LA Venture

We couldn't be more excited for Carter Reum and M13's newly announced $400M Fund III.  There are still only a few funds in LA that are true lead Series A investors.   Carter tells us how they have doubled in size from Fund I to Fund II and again from Fund II to Fund III (it helps to have 11(!) unicorns in Fund I) and how their thesis has continued to evolve as they've built the fund.

Earth's population has doubled in Cody's lifetime.  96% of mammals on earth by biomass are now humans and livestock.  China emits more greenhouse gases than all developed countries combined.     This and much more from Cody at MCJ Collective.

How are sports evolving to match the changing tastes of fans?  What can traditional sports learn from esports?  How is sports betting rolling out across the country?   This and much more with Steve Ahern, partner at KB Partners.

Zach Noorani is a partner at Foundation Capital where he leads FinTech investing.   Zach shares why he is excited for composability in finance, why he's still excited for neobanks and why traditional finance is not going to be disrupted by web3 overnight.    

Great discussion with Richard  Wolpert  on the convergence of tech and media. Some punchlines: * Movie theaters will only be for tent-pole movies * Live concerts are not going away * The metaverse will happen * Social media is toxic and needs to be fixed

Dom Perri is with Vertex US, an early-stage venture fund that's part of the broader Vertex global network. With its $200M Fund III, Vertex will continue investing in early-stage B2B companies. Dom tells us about Vertex US, his partners In Sik and Jonathan, his career in corp and business dev, and also some of his favorite maxims, including: "you don't ask, you don't get".

After investing in Chime, Step, Brace, and many others, leading FinTech investor, Joe Guzel, tells us why he and fellow Crosslink partner McLain Southworth are starting their own fund, Haven, and betting their careers on web3 FinTech.

Ben Marcus is the cofounder of UP Partners, a new $230M fund investing in the moving world.   Ben tells us about electric vertical takeoff airplanes, drones delivering packages from the roofs of Walmarts, and how flight is going to connect humanity.  

Two-time NBA all-star, Baron Davis talks about his investing and how he encourages people to put their money where their mouth is.

Omar is a partner at Mucker and leads their $190M "early" fund.  Previously a partner at Sequoia and founder of AdMob.   So many great insights on building companies and why it's hard for startups to raise a Series A from Sand Hill. 

Kyle Adkins is a partner at FullCycle Climate Partners. FullCycle invests to accelerate the deployment of technologies that address our greenhouse gas crisis. Kyle shares great perspective on the state of climate tech and climate tech investing today.

Saeed Amidi is the CEO and founder of Plug and Play.  Plug and Play connects startups with corporate partners and is one of the most active investors in the world with about 250 investments per year and over 2000 startups going through one of their programs every year.

Alex Andrianopoulos tells us how scientific breakthroughs are going to reshape medicine, climate and the world we live in. Kairos Ventures is a ~$300M fund investing in these breakthroughs... even when other VCs aren't yet interested.

Shawn Colo is a founder and managing partner at 3L Capital, a growth equity firm based in LA and NY writing $10-30M checks. We discuss 3L portfolio companies goPuff, Relativity Space, AvantStay and Shawn's founding of Demand Media. 

Martha Notaras is the smartest and most fun Insurtech investor that I know.  She tells us about Brewer Lane's $175M Fund I and investing into Series A and B Insurtech and Fintech companies. 

Spencer shares all about 75 & Sunny--how he is trying to avoid putting dotLA behind a paywall, how Pacaso is not at all like a timeshare, and how he's reinvesting back into startups in LA and beyond.

Gary Benitt is a managing partner at Social Leverage, a $99M seed fund with investments that include Robinhood, Rally Road, Kustomer and more.  Gary is a serial entrepreneur who likes to invest early and lean in.    

Pejman Nozad tells us about investing in Dropbox and DoorDash, and how he picks winners.     He also talks about Pear's current initiatives: Pear Accelerator, Pear Fellows, Pear competition and Founder Circles.    A lot to learn in this episode!

Jessica Jackley is currently an investor at UntappedVC and the founder of Alltruists, a startup disrupting the $300B volunteer economy. Jessica shares how her experience starting Kiva shaped her view of what is possible.  

Matt McCall catches us up on venture investing for the Pritzker group where he's doing a lot of seed deals and using those to fuel his Series A investing.   We also discuss wearing life like a loose sweater and other ways to thrive on the entrepreneurial journey.  

Josh Jones is the richest, goofiest, most confident yet normal-seeming person who was a Bitcoin pioneer, recently bought an airline, and is a partner at The Fund LA.

Media tech expert Shane Kelly joins to discuss the business of financing feature films and tech startups.   Shane also shares his passion for Pharrell's Black Ambition Prize and his thoughts on the state of capitalism. 

Rick Smith is a founding manager partner of @CrosscutVC and one of the pillars of the LA tech community.   Crosscut is now investing out of Crosscut Fund V, but started as a $5M Fund I in 2008.  We talk about growing a fund, a scout program, a tech community and growing personally.

Chirag tells us about his journey from Pritzker Group to DFJ and the evolution from DFJ to Threshold.  He's one of only a few LA-based Series A investors. Great to hear his perspective on today's venture market!

Julie's new fund, Magnify, is writing $1.5M - $2.5M checks into companies that will transform life, work and care for modern families.   Julie talks about very relatable themes like the relentlessness of modern parenting and household optimization.