Village Global Podcast

Aston Motes, first Dropbox employee, shares insights on startup ideas, attracting talent, finding a co-founder, music industry, and knowing when to shut down a startup. Discusses culture setting, diverse teams, and frameworks for evaluating ideas.

Andy Johns (@ibringtraffic), investor at Unusual Ventures, joins Erik on this episode.They discuss:- His thoughts on transportation at short distances and the business model problem that these companies face.- Where his thinking is at with respect to opportunities in consumer social today.- His thoughts on low-code and no-code.- Why he’s interested in fintech and what a financial social network might look like.- Other areas in fintech that are interesting.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.

Julian Lehr (@lehrjulian) of Stripe joins Erik on this episode. He is the author of the blog post Signalling as a Service.- The background of the post and why he wrote it.- Signalling as a framework and his breakdown of the component parts.- Why there is very little luxury software.- How this intersects with Eugene Wei’s idea of status as a service.- How monetization and signal amplification works in digital products.- His requests for startups in the area.- The next topics that he’s thinking about in the space.- His thoughts on reputation and financial capital.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.

Alexa von Tobel (@alexavontobel) and Mark Batsiyan (@mbatny) of Inspired Capital join Erik on this episode.They discuss:- What fintech 2.0 will look like and their experiences growing a company during the fintech 1.0 era.- The idea of the self-driving wallet and removing friction for consumers.- Their investment thesis and the trends they are seeing in fintech.- How incumbents will react to changes and why they will be just as acquisitive.- The impact of COVID on fintech.- How Gen Z thinks about finances.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.

Marcos Veremis, managing director at Evanston Capital Management, and David Fauchier (@dfauchier), CIO at Cambrial Capital, join Erik to discuss:- How they became interested in crypto.- How institutions have approached the space.- How the space has evolved.- Bitcoin as a store of value in the current market environment.- The impact of COVID on crypto.- Crypto investment strategies.- Why generalist VCs have so far not been able to make good investments in the space.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.

Erik is joined by Anirudh Pai (@ani_pai), co-founder of the Conservative Curious podcast and creator of the Dreams of Electric Sheep newsletter.They discuss:- Why people don’t crave scientific advancement.- What the postmodern solution to the desire to be part of religion might look like.- What “the iPhone moment for cities” might look like.- His thoughts on stagnation.- His analysis of Thiel’s idea that “every bubble is a commentary on capitalism.”- The state of biotech and the future of the FDA post-COVID.- Why COVID will be an accelerant for crypto.- His thoughts on the space industry.- Why he thinks that moreso than “it’s time to build,” it’s time to tinker.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.

Nadia Eghbal (@nayafia), of Substack, and author of Working in Public, and Lenny Rachitsky (@lennysan), author of a newsletter on product and growth and former Airbnb PM, join Erik on this episode to discuss:- The On Deck Writer’s Fellowship in partnership with Substack.- The evolution of newsletters as a medium over time.- Nadia and Lenny’s journeys on Substack.- Their advice for people who want to get started writing their own newsletters.- How they think about what to write about and the right cadence for their newsletters.- How to improve as a writer.- How to think about pricing.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.

Erik is joined by:- Sheel Mohnot (@pitdesi), fintech seed investor- Nick Caldwell (@nickcald), VP of Engineering at Twitter and angel investor- Anne Dwane (@adwane), partner at Village GlobalTo discuss:- The craft of angel investing.- How Village Global is trying to decentralize VC with its Network Leader program.- The benefits of the On Deck Angel Fellowship.- Nick and Sheel’s journeys to becoming angel investors.- Why networks appreciate over time.- The advice they would give to people getting started angel investing.- Their thought processes around making investments.- How they think about improving as an investor.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.

Bruno Maçães (@MacaesBruno), author of History Has Begun: The Birth of a New America, joins Erik on this episode.They discuss:- What people don’t appreciate or misunderstand about China.- His thoughts on Fukuyama.- The west as a culture exporter.- Why this moment is a fork in the road for America and how it might play out for the country.- Twitter as a virtual reality platform.- How tech will transform society.- Whether a decentralized future will lead to more freedom.- Whether the state can be replaced by smart contracts.- What the legacy of COVID in society might be.- Some of the thinkers that he admires and where he agrees or disagrees with them.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.

Stephen Kosslyn (@skosslyn), president and Chief Academic Officer at Foundry College, joins Erik to discuss:- The current challenges in traditional academia. - When the purpose of universities changed from teaching to research.- What he’s working on at Foundry and how it’s differentiated from others in the space.- His requests for startups in education.- Why a community connection is important in learning.- What outsiders don’t realize or appreciate about the dynamics in universities.- Why the cost of education has gone up so much.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.