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

• Ben Wiener
• TX Zhuo
• Sara Zulkosky

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

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-moran-a738503/), General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside the Bay area.

Hernán Fernández of Angel Ventures joins Nick to discuss Mexico's New Tech Mafia, Winning Copycat Strategies, and the Future of Fintech in LatAm. In this episode we cover:

• Mexico's Explosion in VC Funding
• The Rappi Tech Mafia
• What to Look for in Copycat Strategies
• Democratizing Fintech in LatAm & more!

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and we’ll send a list of potential investors right to your inbox!

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Yanev Suissa, Ruth Foxe Blader, and Parker Barrile. 

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

For all great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Miriam Rivera of Ulu Ventures joins Nick to discuss 11 Unicorns from Seed, Quantitative Decision-Models for Selecting Investments, Thoughts on Male vs. Female Founders & Investors, and Lessons from Larry and Sergey in the Early Days of Google. In this episode we cover:

• Lessons from the Early Days of Google
• Quantitative Decision Making in VC
• Male vs. Female Founder Questions
• And more! 

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Tony Wilkins, Manan Mehta, and Maryanna Saenko. 

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

For all great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Chuck Newhall of NEA joins Nick to discuss The Founding Story of NEA, The True History of Venture Capital, the Keys to an Enduring Firm Legacy, and Why the Best VC's Dare Disturb the Universe. In this episode we cover:

• The History of VC Pre & Post 1945
• How NEA Raised Fund I
• Memorable Fund Successes and Failures
• Why Chuck Passed on Home Depot
• Founder's Brain Chemistry
• Scaling Talent without Scaling Superstars & more! 

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in outsiders.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Victor Pascucci, Jonathan Lehr, and Marcelino Pantoja. 

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

For all great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Jed Cairo of Juxtapose joins Nick to discuss Building Unicorns from the Ground Up, Recruiting Founders from the C-Suite, and Driving Top 1% Returns with Concentration.

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in outsiders.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s Inbox!

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Sunil Nagaraj, Ryan Falvey, and Karen Page. 

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

For all great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Kevin Frechette of Fairmarkit joins Nick to discuss the $8.3T Opportunity in Procurement, How to Sell to the Fortune 500, Building a Bottoms Up Culture, and Mastering Cold Emails. In this episode we cover:

• What Leading Investors Insight Partners and GGV Found Interesting
• Sales Lessons from Kevin
• The Future of Procurement

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in outsiders.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s Inbox!

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Jonathan Hung, Santosh Sankar, & Matt Cohen. 

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Cameron Borumand of FUSE joins Nick to discuss Why the Pacific Northwest Will Win Big, Tapping the Enterprise Talent Pool, and Investing in Apps over Infrastructure. In this episode we cover: 

• The Story of FUSE
• Spinouts in VC
• Attracting & Building Talent Networks
• Why Cameron avoids the Zoom Pitch
• Enterprise Apps v. Infrastructure

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Emily Paxhia, Nihal Mehta, and TX Zhuo. 

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Steve Sarracino of Activant Capital joins Nick to discuss The Late Stage Reset, Competing with Tiger, and Last Mile’s Unit Economics. In this episode we cover: 

• Launching a Growth Fund & The Late Stage Repricing
• The Economics of Full Stack Delivery Startups
• Why Europe Maybe the Next Leading Market
• The State of Ecommerce & Unbundling Amazon

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Dayna Grayson & Rachel Holt, Nagraj Kashyap, and Parker Barille. 

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Jenny Stojkovic of The Vegan's Women Summit joins Nick to discuss FoodTech’s Female Founders, Crossing the Chasm for Alt Proteins, and Why the Psychedelics Market isn’t like Cannabis. In this episode we cover:

• The SF Tech Exodus
• Learning from Ron Conway
• Alternative Milks & Crossing the Chasm
• How to Avoid the GreenTech Failures of the 2000’s
• Why Delivery Matters in Psychedelics

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Winter Mead, Yanev Suissa, and Ruth Foxe Blader. 

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Sara Zulkosky of Recast Capital joins Nick to discuss Finding Alpha in Emerging Managers, Common Mistakes & Pitfalls, and Sources of Differentiation. In this episode we cover:

• Sara's Background and Path to VC
• Tips for Emerging Managers
• How To Differentiate Your Fund & more!

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

• Ali Tamaseb
• Jonathan Ebinger
• Russ Heddleston

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Maryanna Saenko of Future Ventures joins Nick to discuss Support for Ukraine, 3 Measures for Evaluating DeepTech, a 15-year Fund Horizon, and Today’s Most Compelling Climate Technologies. In this episode we cover:

• How Maryanna and Steve Jurvetson Founded Future Ventures
• 3 Measures they look for when Evaluating DeepTech
• How to "Grow the Pool" of Investors
• Climate Tech Trends & Regenerative Agriculture
• And more! 

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

• Brian Requarth
• Emily Paxhia
• Eric Sippel

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Karen Page of B Capital Group joins Nick to discuss Box's Go-To-Market Strategy, Building the Enterprise Sales Motion, and When to Bring on a Sales Leader. 

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

• Seth Levine
• Ben Wiener
• Rob Go

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

• How Base10 supports HBCU Endowments
• Trends in Ecommerce Infrastructure, Fintech, and the Future of Work
• The Body as a Platform

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

• Ben Sun
• Ruth Foxe Blader
• Manan Mehta

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Matt Cohen of Ripple Ventures joins Nick to discuss Solo Capitalist Firm Building, Supporting Founder Mental Health, and Navigating Board Dynamics. In this episode we cover:

• Solo GP's vs. Firm Building
• The Toll of Rising Valuations and Remote Work on Founder's Mental Health
• Trends in the Canadian Ecosystem & More!

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

• Emily Paxhia
• Tony Wilkins
• Russ Heddleston

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Ryan Falvey of Financial Venture Studio joins Nick to discuss Consumer Fintech, the Future of Banking, and Navigating Web 3.0 Regulation. In this episode we cover:

• The "Masters Degree for Fintech Startups"
• National Banks Staying Power
• DAO's, Crypto, and Web 3 Regulations
• Why Ryan's Bearish on B2B2C Models

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

• Dayna Grayson & Rachel Holt
• Rob Go
• Jonathan Lehr

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

• Billy Libby
• Vanessa Larco
• Nagraj Kashyap

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

• Brian Luerssen
• Victor Pascucci
• Jonathan Ebinger

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

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

• Jonathan Hung
• Brian Requarth
• Winter Mead

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

TX Zhuo of Fika Ventures joins Nick to discuss Fika’s Playbook for Success, Finding Value Outside of Central Casting, and the Future of Fintech as Banks Get Unbundled. In this episode we cover:

• TX's Background & Path to VC
• Fika's Playbook
• Lessons From Cobra Kai
• DAO Infrastructure
• Unbundling the Bank

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Ramy Adeeb of 1984 joins Nick to discuss 2022 Predictions P2: Web 3.0 Dorsey vs. Andreesen, Crypto's Killer App, Omicron's Staying Power, Which FAANG Co. Loses to Anti-Trust First. In this episode we cover:

• The Web 3 Twitter War
• What Nick thinks about Crypto's Killer App
• Omicron and Labor Market Dynamics
• Inflation Expectations
• Regulation for Big Tech and Crypto & More!

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Ramy Adeeb of 1984 joins Nick to discuss 2022 Predictions P1: $100M Seed Valuations, Universe vs. Metaverse, Hottest and Coolest Sectors, Sequoia's VC Shakeup. In this episode we cover:

• Ramy's New $75M Fund
• Bubbles in Crypto and NFT's
• Why Ramy is sticking to the Universe
• Sequoia's New Strategy & More!

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Parker Barrile of Norwest Venture Partners joins Nick to discuss Norwest’s New $3B Fund, the Effects of VC Capital Explosion, and Scaling LinkedIn’s Product 20x. In this episode we cover:

• Norwest's Largest Ever Fund
• The Capital Allocator's Environment
• How Parker Scaled LinkedIn's Product to $2B
• Compelling Customer Acquisition Strategies & Much More!

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

• Emily Paxhia
• Ben Sun
• Yanev Suissa

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

On this special replay episode, Joanne Wilson joins Nick to discuss predatory investor practices and the dark side of venture, including:

• On the founder-side, What are some of the activities you’ve seen from early-stage investors, that are predatory toward founders?
• What are some of the major differences between investor practices of the mid-90’s and today?
• What actionable measures would you recommend founders take in order to help prevent getting taken advantage of?
• Moving to the investor-side.  What are some of the things that later-stage VCs will do to eliminate or water-out an angel’s equity position?
• What can early-stage angels do to prevent this from happening?
• How has your approach evolved throughout your investing history to position you and your portfolio companies for success?
• Generally, what is your take on the gender balance in venture, how has it changed and what specific things are you involved in to help promote the role of women?

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

On this special replay, Charles Hudson of Precursor Ventures joins Nick to discuss Getting Smart on a New Market.

In this episode we cover: 

• What Charles’ experience at SoftTech was like and how he made the transition to founding Precursor.
• What his continuing role as a Venture Partner at SoftTech entails.
• How Charles decides to study a new, emerging market and some of the markets that he’s analyzed over the years.
• The three components of his approach to getting smart on a new area.
• How important timing is and how he considers if the timing is right for a new area.
• If he assesses markets vertically and looks for the level within the supply chain stack to see where a company is playing and which level within the chain is going to exert the most control over the market.
• How he breaks down market structure and the critical components therein.
• The importance of the degree of homogeneity of the customer base within a target market.
• How he thinks about companies disrupting existing markets and those creating brand new markets.
• We discuss how there’s always a good reason to say no to startups and, more importantly, the key, recurring reasons that come up that cause him to say yes.
• How do you look at companies addressing industries where the incumbent product offerings are free.  Businesses like Slack that were replacing free options
• Fresh Eyes… You’ve written about how you don’t look at decks before the first meeting w/ an entrepreneur. Can you touch on the key reasons why you take meetings without reviewing the deck?
• If you are evaluating a startup that is pre-traction – what do you look for and why?
• In the spirit of continuous improvement… What are your thoughts on how one can learn and improve once they have a job in VC?
• What startup investor has inspired and influenced you most and why?

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

• Dharmesh Thakker
• Amy Nauiokas
• Jonathan Lehr

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

On this special replay, 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.

Guest Update: Jaclyn is now Partner at Foundry Group. Congratulations Jaclyn! 

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?

In this special replay of Episode 154, Ben Narasin of NEA joins Nick to discuss NEA’s Investment Process & The Key Ingredients for Startup Success. In this episode we cover: 

- Why he made the move to NEA
- His Investment focus
- The investment process the firm and if decisions are made by committee
- Ben's Evaluation Process
- The key factor that every successful founder possesses
- The common red flags that pop up and cause him to say no to strong startups
- Why he believes his job is to say no
- How he assess opportunities with 100 reasons to say yes and one reason to say no
- Ben's evolving approach toward weighing risk factors in startups
- How the tech and investing industry has changed over the past decade
- How AUM is driving a bifurcation in venture

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

• Mike Smerklo
• Spencer Maughan
• Vanessa Larco
• Ben Wiener

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Ruth Foxe Blader of Anthemis joins Nick to discuss The Embedded Opportunity in Insurtech, Crypto & Web 3.0 Applications, and the Future of Fintech. In this episode we cover:

• Ruth's Background and path from English Major to VC
• What trends she's following in Fintech and Insurtech
• Opportunities for developing market founders & more! 

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Russ Heddleston of Dropbox joins Nick to discuss Founding DocSend, Creating a Winning PLG Motion, and Data From 1000's of Pitch Decks. In this episode we cover: 

• Can you tell us a bit about your background and your path to founding DocSend?
• How did you think about the PLG strategy for DocSend?
• Why did you release the Seed Fundraising Report?
• What are the typical numbers like for a seed round? How much are they raising? How many investors are people meeting with?
• What makes for a successful pitch deck?
• How to find a good co-founder?
• Learnings from DocSend and a word of advice to founders.

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Andrew Antonio of Urban Sky and Nate Williams of Union Labs join Nick to discuss Why We Invested in Urban Sky. In this episode we cover:

• What is Urban Sky? 
• How did Andrew and Nate originally connect? 
• The thesis at Union Labs. 
• What does the future hold for Urban Sky? 

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Nagraj Kashyap of Softbank joins Nick to discuss The Future of Softbank and Vision Fund 2, Creative Monetization of User Growth, and Why VC's Missed on Zoom. In this episode we cover:

• Nagraj's Background and Path to VC.
• How do you think through horizontal, vertical, or geographic expansion and when the right time is to do so?
• What did other VC's miss about Zoom?
• How do you evaluate an opportunity?
• What key things are you looking for in a consumer startup? 

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Nihal Mehta of Eniac Ventures joins Nick to discuss The Human Rolodex, How the 2021 VC Vintage will Perform, and the Importance of Partnership Dynamics. In this episode we cover:

• How do you think about active management of relationships over time? Do you have any advice, tricks, or tips?
• What is something you would have told yourself when you started Eniac?
• How have you built the team over time and thought about roles, responsibilities, skill sets required, and driving value/outcomes for the firm?
• What do you look for in a fund manager?
• Where do 2020 and 2021 Vintage Funds rank?
• What inspired you to start the 100K Pledge? 

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Yanev Suissa of SineWave Ventures joins Nick to discuss Public Sector Tech, the Merits of Hyper Concentration, and Why Google is More Frightening than the NSA. In this episode we cover:

• You've talked about investing "where the Valley, the Fortune 500, and the public sector intersect". How is this different from the typical Valley-based investor? 
• Are there any advantages to working with public sector buyers? 
• Is there legislative risk you take on by selling to an administration? 
• Where do you see the biggest opportunities are coming out of the infrastructure bill? 
• Rapid fire round of questions.

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

David Goldberg Episode 272
Nicole Quinn Episode 279
Spencer Maughan Episode 284
Jonathan Ebinger Episode 302

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Manan Mehta of Unshackled Ventures joins Nick to discuss Selection at Day 0, Investing in Immigrants, and Navigating Founder-Problem Fit. In this episode we cover:

• What is investing at Day 0?
• What unique challenges do you face in backing immigrant founders?
• How do you approach sourcing and how you do it differently than other firms?
• What is Founder-Problem Fit?

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

• Tim Guleri
• Amy Nauiokas
• Sach Chitnis
• Guy Perelmuter

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Tony Wilkins of Standing Oaks Venture Partners joins Nick to discuss Identifying Stand-outs at Pre-Seed, Coaching High-Growth Leaders, and Leveling the Playing Field for Underrepresented Founders. In this episode we cover:

• Are leaders born or made?
• How do you select for potentially great leaders at the very beginning of their business journey?
• How do you think about building a strong and healthy culture within a firm? 
• What's the most important thing for an angel investor to know when they start investing?
• What will it take to level the playing field for founders? 

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

• Ben Wiener
• Vanessa Larco
• Victor Pascucci

Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Jonathan Lehr of Work-Bench joins Nick to discuss IT and Enterprise Tech Investing, The Realities and Myths of PLG, and The Past and Future of NYC Tech. In this episode we cover:

• Walk us through your background and path to VC.
• Tell us a little more about the thesis at Work-Bench. 
• On your website, you mention you invest in "seed and seed II" startups. What is a seed II?
• What sort of myths are there around PLG companies?
  • How do you advise startups to price their products?
• Mark Suster recently Tweeted…  "If you look at our industry, it's now awash with capital that requires every firm to get very focused on where its edge comes from. If you're not a bulge-bracket VC, choose your positioning wisely"(stage, sector, geography, founder access) … way too many firms are generic". What are your thoughts on the financing environment?
• You've been a part of the New York tech ecosystem for about a decade now. How has the tech scene evolved over the past 10 years or so? 
  • There was a dogma for a while that enterprise startups had to be built in Silicon Valley. Why do you think this is a mistaken belief?

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

• Nikhil Basu Trivedi
• Alfred Chuang
• Monique Woodard
• Ben Sun

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Rob Go of NextView Ventures joins Nick to discuss Reflections From 10 Years at NextView, Dogma vs Discipline, the Importance of Effective Post Money, and Market Sizing Pitfalls. In this episode we cover:

• Is VC fundamentally changing under our feet?
• What are other biggest industry shifts that have changed the way you operate at Next View?
• Most LPs are focused on their fund managers' ownership percentage at entry. Explain what effective post-money at exit is and why that has become a north star from next view?
• Takeaway #3: There is a Goldilocks zone between too much dogma and lack of discipline. Can you give us an example or two of strategies that were difficult to let go of or move on from?
• Your favorite saying internally is “anything worth doing is worth doing fast”. Yet this is a pretty long cycle business and it takes time for a portfolio to mature and drive returns. What were the key learnings with regards to returns and metrics?
• How do you know if you're winning if the metrics are a bit of a red herring?  Are there any alternative metrics or signals you look for to quantitatively gauge performance?
• You cited the biggest observable misses for most VC's and it's related to market size -- what's been your observation here and where are investors missing?
• You suggest that founders and investors should make each other a bit uncomfortable. Why?
• Does this ever prevent you from winning deals?
• What's your opinion on competition after a decade of investing?
• How do you think about the competitive set of investors and how to maintain and edge in sourcing and winning the best deals?
• Do you have any advice for founders w/regards to fundraising?

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

Dharmesh Thakker
Billy Libby
Emily Paxhia
Ed Sim

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

Jonathan Ebinger of Transform Capital joins Nick to discuss Donating Half Your Carry, Why Open Banking is the Future, and Recruiting Outside the Bay Area. In this episode we cover:

• Walk us through your background and path to VC
• Tell us about your experience at Blue Run and why you decided to launch Transform.
• What is the thesis at Transform?
• Portfolio construction / stage / check size
• How did you come up with the model to donate 50% of your carry?
• What causes are you allocating carry to?
• What was the biggest challenge in the transition from early stage to late stage venture investing? 
• So you led the Series A in Jackpocket at BlueRun and the later stage Transform. How do you avoid conflicts of interest across both firms?
• I know you are an active fintech investor -- w/ regards to crypto... what areas are most compelling right now from an investment standpoint?
• We're in a hot market at the moment -- seeing lots of fund creation, lots of startup formation, and valuations are inflating  to 2-3x what they were a few years ago.  Is the market overheated and are too many startups getting funded?
• Is the bay area being threatened in its supremacy?
• The Economist last week talked about the slowing pace of innovation and rise of mega-companies. What's your take on their position that innovation has slowed -- and what does that mean for venture?

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in outsiders.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s Inbox!

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

• Mike Smerklo
• Amy Nauiokas
• Tsune Shirota
• Vanessa Larco

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/27155166/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/TFR_Pod).

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-moran-a738503/), General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website (https://www.newstack.vc/) and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/11396054/) and be sure to follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/NewStackVC).

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank (http://vc-rank.com/) and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s Inbox!

Eric Sippel of Sippel Farb Family Office joins Nick to discuss Raising from Family Offices, How to Differentiate as an Emerging Fund, and Common Mistakes Made by Established Firms. In this episode we cover:

• Walk us through your background and path to running Sippel Farb.
• Before we jump in can you give us some thoughts on Family Offices investing in Venture and how that has changed over the 25 years that you've been doing this?
• What are the major investment focus areas for the family office?
• With regards to manager selection... What gets you excited when you review the profile of an emerging fund?
• Tell us about the 3 S's that you look for.
• Rounds are moving faster then ever and prices seem to be escalating to 2-3x of what they were just 3 years ago.  Many GPs cite their speed of decision-making as a strength -- What is your opinion of quick investment decisions and short DD timelines?
• At New Stack, we focus on ownership.  However, some managers prefer a less concentrated approach with more shots on goal.  What are your key learnings regarding portfolio construction over the past few decades and what do you look for in emerging funds?
• Many LPs look for differentiated strategies for sourcing and winning deals... and put heavy weight on those factors.  Where do you stand?
• When a GP is pitching any family office, not just yours, what should they be mindful of that may be different than when they're pitching an institution?
• Family Offices are often a bit opaque... it's hard to find them and know what their investment interests are.  Do you have advice or suggestions of ways that fund managers can find and connect with families that may be a fit?  Have you seen any strategies from GPs that have connected with you in creative and friendly ways?
• What mistakes do you see "emerged/established" managers making the most? What about emerging managers?
• There's a great piece on Substack by Nikhil Trivedi that discusses the rise of the Solo GP. What are your thoughts on the rise of angels to super angels to sole capitalists? Do you perceive this as a threat to traditional VC firms? 
• Last year, Different Funds published a report on the rise of capital going to vehicles outside of flagship/committed funds--i.e. SPV's, Syndicates, Rolling Funds, and Opportunity funds. How does an LP navigate all these vehicles?
• You've worked with a lot of GP's.  What sort of bad behavior have you observed that you attempt to screen for now?
• Are there signals post-investment, after a certain period of time, that indicate to you that a GP or fund is working well.
• What's your opinion on using follow-on capital to bridge a company to Series A?
• What advice, that we didn't cover, would you have for GPs out there that are raising a Fund I or Fund II?

Victor Pascucci of Energy Capital Ventures joins Nick to discuss The Trillion $ Opportunity in Natural Gas, Building A Strategic LP-Base, and Creating a Strong LPAC. In this episode we cover:

• Give us an overview of the data and the opportunity within the natural gas sector for tech disruption.  What percentage of our energy consumption is natural gas based?
• Why focus on natural gas?
• Why is now the right time for a natural gas focused venture fund?
• Let's talk for a moment about the digital transformation of the natural gas industry. Where can we expect to see the most change going forward? Exploration, development, or production? 
• Any concerns about the volume and quality of dealflow in this specialized sector?
• What kind of founder do you look for to change this legacy industry? How may these founders differ from the Silicon Valley stereotype? 
• 5 large publicly-traded LPs -- Talk a bit about how you plan to work with the LPs as you make investments, manage the portfolio?
• How do you avoid the tail wagging the dog?
• How do you handle a situation where the tech you are investing in is highly disruptive and margin eroding to LPs in the fund?
• Many talk about the importance of carbon neutrality, yet it's a very opaque and difficult thing to measure.  One company's carbon footprint extends beyond just what happens within but all the partners, suppliers, distributors and, at times, customers that they interact with.  How can we appropriately assess carbon impact in the pursuit of carbon neutrality?
• Tell us a bit about learnings and best practices in building an advisory board.  I'd suspect that, much like a startup, there is a point where a well-constructed board can really amplify efforts, and a bloated or not well functioning board can kill momentum and progress.  How have you structured a board for long term success?

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

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

• Maren Bannon
• Sach Chitnis
• Jonathan Hsu
• Glenn Rockman

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

Maren Bannon Episode 268
Sach Chitnis Episode 269
Jonathan Hsu Episode 243
Glenn Rockman Episode 282

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

Seth Levine & Elizabeth MacBride of The New Builders joins Nick to discuss The Decline of Entrepreneurship in America, Systemic Inequity in Supporting Small Businesses, and the "Capital vs. Labor" Debate. In this episode we cover:

• Why did you write the book?
• I’d actually like to start w/ Chapter 6, which is a history of entrepreneurship in the US… we can’t really do it justice in the interview but can you give us an overview of the history and where we are at today?
• You cover that entrepreneurship has been declining in the US for the past 40 years and more significantly within the past 15. What are some of the big factors that have led to that decline?
• Why are entrepreneurship and new business creation so important for the future of our country and society?
• How does the Silicon Valley version of entrepreneurship differ from the reality of entrepreneurship?
• What does the real profile of entrepreneurship look like vs. what we see in the data on the tech / venture-funded part of entrepreneurship?
• What can Main Street entrepreneurs learn from the Silicon Valley model of entrepreneurship?
• You did a lot of research and pulled together data sets/stats for the book — what were some of the most surprising findings from the data?
• Can you define the ‘capital vs. labor’ debate for us and give us your stance on that debate?
• Is this book a call-to-action… are you trying to encourage more broad-based entrepreneurship?
• Seth, how do you reconcile your interests and recommendations from the book with your career which is geared toward funding a very small percentage of founders that are focused on building multi-billion dollar outcomes?
• You address some issues that are systemic to our country -- government policies, economic system, etc. -- How big of a role do you think politics have in shaping entrepreneurship for the future?
• What advice or final thoughts would you like to share w/ listeners?

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

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

• Reid Christian
• David Goldberg
• McKeever “Mac” Conwell II
• Neil Sequeira

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

Did you miss our guests' full-length episodes?

Reid Christian Episode 259
David Goldberg Episode 272
McKeever “Mac” Conwell II Episode 277
Neil Sequeira Episode 281

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

Emily Paxhia of Poseidon Asset Management joins Nick to discuss The $61B Cannabis Market, Overcoming Compliance and Regulation, and the Declining Social Stigma Around Cannabis. In this episode we cover:

• Can you give us an overview of the Cannabis Space -- size, growth, major sub-segments?
• Which segments are you most interested in?
• What areas do you not invest in and why?
• Raising a cannabis fund in 2013... I have to imagine you had to find a certain type of LP for that pitch to land. How hard was that?
• Regulation can be a break or a gas pedal --how have you or do you assess and underwrite the regulatory and legal risks in the space?
• To what extent are Cannabis businesses shut out of the existing financial system? 
• Are there any other major differences in sourcing or diligence for a cannabis focused fund vs. your standard VC fund?
• How many cannabis focused funds are there and is follow-on financing risk significant when you're dealing with a smaller pool of capital providers?
• In 2018 we saw this massive boom and bust cycle for cannabis and hemp companies. How cyclical is the industry and, aside from consumer consumption behaviors, what macro drivers do you watch closely?
• There's recently been news that Molson-Coors has launched a CBD-infused drink and several major health and wellness retailers will offer CBD topicals. 5 years from now will all of the major household CPGs have CBD and Cannabis products available?

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

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

• Dayna Grayson & Rachel Holt
• Ali Tamaseb
• Jonathan Hung
• Vanessa Larco

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

Did you miss our guest's full-length episodes?

Dayna Grayson & Rachel Holt Episode 291
Ali Tamaseb Episode 289
Jonathan Hung Episode 292
Vanessa Larco Episode 295

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

Winter Mead of Oper8r joins Nick to discuss How to Raise a VC Fund, The YC for Emerging Managers, and Family Office Trends. In this episode we cover:

• Tell us a little more about Oper8or. Why did you leave Sapphire to start this program?
• Give us an overview of Oper8or?
• Walk us through the selection process and what you're looking for.
• Bring us up to speed on progress-to-date, how you measure success, and what the plan is going forward?
• You published your first book last year -- “How to Raise a Venture Capital Fund”.   The target audience for the book is fairly obvious... was the motivation to write the book similar to why you started Oper8r?
• What are the most common mistakes new fund managers make?
• How do you think about types of LPs or profiles that fund managers should be targeting?
• What are the patterns, practices or even tactics of the most successful fundraisers that you've observed?
• You co-authored a research effort w/ First Republic on Family Office Investors -- what were the key takeaways?
• What are some of the common reasons that LPs pass that might not be so obvious?
• What's the biggest difference between winning fund strategies of the early 2010s vs winning fund strategies in the next decade?
• What factor do you find to be of critical importance that is most often underappreciated by LPs?
• Currently over 1500 active venture funds...  Do you think the market can support this high of a volume of funds?
• Often, a startup investor may get early positive or negative signals on an investment within the first 18-24 months. As an LP, how long does it take to get a sense whether the decision to invest was good or you might want to have that one back?
• Why is emerging VC compelling as an sub-asset class of VC?

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

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

• Monique Woodard
• Spencer Maughan
• Paul Martino
• Ben Casnocha

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

Did you miss our guest's full length episodes?

Monique Woodard Episode 273
Spencer Maughan Episode 284
Paul Martino Episode 275
Ben Casnocha Episode 245

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

Ben Wiener of Jumpspeed Ventures joins Nick to discuss Investing in Jerusalem, Applying Helmer's 7 Powers to VC, and Writing a Business Murder Mystery. In this episode we cover:

• How difficult was it raising a fund to invest only in Jerusalem-originated startups?
• What do you say to critics who claim that "focusing only one one geo is too limiting?"
• Are there specific sectors or types of tech that are uniquely positioned to thrive in Jerusalem?
• What are the similarities and differences in raising a fund vs. raising funds for a startup?
• You've spoken before about the mismatch between supply and demand for early stage capital in Jerusalem. Has it been tough finding  reliable and persistent follow-on capital for A or B rounds?
• Since inception ~35% of your investments have been in female-led (female founder/CEO) startups, which is an order of magnitude greater than the 2-3% industry average. Talk about sourcing and what you do on the sourcing side to increase the number of diverse and women led startups you meet with?
• You recently wrote a Murder Mystery novel. It's a startup fiction based on Hamilton Helmer's 7 Powers.  Why did you write a business strategy murder mystery?
• The book focuses on Addie Morita, a young crime researcher working on a serial killer case with clues buried in Hamilton's 7 Powers. What similarities can be drawn from 7 Powers and from solving a murder?

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

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

• Stephen McIntyre
• Brian Luerssen
• Ty Findley
• Tsune Shirota

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

Stephen McIntyre Episode #244
Brian Luerssen Episode #290
Ty Findley Episode #250
Tsune Shirota Episode #288

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

Vanessa Larco of NEA joins Nick to discuss Product Manager Turned Investor, Navigating Turbulence pre-IPO on Robinhood's Board, and Unique Sourcing Strategies. In this episode we cover:

• Walk us through your background and path to VC.
• Why did you leave product to join NEA?
• Give us a update on NEA - AUM, stage, thesis, etc.
• What is your focus area at the firm?
• Are you ever tempted to jump back to the startup side (or launch your own startup)?
• You have significant and formative experience leading product.  How do you think that shapes your approach as an investor.
• Do you think product managers are born or made?
•  I also have a background in product and that has contributed greatly to our culture here at New Stack...  I'm curious what, if any, blind spots one might have if they are an investor with a very strong product background or orientation?
• • What KPI's/north star metrics do you use to hold yourself accountable?
• I'd love to hear the details of your process for sourcing and leading an investment.
• Everyone getting into tech gets the cliche advice...  you've got to network... or "you are your network"... and that leads to a lot of productive and unproductive behavior.  What is your approach to building and strengthening relationships and what advice would you give to newer folks in the tech community?
• Up until the recent IPO you were on the board of Robinhood.   You're a board member for four companies and a board observer for several more--  How has your perception of being a good board member differed from the reality of the role after having had some experience on very notable boards.
• • Re.  Robinhood What did you learn from Vlad and Baiju that surprised you?
  • I have to ask, take us behind the scenes a bit -- what was happening at Robinhood during the Gamestop and AMC run-ups when trading was halted?
• Do you invest in emerging tech hubs outside of NY & SF? If so what are the areas of highest interest and how do you see the evolving in the coming years?
• There's a lot of VC content across many blogs and Twitter threads. How do you cut through the noise? What do you read to stay educated?

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

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

• Check Warner
• Dayna Grayson & Rachel Holt
• Erik Torenberg
• Avichal Garg

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

Check Warner Episode #242
Dayna Grayson & Rachel Holt Episode #291
Erik Torenberg Episode #252
Avichal Garg Episode #261

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

Ash Fontana of Zetta Venture Partners joins Nick to discuss How to Value AI, Data Network Effects vs. Data Learning Effects, and Evolution of the VC Asset Class. In this episode we cover:

• What was the inspiration for the new book?
• What's the difference between a Data Network Effect and a DLE (data learning effect)?
• How do you advise those that are building tech where AI will be a valuable piece in the distant future but doesn't really play a role until the growth stage or beyond?
• Tell us about the Lean AI Method, described in the book, and how companies can use it to start implementing AI.
  How do you feel about companies using "off-the-shelf" AI, like TensorFlow?
• Why is now the right time for AI to pervade throughout tech and industry?
• How do you value AI and determine what's real?
• How does one put a valuation multiple on fairly nascent category where the value can be exponential and the moat can be unbreachable but there's not a whole lot of precedent?
• What are the key data categories or types that are most valuable for startups to be capturing and analyzing from day one?
• How do you find the right types of people with the right capability and mindset to join a startup if they have no formal training or experience directly w/ AI?
• How do you see the asset class evolving?
• Do you think the rolling fund product can make the leap to institutional investors, or will it continue to serve smaller, retail investors?
• What's your opinion on insider rounds?
• Thoughts on Tiger Global?
• Does China surpass the U.S. in tech innovation (and AI) over the next decade? Why or Why Not?

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

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

• Eric Collins
• Nicole Quinn
• Paul Martino
• Alfred Chuang

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

Did you miss our guests' full-length episodes?

Eric Collins Episode #253

Nicole Quinn Episode #279

Paul Martino Episode #275

Alfred Chuang Episode #274

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

Brian Requarth of Latitud joins Nick to discuss Viva Latam Startups, Losing Talent to the U.S., and Building the Zillow of Brazil. In this episode we cover:

• What’s the thesis at Latitud?
• Could you tell us a little about the company you started, Viva Real?
• What was your goal in writing the book... Viva the Entrepreneur?
• You get quite vulnerable w/ regard to your experience building Viva Real. What was the hardest part of your founder journey?
• You have a large focus on helping entrepreneurs navigate building and scaling venture backable businesses in LatAm. Both Latitud and the book are in service of that mission. What are some of the unique headwinds that LatAm startups face?
• You recently had Henrique Dubugras, co founder of Brex, on the podcast. Notably, he is a founder that left south america, after some modest starutp success, to launch his large and fast growing company here in the states.   How do you keep from losing the most ambitious and creative tech talent to the U.S.?
• Rappi coming up in Colombia while you were there?  What are the leading countries within Latam?
• El Salvador very recently announced that Bitcoin will be an official currency, marking it the first country to make the coin legal currency.  Is this the first country of many to set their reserve currency to Bitcoin?
• You recently tweeted about a common problem you see with early-stage startups in LatAm -- messed up cap tables with aggressive angels taking 40%+ of the company at formation. This, of course, is a major deterrent for future VC investors. Is this a fixable problem and, if so, how do you help w/ cap table issues?
• Advice for founders launching a startup focused on Latam market?
• Me too tech strategies in Latam that have worked in the US?

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

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

• David Goldberg
• Ben Sun
• Tsune Shirota
• Amy Nauiokas

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

Did you miss our guest's full-length episodes?

David Goldberg Episode #272

Ben Sun Episode #287

Tsune Shirota Episode #288

Amy Nauiokas Episode #286

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

Jonathan Hung of Unicorn Venture Partners joins Nick to discuss Why Sales Cycle Determines Success, the Challenges of International Deal Diligence, and Fractional Hiring in a Post COVID World. In this episode we cover:

• Jonathan's background and path to VC
• The launch of Unicorn Venture Partners
• The thesis at Unicorn Venture Partners
• Deal volume Unicorn Venture Partners is doing each year
• Jonathan's role as Senior Venture Partner and head of due diligence at Expert Dojo
• Thesis and workings of Expert Dojo
• What due diligence entails when targeting companies all across the world and at super early stages
• How to deal with teams that have different cultural backgrounds when trying to get the psychology of the team and figure out if it's a team that has the ambition and the capability to win and win big
• Jonathan's role as an LP in over 22 VC funds and the common success factors across those funds?
• Things that funds do that lend themselves well to success and or failure
• How Jonathan's decision process is different on the fund side versus the startup side
• Generally underappreciated metrics that are critical to assess before making an angel or pre-seed investment
• How to help founders recruit talent and any tips or advice for startups out there to help their portfolio increase their talent without just hiring recruiters
• Best approach to networking
• When is it best not to take VC money and just build a great business model?
• Buyer or seller on NFTs?
• Jonathan's quick take on SPACs versus Direct Listings versus Traditional IPO.
• If Jonathan thinks valuations are at an all-time high?
• Out of the top 10 most valuable companies, five years from now, Jonathan's three that are currently in the top 10 and won't be in the top 10.
• What do you know, you need to get better at?
• What's the best way for listeners to connect with Jonathan and follow along with his investment efforts.

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

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

• Brendan Wallace
• Tim Guleri
• Dharmesh Thakker
• Brian Hirsch

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

Did you miss our guest's full length episodes?

Brendan Wallace Episode #276

Tim Guleri Episode #267

Dharmesh Thakker Episode #283

Brian Hirsch Episode #265

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

Dayna Grayson & Rachel Holt of Construct Capital joins Nick to discuss Competing with Amazon, Combatting 60% Talent Attrition, and Driving Transformation of Foundational Industries. In this episode we cover:

• Can you each give us the two-minute background and path to VC?
• What is the thesis at Construct?
• How do you define series A? 
• Is there a geographic scope in which you'll invest?
• Why have you chosen to focus on these sectors and categories?
• How have you seen the current environment issues affect sales cycles and velocity over the past year?
• How do you deal with inertia, slow sales cycles, and tech aversion amongst these buyer and user groups?
• Is there any concern that the skills gap will broaden over time?
• Will capital intensity, timing of financing rounds, timing to exit, size/scale of exits, valuation multiples, etc. look different for a legacy industry portfolio vs. a standard SV SaaS portfolio?
• Investment philosophy has shifted from being much more decision-maker focus and top-down startups versus more user bottom-up focus solutions. Is that something that's part of your lens or is it case by case, depending on the startup?
• There seems to be a lot more VCs/Investors focused in these spaces, so why the need for Construct in this market where so much capital is flowing?
• What was it like pitching this narrative in the thesis?
• You raised your inaugural fund during the pandemic — what did you learn from that experience?
• There are two different philosophies on firm building. One approach is more of an independent/individual sport, the other a team sport. Which do you employ?
• If one of you wants to do the deal and the other thinks it's not a good way to deploy capital, what happens in that circumstance?
• How do you think about scaling your efforts and getting more leverage out of your time?
• What's the post-investment relationship with the founders look like at Construct?
• What do you know, you need to get better at?
• What's the best way for listeners to connect with each of you and follow along with Construct?

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

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

• Nikhil Basu Trivedi
• Janet Bannister
• Sach Chitnis
• Guy Perelmuter

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

Did you miss our guests full length episodes?

Nikhil Basu Trivedi Episode #246

Janet Bannister Episode #255

Sach Chitnis Episode #269

Guy Perelmuter Episode #280

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

Brian Luerssen of Long Jump joins Nick to discuss The Rise of Low-Code/No-Code, How Tech is Changing Developer Roles, and the Launch of Founder-Led Venture Funds. In this episode we cover:

• Walk us through your background and path to Draftbit.
• Tell us about the customer market and who you're targeting with Draftbit.
• Are there good comps or parallels in the non-mobile space?
• Will the user of Draftbit still be a developer, or do you have cases where it's the application product manager or others?
• Is it just web apps and native apps covering the spectrum?
• There's this principled group of developers, that don't want to use App builders. They want to build the ground up themselves. How do you deal with that objection?
• Have you guys achieved product-market fit? Yes or no? 
• What's the biggest challenge to getting product-market fit and hitting huge growth numbers?
• Where do you go now? How do you see the business evolve? What's the end-all large market opportunity for Draftbit?
• Does it stay a platform that you build on and it exports code or does it end up becoming kind of its own place you build within, like a WordPress, or maybe even a Webflow?
• Any thoughts or advice for founders out there that are early-stage builders taking on something ambitious?
• Tell us about the origin story of Long Jump and why was this fund founded?
• So $100k, across the board for all investments is or is there some discretion to move up or down?
• Is this kind of like an application accelerator program?
• What happens if you come upon an opportunity where they're raising an early round. It's coming together quickly. It's something that hits home with one of the GPs. Can you jump into that or does it have to go through your formalized process?
• I imagine a lot of the LPs are founders, former founders that have been through this. Is that a bad assumption?
• Do you have some back office or operations support or somebody that's kind of focused on connecting these dots?
• How have you thought about other established models and kind of taken best practices?
• Why not direct them to an accelerator program?
• How do you handle the criticism from investors that claim you should focus on the business Draftbit and not running a fund?
• What is the future look like for Long Jump?
• YC vs TechStars. Go.
• I'm curious as YC is scaling, I think it's like 700 companies a year now, the density and power of the network, is it the same as it once was? I don't know, does the signal decline or not?
• Have they architected a hub and spoke network or a mesh network? Can the spokes or the nodes get a lot of value out of each other as it expands, or is it overly reliant on the hub for value?
• I'd be curious to get your comparison advantages, disadvantages, to the Bay Area versus a second-tier ecosystem and how you've seen that change over time.
• What do you know, you need to get better at?
• What's the best way for the founders out there to get in touch with Long Jump? What are you looking for? What should they come with to get accepted?

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

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

• Ed Sim
• Lanham Napier
• McKeever “Mac” Conwell II
• Mike Smerklo

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

Did you miss our guests' full-length episodes?

Ed Sim Episode #266

Lanham Napier Episode #248

McKeever “Mac” Conwell II Episode #277

Mike Smerklo Episode #278

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

Ali Tamaseb of DCVC joins Nick to discuss Data on the Key Traits of Billion-Dollar Startups with the Author of Super Founders: What Data Reveals About Billion-Dollar Startups. In this episode we cover:

• Founders' history of building
• Second-time founders and their larger chance of being unicorns
• Super Founders bouncing to different industries isn't detrimental to their success
• Having domain experience does not correlate to success
• How non/technical founders partner with the same
• How proxy metrics do not define a good founder
• Painkiller or Vitamin Pill? Which holds success?
• How geography may be a dying metric for success
• How Super Founders tend to secure investment even in the opening rounds
• Which type of competition defines the unicorn
• Timing remains the most difficult thing to crack

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

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

• Farooq Abbasi
• Ty Findley
• Lo Toney
• Monique Woodard

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

Did you miss our guests' full-length episodes?

Farooq Abbasi Episode #251

Ty Findley Episode #250

Lo Toney Episode #249

Monique Woodard Episode #273

For other great episodes, go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

Tsune Shirota of World Innovation Lab joins Nick to discuss Tech Competition between China, Japan, and Korea, Why IT is King in Japan, and When American Tech Should Expand to Asia.

Other topics include the transition from manual services to software, B2B buying behavior in the US vs Japan, determining the shape of your S-Curve, and best markets - determined by need and distribution.

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran, General Partner of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in the exceptions.

To learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our Website and LinkedIn and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and tell us about your business. We’ll send a list of possible investors right to your email’s InBox!

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

• Reid Christian
• Glenn Rockman
• Spencer Maughan
• Billy Libby

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

Ben Sun of Primary Venture Partners joins Nick to discuss Distribution vs. Product, Founders vs. Markets, and Winning Deals in a Hyper-Competitive Seed Market. In this episode, we cover:

• Can you tell us a bit about your founder journey? 
• What are your thoughts on the major differences and challenges now versus when you started a Community Connect?
• Is there a bias at Primary toward consumer investments?
• What region focus does Primary have?
• Is Miami a viable tech center or is this hype?
• What is the thesis at Primary?
• What areas does the Primary team focus on (strategic, sweat equity, talent recruitment)?
• How collaborative is that formative ideas stage between Primary and the entrepreneurs? I imagine, some of them come and they're ready to raise, and if it's a great fit, you invest, but in other circumstances, ideas may not be fully fleshed out. How much of a role do you play?
• We've had many folks on the program that say, it's all about the market. The team is important, but there's sort of a base level of competence. Then many others say it's just all about the team and the best teams will find their way to the best markets. Where do you stand on that, and how does that square with kind of the way that you look at talent? 
• Ben, you wrote this tweet, quote, there is no longer such a thing as proprietary deal flow in VC. It's now more about winning a deal versus picking a deal. You know, I'm curious, what has changed? Is it supply side of capital at seed? Is it other factors? What prompted the tweet?
• So put you on the spot, what is the win rate at Primary? And why do y'all win, going head to head against other firms?
• What do you know you need to get better at?
• What is the best way for listeners to connect with you and follow along with Primary?

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

• Nicole Quinn
• Niko Bonatsos
• Niki Pezeshki
• Shawn Carolan

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

Amy Nauiokas of Anthemis Group joins Nick to discuss Embedded Finance, Community-based Fintech, the Demise of Legacy Institutions, and Driving Returns with a Diversity Investment Mandate. In this episode, we cover:

• Tell us a bit about your background and your path to venture.
• Anthemis. What is it? Tell us a bit about the thesis and what you guys do?
• So where do you find yourself spending most of your time? 
• Amy can you give us a quick primer on the difference between FinTech and tech fin?
• What is your quick take on regulation? Are there still major obstacles that need to be overcome?
• We've seen large tech in some ways abuse opportunity before in FinTech and in other areas, that I'd be curious to hear what your take is on sort of the established incumbent large legacy financial institutions. How do you see them adapt in order to capture value and attempt to maintain their position as well as direct access to customers?
• Let's talk more about embedded finance. How do you think that may affect wealth management, investing brokerage going forward?
• Let's talk a bit about banking as a service. Can you give us an overview of some of these banking as a service platforms and maybe an example of a non financial company? And, you know, maybe the initial offerings that they are incorporating to improve user experience for customers?
• Is Anthemis looking at virtual assets?
• What is Anthemis doing to promote diversity and underrepresentation in venture?
• I suspect there's also a belief that investing in underrepresented folks in women can outperform not doing so is that is that part of the thesis or not?
• There's been a lot of changes in dynamics going on in venture capital from Spats to huge players in the late rounds and non-VC and financial players entering. There's also the mega-rounds that are now entering early-stage investing. I'd love your quick take on any of those sorts of phenomena that are occurring in venture capital.
• What do you know, you need to get better at?
• What's the best way for listeners to connect with you and follow along with Anthemis?