On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:

• Ramy Adeeb
• Somesh Dash
• Jeremy Neilson
• Minnie Ingersoll

Each investor discusses sectors, drivers and/or trends that may have significant impact in the future and are potentially positioned for outsized-returns.

To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes.

Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Niki Pezeshki of Felicis Ventures joins Nick to discuss Finding Markets with Long-Term Tailwinds; Macro Impacts on Venture; and Robust vs. Fragile Data. In this episode, we cover:

• Background and path to venture.
• Thesis at Felicis and your focus there?
• How has the pandemic affected your approach to investment?
• You’ve mentioned that you look for market tailwinds, especially tailwinds that will be lasting. Right now, we’re seeing a number of shifts that will have lasting effects -- which are you watching most closely?
• Why do you think the public markets have, largely, stayed high during a very large health and economic crisis?
• Can you give us an overview on your three-part investing framework for making investment decisions?
• Where do you look for these large shifts, creating opportunity -- aside from Mary Meeker's report?
• How do you make sure you are current on-trend instead of getting anchored on data that's old or fragile?
• What are you looking for in the business model that indicates to you that it is not only the correct approach but can lead to transformational changes in the industry?
• In which types of businesses do you like to see product-focused founders versus marketing-focused founders, is there a heuristic or systematic way that you think about this?
• You mentioned that business is a formula and that it’s clear early on whether it’s going to work or not -- can you give us an example of the formula?
• What's your approach to coaching and advising founders? 
• There's this fine line between being overbearing w/ advice and not providing enough insight in an area that could derail a company.  How do you strike the balance?
• What keeps you up at night... the ones you invested in that you shouldn't have or the ones you didn't invest in that you wished you had?
• 3 Data points: Let's say that you have a consumer SaaS company that is doing 300K in ARR, growing 20%  MoM and that’s all you currently know about the company.
  • Which 3 data points do you ask for and why?

To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes.

Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:

• M.G. Siegler
• Grace Isford
• John Vrionis
• Ash Rust

Each investor highlights a situation where they decided not to invest, why they passed, and how it played out.

To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes.

Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Henrique Dubugras of Brex joins Nick to discuss the Blazing Fast Path to $B+; Binary Outcomes; The Fintech Revolution; and A New Approach to Employee Comp. In this episode, we cover:

• Background -- path that led to Brex?
• Origin story for Brex Tag-line / One sentence overview
• What's so different about Brex?
• Why is more than just a credit card?
• How has the pandemic affected the business thus far?
• What do you offer that no one else does?
• Who do you consider to be competition?
• What is the moat here - why can't another well funded startup replicate your offering?
• A criticism I've heard is that, when businesses need credit most, when bank balance/working capital is low, is when Brex cuts off access to credit. What's your response?
• How would you describe your leadership philosophy?
• Are you recruiting/hiring? Is the approach different while 100% remote?
• What's the compensation structure at Brex?
• One of the fastest companies to multi-billion+ valuation -- more pressure w/ all that capital?
• With the raise and expectations some suggest that the outcome is binary -- is it?
• What advice do you have for early-stage, pre-A, founders trying to build a venture scale business?

To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes.

Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:

• Ryan Gembala
• Scott Dorsey
• Elizabeth Yin
• Jeff Fluhr

Each investor discusses a portfolio company that did not survive and why it was that they failed.

To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes.

Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Gigi Levy-Weiss of NFX joins Nick on a special Crisis Coverage installment to discuss What's Next in Gaming; The True Essence of Product-Market-Fit; & Investing with an Emphasis on Retention and Engagement. In this episode, we cover:

• Background and path to venture.
• The thesis and your focus at NFX?
• Did you invest in Houseparty when it was Meerkat?
• You've written about your thoughts on PMF...  How do you assess whether a company has real product market fit?
• What advice would you have for those still trying to find it?
• With this focus on product and retention...  What's your response to investors that say distribution is more important than product?
• Why do you think VC interest has been declining in the gaming space?
• What has been the history/evolution in the gaming sector?
• What's next for gaming -- Is there a step beyond the platform?
• Are there any niches or segments within gaming or esports where you see the most potential?
• 3 Data points:
  • Let's say a gaming startup comes to you... they have 50k DAUs, K value of 1, 20 % MoM growth... 
  • What 3 data points do you ask for and why?

To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes.

Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:

• Scott Kupor
• Melody Koh
• Tom Tunguz
• Jim Douglass

Each investor describes the most unusual situation or pitch that they've encountered as an investor.

To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes.

Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Jaclyn Hester of Foundry Group joins Nick on a special Crisis Coverage installment to discuss GP and LP Alignment, Challenges for Emerging Fund Managers, and How the Explosion in Seed Fund Volume Plays Out. In this episode, we cover:

• Tell us about your background and path to VC.
• For those who don't know, talk about the approach at Foundry with both the LP and GP model.
• Foundry traditionally had no apprenticeship model and no junior investors... were you the first?
• Pandemic... Are you making investments currently and what are you hearing from other LPs?
• What's your advice for GPs re. building relationships and momentum w/ LPs during these uncertain times?
• What's the biggest mistake emerging managers make when fundraising?
• What do new fund managers underestimate when starting a venture firm?
• Does it matter how specific a thesis is? Do you need to see a unique, focused and compelling edge or are you just as receptive to a generalist w/ a strong network and track record?
• What question tends to trip up GPs?
• What are some of the most important things GPs should ask LPs when raising?
• What do you think are the most important things GPs and LPs need to be aligned on for a successful relationship?
• How does the explosion in volume of seed funds affect you approach to selection?
• How do you think this plays out -- most funds fail? Returns more evenly distributed? Power law no longer applies (or is less pronounced)?
• Fast forward 5 years and let's assume there's been a fundamental shift in early stage Venture. What do you think is the most likely, largest change that's occurred?
• What advice do you have for young people that aspire to be a VC someday?
• Not going to ask for favorite GPs but, I will ask, if you could break quarantine to grab a cocktail w/ one GP -- who do you choose? ; )
• 3 Data Points...
  • You’re approached by an emerging VC firm raising fund II. The fund manager did not work for a large, brand-name venture firm before and she has never had an institutional investor. Net TVPI is 1.4, and Net IRR is 35% and it's a 2018 vintage.
  • The catch is you can only ask 3 questions (for 3 additional data points) to make your decision.
  • What 3 questions do you ask?

To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes.

Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

Nick Rishwain and Hannah Konitshek of The LegalTechLive Podcast interview Nick to discuss Advice for Founders -- Reaching out to VCs, Pitching over Zoom, and Closing Capital Amidst a Pandemic. In this episode we cover:

• How have valuations been impacted from the pandemic?
• How long will lower valuations persist?
• Are VCs actively doing deals right now?
• What's the most common mistake that founders make when approaching you for funding?
• How much information would you prefer a founder share with you upfront (deck, financials, incorporation, docs, etc.)?
• How often have you met a founder early, been added to their monthly update list and then come back to make an investment?
• Should founders become more clinical when selecting investors?
• How do you convince founders on New Stack as an investor?
• There is one area that New Stack is really hands-on -- what is it?
• What are some things a founder can do to get funded while  he's only got a well thought out idea and business plan?
• Many founders don't know if their business is venture scale.  How do you determine if a business is venture-backable or not?
• How does a sector that hasn't had huge exits at large multiples (like LegalTech) impact the way you assess startups in that sector?
• How do you evaluate high recurring revenue vs. low recurring revenue?
• Do you have any suggestions for a founder that is pitching now that it is completely remote?
• Overall advice you're giving your portfolio companies right now?

To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes.

Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:

• Alex Osterwalder
• Beezer Clarkson
• Michael Cardamone
• Leo Polovets

Each investor illustrates a critical lesson learned about startup investing and how it's changed their approach.

To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes.

Also, follow us on twitter @TheFullRatchet for updates and more information.