her own, how she and her co-founder built Premise from first principles, and what she looks for in truly magnetic founders. They also dive into why consumer tech is on the verge of a new boom, her belief that discomfort is a signal you’re on the right path, and the hard tradeoffs of building while raising a family.

Meet Alda Leu Dennis, managing partner at Hawktail VC.From her start at Disney and Wilson Sosini to working alongside Peter Thiel at Founders Fund and Garry Tan at Initialized, Alda shares what she’s learned from two decades in venture. From backing exceptional founders to why smaller funds often outperform to the power of clear expectations with LPs and founders alike, she also discusses what she's building, why she's building it, along with understanding resilience, and why her guiding philosophy is: “Be bold, and all the mighty forces will come to your aid.”

Meet General Stan McChrystal, former commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan and one of the most respected military leaders of our time. From a career that spanned 34 years in uniform to the Rolling Stone article that ended it overnight, his journey is a story of leadership, resilience, and character.In this episode, he shares why credibility and long-term thinking matter more than winning at all costs, and how the toughest setbacks can become defining moments for growth.We explore his path from a rocky start at West Point to leading elite forces, the lessons he’s carried into business and teaching at Yale, and why empathy, persistence, and values are the true markers of great leadership.

Meet Samara Hernandez, founder of Chingona Ventures. From growing up under the poverty line to breaking into Goldman Sachs and launching a fund named after the Spanish word for “badass woman,” her journey is nothing short of inspiring.In this episode, she shares why resilience—what she calls the Chingona Factor—matters more than pedigree, and how underestimated founders often build the most transformative companies.We explore her path from engineering to venture, the lessons she’s learned raising funds as a solo GP in the Midwest, and why betting on grit, creativity, and values-alignment is the future of venture capital.