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

David Horowitz of Touchdown Ventures joins Nick to discuss Corporate VC. In this episode, we cover:

  • Backstory/ Path to Venture
  • Talk about the 14 years you spent with Comcast Ventures -- what you learned and why you left?
  • What lead to founding Touchdown Ventures?
  • At Touchdown, you partner with leading corporations to manage the complete venture lifecycle from entity formation to investment management…Can you dive into the thesis/focus of the firm?
  • Why would a founder choose corporate VC funding over institutional funding?
  • I was reading through the “Risky Business” blog on the Touchdown website and found some pretty interesting articles…specifically one that talks about “the most overlooked skill in Corporate venture" being deal management…that it “requires more effort than all other activities combined”…why is deal management so challenging?
  • Why do you think CVC’s funding has historically been more inconsistent than institutional venture funds?
  • Why are corporations willing to take minority stakes in startups? As Fred Wilson said on CVC—“You want the asset? Buy it.” Is there a risk to founders of taking investment from a large corporate that can "look under the hood" and reverse-engineer the tech or exploit the IP?
  • Is the core objective of a CVC financial return or is it more of a strategy play? (i.e. market insight, actively trying to grow certain sectors)
  • How does the mindset of a CVC change in a bear market, especially compared to institutional VC?
  • How does follow-on funding work in corporate VC? If the corporate has a poor financial year, does a lower funding allocation affect follow-on allotment for winners?
  • The firm was recognized by Global Corporate Venturing for having both established and managed the most corporate venture funds to date… At the industry level corp VC has peaked in funding in recent years. Why do you think corp VC has grown to this level and why did you raise the number of funds that you did?
  • One of the articles on the Risky Business blog talks about fraud detection with reference to Fyre Festival and Theranos…Talk about some red flags that an opportunity may be a fraud and what you should do if those red flags are present?

 

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: 191._Corporate_VC_David_Horowitz.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm EDT

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

  • Bradley Tusk
  • Jim Kim
  • Jenny Rooke

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_117__Lessons_Learned_Tusk_Kim_Rooke.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm EDT

Bobby Franklin of NVCA joins Nick to discuss Immigration, Privacy, and Foreign Investment -- The Biggest Threat to Venture is in Washington D.C.. In this episode, we cover:

  • Backstory/path to Capitol Hill.
  • You served as the Executive Vice President of CTIA --tell us a bit about that experience and how it led to NVCA.
  • At NVCA - what's the mandate?
  • What specific actions does the organization take in order to deliver on this mandate?
  • You just wrapped up NVCA’s annual VC’s to DC conference this month-- What were the three most critical issues that Venture Capital is facing?
  • I came across your article on TechCrunch about FIRRMA (the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act) and CFIUS (the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.). Can you talk a bit about the issue the industry is facing and the key players?
  • What suggestions do you have for VCs and high growth companies -- with exposure to FIRRMA and the expanded power of CFIUS?
  • At the VCs to DC conference there was a panel on the rise of populism…Trends from trade to immigration, tax policy and cross-border financial flows, that are rapidly impacting global commerce - Can you talk a bit about these issues and their impact on the ecosystem?
  • Currently large tech companies are under increased scrutiny in DC and policymakers are cracking down on data privacy regulation, antitrust enforcement, etc. Do you think this “techlash” is appropriate or not?
  • What guidance or insight would you give entrepreneurs to ensure that their companies are operating within regulatory boundaries?
  • Any other suggestions for the audience -- a mix of VCs, LPs, Angels and Founders -- on specific things we all can do to support this asset class in D.C.?

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


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


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

  • Roy Bahat
  • Ash Rust
  • Wayne Kimmel

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

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

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

Direct download: Investor_Stories_116__Whats_Next_Bahat_Rust_Kimmel.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm EDT

Scott Dorsey of High Alpha joins Nick to discuss The Venture Studio. In this episode, we cover:

  • Backstory/ path to tech.
  • The story behind ExactTarget leading up to selling the company for $2.7B to Salesforce.
  • Why'd you launch HighAlpha?
  • Briefly touch on the thesis at High Alpha. 
  • I want to deep dive into the venture studio model as it's a bit misunderstood... Can you start us off with an overview of the venture studio model?
  • What are the key differences between a studio model and a traditional venture fund?
  • Why are you doing both at High Alpha?
  • Different studios have different specialities and focus areas - what is your studio speciality at High Alpha?
  • What types of founders and/or businesses are a strong fit for partnership with a venture studio?
  • What do you say to critics of the studio model that say that studios take too much equity?
  • Do you think that a studio-based approach can drive higher alpha ; ) than the traditional fund model?
  • In what ways do your portfolio companies get more value out of a partnership with you than non-studio-based partners?
  • I was browsing the High Alpha website and came across a passage about one of the core components of your process called “Sprint Week” which states "During Sprint Week, we focus on building the Minimally Viable Business (MVB) including branding, prototyping, and go-to-market strategy” Can you dive into the details of Sprint Week and how it helps your portfolio companies?
  • How do you define product-market-fit?
  • In regards to your partnership program at the firm, I see that not only do you partner with top tech corporations but also leading universities and academic programs. Talk about the benefits of these partnerships for your founders in terms of talent, networks, and technology?

 

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: 189._The_Venture_Studio_Scott_Dorsey.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm EDT

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