Village Global Podcast

Phin Barnes (@phineasb) and Brett Berson (@brettberson), partners at First Round Capital, join Erik on this episode.They discuss:- Why when First Round was started VC was mainly an “anti-network business.”- How the needs of founders and companies have evolved since First Round was started.- The four phases of a company and when to think about raising funds.- How to think about price as an investor.- What, in their opinion, are the predictors of founder success.- Some of the projects and initiatives they’ve worked on at First Round.- How they get up to speed quickly on different spaces.- The future of the firm.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.Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global and is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg. Grace Chen is our audio engineer and the show is produced by Brett Bolkowy.

Hiten Shah (@hnshah), Co-Founder of FYI, joins Erik on this episode.They discuss:- Frameworks for picking startup ideas- Navigating the Idea Maze- How has the enterprise market changed in the past decade- Investment outlook for “future of work”- How has growth hacking and go-to-market evolved over the past decade- How to select your customers- Deciding on pricing- When do you start charging- How to think about retention- Can Linkedin be disruptedThanks 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.Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global and is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg. Grace Chen is our audio engineer and the show is produced by Brett Bolkowy.

Justin Mares (@jwmares), founder of Kettle & Fire and Perfect Keto, joins Erik on this episode.They discuss:- The state of CPG, the history of the market, and the problems with the incentive structure today.- What has led to the decline in the health of the average American and where Silicon Valley goes wrong with its approach to food.- Where he would be investing if he was running a fund focused on health and wellness.- How to find non-traditional talent.- Why he is short San Francisco.- And much more.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.Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global and is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg. Grace Chen is our audio engineer and the show is produced by Brett Bolkowy.

Santiago Suarez (@SantiaSua) of Addi joins Erik on this episode. They Discuss:- Is lending a cyclical business- Lending as a form of customer acquisition- What can fintech lending companies learn from Affirm and Square- How lending in LatAm differs from North America- How to develop competitive advantages as a lending business in LatAm- Lessons to learn from scaling very fast- How to hire early employees- How to decide your company’s culture- How can lending startups compete with banks- How should lending startups think about balance sheet risk- How has the lending ecosystem changed in the past decade- Thoughts on Clearanc- Common mistakes of finch startupsThanks 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.Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global, and is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg.

Erik is joined on this episode by Mike Maples (@m2jr) of Floodgate. They Discuss:- Have all of the low hanging fruit of startup ideas been picked- How do the best founders approach entrepreneurship- Mike’s thoughts on the various conventional wisdoms of building startups- The power of “change events” for startup creation- How important is market timing- How important is it for your idea to be non-consensus- What makes a great founding team- Can you predict product market fit- Why do co-founder breakups happen and how do you prevent them- How do you know when you have an insight that’s worth pursuing- Thoughts on the Operator Angel movement- What does VC look like a decade from now- The relationship between VCs and their LPs- Investing in non-tech businesses- Can crypto disrupt the VC model- Mental models for what makes a successful investorThanks 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.Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global, and is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg.

James Currier (@JamesCurrier) of NFX join Erik on this episode. They Discuss:- Why hasn’t Linkedin been disrupted yet- What does crypto do for generating network effects- Where are today’s opportunities in consumer social- Market networks and how they’ve evolved over time- What’s wrong with education and can homeschooling be a solution- Commoditization of higher education- How to evaluate startup ideas- How will venture evolve over the next decade- What should founders better appreciate about the psychology of VCsThanks 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.Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global, and is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg.

Neal Hansch (@nhansch) and Liz Keen (@Liz_Keen) of Silicon Foundry join Erik on this episode. They Discuss:- How Silicon Foundry is building bridges between communities- How corporations have interfaced with Silicon Valley over time- The purpose and rise of Corporate Venture Capital- How have accelerators evolved and what opportunities have they created for corporations- The role venture studios play in corporate innovation- When should startup founders start talking to Corp Dev teams- What are the most common mistakes of corporations dealing with startups and vice versa- What does great corporate innovation look like from an organizational perspective- The role of Economic Development Corporations- Corporate VCs betting against their core businessThanks 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.Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global, and is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg.

Charlie Noyes (@_charlienoyes) of Paradigm joins Erik on this episode. They Discuss:- How has the crypto landscape changed in the last year- The future of Decentralized Finance- Is Bitcoin likely to be more valuable a decade from now- The future of Ether- Will ICOs make a comeback- How tied is the rise of crypto to global disorder- Will prediction & idea markets ever happen- Charlie’s request for startups- Crypto narratives in 2020Thanks 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.Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global, and is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg.

Ike Lasater (@IkeLasater) joins Erik on this episode to discuss nonviolent communication.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.Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global, and is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg.

Turner Novak (@TurnerNovak) of Gelt Venture Capital joins Erik on this episode. They Discuss:- Can the Vision Fund find product market fit through mega LPs- The relationship between LPs and VCs and how it’s going to change over time- How will venture as an asset class change over the next decade- The future of WeWork- Is Uber's valuation reasonable- Who are the winners of micro mobility- What’s exciting about consumer social- Should we be bullish on Snapchat and BitmojiThanks 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.Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global, and is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg.