Innovation with Mark Peter Davis

As the Managing Partner of Upfront Ventures, Mark Suster has helped Los Angeles, where he and Upfront are based, reach the national stage when it comes to venture capital. The landscape was totally different 20 years ago and Mark/Upfront is a big reason why.After two successful exits as a founder, Mark joined Upfront in 2007. Since then Mark has become one of VCs most prominent venture capitalists. The main reason being his savvy business decisions, but he’s also always been ahead of the game when it comes to social media. Between his blog (www.bothsidesofthetable.com) and Twitter, he has always made his presence known by sharing fantastic insights into the world of venture capital.During today’s chat we discuss what has changed in venture over the last decade and where it’s moving forward, Mark’s take on how VCs should think about branding and social media, and how to balance politics and business.Follow us on Twitter:@msuster / @Upfrontvc@mpdGuest Links:Twitter - Mark, Twitter - Upfront, Mark’s Blog, Podcast Links:Website, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn

VCs invest in startups and founders, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they always provide the support and patience that the founders need. On this week’s episode I chat with Josh Stein - Managing Partner of Threshold Ventures - about Threshold’s emphasis on how they champion their founders by supplying them with that support and giving them time to develop.Josh is acutely aware of this need in VC because he was a founder himself before becoming a VC, so his experience has helped shape this empathic perspective!During our chat we cover a lot… we discuss the impact of covid on operations, global fund strategies, pros/cons of blending growth & early-stage funds, dynasty funds, and advice for up & coming VCs. Enjoy!Follow us on Twitter:@JoshSteinVC / @thresholdvc@mpdGuest Links:Twitter - Josh, Twitter - Threshold, Website - ThresholdPodcast Links:Website, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn

Ian Sigalow is the Co-Founder and Partner of Greycroft, one of the biggest and most successful VCs out there. Over their 14 year history they've invested in a long list of success stories such as Public, Acorns, Goop, Bird, and many more.On this week’s episode Ian and I discuss the strategies Greycroft has followed in order to grow into a firm that manages more than $2 billion. We chat about how they evaluate talent, sectors, and global trends as well as specific do’s and don’ts for the world of venture capital. Ian is wildly smart and very candid so I hope you find the convo to be helpful and informative. Enjoy!Follow us on Twitter:@sigalow / @GreycroftVC@mpdGuest Links:Twitter - Ian, Twitter - Greycroft, GreycroftPodcast Links:Website, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn

Limited Partners are a critical part of the venture capital ecosystem. They provide capital to VCs who in turn invest that money in companies, so the LP perspective is important to consider when trying to fully understand how VCs operate.Graham Pingree is a Partner at Cendana Capital, one of the preeminent LPs in the tech community.Graham and I discuss the role of LPs in venture capital, strategies that Cendana Capital keeps in mind when making investments, and his take on the global startup scene.Follow us on Twitter:@gpingree / @CendanaCapital@mpdGuest Links:Twitter, Cendana CapitalPodcast Links:Website, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn

Modern Meadow is revolutionizing the materials industry by inventing brand new materials that can be used in our everyday lives.Inventing new materials is exciting, but Modern Meadow's sustainable approach might just be the best part. By using nature's building blocks - proteins - to build these brand new materials, they hope to replace the the materials used in most of today's goods that are large contributors to global warming (ie leather derived from cows and plastic oriented synthetics derived from fossil fuels).The potential is MASSIVE!Andras and I discuss Modern Meadow's ZOA technology, how these new materials will hopefully help save our world, and how Andras ended up at this current venture.Follow us on Twitter:@ModernMeadow / @atforgacs@mpdGuest Links:Twitter, Modern MeadowPodcast Links:Website, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn

The full legalization of cannabis is approaching FAST and with it a multi-billion dollar industry looms.Ryan G. Smith is a serial entrepreneur who’s current venture - LeafLink - is a B2B e-commerce platform servicing the cannabis industry.Ryan, who at 30 years old has built/exited multiple successful startups and is a member of Forbes 30 Under 30, breaks down the current state of the cannabis industry.We discuss how without federal support each state is essentially operating in its own bubble, when the federal government will legalize marijuana, and which sectors within the industry (retail, growers, brands, etc.) will have the most success.Follow us on Twitter @LeafLinkUS@mpdGuest Links:Twitter, LeafLinkPodcast Links:Website, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn

Philip James is the Founder and CEO of Penrose Hill / Firstleaf, a wine club for the modern age that uses data science to match the perfect wine for each customer based on their personal preferences. They ship over 100k boxes of custom wine every month. The company is a behemoth.This isn’t Philips first go around in the wine industry. Philip has been a dominant force in the space for the past 15 years. We chat about his previous endeavors and how that helped him get to where he is today.Along with being one of the most successful wine entrepreneurs in the world, Philip is an adventurer. In 2003 he climbed Mt. Everest, which turned into a rescue mission when one of his climbing partners broke their leg and had to crawl down the mountain in order to survive.Philip and I discuss how Firstleaf operates, the three tier alcohol system, what it means when a wine is “Estate Grown,” and his myriad of adventures that I would argue makes him a candidate for the most interesting person in the world.Special thanks to Philip for joining the podcast.Follow us on Twitter @philipjkjames@firstleafclub@mpdShow Notes:Everest Story - Connan HarrodGuest Links:Twitter, FirstleafPodcast Links:Website, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn

Zach Sims is the Co-Founder and CEO of Codecademy, an education company that empowers people to transform their personal and professional lives by helping them learn modern skills.Zach started Codecademy 10 years ago when he was still an undergraduate student at Columbia University. As Codecademy gained momentum and took on investors, Zach decided to pursue it full time and left college. Now a decade later, Codecademy has helped over 45 million users in 179 countries learn new skills to gain a competitive advantage in our rapidly changing world.Zach and I discuss his decision to leave college and pursue Codecademy full time, what coding languages are the most durable, and how education is changing.Follow us on Twitter:@zsims@codecademy@mpdShow Notes/Links:Documentary - Ivory TowerGuest Links:CodecademyShow Links:Website, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn

What is Israel doing to produce the most startups per capita, VC dollars spent per capita, and unicorns per capita?Yaron Samid is the Founder of TechAviv, a global Israeli startup founders club that's 3,000 members strong.He is also the Managing Partner of TechAviv Founder Partners, a pre-seed venture fund backed and powered by some of the world’s most successful company builders.Yaron was born in Israel, grew up and began his career in the US, and is now back in Israel where innovation and venture capital is booming. We discuss what Israel has done and is doing to support its startup community, why community is crucial for innovation, and what other countries and communities can do to mimic Israel’s innovation success.Follow us on Twitter:@yaronsamid@techaviv@founderpartners@mpdShow Notes:Book Suggestions - Give and Take by Adam Grant, The Culture Map by Erin Meyer

Peter Boyce II is a Partner at General Catalyst, one of the preeminent venture capital firms out there. General Catalyst makes early-stage and transformational investments while backing exceptional entrepreneurs who are building innovative technology companies and market leading businesses. Investments include the likes of Airbnb, ClassPass, HubSpot, KAYAK, Oscar, Snap, Stripe, and Warby Parker.Peter is also a Co-Founder of Rough Draft Ventures, an organization that helps university students in their journey from creating ‘rough drafts’ to startup companies by investing at the earliest stage.Peter and I discuss the way his firm operates, why it’s important to give companies time to develop, and how universities can better assist their entrepreneurs.Follow us on Twitter:@badboyboyce@mpdGuest Links:Twitter, General Catalyst Website, Book Suggestion - The RainforestShow Links:Website, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn Host: Mark Peter DavisGuest: Peter Boyce II