Something Ventured -- Silicon Valley Podcast

Samir Kaji is the founder behind Allocate, a pioneering platform in the venture capital space. Samir has established himself as a key connector between venture capital firms and the "LPs" (Limited Partners) who invest in them. He is building Allocate to leverage his experience into a platform. After observing inefficiencies in the venture capital market – between venture firms and the LPs that fund them – he was inspired to create Allocate. Allocate is described as "a game-changing solution that empowers venture capital firms to streamline allocation processes, optimize portfolios, and make data-driven decisions." Samir's position in the industry gives him a unique perspective. In this episode he parses what he sees from his vantage point, as the VC market undergoes upheaval at the same time one of the most exciting technologies ("AI") in 20 years emerges. He also gives us a post-mortem on the turmoil that rocked SVB and First Republic Bank. Here he brings unique insight, given his years spent in venture banking working at SVB and First Republic Bank where he closely worked with and advised over 700 venture capital and private equity firms. . Samir is also an active writer on venture capital and is the host of a top venture podcast Venture Unlocked. Join us in exploring Samir Kaji's journey and the transformative impact he hopes to have with Allocate on the world of venture capital. https://www.allocate.co/ https://twitter.com/samirkaji https://somethingventured.us/

Darian Shirazi is a general partner at Gradient Ventures, Google's AI fund. Gradient Ventures invests in companies that are "developing AI technologies that have the potential to make a significant impact on the world". Darian is a serial entrepreneur and investor. He co-founded and served as CEO of Radius, a leading customer data platform, for over 7 years. Under his leadership, the company grew to over 100 employees, raised over $100 million in venture capital, and served dozens of Fortune 500 customers. Darian is also an early investor in many successful companies, including Lyft, Udemy, Carbon Health, and Palantir. At Gradient, he has invested in Seed and Series A rounds in prominent companies such as Mural, SecureFrame, Chili Piper, Writer, Stairwell, Gigs, FlutterFlow, and Oura. He started his career working at Facebook as a Software Engineer reporting to Mark Zuckerberg. In this episode we discuss his path to becoming an investor in Gradient. We also dive into the topic of the moment: Investing in artificial intelligence ("AI"). A lot of people believe AI is a more significant technology evolution than the internet. Many people believe AI is just a lot of hype. Some believe AI is a threat to our existence. We unpack what Darian sees from his unique vantage point at Gradient about how to think about and invest in companies driven by AI. We discuss what is real, what is probably hype, and what you should be most excited about. Something Ventured Gradient Ventures

Anthony Soohoo is a Venture Advisor at AI Fund. It is a role he took on after building a company (Dot & Bo) that was acquired. He went from buidling his own company to becoming a leader at -- Walmart. . In fact, Anthony became the head of Wal-Mart's Home Division. It's the largest US retailer for home goods, and one of six business units at Wal-Mart. Anthony discusses what it's like going from a startup to operating at the scale of, essentially, a Fortune 500 CEO. Anthony also begins the "AI Series" – where we start discussing what is happening as AI technology begins to emerge. Anthony advises "AI Fund", a venture studio that works with entrepreneurs to bring their AI companies to market. A note on the "AI Series": A lot of people have expressed interest in the emergence of AI as a technological force driving the next wave of innovation. Many believe it is significant as the emergence of the Internet or mobile phones. So I'm beginning a series within Something Ventured where I talk to people who are experts in the field, and can bring insight as to what is happening, what to understand and what to look forward to as AI starts to…eat the world. AI Fund https://www.aifund.ai/ Something Ventured https://somethingventured.us/

Nnamdi Okike is rapidly becoming a prominent figure in the venture capital industry. He is the co-founder of 645 Ventures, along with his partner Aaron Holiday. Recently, 645 Ventures successfully raised its fourth fund, of about $350 million. Nnamdi's background includes an education at Harvard, membership on the prestigious NVCA board (with former Something Ventured Guest Charles Hudson serving as the chair), and time at Insight Partners. We discuss Nnamdi's path to finding a partner and establishing 645 Ventures. He shares why he left Insight to start his own fund, how he determined Aaron was the right partner, and the challenges they faced while raising funds from Limited Partners ("LPs"). Nnamdi also discusses how he applied his experience at Insight to 645 Ventures, their decision-making process for investments, and his perspective on the current state of the venture market. We conclude with a moment on how he manages to be a Boston sports fan living and working in…New York. Something Ventured: https://somethingventured.us/ 645 Ventures: https://645ventures.com/

David Z. Morris is part of the Coindesk reporting team that was critical in bringing to light the (apparently) massive fraud at FTX, the now bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange. FTX Trading Ltd., commonly known as FTX, abruptly collapsed in 2022, after having grown to become the world's third largest crypto exchange with over a million users. While still unfolding, the FTX story so far has more layers, complexities and characters than a spy novel. David provides a thoughtful, nuanced explanation of what is known so far. We discuss what happened at FTX, how the events unfolded, and what Bankman-Fried's role was in the multi-billion dollar collapse. David Z. Morris is CoinDesk's Chief Insights Columnist. He has written about crypto since 2013 for outlets including Fortune, Slate, and Aeon. He is the author of "Bitcoin is Magic," an introduction to Bitcoin's social dynamics. He is a former academic sociologist of technology with a PhD in Media Studies from the University of Iowa. He holds Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and small amounts of other crypto assets. David Z. Morris https://www.coindesk.com/author/david-z-morris/ Something Ventured Podcast. https://somethingventured.us/

It is not a stretch to call Elad Gil one of Silicon Valley's best investors. In a world where one big hit can make a venture capitalists' career, Elad has invested in…Well, here's a partial list Airbnb, Airtable, Anduril, Brex, Checkr, Coinbase, Deel, Figma, Flexport, Gitlab, Gusto, Instacart, Notion, Opendoor, PagerDuty, Pinterest, Retool, Rippling, Samsara, Square, Stripe, TripActions, Wish. It seems almost impossible. But there it is. Elad's career includes working at Google, founding a company acquired by Twitter, and founding Color Genomics (you probably heard about them during the COVID response). He is also author of the book High Growth Handbook: Scaling Startups from 10 to 10,000 People. In this wide-ranging discussion, Elad shares his thoughts on everything from building companies to crypto, AI, and more. Elad's home page: https://eladgil.com/ Elad on Twitter: https://twitter.com/eladgil Something Ventured: https://somethingventured.us/

There are a few – very few –non-traditional paths into venture capital. Adrian Fenty may have one of the most unusual ones. Adrian was the Mayor of Washington D.C., winning that post at the age of 35 (making him Washington D.C.'s youngest mayor ever). In this episode we discuss his path to becoming mayor of a major city and his refreshing style for governing in that office. But being mayor of a major US city was just the beginning. Adrian became a special advisor to the venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, where he had the chance to observe its founders in action. Today, Adrian is a Managing Director of the venture firm he founded, MaC Venture Capital. https://macventurecapital.com/ www.somethingventured.com

Michelle Tandler is an entrepreneur – she founded "Growth Path", a provider of audio courses for professional development. Her goal is to teach soft skills and management at scale. She previously worked at tech firms Thumbtack and Yammer, as well as the venture capital firm Trinity. In this episode we discuss her entrepreneurial journey, in which she gives us a pretty candid look at the highs and lows of being an entrepreneur. Michelle has also become a (fairly popular) voice of reason concerning the state of affairs in San Francisco. She regularly poses thoughtful questions about various policies while generally shedding light on the byzantine corners of San Francisco politics. Here, she shares her thoughts on a range of issues, providing thoughtful solutions, and frank explanations of various head-spinning policies. Substack https://substack.com/profile/1329960-michelle-tandler Twitter https://twitter.com/michelletandler Something Ventured https://somethingventured.us/

Max Chafkin, a tech reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek and author of “The Contrarian,” dives deep into Peter Thiel's controversial role in Silicon Valley. He explores Thiel's evolution from a PayPal co-founder to a major political player, revealing the dualities and contradictions in his beliefs. Chafkin discusses the ethical dilemmas of Palantir's data mining and critiques the broader implications of technology and power dynamics in this age, including the rise of Bitcoin and its impact on global politics.

Howard Morgan is one of those few – very few – people who have built multiple game-changing firms. He is co-founder of Renaissance Technologies (sometimes known as "RenTec"). While a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, he divined the opportunity to apply emerging computer technologies to investing. The resulting firm – Renaissance Technologies -- is one of the most famous, and successful, hedge funds. It pioneered systematic trading using quantitative models derived from mathematical models. It famously hires people who are incredibly smart – but don't have previous investing experience. While some might consider that enough of a career for one lifetime – Howard went on to co-found First Round Capital with Josh Koppelman. First Round is one of the most respected seed venture capital firms, with investments in firms like Notion, Roblox, Uber, and Square. At last Howard is ready to retire….wait no. No, Howard is now the chairman of B Capital, the global investment firm founded by Eduardo Saverin. In this episode we discuss how this remarkable journey unfolded, and what he sees for the future. B Capital Partners https://www.bcapgroup.com/ Renaissance Technologies https://www.rentec.com First Round Capital https://firstround.com/ Something Ventured Podcast https://somethingventured.us/