The NFX Podcast

In this episode, James Currier converses with guest Saar Gur about his entrepreneurial journey in Silicon Valley. They discuss Saar's transition from entrepreneur to venture capitalist, his approach to investing, and the importance of emotional connection. They delve into Saar's successful investments in DoorDash and Patreon, the power of creators, and the potential in Patreon. The conversation also covers identifying investment opportunities through Reddit communities and crypto movements, characteristics of successful founders, and a case study on Ring's evolution. Saar Gur is one of the best investors in Silicon Valley and has a gift of identifying the next big consumer trends earlier than most. As a General Partner at CRV, he was recently highlighted as #34 in the Forbes Midas List of the World's Best Venture Capital Investors In 2021. Saar loves products that consumers and customers love and is passionate about helping his companies succeed. His early investment in the food delivery company DoorDash was in the 2013 seed round, which eventually resulted in the company going public last December. Gur made a similar early bet on smart home company Ring the same year; Amazon acquired that company for $1 billion in 2018. Gur is also an investor in multiple fast-growing tech startups like Patreon, which is now worth $3 billion, and Classpass, which is worth more than $700 million. Others include Niantic, Bird, and Dropbox. Today, longtime friend and NFX Partner James Currier talks with Saar to uncover these early investment stories and his pattern recognition in early-stage founders. James also uncovers who he is as a person, what he looks for in early-stage Founders, and how he sees the world as a whole. (0:00) Introduction to the NFX podcast and guest Saar Gur (4:55) Saar Gur's entrepreneurial journey in Silicon Valley and the dot com era (8:32) Saar Gur's transition from entrepreneur to venture capitalist (15:24) Saar Gur's approach to investing and the importance of emotional connection (18:12) Saar Gur's successful investments in DoorDash and Patreon (25:20) The power of creators and the potential in Patreon (32:36) Identifying investment opportunities through Reddit communities and crypto movements (36:25) Characteristics of successful founders and the importance of original product thought (37:48) Case study: The evolution of Ring from DoorBot to a home security company (39:26) Outro: NFX's mission and call to action for listeners

In this episode, James Currier and Omri Amirav-Drory delve into synthetic biology and tech bio, introducing guest Asaf Zviran, CEO of C2I. They discuss the impact of tech bio on industries, strategies for hiring and fundraising in a virtual world, and the balance between science and business in startups. They also explore the future of cancer treatment and provide valuable advice for startup founders. The team at C2i Genomics is combining cutting-edge genomics and sophisticated AI to provide the world’s first whole-genome cancer intelligence platform, transforming the way cancer is monitored and treated. C2i uses a blood test that can detect and quantify tiny amounts of residual cancer to better monitor cancer treatment, progression, and recurrence. NFX was an early stage investor in C2i due to their long-term vision and world-changing technology. Listen to NFX Partner Omri Amirav-Drory talk with Asaf Zviran, Co-founder & CEO of C2i Genomics, about the future of their company, their latest technological breakthroughs, and where the industry is headed in the near future. Asaf and Omri's conversation begins at 11:15 Visit C2i to learn more - https://c2i-genomics.com/ (0:00) Introduction and Discussion on Synthetic Biology and Tech Bio (1:24) Introduction to Omri Amirav-Drory and NFX Bio (3:03) Impact of Tech Bio on Various Industries and Future Developments (6:28) Introduction to Pete and Liquid Biopsy for Cancer Monitoring (11:18) NFX Bio Investment Thesis and Conversation with Asaf Zviran, CEO and Founder of C2I (25:23) Asaf Zviran on Managing a Diverse Team and Overcoming Challenges (29:43) Hiring, Recruiting, and Fundraising Strategies in a Virtual World (31:20) Balancing Science and Business in a Startup and Transition from Academia to Industry (38:07) End of Part 1 and Transition to Part 2: Series B Funding and Scaling Up (41:46) Overcoming Challenges in Bio Startups and Future of Cancer Treatment (44:51) Advices for Startup Founders and Quick-fire Round (48:25) Closing Remarks and End of Episode

In this episode, Tony Fadell and Pete Flint discuss the role of fresh perspectives in entrepreneurship and how climate change can be addressed as a design problem. They explore the importance of storytelling in startups, the iterative process of startup development, and the value of learning from failure. The conversation also covers reflections on the product design process and the relationship between constraints and creativity. It’s not often you get to see through the eyes of someone who created a product that you and hundreds of millions of other people use, hundreds of times a day, every single day, and have for a decade or more. Tony Fadell is the legendary inventor of the iPod, co-inventor with Steve Jobs of the iPhone, and Founder of Nest. Now he is the Principal at Future Shape, an investment and advisory firm coaching over 200+ startups. There’s almost an infinity of things to learn from Tony, but what we most wanted to uncover are his product frameworks and first principles for design. How can Founders think about designing products that are both high-utility and beloved -- that achieve dent-in-the-universe levels of adoption? As Tony puts it: For truly great designs, 50% of the design is the design. 50% of the design is the story behind the design. And it all begins with re-learning how to see. (0:00) Introduction and guest Tony Fadell (3:01) The role of naivety and fresh perspective in entrepreneurship (8:15) Addressing climate change as a design problem and the role of storytelling (14:25) Learning from the pandemic and the relationship between constraints and creativity (20:00) The importance of storytelling in startups and decision making (23:04) The iterative process of startup development and assisting founders (35:21) The importance of being a troublemaker and learning from failure in entrepreneurship (44:17) Reflections on product design process, sprints, and failure modes

Former YouTube executive Shishir Mehrotra provides insights on team structure, cross-functional coordination, and communication best practices. Topics include meeting cadences, canceling unnecessary meetings, and effective communication methods at YouTube.

In this episode, James Currier converses with guest Ali Tamaseb about his book "Super Founders", discussing the methodology and data collection process. They delve into the impact of socioeconomic diversity among founders, the correlation between success and academic or career history, and the venture capitalism game. Insights on overcoming narrative bias, the value of small failures, and the role of faith and adaptability in venture capitalism are also explored. What started as a viral medium article from two years ago has now turned into 'Super Founders', a book on what data reveals about billion-dollar startups. Today on the NFX Podcast we have Ali Tamaseb (partner at DCVC) talking with James Currier about his data-driven approach to understanding what really differentiates billion-dollar startups from the rest. The book includes exclusive interviews with the founders/investors of Zoom, Instacart, PayPal, Nest, Github, Flatiron Health, Kite Pharma, Facebook, Stripe, Airbnb, YouTube, LinkedIn, Lyft, DoorDash, Coinbase, and Square, venture capital investors like Elad Gil, Peter Thiel, Alfred Lin, and Keith Rabois. Ali Tamaseb has spent thousands of hours manually amassing what may be the largest dataset ever collected on startups, comparing billion-dollar startups with those that failed to become one—30,000 data points on nearly every factor: number of competitors, market size, the founder’s age, his or her university’s ranking, quality of investors, fundraising time, and many, many more. (0:00) Introduction and Guest Introduction (2:00) Ali Tamaseb's Background and Journey (4:11) Methodology and Data Collection for "Super Founders" Book (9:51) Solving Personal Problems and Creating Narratives in Startups (14:25) Socioeconomic Diversity Among Founders and Its Impact (18:55) Correlation Between Founders' Success, Schools Attended, and Previous Workplaces (22:02) The Venture Capital Game and the Importance of Building and Selling (24:09) Wrap-up of Data Analysis and Key Findings Discussion (25:22) The Value of Small Failures and Overcoming Narrative Bias in Entrepreneurship (31:09) Inspiration for Founders and a Deeper Look into Characteristic Levels in Venture Capitalism (37:21) The Role of Faith, Acceptance of Randomness, and Adaptability in Venture Capitalism (38:13) Closing Remarks and Future Plans

In this episode, Pete Flint talks with Jon Levin about the career prospects for the class of 2021, emerging industries, and trends for entrepreneurs. They delve into the evolution of entrepreneurship, the societal impact of business leaders, and the shifting landscape for startup founders. They also discuss capitalism, government roles, and Stanford Business School's new task force. Lastly, they reflect on lessons from Levin's tenure as a Dean and the future of education. Stanford GSB Dean Jon Levin joins NFX Partner Pete Flint to discuss his perspective on new Founders entering the industry, how Stanford encourages its students to solve real-world problems with technology, macroeconomics, and the overall state of capitalism. Jon Levin started teaching at Stanford in 2000. Has been Dean of Stanford Graduate School of Business since Sept 2016 and is about to celebrate 5 years in that role. Levin received his BA and BS degrees from Stanford University in 1994, an MPhil in Economics from Oxford in 1996, and his PhD in Economics from MIT in 1999. Pete got to know Dean Levin from being on the GSB Management Board after graduating in 2005. He has also co-taught a number of cases at the GSB. (0:00) Introduction to the NFX podcast and guest Jon Levin (7:00) Career prospects and emerging industries for the class of 2021 (10:00) Opportunities and trends for early-stage entrepreneurs in 2021 (14:00) The evolution and diversity in entrepreneurship among students (17:00) Changing expectations on business leaders and their societal impact (18:34) Sponsor: ${name} (19:00) The state of capitalism, role of government and potential future changes (24:00) Shift in corporate objectives and the new task force at Stanford Business School (29:00) The changing landscape for startup founders and teaching disagreement in diverse teams (34:00) Lessons from five years as a Dean and the future of educational institutions (37:00) Closing remarks

In this episode, former CEO of Waze, Noam Bardin, delves into the importance of U.S. success for a global brand, his framework for assessing business ideas, and Waze's unique design strategies. He discusses the power of network effects, the impact of user activity on functionality, and the value of data in Waze's business model. The conversation also covers growth tactics after achieving product-market fit, the costs of losing focus, and understanding competitor strategies. Underlying Waze's journey is a little-known approach to product thinking, super-powerful data network effects, and a guiding north star metric. This is Waze's insider story, as told by their former CEO, Noam Bardin. NFX Partner Gigi Levy-Weiss recently sat down with Noam, where they discussed the step-by-step story of the company's growth, starting from their early days in 2008 with just 2,000 monthly active users, through being acquired by Google for $1B in 2013, and hitting 140M monthly active users at the time Noam stepped down in Feb 2021. Early-stage Founders are wise to study as many successful growth stories as they can. While there is no single playbook of best practices, each case contains deeply valuable learning that we at NFX aim to pass along from Founder to Founder. Read the full NFX Essay here - https://www.nfx.com/post/the-insider-story-of-waze (0:00) Introduction and guest introduction - Noam Bardin, former CEO of Waze (7:36) The importance of U.S. success for a global brand and the shift to a globalized view of startups (14:29) Noam's framework for assessing business ideas and the role of user perception (16:30) The design strategies behind Waze's user interface and balancing functionality and fun (24:10) The danger of over-promising to users and addressing product flaws (27:25) The power of network effects in Waze and building the Waze map from scratch (32:21) The impact of user activity and driving habits on Waze's functionality (37:08) The value and importance of data in Waze's business model (42:25) Sponsor: ${name} (43:08) Growth tactics and strategies after achieving product-market fit and the power of innovative partnerships (51:45) The cost of losing focus and the importance of understanding competitor strategies (1:00:19) Wrapping up, final advice from Noam Bardin, and closing remarks by the NFX host

In this episode, Pete Flint, Heather Fernandez, and James Currier discuss the business model of Solve Health and its strategic approach to navigating through the pandemic. They analyze the complexities and opportunities in the American healthcare industry, the impact of regulations on innovation, and the importance of understanding supply and demand in healthcare marketplaces. The episode concludes with advice for young entrepreneurs interested in healthcare. Speed is routinely acknowledged as a major advantage for startups. But startup speed is not sufficiently understood as an invaluable competency for society at large. Solv Health’s growth during the pandemic is a great example. Just 4 years old, the startup managed 5 million Covid tests in 2020, compared to 7 million tests by long-established CVS. Today NFX General Partner Pete Flint is joined by Heather Fernandez, Co-Founder and CEO of Solv Health and previously a leader with him at Trulia. They analyze mental models and hard tactics for using speed to convert chaos to growth — and good. Read the full NFX Essay here - https://www.nfx.com/post/startup-speed-as-a-public-good (0:00) Introduction to the NFX Podcast and guest Heather Fernandez (1:11) Overview of Solve Health and its business model (9:18) Comparison of 2008 real estate crisis and COVID-19 impact on Solve Health (13:39) Strategic approach to navigating through the pandemic and changes to Solve Health's roadmap (19:12) Discussion on different risk profiles within health tech and the implications of COVID-19 for Solve Health (22:27) Analysis of American healthcare industry complexities and opportunities (28:29) Discussion on healthcare regulations and their impact on innovation (31:19) Building a healthcare startup and targeting high frequency, low fidelity healthcare services (35:36) Importance of understanding supply and demand in healthcare marketplaces (41:57) The evolution of Solv and advice for young entrepreneurs interested in healthcare (47:49) Wrap-up and conclusion of the episode.

In this episode, Packy McCormick shares his insights into crypto's role in the online game, its intersection with the creator economy, and the potential of DAOs. The discussion also delves into game design principles, their application to the online game, and personal experiences in the meta game. The Great Online Game is an infinite video game that plays out constantly across the internet. It uses many of the mechanics of a video game, but removes the boundaries. You’re no longer playing as an avatar in Fortnite or Roblox; you’re playing as yourself across Twitter, YouTube, Discords, work, projects, and investments. Packy McCormick is the founder of the Not Boring Club, a newsletter on business strategy and pop culture. This episode is narrated by Packy himself. We were referred to this post by Li Jin, our most recent guest on the NFX Podcast. Read the full essay here - https://www.notboring.co/p/the-great-online-game (0:00) Introduction to the episode and Packy McCormick's insights (1:34) Deep dive into crypto and its significance in the online game (2:08) Impact of social media on the great online game (4:59) Understanding successful game design and its relevance to the online game (8:02) Real-life examples of players in the great online game (11:38) Intersection of the creator economy and the great online game (13:26) Exploration of crypto's value in the online gaming community (15:20) The role and potential of DAOs in the great online game (17:24) Applying game design principles to the online game (19:20) Personal experiences and the meta game within the great online game (20:01) Podcast outro

In this episode, James Currier and guest Li Jin delve into the passion economy, discussing its social implications and the role of self-promotion. They explore the involvement of Gen Z, investment dynamics, and examine case studies such as Mirror and Maven. The conversation also touches on the evolution of digital transactions, challenges in the passion economy, the impact of remote work, personal branding, and the arrival of Web 3.0. The "Passion Economy" as coined by Li Jin makes it easier for people to monetize their individuality through unique, creative work. This comes with a host of benefits, not the least of which is the emergence of new markets, a feeling of autonomy, and intrinsic satisfaction. To work through this and more, James Currier is joined by Li Jin herself -- former investment partner at A16Z, now Founder and Managing Partner at Atelier. They discuss how NFTs are changing the economics of the Creator Economy, what happens when everyone has to be a marketer, and how they look for ways to make platform participants into platform owners. Read the NFX Essay here - https://www.nfx.com/post/li-jin-passion-attention-economy/ (0:00) Introduction and discussion on the passion economy with guest Lee Jin (7:19) Activism and social implications in the passion economy (10:47) The role of self-promotion and marketing in the digital age (13:50) Role of Gen Z and the dynamics of investment in the passion economy (19:15) Sponsor: NFX (20:27) Case studies: Passion economy companies Mirror and Maven (26:02) Evolution of digital transactions and key elements in passion economy businesses (31:50) Challenges and societal implications of the passion economy (35:58) The influence of remote work and personal branding in the digital age (40:01) The arrival of Web 3.0, misconceptions, and its future implications (43:29) Conclusion: Wrapping up the conversation with Li Jin