"Turpentine VC" | Venture Capital and Investing

This episode features a discussion recorded in 2023 between Erik Torenberg and Joe Lonsdale, founder of 8VC, Palantir and the Cicero Institute. They cover Joe's proposed solutions to challenges in U.S. education, prison reform, homelessness, healthcare, defense, and more. This conversation offers a riveting overview for anyone in venture to better understand the interplay of policy and market-driv...

In this episode Erik Torenberg sits down with Jason Lemkin, the founder and CEO of SaaStr, a venture firm, podcast network, event series, and the world’s largest community for B2B/SaaS founders. This candid conversation focuses on SaaStr's business model at the intersection of VC, media, and events. Jason also covers why all VC's need to nail the right amount of marketing, what 'edge' looks like i...

This episode features an interview with a16z GP and co-founder Marc Andreessen, discussing his intellectual influences and detailing his quest to understand how the world works. He covers the authors who have shaped his thinking, the influence of elites on policies, and global governance. This conversation was recorded in late 2022. Since then, Marc and a16z have released “The Techno-Optimist Mani...

This episode features a special interview with James Currier, a partner at NFX. In this conversation, James sits with Erik Torenberg to discuss why founders tend to be more authentic at the accelerator stage than at the seed stage, James's skepticism about B2B marketplaces, and how NFX approaches investments and decision-making. This was recorded as part of a live event in 2021. --- Recommended Po...

This episode features an interview with Scott Belsky, angel investor, Chief Strategy Officer at Adobe, and founder of Behance. In this conversation, which was recorded in 2021, we dive into Scott’s early investments in companies like Pinterest and Uber, the evolution of his investment philosophy, and the principles he acquired over time.  This show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts,...

Today's episode features an interview with Will Quist, partner at Slow Ventures. In this conversation Will talks about his transition from water polo player to helping build Slow, Slow's unique thesis in venture, the old model of VC versus new VC, and treating venture capital like a phD program. Check out our two interviews with Will's partner at Slow, Sam Lessin: Seed is Over https://www.youtube....

This is a special episode featuring an interview between Forerunner Ventures founder Kirsten Green and Turner Novak of The Peel podcast and Banana Capital. The conversation covers Kirsten's journey from her early days in retail investment banking to the creation of Forerunner Ventures, how she thinks of the state of consumer investing, the story behind Dollar Shave Club, how she makes investment d...

This episode features an interview with Mike Maples, Jr, the co-founder of Floodgate, that took place in 2020. Mike's interview on Turpentine VC from September 2023 is one of our most popular episode to date, and this earlier interview offers relevant context to his success and discipline. The conversation covers how Mike got his first fund from Austin Ventures, his view on "Thunder Lizard," misse...

In this episode Chris Dixon, GP at a16z Crypto, joins Erik Torenberg along with cohosts Dan Romero and Antonio Garcia Martinez to discuss his recent book Read Write Own: The Next Era of the Internet, how he thinks AI and crypto will collide, and why Web3 consumer hasn’t taken off yet. This conversation with Chris was recorded for the Moment of Zen podcast and goes several levels deeper on Chris' c...

In this episode of Turpentine VC, Michael Dempsey, Managing Partner at Compound, joins Erik Torenberg to discuss thesis-driven vs founder-driven investing, Compound’s AI thesis, company building opportunities, ways to win at venture, advice for emerging managers, and much more. --- RECOMMENDED PODCAST: History 102 with WhatifAltHist Every week, creator of WhatifAltHist Rudyard Lynch and Erik Toren...

In this episode of Turpentine VC, Somesh Dash, General Partner at IVP, joins Erik Torenberg to discuss how IVP differentiates itself, winning late stage deals, team construction, why venture capital in 2024 looks like private equity in 2008, the future of IVP, and much more. --- RECOMMENDED PODCAST: History 102 with WhatifAltHist Every week, creator of WhatifAltHist Rudyard Lynch and Erik Torenber...

In this episode of Turpentine VC, Erik is joined by Frank Rotman, the founding partner of QED investors, a fintech-focused VC firm. Frank provides a nuanced analysis of investing in fintech and neo banks, offers his view of the larger macro environment, and maintains the need for discipline and resilience in business. This episode was recorded with Frank in 2023 but remains just as relevant today....

In this episode of Turpentine VC, Ali Hamed, Partner at CoVenture, joins Erik Torenberg to discuss the advantages of investing across asset classes, CoVenture’s inflection points, the importance of being liked in venture, and asset classes Ali hopes to invest in in the future. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/turpentine --- RECOMMENDED POD...

In this episode of Turpentine VC, Tomasz Tunguz, General Partner at Theory Ventures, joins Erik Torenberg to discuss the Theory Ventures model, the coming contraction in investable VC dollars, the parallels between PE and VC, and much more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/turpentine --- RECOMMENDED PODCAST: History 102 with WhatifAltHist...

In this episode of Turpentine VC, Phin Barnes, co-founder of The General Partnership, joins Erik Torenberg to discuss Phin’s idea of building a YC for emerging fund managers, the sweat equity model, and building the General Partnership. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/turpentine --- RECOMMENDED PODCAST: History 102 with WhatifAltHist Ever...

In this episode of Turpentine VC, Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit and Seven Seven Six, joins Erik Torenberg to discuss how Seven Seven Six is a “tech company that deploys venture capital”, the lack of internal metrics in venture, and how he plans to reinvent venture using software. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/turpentine --- RECOM...

In this episode of Turpentine VC, Erik Torenberg speaks to Katherine Boyle, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz leading the firm’s American Dynamism fund. They discuss why Katherine and a16z started the American Dynamism practice and what they hope to accomplish. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/turpentine --- RECOMMENDED PODCAST: Histo...

In this episode of Turpentine VC, Erik Torenberg sits with Rebecca Kaden, Managing Partner at Union Square Ventures. They discuss USV's partnership-driven model, different venture strategies, whether automation in venture is imminent, and what USV looks for in investors. If you need an ecommerce platform, check out our sponsor Shopify: https://shopify.com/momentofzen for a $1/month trial period. -...

Today we’re back with Sam Lessin for a round 2 focused on the changing landscape of venture. We dig into the viability of M&A as a strategy for startups, “its always been crypto”, media businesses, and the role of reputation systems. If you need an ecommerce platform, check out our sponsor Shopify: https://shopify.com/momentofzen for a $1/month trial period. --- RECOMMENDED PODCAST: History 102 wi...

Today we're joined by Elad Gil, an accomplished investor and founder, who shares his insights on the idea maze and solo capitalism. He discusses the significance of market changes and shifts in technology in identifying viable business opportunities. In addition, Gil shares his viewpoints on sectors like AI, crypto, and EdTech. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite...

Today we're joined by Howard Morgan to dive into his illustrious career in venture. He discusses the firms he helped start, Renaissance Technologies, Idealab, First Round Capital, and now at B Capital. Morgan also highlights the importance of global investing and the challenges it presents. They also discuss frontier areas including genomics, bioinformatics, longevity, and space technology. Morgan...

Today we're joined by Logan Bartlett of Redpoint to dive into Redpoint's approach to venture, trends and predictions for the VC ecosystem, and a breakdown of the strategies and craft of the asset class's most consequential players. Cloud Infrastructure for all your needs: do more and spend less with Oracle. Take a free test drive of OCI at https://oracle.com/turpentine --- Check out Erik's new sho...

Today we're joined by Kareem of Thrive Capital for one of the most extensive conversations we've had on the show—we cover the core insight that drove Thrive to invest in late-stage companies like Stripe and Slack, how they approach thinking about fund size and timing, the benefits of a concentrated portfolio, and more. If you’re looking to improve your sourcing, tracking, and due diligence, check...

This week's episode of Turpentine VC features Benchmark GPs Sarah Tavel and Eric Vishria. We discuss ideas that are central to Benchmark's beliefs in firm-building, including why platform teams exist to help the general partners more so than founders themselves. If you’re looking to improve your sourcing, tracking, and due diligence, check out: https://synaptic.com/turpentine --- SPONSORS: 🧲 Lear...

Erik is joined by Alfred Lin, partner at Sequoia Capital for over 13 years, and investor in Airbnb, Doordash, Houzz, and more legendary Silicon Valley companies. We dive into the unique ways which Sequoia operates as a firm in this episode: why they don't actually track A-U-M, why they launched the Sequoia Capital Fund, the decision-making behind creating Sequoia Arc, and more. If you’re looking t...