First Money In

This week I sat down for conversation with Postscript Founder/CEO Adam Turner as he shares his remarkable journey from selling solar panels door-to-door to building a venture-backed tech powerhouse. Adam candidly discusses the early struggles of startup life, including living in questionable apartments and surviving on Costco corn dogs, before revealing the strategic moves that led to Postscript's acceptance into Y-Combinator and their path to generating significant revenue.The episode dives deep into the brutal realities of competing in a cutthroat tech market, including shocking stories of competitors offering $100,000 to poach customers and the critical importance of early hiring decisions. Adam provides invaluable insights on startup growth, the future of mobile marketing, and the delicate balance between profitability and fundraising.00:00 Introduction and Early Challenges00:28 Interview with Adam: Background and Early Career00:51 Founding the First Startup04:01 Lessons Learned and Moving Forward04:54 The Birth of Postscript06:40 YC Experience and Early Growth12:27 Navigating the Competitive Market18:45 Fundraising Journey22:00 Impact of AI and Future Plans26:22 Reflections and Final Thoughts

Ryan Serhant, a successful NYC real estate broker and TV personality, shares his journey from a struggling actor to a real estate mogul. He reflects on his father's tough love that pushed him to avoid 'survival jobs' and how his quirky purple Vespa marked his early days. The discussion reveals how COVID-19 unexpectedly became a catalyst for launching his own brokerage. Ryan also candidly addresses personal challenges, including battling the 'Friday scaries' and the importance of finding balance between being a 'human being' and a 'human doing.'

This week I sat down with Justin Lopas—Co-Founder/COO of Base Power—a former SpaceX and Anduril engineer who shares incredible stories from the early days of Starship development in Boca Chica. He speaks on how his team ingeniously leveraged water tower construction techniques to build rockets, transforming an empty field into what would become Starbase.The discussion also explores the critical relationship between energy access and human prosperity, leading to Justin's current mission with Base—Revolutionizing grid storage. He provides unique insights into the challenges of American manufacturing, how Texas has become the perfect testing ground for grid innovation, and the war for manufacturing between the US and China.00:47 Meet Justin Lopez: Co-Founder of Base Power Company01:33 Justin's Journey: From SpaceX to Anduril09:04 The Birth of Base Power Company11:10 Base Power's Vision and Strategy15:49 Why Texas? Strategic Insights19:50 Funding and Scaling Challenges22:35 The Future of Manufacturing in the U.S.29:56 Training and Workforce Development31:42 The Role of AI in Energy Solutions33:16 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

In this episode, Adam Goldstein (Founder/CEO Archer Aviation) shares his extraordinary journey from witnessing 9/11 as a young investment banker, to founding Archer Aviation, a pioneering electric aircraft company. After experiencing the tragic events of September 11th firsthand, Goldstein navigated through six failed startups before building a successful company, learning invaluable lessons about product-market fit and sustainable business models along the way.The conversation takes a dramatic turn as Goldstein reveals the intense legal battle with Boeing—That nearly destroyed Archer Aviation before its IPO—Offering rare insights into high-stakes corporate litigation. He also discusses how the Russia-Ukraine war exposed opportunities in modern defense, leading to Archer's strategic pivot into autonomous military solutions. Throughout the episode, Goldstein shares fascinating details about raising $2 billion for a flying car startup and why tackling massive, world-changing problems can actually be easier than building smaller companies.00:00 Introduction and Host Welcome00:41 Meet Adam Goldstein: From Finance to Tech01:43 The Birth of Vettery02:54 Investment Banking and 9/11 Experience04:36 Lessons from the Hedge Fund World06:44 Building and Scaling Vetteri11:24 The Acquisition of Vettery15:26 Founding Archer: A New Venture19:27 The Challenge of Raising Capital]19:47 Navigating the eVTOL Industry21:20 Building a Credible Team22:30 The Impact of COVID-1923:12 Securing Initial Funding24:40 Developing the First Prototype24:53 Entering the SPAC Market29:18 The Boeing Lawsuit32:38 Future Prospects and Defense Opportunities36:06 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

In this episode, former Third Point executive Keri Findley takes us behind the scenes of Wall Street's intense culture in the 2000s, sharing raw stories about her life navigating the world of finance. From learning to chug beer in Morgan Stanley conference rooms to being handed control of $200 million at age 25, Findley's journey offers a rare glimpse into the high-stakes world of Wall Street capital markets.The conversation takes an fascinating turn when Findley reveals how a casual dinner conversation led to Peter Thiel becoming the sole investor in her $300M fund. She also provides valuable insights into why she ultimately rejected venture capital, and how the 2008 financial crisis created a massive opportunity in private credit that continues to shape markets today.01:14 Carrie Finley's Background02:00 Early Career and Challenges05:54 Journey to Third Point11:04 Founding Tacora Capital14:47 Raising Funds and Peter Thiel's Support20:13 Current Focus and Future Plans

Rahul Vohra, founder and CEO of Superhuman, shares the fascinating journey of raising the company's initial capital through an unconventional approach. Rather than pursuing traditional venture capital, he strategically approached angels who had earned 3-22x returns from his previous startup Rapportive. This strategic decision, combined with a methodical three-step fundraising process, allowed him to maintain control while proving progress.The story takes an interesting turn with a late-night steak dinner at Andreessen Horowitz that unexpectedly led to naming the company Superhuman. The conversation also reveals how a sophisticated family office preempted their Series A with just 10 users, recognizing the massive potential in the email market - where 1 billion professionals spend 3 hours daily, creating a trillion-hour annual opportunity. Perhaps most compelling is Vohra's unique approach to achieving product-market fit through personal onboarding sessions with wine and whiskey, demonstrating the power of high-touch customer development in building a product people love.01:24 Raoul Vora's Journey Before Superhuman01:58 The Early Days of Superhuman02:45 Raising the Initial Capital04:04 Challenges and Strategies in Fundraising05:55 The A16Z Story09:23 Series A and Beyond15:04 The Waitlist Strategy19:02 Series C and Market Reflections24:05 Raoul Vohra as an Investor

In this episode, we examine key trends in venture capital through 2024 and into 2025. Specifically, the dramatic 80% drop in first-time funds since 2021, why established VCs are leaving major firms like Sequoia, and breaking down the valuation gap between AI and non-AI startups using recent Carta data. We also cover shifts in round sizes since the 2021 peak and provides insights into multi-stage funds' increasing presence in seed rounds, concluding with my predictions for venture capital in 2025.

Brian Distelburger co-founded Yext in 2006 when NYC had virtually no tech scene, eventually taking the company public with remarkable capital efficiency. In a time when everyone was pursuing finance careers, Distelburger helped pioneer New York's startup ecosystem, turning his teenage dream into reality by building one of the city's earliest tech success stories. The company's dramatic reveal of $20M in revenue at TechCrunch's TC50 competition marked a turning point, leading to intense interest from Silicon Valley VCs who had previously overlooked the East Coast startup.Now, Distelburger is tackling a new frontier with Windmill, which gives AI superpowers to managers. Drawing from his experience leading thousands of employees, he's addressing the fundamental challenge of how leaders can more effectively run their team in the way that works for them. With 400 companies already on the waitlist, Windmill is fundamentally reshaping how organizations think about span of control by leveraging AI to enable domain experts to manage larger teams effectively, all while the company takes a measured approach to growth and funding.01:11 Founding Yext01:40 Early Ventures and Challenges03:53 Fundraising Journey07:01 TechCrunch Disrupt and Growth16:35 Transition and New Ventures18:01 Building Windmill

Ilir Sela is the Founder & CEO at Slice, a technology company helping independent pizzerias manage their day to day operations. Slice has raised over $100M from notable investors like KKR, Notable Capital, Primary Ventures and 01 Advisors. -Not knowing a thing about venture capital and bootstrapping to $40M GMV-Acquiring first customers going door to door in NYC-Why he raised VC when the company vs bootstrap given early traction-Relaunching from MyPizza to Slice in 2016-The value of VCs when you're a solo founder

Mark Ghermezian is the co-founder and prior CEO of Braze, a customer engagement platform used by businesses for multi-channel marketing. Braze raised $180M before its IPO from leading investors Meritech Capital, Battery Ventures and ICONIQ. Mark is now the founding GP at MXV. In this episode we dig into: Starting AppBoy/Braze and hustling to raise initial capital Randomly meeting his co-founders on a street corner in NYCThe importance of building relationships between rounds with VCs Why you should always get on a plane to close the deal Stepping back as CEO pre-IPO Building a VC firm from scratch