Village Global Podcast

Ali Hamed (@AliBHamed), investor at CoVenture, and Brent Beshore (@BrentBeshore), founder and CEO of Permanent Equity, join Erik on this episode.They discuss:- Their advice for venture firms and companies trying to fundraise in this environment.- How LPs will change their capital allocations in a post-COVID world.- Whether it’s a good time to be investing right now or not.- How this time is different from the 2008 financial crisis.- How they’re spending their time.- What will go back to normal in time, and what might not.- Which spaces will change or accelerate, and where they’re looking at investing.- The government programs available for startups, and whether startups should be taking advantage of them.Applications for the summer vintage of our Network Catalyst accelerator are now open! The early decision deadline is May 15th and final deadline is June 5th. Learn more and apply today at www.villageglobal.vc/network-catalyst.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.

Nir Eyal (@nireyal), bestselling author of "Hooked" and "Indistractable", joins Erik on this episode.They discuss:- The psychology behind distraction and discomfort- The role of willpower and forethought in productivity- Is willpower a limited resource?- Why to-do lists backfire- Becoming indistractable- Raising indistractable children and forging indistractable relationships- How you can use technology to prevent technology distraction- Why do children overuse technology?- Have smart phones caused increases In teen suicides?- Nir’s investments in the space- What is the root of the tech backlash?Check out Nir's new book "Indistractable"at http://nirandfar.com/IndistractableApplications for the summer vintage of our Network Catalyst accelerator are now open! The early decision deadline is May 15th and final deadline is June 5th. Learn more and apply today at www.villageglobal.vc/network-catalyst.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.

Village Global co-founder Erik Torenberg (@eriktorenberg) chatted with Jo Varshney (@jo_getter), founder and CEO of VeriSIM Life and Kiran Bellubbi (@smalldozes), founder of Keyo, about their experience with the Village Network Catalyst program.Jo and Kiran explain what it was like to be a founder in Network Catalyst, including how the team at Village Global helped them with their business model, leveraged Village Global’s unique structure as a network to their advantage, and guided them through the fundraising process.This is a rebroadcast of a live episode that was recorded at Village Global HQ in San Francisco on June 14 2018. The event was put on in partnership with Xoogler, a network of former Googlers who have come together to help each other with their startup ambitions.Village Global’s Network Catalyst accelerator is a personalized program that features masterclasses from some of the best in Silicon Valley and a dedicated network leader focused on making the introductions you need to turbocharge your company. You can participate in-person in San Francisco or virtually from anywhere around the world. Applications for the summer vintage of our Network Catalyst accelerator are now open! The early decision deadline is May 15th and final deadline is June 5th. Learn more and apply today at www.villageglobal.vc/network-catalyst.

Matt Clifford (@matthewclifford) and Alice Bentinck (@alicebentinck), co-founders of Entrepreneur First, join Erik on this episode.They discuss:- What EF is all about and why Matt says that being an entrepreneur is one of the highest-leverage ways to change the world.- How to do ideation well, and how they think about it differently from traditional VC firms.- What they’ve learned about good founding teams and what makes a good co-founder match.- The challenges around changing the culture around entrepreneurship.- How they think about expansion and what their future will look like.- How to encourage more people to become founders.Applications for the summer vintage of our Network Catalyst accelerator are now open! The early decision deadline is May 15th and final deadline is June 5th. Learn more and apply today at www.villageglobal.vc/network-catalyst.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.

Karan Talati (@ktal90), Co-founder and CEO of First Resonance, and Keenan Johnson (@keenanjohnson), aerospace engineer, join Erik on this episode.They discuss:- The role of software versus processes in manufacturing innovation- Why has manufacturing been so slow to innovate and why is now the right time to disrupt it?- How platform shifts in hardware are changing the way we manufacture products- The future of manufacturing- Request for startups in the space- The role of the public sector in manufacturing- Are hardware startups compatible with venture funding?Applications for the summer vintage of our Network Catalyst accelerator are now open! The early decision deadline is May 15th and final deadline is June 5th. Learn more and apply today at www.villageglobal.vc/network-catalyst.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.

Andrew Wilkinson (@awilkinson) co-founder of Tiny, joins Erik and co-host David Booth (@david__booth), CEO of OnDeck, on this episode.They discuss:- His story of building businesses in high school and how he ended up as the head of a family of 25 different companies with over 400 employees.- How they think about acquiring or investing in businesses and what they are looking for.- Where they get their capital.- How they think about founder liquidity and why they often invest in founders who want to leave the business.- Where they’re looking to invest and what’s most interesting to them.- Why they don’t want to be a venture studio.- How they make sure they have alignment with their CEOs.- Why private equity is suited to remote work.Applications for the summer vintage of our Network Catalyst accelerator are now open! The early decision deadline is May 15th and final deadline is June 5th. Learn more and apply today at www.villageglobal.vc/network-catalyst.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.

Immad Akhund (@immad), founder and CEO of Mercury, and Jude Gomila (@judegomila), founder and CEO of Golden, join Erik on this episode.They discuss:- What’s top of mind for them with respect to COVID-19 and the response.- Decentralized versus centralized approaches to the problem.- Which underlying problems in American society this has brought to the surface.- Which trends are going to accelerate because of the pandemic.- Common mistakes that founders make when fundraising.- Why it’s important to have balancing forces for certain attributes of the culture at your company.- Thoughts on futarchy.- What they disagree on.Applications for the summer vintage of our Network Catalyst accelerator are now open! The early decision deadline is May 15th and final deadline is June 5th. Learn more and apply today at www.villageglobal.vc/network-catalyst.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.

Sahil Lavingia (@shl), founder and CEO of Gumroad, joins Erik on this episode.They discuss:- The story of starting Gumroad, raising money, and getting featured in the media.- Going from a twenty person company to a five person company to a single-person company.- The advice he would give to a younger version of himself if he was starting over again.- The creator economy and which types of content do well.- How to think about raising capital.- Time as a status symbol, the merits of cities, and what it means to “play poker with an open hand.”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.

Gigi Levy-Weiss (@gigilevy) of NFX joins Erik on this episode.They discuss:- The history and evolution of gaming and why he’s excited about the space.- His requests for startups in gaming and what gaming will look like in ten years.- His thoughts on e-sports and why he’s excited about VR.- Crypto, blockchain, and how those technologies interface with gaming.- Why biotech will be transformative and how data and machine learning are enabling new discoveries.- Common fundraising mistakes that founders make.- What people misunderstand about product-market fit.- Startup leadership and what makes a great leader and culture.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.

Andy Chen (@andychen), partner at Coatue, and Jose Guardado (https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseguardado/), founder of a new company, join Erik on this episode.They discuss:- How hiring has evolved over the last decade.- Why startups are focusing on recruiting earlier, and hiring people dedicated to the task as some of their earliest employees.- How to find a co-founder who will work well with you, and how to deal with disagreements between co-founders.- The most common mistakes made when hiring.- How to figure out how equity should be distributed between founders and early hires.- How to source the best candidates at early-stage companies.- Their best advice for doing reference checks.- Startups in the talent and recruiting space and potential opportunities for founders.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.