The Nichole Wischoff Podcast

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

Tarek is the co-founder and CEO of Kalshi, the first CFTC regulated exchange dedicated to trading on the outcome of future events. In this episode we discuss: - Not being a hot company in YC- Suing the government as a startup and winning - Raising money from Sequoia, Henry Kravis, Schwab and others - Being unable to take on more deposits because of demand during the presidential election - The power of building a company that is "anti-pattern" to other companies

Gaurav Misra is the co-founder and CEO of Captions, the leading video AI company building the future of video creation. Captions has raised over $80M from leading investors Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins, Index and A16Z. We dig into: Launching in the app store and the product taking off on its ownUnintentionally making their first $500K in revenueWhy raise venture capital vs. bootstrap given the early traction Not starting a company before working at a startupScaling to 10M+ global creators on the platform The future of video with AI Thank you to todays sponsor JoinWarp. Warp offers nearly instant payroll and compliance solutions for startups and venture capital firms. For a free pair of Apple Airpods 4, click to learn more at https://www.joinwarp.com/novpromo?utm_sour.... Stifel Bank is committed to supporting the innovation community. Focused on seed- through late-stage companies, they provide a dynamic platform of collaborative solutions for treasury management and lending. Our clients enjoy access to the broader capabilities of Stifel, including Investment Banking, Private Client Banking, and Wealth Management. Stifel’s Wealth Management services provided by Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated. Shoot a note to aguerrero@stifelbank.com for more information.

Discover the hottest trends in early-stage tech investments, particularly in AI-powered data centers. Explore how massive secondary sales are reshaping liquidity and the venture capital landscape. Delve into the growing significance of CEOs building their personal brands to boost engagement and attract investors. With startups opting to remain private longer, the dynamics of venture capital are evolving. Join the conversation on navigating these exciting shifts in the tech world!

Maria Davidson is the co-founder and CEO of Kojo, a startup building a construction materials management platform for contractors and suppliers. Merge has raised over $85M from leading investors 8VC, Tiger Global and Battery Ventures. We dig into: - VCs passing on their $4M seed because construction tech was unproven- How to acquire sub-contractors when they can't be found online and during Covid- What most construction tech startups get wrong about the market opportunity- Raising growth rounds at the height of the market in 2021 Thank you to todays sponsor JoinWarp. Warp offers nearly instant payroll and compliance solutions for startups and venture capital firms. For a free pair of Apple Airpods 4, click to learn more at https://www.joinwarp.com/novpromo?utm_source=nichole. Stifel Bank is committed to supporting the innovation community. Focused on seed- through late-stage companies, they provide a dynamic platform of collaborative solutions for treasury management and lending. Our clients enjoy access to the broader capabilities of Stifel, including Investment Banking, Private Client Banking, and Wealth Management. Stifel’s Wealth Management services provided by Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated. Shoot a note to aguerrero@stifelbank.com for more information.