Sourcery

Molly O'Shea talks to Sam D’Amico, founder of Impulse Labs which has created one of the highest quality battery-powered induction stoves, offering unparalleled power, precision, and energy storage. Following a strong career in consumer electronics, including work at Google Glass and Oculus, Sam envisions a future where distributed battery storage in appliances could help balance grid load and reduce the need for grid infrastructure upgrades. All the while, delivering a premium performance cooktop fit for Michelin-star chefs to pancake fanatics.  Sam discusses the evolution of battery technology, particularly the advancements made by the U.S. and Tesla to Chinese manufacturers in lithium iron phosphate batteries. Going deeper into the ongoing shifts in global battery manufacturing and the potential for increased U.S. production. Learn how Impulse Labs, which has raised a $20 million Series A round led by Josh Wolfe of Lux Capital in 2022, aims to be a "Trojan horse" for decentralized battery-powered homes, potentially revolutionizing home energy management and grid stability.  -- Follow on Twitter  https://x.com/MollySOShea https://x.com/sdamico -- Check out Impulse Labs:  https://www.impulselabs.com/ -- Subscribe to Sourcery: https://www.sourcery.vc/  -- Sponsor: Archer Archer's Midnight is a piloted four passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights. Learn more about how Archer is set to open up a new world of opportunity for passengers by providing safe and efficient access to people, places, and events across the communities they live, visit https://www.archer.com/ -- Companies mentioned: Lux Capital - https://www.luxcapital.com/ Tesla - https://www.tesla.com/ Google - https://www.google.com/ Oculus - https://www.meta.com/quest/ Meta - https://about.meta.com/ Bosch - https://www.bosch-home.com/ Thermador - https://www.thermador.com/ Gaggenau - https://www.gaggenau.com/ Samsung - https://www.samsung.com/ LG - https://www.lg.com/ Viking - https://www.vikingrange.com/ Fisker - https://www.fiskerinc.com/ CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited) - https://www.catl.com/en/ BYD (Build Your Dreams) - https://www.byd.com/ Gotion - https://www.gotion.com.cn/en/ Ford - https://www.ford.com/ Restoration Hardware (RH) - https://rh.com/ TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Intro  (01:04) Sam's Journey: From Pizza Ovens to Battery-Powered Homes (02:22) Early Influences: Oculus & Google Glass (08:14) Funding & the Landscape of Home Energy Usage (10:20) Energy Usage Trends & Appliance Distribution (12:08) Innovation in the Stove: Power, Precision, and Efficiency (15:13) The Advantage of Battery Integration: Faster Cooking & Efficiency (19:34) Sponsor: Archer (20:18) Integrating Battery-Powered Stoves into Homes (22:54) Pricing & Market Positioning: Premium Performance & Incentives (27:47) The Science of Pancakes: Temperature Control & UI/UX (31:08) The 20-Year Vision: Decentralized Energy & Home Self-Sufficiency (34:57) Decentralized Grid & Emergency Power Solutions (38:39) Marketing & Distribution: Targeting Various Markets (41:12) The Battery Revolution: Technological Advancements & China's Influence (48:03) Lithium Mining & the Future of Battery Manufacturing (52:57) A New Economy & the Everyday Appliance Revolution (53:54) The Path Ahead: Shipping the Product & Scaling the Vision (54:29) Looking Ahead: Exciting Times for Impulse Labs (55:07) Wrap RECOMMENDED PODCAST: 🎙️ This Won't Last Eavesdrop on Keith Rabois, Kevin Ryan, Logan Bartlett, and Zach Weinberg's monthly backchannel. They unpack their hottest takes on the future of tech, business, venture, investing, and politics. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/id1765665937 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2HwSNeVLL1MXy0RjFPyOSz YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWontLastpodcast

Molly O'Shea talks to Molly Alter, Partner at Northzone, a $1.2 billion fund with around $4 billion AUM and discusses her successful investments (Frame.io’s $1.2B exit to Adobe), founder qualities, VC biases and decision-making, as well as the firm's global approach to identifying opportunities. Alter believes in the potential of Europe's tech ecosystem, citing higher net IRR for European VC funds compared to North American ones over 10-15 year horizons. She shares perspectives on US and European VC landscapes, successful investments, and emerging opportunities in vertical AI and software for hardware. Focusing on meritocracy and founder-friendliness with a balanced approach between US and European investments, Alter also explains why she's bullish on workflow SaaS and vertical AI, despite changing market conditions and valuation multiples. -- Follow on Twitter https://x.com/MollySOShea -- Check out Northzone: https://northzone.com/ -- Subscribe to Sourcery: https://www.sourcery.vc/ -- Sponsor: Archer Archer's Midnight is a piloted four passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights. Learn more about how Archer is set to open up a new world of opportunity for passengers by providing safe and efficient access to people, places, and events across the communities they live, visit https://www.archer.com/ -- Companies mentioned: Frame.io - https://frame.io/ Glia - https://www.glia.com/ Wayve - https://wayve.ai/ Spotify - https://www.spotify.com/ Klarna - https://www.klarna.com/ Spring Health - https://www.springhealth.com/ Adobe - https://www.adobe.com/ Mistral AI - https://mistral.ai/ -- TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Intro and Preview (03:07) Molly Alter’s Career Journey (07:26) Insights from Working in Different VC Firms (11:38) Investment Focus and Thesis (14:13) Sponsor: Archer (15:28) Impactful Investments: Frame.io and Glia (18:54) Qualities of World-Class CEOs and Founders (22:17) Northzone: History, Strategy, and Values (26:06) Global Reach and US-Europe Investment Split (29:13) Defending European Tech Ecosystem (32:27) Innovation from Restrictions in Europe (35:35) Software for Hardware: Opportunities and Challenges (42:08) Specific Areas of Interest in Software for Hardware (45:05) The Future of SaaS and Hybrid SaaS Models (47:30) Example of Hybrid SaaS: GovDash (50:26) Wrap – Recommended Podcast: 🎙️ This Won't Last - Eavesdrop on Keith Rabois, Kevin Ryan, Logan Bartlett, and Zach Weinberg's monthly backchannel. They unpack their hottest takes on the future of tech, business, venture, investing, and politics. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-wont-last-with-keith-rabois-kevin-ryan-logan/id1765665937 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2HwSNeVLL1MXy0RjFPyOSz YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxmO9C_PEjbMf0Z8lYjwT7Q

Molly O'Shea talks to Zamp's CEO, Rohit Bhadange as he shares his journey from Wall Street to founding the fastest growing sales tax compliance platform.  Zamp, an innovative platform is simplifying sales tax compliance for e-commerce and SaaS companies, recently raised a $10M Series A funding round led by Valor Equity Partners, bringing their total funding to $14 million. Learn about their rapid growth and vision for the future in helping e-commerce and SaaS companies automate complex tax processes and avoid costly mistakes. - Follow on Twitter  ⁠https://x.com/MollySOShea⁠ ⁠https://x.com/salestaxceo⁠ - Check out: Zamp: ⁠https://zamp.com/⁠ - Subscribe to Sourcery: ⁠https://www.sourcery.vc/⁠ - Sponsor: Archer Archer's Midnight is a piloted four passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights. Learn more about how Archer is set to open up a new world of opportunity for passengers by providing safe and efficient access to people, places, and events across the communities they live, visit ⁠https://www.archer.com/⁠ - Companies mentioned: Valor Equity Partners:⁠ https://www.valorep.com⁠  Rippling:⁠ https://www.rippling.com⁠  Yelp:⁠ https://www.yelp.com⁠  Amazon:⁠ https://www.amazon.com⁠  Day One Ventures:⁠ https://www.dayoneventures.com⁠  Soma Capital:⁠ https://www.somacap.com⁠  Misfits Market:⁠ https://www.misfitsmarket.com⁠  Avalara:⁠ https://www.avalara.com⁠  TaxJar:⁠ https://www.taxjar.com⁠  Shopify:⁠ https://www.shopify.com⁠  Stripe:⁠ https://stripe.com⁠  BigCommerce:⁠ https://www.bigcommerce.com⁠  Magento:⁠ https://business.adobe.com/products/magento/magento-commerce.html⁠  QuickBooks:⁠ https://quickbooks.intuit.com⁠  Cult Gaia:⁠ https://cultgaia.com⁠  Sanzo:⁠ https://drinksanzo.com⁠  Everyday Dose:⁠ https://everydaydose.com⁠  Glamnetic:⁠ https://glamnetic.com⁠  ProBuilt Software:⁠ https://www.probuilt.com⁠  Puzzle:⁠ https://puzzle.io⁠  Zeni:⁠ https://www.zeni.ai⁠  CBiz:⁠ https://www.cbiz.com⁠  Markham:⁠ https://www.markum.com⁠ -- RECOMMENDED PODCASTS: 🎙️ This Won't Last - Eavesdrop on Keith Rabois, Kevin Ryan, Logan Bartlett, and Zach Weinberg's monthly backchannel. They unpack their hottest takes on the future of tech, business, venture, investing, and politics. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1765665937 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2HwSNeVLL1MXy0RjFPyOSz YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWontLastpodcast

Molly O'Shea is joined by Astasia Myers, GP at Felicis, to discuss their new $825M fund, totaling Felicis’s AUM to $3B. Astasia goes deep on her focus on AI infrastructure, AI-enabled SaaS, and AI-enabled services and breaks down how AI is changing the face of enterprise software exploring the evolution of enterprise software and how AI is transforming data stacks. She explains how the AI landscape has evolved, highlighting the rise of alternative foundation models and AI agents, and emphasizes the importance of founder market fit and unique insights when evaluating startups. The conversation underscores the transformative potential of AI in empowering individuals and reshaping various industries, while also touching on the rapid pace of innovation and the need for adaptability in venture capital strategies. -- Follow on Twitter  https://x.com/MollySOShea https://x.com/AstasiaMyers -- Check out:  Felicis: https://www.felicis.com/ -- Subscribe to Sourcery: https://www.sourcery.vc/  -- Sponsor: Archer Archer's Midnight is a piloted four passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights. Learn more about how Archer is set to open up a new world of opportunity for passengers by providing safe and efficient access to people, places, and events across the communities they live, visit https://www.archer.com/ -- Companies mentioned: LaunchDarkly: https://launchdarkly.com/  Hex: https://hex.tech/  Superbase: https://www.superbase.com/   Google: https://www.google.com/  Cisco: https://www.cisco.com/  Cohesity: https://www.cohesity.com/  GuardiCore: https://www.guardicore.com/  RedPoint: https://www.redpoint.com/  Quiet Capital: https://www.quiet.vc/  Snowflake: https://www.snowflake.com/  Fivetran: https://www.fivetran.com/  Airbyte: https://airbyte.com/  Looker: https://looker.com/  dbt: https://www.getdbt.com/  PyTorch: https://pytorch.org/  TensorFlow: https://www.tensorflow.org/  OpenAI: https://openai.com/  Anthropic: https://www.anthropic.com/  Mistral AI: https://mistral.ai/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/  Runway: https://runwayml.com/  Poolside: https://www.poolside.ai/  11X: https://www.11x.ai/  Notion: https://www.notion.so/  Figma: https://www.figma.com/  Zendesk: https://www.zendesk.com -- TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Introduction and Founding Story of Felicis Ventures (06:39) Astasia Myers' Background and Journey to Venture Capital (11:45) The Evolving Landscape of AI and Infrastructure (14:59) Sponsor: Archer (19:27) AI-Enabled SaaS and AI-Enabled Services (27:16) Technical Unlock: Foundation Models and AI Agents (33:30) Changing Perspectives and Emerging Trends in AI (37:47) Research and Identifying White Spaces of Opportunity (47:05) The Effects of Technical Unlock and Future of AI (50:36) Wrap – Recommended Podcast: What separates the most enduring and generation-defining venture firms? Turpentine VC talks to Ben Horowitz, Vinod Khosla, Alfred Lin, Mike Maples, Roger Ehrenberg, and more to find out. Subscribe: https://link.chtbl.com/TurpentineVC

Molly O'Shea is joined by Gené Teare, senior data editor at Crunchbase News, and brings her wealth of experience and insight to the world of venture capital and startup ecosystems. Gené Teare provides a comprehensive overview of the current venture capital landscape, highlighting the ongoing two-year slowdown in the VC market, and points out a trend towards concentration in late-stage funding. She also touches on the topic of diversity, reporting that female-founded companies received only 3% of total funding in 2023, despite representing 8% of deals.  Lastly, Gené touched on the growing concern about liquidity in the VC industry due to lack of exits, and the potential of AI as a catalyst for innovation, drawing parallels to the mobile wave that emerged after the 2008 financial crisis. Learn how AI funding is surging amidst a broader VC slowdown, why late-stage investments are concentrating, and what's happening with M&A and IPOs. Discover insights on unicorn trends, female founder funding, and the potential impact of AI on the tech industry's future. -- Follow on Twitter  https://x.com/MollySOShea https://x.com/geneteare -- Check out:  Crunchbase News: https://news.crunchbase.com/ -- Subscribe to Sourcery: https://www.sourcery.vc/  -- Sponsor: Archer Archer's Midnight is a piloted four passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights. Learn more about how Archer is set to open up a new world of opportunity for passengers by providing safe and efficient access to people, places, and events across the communities they live, visit https://www.archer.com/ -- Companies mentioned: Crunchbase - https://www.crunchbase.com/  OpenAI - https://openai.com/  Microsoft - https://www.microsoft.com/  Google - https://www.google.com/  Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/  Meta - https://about.meta.com/  Nvidia - https://www.nvidia.com/  Cloudflare - https://www.cloudflare.com/  Airtable - https://www.airtable.com/  Zapier - https://zapier.com/  Stripe - https://stripe.com/  Anduril - https://www.anduril.com/  Revolut - https://www.revolut.com/  Rippling - https://www.rippling.com/  Applied Intuition - https://www.appliedintuition.com/  Anthropic - https://www.anthropic.com/  Clio - https://www.clio.com/  Harvey - https://www.harvey.ai/  xAI - https://x.ai/ CoreWeave - https://www.coreweave.com/  Scale AI - https://scale.com/  EQT - https://eqtgroup.com/  KKR - https://www.kkr.com/ -- TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Introduction and State of Technology in 2024  (02:05) Venture Slowdown and Funding Fluctuations  (06:04) The Rise of AI Funding  (09:15) Challenges in the M&A Markets  (13:48) Sponsor: Archer (24:26) Power Laws in VC: Concentration of Capital  (34:55) Representation of Female Founders in the Industry  (39:38) The Future of IPO Markets – Recommended Podcast:What separates the most enduring and generation-defining venture firms? Turpentine VC talks to Ben Horowitz, Vinod Khosla, Alfred Lin, Mike Maples, Roger Ehrenberg, and more to find out. Subscribe: https://link.chtbl.com/TurpentineVC

Molly O'Shea talks to Grace Isford of Lux Capital, the firm’s youngest Partner, on computational sciences, the current AI Landscape, her investment thesis on New York City's AI sector, and implementing AI in companies. Grace discusses the potential and challenges of AI agents, the current state of the technology as well as the companies making progress in this space. She also provides practical advice on how companies can implement AI, emphasizing the importance of defining your goals, finding the right tools, and proving value. Is it time to invest in AI? Listen to Grace’s insights and perspectives on the current investment climate and where opportunities lie in the evolving AI landscape, highlighting the potential and challenges of infrastructure and application companies. - Follow on Twitter ⁠⁠https://x.com/MollySOShea⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://x.com/graceisford⁠⁠ -- Check out: Lux Capital: ⁠⁠https://www.luxcapital.com/⁠⁠ -- Subscribe to Sourcery: ⁠⁠https://www.sourcery.vc/ ⁠⁠ -- Sponsor: ArcherArcher's Midnight is a piloted four passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights. Learn more about how Archer is set to open up a new world of opportunity for passengers by providing safe and efficient access to people, places, and events across the communities they live, visit ⁠⁠https://www.archer.com/⁠⁠ -- Companies mentioned: Handshake: ⁠⁠https://www.joinhandshake.com/⁠⁠ Canvas Ventures: ⁠⁠https://www.canvas.vc/⁠⁠ Runway: ⁠⁠https://runwayml.com/⁠⁠ LangChain: ⁠⁠https://www.langchain.com/ ⁠⁠ Sakana AI: ⁠⁠https://sakana.ai/⁠⁠ Together AI:⁠⁠ https://www.together.ai/⁠⁠ Hugging Face: ⁠⁠https://huggingface.co/⁠⁠ Mosaic ML (now part of Databricks): ⁠⁠https://www.databricks.com/ ⁠⁠ Osmo AI: ⁠⁠https://www.osmo.ai/⁠⁠ Modal: ⁠⁠https://modal.com/ ⁠⁠ Bloomberg: ⁠⁠https://www.bloomberg.com/ ⁠⁠ Ramp: ⁠⁠https://ramp.com/ ⁠⁠ OpenAI: ⁠⁠https://openai.com/ ⁠⁠ Anthropic: ⁠⁠https://www.anthropic.com/ ⁠⁠ MongoDB: ⁠⁠https://www.mongodb.com/ ⁠⁠ Datadog: ⁠⁠https://www.datadoghq.com/⁠⁠ Factory AI: ⁠⁠https://www.factory.ai/⁠⁠ Maven AGI: ⁠⁠https://www.mavenagi.com/ ⁠⁠ Evolutionary Scale: ⁠⁠https://www.evolutionaryscale.ai/⁠⁠ Cilvr Lab: ⁠⁠https://wp.nyu.edu/cilvr/⁠⁠ Columbia University: ⁠⁠https://www.columbia.edu/⁠⁠ Cornell Tech: ⁠⁠https://tech.cornell.edu/⁠⁠ Princeton University: ⁠⁠https://www.princeton.edu/⁠⁠ Santa Fe Institute: ⁠⁠https://www.santafe.edu/⁠⁠ -- TIMESTAMPS: (00:01) Introduction and Background (00:50) Investment Strategy (03:13) API Economy and Research Process (05:58) Sourcing Strategy and Sakana AI Investment (10:28) Japanese AI Investment (14:59) Sponsor: Archer (15:22) Investment Stages (16:16) Hugging Face Business Model (17:59) Technical Evaluation of Companies (22:19) New York as an AI Hub (28:54) Current State of AI Investments (36:58) AI Agents (41:00) Implementing AI in Businesses (46:59) Wrap – Recommended Podcast: What separates the most enduring and generation-defining venture firms? Turpentine VC talks to Ben Horowitz, Vinod Khosla, Alfred Lin, Mike Maples, Roger Ehrenberg, and more to find out. Subscribe: ⁠⁠https://link.chtbl.com/TurpentineVC⁠⁠

Kian Sadeghi, CEO of Nucleus Genomics, is reshaping how we integrate DNA into personal health management. He discusses the launch of Nucleus IQ, which offers insights into health and intelligence from genetic data. Sadeghi addresses the ethical challenges and the importance of contextualizing genetic information. The conversation also touches on the rising demand for consumer genetic testing, driven by health awareness post-COVID, and future innovations, including tools to predict health risks for children.

In this episode, Molly O'Shea talks with Day One Ventures founder Masha Bucher on the firm's investment strategy, highlighting their focus on AI, "Future of Human" technologies, and their approach to identifying exceptional founders. Masha discusses her firm's $150 million Fund 3, their focus on El Segundo's burgeoning tech scene, and their unique investment strategy targeting pre-seed and seed companies with "exceptional founders."  Masha shares her insights on building a successful VC firm, emphasizing the importance of intuition, strong teams, and her impressive track record of successful investments.  – Follow on Twitter  https://x.com/MollySOShea https://x.com/mashadrokova -- Check out:  Day One Ventures: https://dayoneventures.com/ -- Subscribe to Sourcery: https://www.sourcery.vc/  -- Sponsor: Archer Archer's Midnight is a piloted four passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights. Learn more about how Archer is set to open up a new world of opportunity for passengers by providing safe and efficient access to people, places, and events across the communities they live, visit https://www.archer.com/ -- Companies mentioned: Truebill (now Rocket Money): https://www.rocketmoney.com/ Rainmaker: https://www.makerain.com/ SpaceX: https://www.spacex.com/ Unreal: https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US You.com: https://you.com/ Symbolica: https://www.symbolica.ai/ Moon Hub: https://themoonhub.com/ Superhuman: https://superhuman.com/ Digital Genius: https://www.digitalgenius.com/ Orchid: https://www.orchidhealth.com/ Cradle: https://www.cradle.xyz/ TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Intro (01:05) Northstar and Bridging the Gap Between Tech and Society (03:30) Media & PR Playbook (07:00) Long-Term Vision, AUM Growth, and Track Record (09:45) Investment Strategy and Check Sizes (12:45) El Segundo and American Dynamism (14:49) Sponsor: Archer (17:00) Policy, Regulators, and Global Reach (20:00) AI Investment Strategy and Categories (24:45) Key Factors Considered When Investing in AI (28:30) The Future of Human Category (33:30) Prediction for 2030: Shifting Relationships and Parenthood (39:45) Loneliness and Self-Discovery (45:45) Track Record, Intuition, and Godfeel (52:30) Developing Intuition and Taste (57:45) Importance of Early Stage Investing and Looking Forward (1:00:00) Hiring and Asking for Support (1:03:00) Wrap – Recommended Podcast: What separates the most enduring and generation-defining venture firms? Turpentine VC talks to Ben Horowitz, Vinod Khosla, Alfred Lin, Mike Maples, Roger Ehrenberg, and more to find out. Subscribe: https://link.chtbl.com/TurpentineVC

In this episode, Molly O'Shea is joined by Jordan Noone, an aerospace engineer, former Founding CTO of Relativity Space, Co-Founder and General Partner at Embedded Ventures, and Executive Chairman at Zoo. Zoo is automating hardware development, and their Text2CAD technology - an AI-powered CAD engine that turns text prompts into real-world designs- enables engineers to focus on innovation. Zoo is building the world's first computational geometry engine based in the cloud that's GPU-optimized, API-accessible, and cloud-based. Join Molly and Jordan in discussing Zoo's impactful AI tools that's revolutionizing hardware development and impacting a trillion-dollar market. Explore Jordan’s journey from founding Relativity Space to leading Zoo, and how he is using his expertise to transform hardware design with Zoo's groundbreaking AI solution – Follow on Twitter https://x.com/MollySOShea https://x.com/theJordanNoone -- Check out: Zoo: https://zoo.dev/ Embedded Ventures: https://www.embedded.ventures/ Relativity Space: https://www.relativityspace.com/ -- Subscribe to Sourcery: https://www.sourcery.vc/ -- Sponsor: Archer Archer's Midnight is a piloted four passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights. Learn more about how Archer is set to open up a new world of opportunity for passengers by providing safe and efficient access to people, places, and events across the communities they live, visit https://www.archer.com/ -- Companies mentioned: Autodesk: https://www.autodesk.com/ SpaceX: https://www.spacex.com/ HRL (Hughes Research Lab): https://www.hrl.com/ Blue Origin: https://www.blueorigin.com/ Docker: https://www.docker.com/ Oxide Computer Company: https://oxide.computer/ OpenAI: https://openai.com/ GitHub: https://github.com/ Venrex: https://www.venrex.partners/ – TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Intro (01:02) Understanding Zoo's Mission and Market (02:32) Challenges in Hardware Development (04:42) Zoo's Innovative Solutions (06:15) Target Industries and Adoption (09:18) Core Products and Future Plans (13:32) Sponsor: Archer (16:09) Onboarding and Open Source Strategy (21:47) Meet the Team: Jordan Noone's Background & CEO Jessie Frazelle (24:53) Transition to Zoo (26:28) Challenges in Hardware Design Automation (28:47) Founding and Growth of Zoo (30:45) Team Composition and Expertise (35:58) Building a Local Data Center and Factory (45:55) Funding and Strategic Partnerships (47:44) Future Growth and Exciting Features – Recommended Podcast: What separates the most enduring and generation-defining venture firms? Turpentine VC talks to Ben Horowitz, Vinod Khosla, Alfred Lin, Mike Maples, Roger Ehrenberg, and more to find out. Subscribe: https://link.chtbl.com/TurpentineVC

John Coogan, an entrepreneur in residence at Founders Fund and co-founder of Soylent and Lucy, shares his fascinating journey through the startup world. He discusses the evolution of Soylent and the lessons learned from early failures to viral success. Diving deep into the complexities of nicotine products, he highlights misconceptions and regulatory challenges. Coogan emphasizes the importance of storytelling in marketing and authentic consumer engagement, while offering a fresh perspective on navigating the VC landscape.