Nick Moran

The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified

Business EN ↓ 1014 episodes

The podcast dedicated to demystifying Venture Capital. Nick Moran and Nate Pierotti interview VC's & Startup Founders and on how they build great technology startups.

Author

Nick Moran

Episodes

Investor Stories 483: Best LP Questions from David Ulevich, Eric Ries, and Larry Cheng: Mission, Partnership Culture, and Enduring Institutions (Ulevitch, Ries, Cheng) 09.07.2026 6:58

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: David Ulevitch of Andreessen Horowitz Eric Ries author of "The Lean Startup" Larry Cheng of Volition Capital We asked guests to share the best question they've ever been asked by an allocator. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing in found...

512. Is SpaceX Over or Undervalued, Why Consensus Kills, How Chewy Beat Amazon, and the GameStop Saga from a Board Member (Larry Cheng) 06.07.2026 42:10

Larry Cheng of Volition Capital joins Nick to discuss Is SpaceX Over or Undervalued, Why Consensus Kills, How Chewy Beat Amazon, and the GameStop Saga from a Board Member. In this episode we cover: E-commerce and AI-Driven Era GameStop's Transformative Moves SpaceX's Market Cap and Future Value AI and Software Industry Impact of AI on Jobs and Companies Volition Capital's Investment Thesis Investo...

Investor Stories 482: Key Advice from a Top Investor and Two Unicorn Founders: Why Companies Pick Investors, Authentic Leadership, and Loving the Game (Austin, Schlacks, Demaree) 02.07.2026 6:43

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Ethan Austin of Outside VC Willy Schlacks of EquipmentShare Grant Demaree of Onebrief We asked guests for the most important piece of advice that they'd share with folks early in their venture career. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing...

Investor Stories 481: Lessons Learned from Centana Growth, a16z, and Emergence: Trusting Management, Spotting Original Thinkers, and Investing Before Revenue (Byunn, Ulevitch, Saper) 25.06.2026 5:23

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Eric Byunn of Centana Growth David Ulevitch of Andreessen Horowitz Jake Saper of Emergence Capital We asked guests to tell the most important lesson they've learned in their career. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside...

511. The Future of Military Planning: Defense Tech Beyond the Bubble, AI Software as Combat Power, and the Rise of AI Wargaming (Grant Demaree) 22.06.2026 48:13

Grant Demaree of Onebrief joins Nick to discuss The Future of Military Planning: Defense Tech Beyond the Bubble, AI Software as Combat Power, and the Rise of AI Wargaming. In this episode we cover: West Point and Army Background's Impact on Founding One Brief Challenges and Insights in Military Planning Co-Founder Relationships and Founder Mode Future of One Brief and Defense Tech Defense Tech and...

Investor Stories 480: The Traits of Visionary Founders: Customer Obsession, Self Disruption, and Why Love Can Be a Competitive Advantage (Dillon, Patnam, Ries) 18.06.2026 7:25

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Natalie Dillon of Maveron Sandesh Patnam of Premji Invest Eric Ries Author of The Lean Startup We asked guests to discuss the most visionary founder that they've worked with and what makes them so special. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to inves...

Investor Stories 479: Startup Lessons from Steve Blank, Seth Levine, and Ben Orthlieb: Hubris, Influence, and Founder Selection (Orthlieb, Levine, Blank) 11.06.2026 6:14

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Ben Orthlieb of Blue Moon Seth Levine of Foundry Steve Blank is an Adjunct Professor at Stanford We asked guests to tell the most important lesson they've learned in their career. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside o...

510. The Hyper-Scaler CEO Whisperer and Founder of the Lean Startup Movement on Incorruptible Startups, Building to Thrive and Survive, and Creating a Governance Fortress (Eric Ries) 08.06.2026 57:36

Eric Ries of the Lean Startup joins Nick to discuss The Hyper-Scaler CEO Whisperer and Founder of the Lean Startup Movement on Incorruptible Startups, Building to Thrive and Survive, and Creating a Governance Fortress. In this episode we cover: The Concept Behind "Incorruptible" The Story of Saul Price and FedMart The Governance Fortress and Legal Structures The Role of Mission-Driven Companies Th...

Investor Stories 478: Visionary Founder Lessons from Poshmark, Centana, and EquipmentShare: Love, Listening, and Leadership (Chaddha, Byunn, Schlacks) 04.06.2026 6:36

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Navin Chaddha of Mayfield Eric Byunn of Centana Growth Willy Schlacks of EquipmentShare We asked guests to discuss the most visionary founder that they've worked with and what makes them so special. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing in...

Investor Stories 477: Why VCs Passed on Figma, ClickUp, Uber, Pinterest, Okta, DoorDash, and Anthropic: Lessons from Investor Anti Portfolios (Ulevitch, Saper, Patnam) 28.05.2026 7:00

n this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: David Ulevitch of Andreessen Horowitz Jake Saper of Emergence Capital Sandesh Patnam of Premji Invest Each investor highlights a situation where they decided not to invest, why they passed, and how it played out. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to...

509. The Downstream Effects of SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic Soaking Up $3T in the Public Market, Who Is Netscape and Who Is Google in the AI Era, and the Impact of Private Credit Redemption Requests on PE and VC (Sandesh Patnam) 25.05.2026 53:13

Sandesh Patnam of Premji Invest joins Nick to discuss The Downstream Effects of SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic Soaking Up $3T in the Public Market, Who Is Netscape and Who Is Google in the AI Era, and the Impact of Private Credit Redemption Requests on PE and VC. In this episode we cover: Themes and Dynamics of the Current AI Shift Investment Opportunities and Challenges Thesis and Focus at Premji...

Investor Stories 476: Staying in Your Zone of Genius, Why People Change for Themselves, and The Hard Lessons of Founder Accountability (Callaghan, Schlacks, Dillon) 21.05.2026 7:02

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Jon Callaghan of True Ventures Willy Schlacks of EquipmentShare Natalie Dillon of Maveron We asked guests to tell the most important lesson they've learned in their career. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the B...

Investor Stories 475: What Makes Founders Exceptional, Navigating Complex Ethical Issues, and Building with Intensity (Ortlieb, Ulevitch, Saper) 14.05.2026 5:05

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Ben Orthlieb of Blue Moon David Ulevitch of Andreessen Horowitz Jake Saper of Emergence Capital We asked guests to discuss the most visionary founder that they've worked with and what makes them so special. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to inve...

508. Maintaining U.S. Dominance, Navigating Defense Tech, Prime Obsolence, and Why Your Startup is Likely DOA (Steve Blank) 11.05.2026 57:51

Steve Blank of Adjunct Professor at Stanford joins Nick to discuss Maintaining U.S. Dominance, Navigating Defense Tech, Prime Obsolence, and Why Your Startup is Likely DOA. In this episode we cover: Changes in Product Development and MVPs Impact of AI on Startup Success and Founder Mindset Common Missteps and Digital Twins in Startups Disruption and Adoption in Enterprise Software Fundraising and...

Investor Stories 474: Trusting Your Own Point of View, Why Conventional Wisdom Leads to Mediocrity, and Building a Personal Conviction Engine (Byunn, Levine, Dillon) 07.05.2026 6:12

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Eric Byunn of Centana Growth Seth Levine of Foundry Natalie Dillon of Maveron We asked guests for the most important piece of advice that they'd share with folks early in their venture career. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing in found...

Investor Stories 473: Speed at Legora, Intensity at Mysten, Mastery at Heights Labs — Why These Founders Stand Out (Effron, Austin, Simpson) 30.04.2026 6:23

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Jacob Effron of Redpoint Ethan Austin of Outside VC Arianna Simpson of Andreessen Horowitz We asked guests to discuss the most visionary founder that they've worked with and what makes them so special.on they've learned in their career. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture...

507. Consumer Retrenchment or Reallocation, AI Impact on GTM and Purchase Decisions, How to Balance Consumer Sentiment vs. Behavior, and Where Smaller Funds Win (Natalie Dillon) 27.04.2026 35:36

Natalie Dillon of Maveron joins Nick to discuss Consumer Retrenchment or Reallocation, AI Impact on GTM and Purchase Decisions, How to Balance Consumer Sentiment vs. Behavior, and Where Smaller Funds Win. In this episode we cover: Investing in the Older Adult Category Challenges for Smaller Funds in Venture Capital Consumer Investing and Market Trends Participation as a Product and Consumer Creato...

Investor Stories 472: Think Big, Stay Patient, Earn Access — Venture Advice from Foresite, Mayfield, and Blue Moon (Tananbaum, Chaddha, Orthlieb) 23.04.2026 3:40

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Jim Tananbaum of Foresite Capital Navin Chaddha of Mayfield Ben Orthlieb of Blue Moon We asked guests for the most important piece of advice that they'd share with folks early in their venture career. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing...

Investor Stories 471: Missing Great AI Bets, Losing Conviction, and Overweighting Founders — Lessons from Redpoint, a16z, and Outside VC (Effron, Austin, Simpson) 16.04.2026 6:44

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Jacob Effron of Redpoint Ethan Austin of Outside VC Arianna Simpson of Andreessen Horowitz We asked guests to tell the most important lesson they've learned in their career. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the...

506. Mirage PMF, What LLMs Will Take On and What They Will Avoid, Why Outcomes Will Shift Models from Software to Services, and How Pricing Playbooks Are Being Rewritten (Jake Saper) 13.04.2026 49:07

Jake Saper of Emergence Capital joins Nick to discuss Mirage PMF, What LLMs Will Take On and What They Will Avoid, Why Outcomes Will Shift Models from Software to Services, and How Pricing Playbooks Are Being Rewritten. In this episode we cover: SaaS Market Sell-Off and Future of Software Impact of AI on Established Brands like Salesforce Mirage Product Market Fit and AI Native Services Business M...

Investor Stories 470: Passing on Uber, Perplexity, and Fintech's Breakout Winners — The Stories Behind the Misses (Orthlieb, Callaghan, Byunn) 09.04.2026 5:51

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Ben Orthlieb of Blue Moon Jon Callaghan of True Ventures Eric Byunn of Centana Growth Each investor highlights a situation where they decided not to invest, why they passed, and how it played out. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing in f...

Investor Stories 469: What Visionary Leaders at Pixxel, eToro, and Founders Fund Do Differently (Mohapatra, Banks, Orlovski) 02.04.2026 9:16

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Hemant Mohapatra of Lightspeed India Lara Banks of Makena Capital Management Victor Orlovski of R136 Ventures We asked guests to discuss the most visionary founder that they've worked with and what makes them so special. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm com...

505. The Ins and Outs of EquipmentShare's $6B IPO, The Construction Job Site in 10 Years, Where AI Thrives and Struggles to Solve Complex Problems, and Roll Ups in the VC Space (Willy Schlacks) 30.03.2026 49:19

Willy Schlacks of EquipmentShare joins Nick to discuss The Ins and Outs of EquipmentShare's $6B IPO, The Construction Job Site in 10 Years, Where AI Thrives and Struggles to Solve Complex Problems, and Roll Ups in the VC Space. In this episode we cover: The IPO Process and Preparation Differences Between Public and Private Market Investors Stock Performance and Direct Listing Considerations Advice...

Investor Stories 468: Selling Too Early, LP Pressure, and Investor Tension — Lessons from Investors at Foundry Group, Centana Growth, and Andreessen Horowitz (Levine, Byunn, Ulevitch) 26.03.2026 10:41

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Seth Levine of Foundry Eric Byunn of Centana Growth David Ulevitch of Andreessen Horowitz We discuss major conflicts that guests have faced and how they resolved them. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Ar...

Investor Stories 467: Investors from Techstars, Redpoint, and Andreessen Horowitz on Strategy, Writing, and Building an Edge in Venture (Cohen, Effron, Simpson) 23.03.2026 5:12

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: David Cohen of Techstars Jacob Effron of Redpoint Arianna Simpson of Andreessen Horowitz We asked guests for the most important piece of advice that they'd share with folks early in their venture career. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investi...