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

Adeyemi Ajao of Base 10 Partners joins Nick to discuss Automation vs. AI. In this episode, we cover:

  • Backstory - Growing up in Spain and Nigeria and his path to entrepreneurship.
  • Previous to Base10 Partners, you had quite a successful career as an entrepreneur, founding highly influential companies such as Tuenti, Identified and Cabify in Latin America - talk a bit about your experience founding and scaling multiple tech companies, ultimately to exit?
  • How did you, TJ and Reggie come together and decide to create Base10?
  • On the website it says that you "started Base10 to take a profoundly different approach to Automation." Tell us more about your thesis on automation and how it's different.
  • Talk about Automation vs. AI and the potentially misleading guidance that we're hearing from many firms in the valley with regard to AI.
  • Of course, with any big changes that are made to the way people traditionally do things, there is a reaction. While some will embrace automation tools, others will have an adverse reaction. Are there certain sectors, categories or even functions that you think will more readily adopt automation solutions?
  • You mentioned a number of industries... Real Estate, Construction, SaaS, Agriculture, Logistics, Consumer... you have these Partners listed on the website, like Fifth Wall, Bessemer, Owl, Shasta, Bain Capital... can you explain the details of your partnership program?
  • When researching sectors that you’re interested in and assessing the opportunity to implement automation tools, what key factors are you looking for?
  • "We know automation. We have seen it succeed and fail. We know what playbook to apply from team structure to go-to-market, automated customer service or data collection systems." Talk to us about the playbook elements that have application across the automation-focused startups you work with?
  • You've discussed the pride you take in being: Hispanic, American, European, African, black and white. It's quite notable that you raised the first black-led VC fund of over $100M. How were able to break through such a significant glass ceiling where others haven't?

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.

Direct download: 183._Automation_vs._AI_Adeyemi_Ajao.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:00pm EDT

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

  • Evangelos Simoudis
  • Cheryl Cheng
  • Wayne Kimmel

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.

Direct download: Investor_Stories_108_-_Strange__Unusual_Simoudis_Cheng_Kimmel.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm EDT

Jeff Clavier of Uncork Capital joins Nick to discuss Market Cycles, Escalating Costs to Start Up, and the Micro VC Surge. In this episode, we cover:

 

  • In 2004 you started making angel investments in emerging Web 2.0 companies and at that time, only a handful of individuals backed entrepreneurs in the internet space…What was your first investment and how did you get involved in the space? 
  • What's the story of the founding of SoftTech--now known as Uncork Capital. 
  • What led to the rebrand from SoftTech to Uncork? 
  • The investment focus/thesis of Uncork. 
  • You mentioned...FitBit, EventBrite, and Sendgrid...it's striking how different each of these businesses are...How you are able to get conviction and understand key success factors across different sectors with different models and overall profiles? 
  • How have the market cycles affected VC, your fund strategy, raising capital and the impact on portfolio companies? 
  • What are the most common mistakes you see early investors making? 
  • With the 600+ micro-VC funds now...is the stage over capitalized? 
  • Is it more expensive to build a startup today than 10 years ago? 
  • Being that you are from France...in your estimation, what have been the primary differences in funding European based startups vs. those in the States? 
  • Said to be one of the most helpful investors in the valley... what are some of the specific ways you get involved? 
  • On the firms website it talks about your “No Playbook” and “No Bullshit” approach that you’re not delivering “prescriptive formulas on how to build or scale” but instead developing custom plans, one on one. Tell us about these custom plans and the key elements. 
  • How Jeff balances time and energy with so many portfolio companies.

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

  • SC Moatti
  • Brendan Wallace
  • Vic Pascucci

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.

Direct download: Investor_Stories_107_-_Lessons_Learned_Moatti_Wallace_Pascucci.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm EDT

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