Village Global Podcast

Daniel Gross (@danielgross) of Pioneer and Brett Berson (@brettberson) of First Round join Erik on this episode. They discuss: - The different types of founders and the different companies they eventually end up building. - Creating positive feedback loops for aspiring entrepreneurs. - The psychology of founders, and why at the end of the day they are status and hierarchy maximizers, and why it’s...

Andreas Klinger (@andreasklinger), founder of Remote First Capital, joins Erik on this episode. They discuss: - What has led to the rise of remote work - The recent acceptance of remote work by Silicon Valley VCs - What companies can now be built because of remote work - How private equity is driving the transition to remote work Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us o...

Andy Coravos (@AndreaCoravos), Nina Alli (@headinthebooth), and Beau Woods (@beauwoods) join Erik on this episode. They discuss: - Software’s role in medical devices and our increasing dependence on it - What is DEF CON and who attends - How medical device manufacturers should be working with hackers - What’s the relationship between regulators and security researchers - The state of DIY biohackin...

Dan McMurtrie (@supermugatu), founder of Tyro Partners, joins Erik on this episode. They discuss: - The similarities and differences between hedge funds and venture capital. - Why “you’re usually competing against yourself” in liquid markets. - His thoughts on the crypto gold rush in 2016-2017. - What venture capitalists need to know about short-selling. - His view of trends in healthcare, housing...

Ali Hamed (@AliBHamed) of CoVenture and Chris Keller of Moelis Asset Management join Erik on this episode. They discuss: - What do LPs look for when investing in venture funds - How will the LP and VC dynamic shift over time - Concentration in LP portfolios - The role of power law in venture capital - Incentive misalignments for LPs - How should VCs foster relationships with LPs - Why hasn’t the V...

Sheel Mohnot (@pitdesi), fintech investor, and Jake Gibson (@iamjakestream), co-founder of NerdWallet and Better Tomorrow Ventures, join Erik on this episode. They discuss: - Why it’s still so hard to start a fintech company. - The history of retailers moving into financial services, a trend that Sears started back in the day. - How different categories within fintech have evolved over time and th...

Rick Zullo (@Rick_Zullo), General Partner at Equal Ventures, joins Erik on this episode. They discuss: - The different phases of technological revolutions - Will incumbents become stronger in the next platform shift - What Carlota Perez’s work means for the venture capital landscape - Which categories will create the most successful startups in the next decade Thanks for listening — if you like wh...

Anu Hariharan (@anuhariharan), partner at Y Combinator, joins Erik on this episode. They discuss: - Common mistakes that CEOs make when growing their companies. - How to think about compensation plans in a growing startup. - How to think about managing your board, including why you should get to know your board members as people, as well as when to listen to them or not. - How founders should thin...

Will Houghteling (@willhoughteling), Founder & CEO at Strive, and Paul Freedman (@pmfreedm), Founder and CEO of Entangled Ventures, join Erik on this episode. They discuss: - Mental models for thinking about the higher education space - The future of bootcamps and schools like Lambda - What does the future of credentials look like - What’s the role of government in higher education - Where’s the w...

Tyler Cowen (@tylercowen), economist and author, joins Jasmine Wang (@j_asminewang), technologist and philosopher, and Erik’s co-host for this episode. They discuss: - What Tyler has learned about identifying talent and why he thinks that IQ is overrated. - The forces shaping education today and how Tyler would change it if he could. - Whether leftism is “eating the world.” - What will replace cyb...

Jonathan Hsu (@jonathanhsu), co-founder and general partner at Tribe Capital, joins Erik on this episode. They discuss: - His background in data science, how it has impacted (or not) venture, and how using data can help remove bias. - Why so much of talent evaluation by venture capitalists is instinct-driven instead of data-driven. - The common misconceptions that people have about product-market...

Beezer Clarkson (@beezer232) of Sapphire Ventures and Aydin Senkut (@asenkut) of Felicis Ventures join Erik on this episode. They discuss: - Their perspectives on the operator-angel and nano-fund trends. - How to think about scouts. - Moats in venture capital and whether they really exist. - Whether we need more venture capital or more venture capitalists. - How the LP and GP ecosystems will evolv...

Winter Mead (@wintmead), an LP formerly of Sapphire, and David Booth (@david__booth), co-founder and CEO of OnDeck, join Erik on this episode. They discuss: - Assessing fund managers from an LP perspective, and what it means to be “too diversified” in VC. - Enabling the next generation of GPs. - What it means to say that “venture capital is a human capital game.” - The impact of the current market...

Alex MacCaw (@maccaw), founder and CEO of Clearbit, joins Erik on this episode. He is a co-author of the book The Great CEO Within. They discuss: - The power of good management and the lack of a modern handbook for managers. - Why and how they treat interviewing and hiring as a science experiment. - What to know for a great reference check. - Managing conflict effectively. - Why you only really cl...

Sriram Krishnan (@sriramk), investor and former product lead at Twitter, Facebook, and Snap, joins Erik on this episode. They discuss: - His experiences working at the three big social media companies and what he learned there. - Why each company is a reflection of the founder. - What people misunderstand or under appreciate about each of them. - Why he thinks that Facebook missed a golden opportu...

Spencer Bogart (@CremeDeLaCrypto) of Blockchain Capital and Brayton Williams (@BraytonKey) of Boost VC, join Erik on this episode. They discuss: - Their analysis of the different eras of crypto and how the thinking of the people involved in the space has evolved. - Whether the crypto bubble in 2017 can be compared to the internet bubble of 1999. - Unpacking the Bitcoin-as-programmable money thesis...

Fabrice Grinda (@fabricegrinda), entrepreneur and angel investor, joins Erik on this episode. They discuss: - What Fabrice believes about marketplaces and the trend towards verticalization that VCs don’t believe. - How they evaluate investments and the four criteria that they use to determine whether they will invest or not. - His breakdown of some of the failed marketplace startups. - What you ne...

Marco DeMeireles (@MarcoDeMeireles), partner at TCG, joins Erik on this episode. They discuss: - How the firm came to be and how they think about portfolio construction. - What owning the life stage means and why it makes for better businesses. - Some of the spaces they’re thinking about, including weddings, fertility, and funerals. - Marco’s thoughts on e-commerce enablement. - His other requests...

Michael Galpert (@msg) and Greg Isenberg (@gregisenberg) join Erik on this episode. They Discuss: - What’s changed about consumer social in the past year - The rise of vertical social networks - The success and future of TikTok - The role of startup acquisitions in making a successful social network - Will there be a new social network for every generation - Will future social networks incorporate...

Burak Yenigun (@BurakYngn), founder of Stylus Capital ( www.styluscapital.com ) joins Erik on this episode. They discuss: - The problem of founder scarcity and why it exists. - The most effective levers for increasing the number of founders. - Whether we are in a bubble or not. - What founders need to know when thinking about interest rates. - The advantages and disadvantages of risk-sharing arran...

Brent Beshore (@BrentBeshore), founder and CEO of Adventur.es, joins Erik on this episode. They discuss: - What makes Adventur.es “the inverse of traditional private equity,” including why they don’t add debt to a company’s balance sheet when they purchase a company and intend to keep the existing leadership around. - What Silicon Valley doesn’t get about private equity, how it’s different from ve...

David Booth (@david__booth), co-founder and CEO of On Deck, joins Erik on this episode. They talk about: - Why they started On Deck and the problem they were trying to solve. - Common misconceptions about successful founding teams and the type of relationship needed between co-founders. - The importance of community and how to build a positive one. - Cosign (cosign.co) and the idea of peer-to-peer...

Sam Lessin (@lessin) and Bobby Goodlatte (@rsg) join Erik on this episode. They Discuss: - The future of consumer social - How can consumer social startups compete with incumbents - How do you incentivize user growth on new platforms - Are Twitter and Instagram going away - What are the most interesting new ideas in consumer social - Which new consumer social networks will be successful - What tec...

Dan Runcie (@RuncieDan) of Trapital joins Erik to discuss business and strategy in hip-hop. Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal. Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global and is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg.

Zack Kanter (@zackkanter), founder and CEO of Stedi.com, joins Erik on this episode. They discuss: - How Zack thinks about Twitter, why from outside it seems absurd, and why he calls it a “text-based role-playing game.” - How he navigated the idea maze in starting Stedi and the key insight he had that led him to start the company. - How the legibility problem from the book Seeing Like a State has...