The Dart Board with Daniel Dart

Meet Seth Levine, co-founder of Foundry Group and longtime venture investor. He shares the story behind building a $4B platform, why the firm chose not to raise future funds, and how he’s thinking about the next chapter of his life and work.We dig into his fund-to-fund strategy, the value of broad exposure across the venture ecosystem, and how asymmetric information shapes better decision-making. Seth also reflects on scaling culture, avoiding dogma, and staying grounded in a non-scalable craft.Finally, we explore the ideas behind his new book, Capital Evolution, from capitalism as a social compact to declining mobility to how regulation, opportunity, and community shape the future.

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.

Meet Nitish Maini, chief strategy officer at WorldQuant. From a small town in India to rising through the ranks of finance to help steer one of the world's most significant quantitative hedge funds, his journey is nothing short of amazing. In this episode, he shares why the worst advice he ever got was "don't take the risk," and why he believes the wildest leaps often turn out to be the safest. We explore WorldQuant's global footprint and how their initiatives, like WorldQuant BRAIN and the International Quant Championship, are democratizing opportunity by tapping into talent in every corner of the world. It's a conversation about creativity and adaptability, and what it really takes to build at scale, told through the lens of someone who's lived it.

In this engaging conversation, Brad Feld, co-founder of Foundry Group and Techstars, shares his journey from founder to prolific author and marathon runner. He dives into the resilience required in both entrepreneurship and running, emphasizing the power of perseverance. Brad discusses his passion for long arc narratives in fiction, showcasing character development and diverse representation. Additionally, he reflects on the challenges of managing personal healthcare data and the evolution of the startup landscape towards meaningful success.

Finn Meeks, a partner at South Park Commons, transforms the way we think about startup support by focusing on technologists in the 'minus one' stage. He shares insights from his journey as a competitive rower, highlighting the importance of community and collaboration in helping founders succeed. Finn emphasizes the balance between resilience and the willingness to pivot, showcasing how empathy plays a crucial role in entrepreneurship. His experiences reveal that the right environment and relationships can redefine personal and professional identities.