The Learning Corner by Precursor

This end‑of‑year episode of The Learning Corner by Precursor brings together our first podcast guests, Hunter Walk (Homebrew, Screendoor) and Peter Walker (Carta) for a wide‑ranging conversation on how venture capital has evolved in 2025. We unpack ballooning early‑stage valuations, the distortion created by media attention, and how few companies actually sit at the top of the market. We also disc...

In this week’s episode, we break down Ben Casnocha’s shift in thinking on whether good ideas matter more than good founders, Aaron Harris’ challenge to the “missionary founder” trope, and Jonathon Ready’s exploration of why AI is getting eye rolls from engineers in Seattle. We discuss how these takes intersect with early-stage investing and what signals we should be looking for as the startup land...

In this episode of The Learning Corner by Precursor, Mia Farnham is joined by Charles Hudson and Missy Martin to unpack three timely reads. First, we explore Charles Schwab’s $660M acquisition of Forge Global and what it signals about the mainstreaming of alternative assets for retail investors. Next, we dig into TechCrunch’s coverage of “venture zombies” and the rise of “hold forever” investors a...

This week on The Learning Corner by Precursor, Mia Farnham and Charles Hudson dive into three thought-provoking reads shaking up the venture ecosystem: First, we break down Ben Zises’ take on why consistent founder updates may signal future success — and why that doesn’t always align with our own portfolio data. Next, we explore M.G. Siegler’s “Hey, There’s a Bubble” and what today’s AI funding fr...

We kick things off with a short but sharp post from Ben Choi reminding us that “VC is hard”—not just because of performance pressure, but because navigating fund dynamics and relationships is a game in itself. Then we dive into a provocative piece by Stefano Bernardi questioning the obsession with concentrated funds, and unpack why diversification often outperforms even the best instincts. Finally...

This week on The Learning Corner, Mia and Charles break down four of the most thought-provoking reads shaping the tech and venture ecosystem right now: • Unsafe SAFEs in the Age of AI: Jason Lemkin calls out a troubling new trend where founders in hyped AI deals walk away with investor cash—without building a thing. • 15 Charts That Explain How Tech and Venture Are Changing in 2025: Ruben Domingue...

First up, we dive into “Beyond True or False: Teaching Students to Interrogate AI Unreliability”, a Substack by Nick Potkalitsky, which proposes a new framework—borrowed from literary theory—for teaching students to critically evaluate AI-generated content. We discuss how this lens can help people move beyond simple trust/distrust binaries and become better co-creators with AI. Then, we explore “I...

We’re digging into three thought-provoking topics shaping the current startup and investing landscape: 🧼 Coterie’s $650M Exit & the Return of DTC M&A – We break down Brian Sugar’s “One Brand is Luck, Two is Strategy,” and why pure-play DTC brands with strong economics and customer devotion are back on the radar for modern acquirers. ⚡️ Iteration Speed & the Path to Series A – Hadley Harris of En...

This week on The Learning Corner, Mia and Charles discuss Goldman Sachs’ acquisition of Industry Ventures and what it signals for the venture ecosystem, Maria Gonzalez Blanch’s take on “brain obesity” in the age of AI, and a recent post from Erica Wenger about friends investing in friends. We break down what it means for community, trust, and evolving norms in tech.

In this week’s episode of The Learning Corner by Precursor, Mia and Charles explore three themes shaping today’s startup and VC landscape: The Three Lanes of Modern Venture – What type of fund are you really building? John Vrionis lays out three distinct approaches VCs are taking today. When Great People Leave – How do strong leaders navigate inevitable departures? Lessons from Taps Notes on leade...

We start with a Fortune article on how founders are using “creative accounting” to boost ARR, once the gold standard for SaaS success and now a much murkier metric in the AI era. What used to be a reliable sign of recurring revenue has drifted into “vibe revenue,” and we talk about what that means for investors and founders trying to benchmark growth. Next, we dive into Jasmine Sun’s blog on Silic...

We explore Jerry Neumann's "AI Will Not Make You Rich," which argues that transformative technologies like AI may not deliver lasting competitive advantages, using economist Carlota Perez's tech wave framework to examine whether we're in the "frenzy" or "irruption" stage of AI development. Next, we dive into the curious disconnect in consumer tech markets, where VC funding has dropped from 15% to...

This week on The Learning Corner, Mia and Charles explore three compelling venture capital topics: (1) Micah Rosenbloom's comparison of VCs to "cockroaches" and why fund consolidation remains unlikely despite market pressures, (2) the emerging trend of software engineers being paid to fix AI-generated "vibe-coded" projects that need human expertise to become functional, and (3) new Pitchbook data...

First, we dive into “We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us” by Euclid Ventures, which explores how venture capital is drifting from its roots as a market for independent thinkers. Next up is “The AI Productivity Paradox” from Sequoia’s Inference, which explores why widespread AI adoption hasn’t translated into real productivity gains. Lastly, we break down the recent Reuters story about Anthropic’s $...

This week on The Learning Corner by Precursor, Mia and Charles dive into three major topics shaping the future of AI, startups, and software economics: Taco Bell’s Voice AI Troubles: A WSJ piece reveals just how glitchy the chain’s drive-thru AI rollout has been—and why they’re rethinking it entirely. Charles shares why these failures might actually be a good sign of progress and what’s at stake w...

We kick off the episode by discussing Rebecca Kaden’s essay, “Hire the Experimenters”, which argues that speed, adaptability, and creative risk-taking are more valuable than traditional credentials in today’s AI-driven startup world. We explore how this mindset shift is reshaping what “great hiring” looks like for early teams — and whether that flexibility can translate into long-term defensibilit...

This week on The Learning Corner, we dig into the changing dynamics of talent, regulation, and hiring in venture. We start with the San Francisco Standard’s piece on why founding engineers are suddenly the most coveted hire in Silicon Valley, and how the expectations for technical co-founders have shifted post-AI. Next, we explore Platformer News’s report on the political crackdown on AI therapy b...

This week on The Learning Corner, we explore three perspectives shaping how startups get built and funded in today’s environment. We start with Aditya Agarwal’s LinkedIn post on the two competing startup modalities in Silicon Valley: those building in legible, fast-moving spaces where speed is the moat, versus those tackling illegible, contrarian ideas that take longer to crystallize. We discuss h...

This week on The Learning Corner, we dive into three sharp pieces exploring the evolving shape of venture. We kick off with Elad Gil’s take on why AI markets are finally gaining clarity, with key winners emerging across foundational models, code, legal, and customer experience. We ask: can new entrants still break through if they’re not one of the early, well-capitalized names? Next, we unpack Aur...

This week on The Learning Corner, we dive into the evolving reality of seed-stage venture capital. We kick things off with takeaways from the Superclusters podcast, where the team at Screendoor shares what LPs are really looking for in emerging fund managers today. Charles reflects on how the role of a fund manager shifts as firms scale, and what skills matter most beyond just investing. Next, we...

In this episode of The Learning Corner, Mia Farnham and Charles Hudson dig into three big conversations lighting up the venture world: 🔥 First, we break down the Windsurf “Blitzhire” saga—why a $3B OpenAI deal fell apart, how Google swooped in with a $2.4B licensing play, and what this trend of acqui-hire-meets-IP deals means for the future of AI M&A. 💭 Then, we turn to Sergio Rodenzuela’s recen...

Welcome back to The Learning Corner by Precursor, hosted by Mia Farnham and Charles Hudson. After a quick break for the Fourth of July, we’re back with a jam-packed episode covering some of the most thought-provoking conversations in early-stage venture. In this episode: We explore the concept of the adopting parent investor, how VCs can step into existing board relationships with thoughtfulness,...

In this week’s episode of The Learning Corner, Mia Farnham and Charles Hudson dive into two thought-provoking pieces on modern venture capital and founder decision-making under pressure. First, we unpack Uncapped’s interview with Josh Kopelman of First Round Capital. From the “Blackstoneification of Venture” to his tongue-in-cheek “Venture Arrogance Score,” Kopelman challenges conventional thinkin...

This week on The Learning Corner by Precursor: Reflections from Invest Like the Best’s episode featuring Bill Gurley. From zombie unicorns to misaligned fund incentives, Gurley addresses the long arc of staying private and the system-wide pressures created by illiquidity, consensus strategies, and overcapitalization. We dig into Alex Lazarow’s post on how Chime borrowed elements from international...

In this week’s episode of The Learning Corner, recorded in person during Precursor’s team onsite in San Francisco, Mia Farnham and Charles Hudson dive into the following topics: Embracing Optimism in Venture Inspired by a recent essay from Collin and Joshua Wallace, we explore the often-overlooked value of modeling best-case scenarios. While founders and investors are trained to anticipate risk, w...