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

Brian Ascher of Venrock joins Nick to discuss Product is Paramount. In this episode, we cover:

  •  What is your story at Venrock and how have both you and your firm evolved over the past two decades.
  • Talk a little about Venrock and your focus there.
  • You were a product manager at Intuit, prior to Venrock.. what do you think is the VCs role in shaping product strategy?
  • What are your thoughts on SaaS investing and this increasing focus on the "Intelligent Enterprise"
  • You wrote an article a few years ago called “Goldilocks and the 3 SaaS Go To- Markets Models”... what are the three flavors of SaaS go-to-market and have they changed since you wrote the article?
  • Business Model: Price/seat vs. metered service vs. price for value
  • We're about to close on our first fintech investment for fund I-- can you talk a bit about fintech and why it's so hot?
  • Some have said that digital currencies and/or the blockchain itself will be as disruptive as the internet-- agree or disagree?
  • Something we've neglected a bit on the program is long-term governance. What are your thoughts on Managing a Board of Directors and what situations have you seen play out-- for better or worse?
  • What is the percentage of healthy, well-functioning boards vs unhealthy boards?
  • How are chairman roles assigned/elected-- are they often explicit and how useful is it to have an official Chairman?

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Direct download: FR169.mp3
Category:Podcast Episodes -- posted at: 8:00am EDT