Ep 49: Albert Wenger, Managing Partner at Union Square Ventures
Today’s guest is Albert Wenger, Managing Partner at Union Square Ventures, a NY-based venture capital firm. In today's episode, we have a really dynamic discussion around the climate change problem, the roles of innovation, policy, collective action, etc in helping us solve it, what that means in terms of the roles of venture capital and USV specifically, and what Albert is doing personally in order to try to do his part. Enjoy the show!
Inevitable · Jason Jacobs, Albert Wenger
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Show Notes
Today’s guest is Albert Wenger, Managing Partner at Union Square Ventures, a NY-based venture capital firm.
Before joining USV, Albert was the president of del.icio.us through the company’s sale to Yahoo and an angel investor (Etsy, Tumblr). He previously founded or co-founded several companies, including a management consulting firm and an early hosted data analytics company. Albert graduated from Harvard College in economics and computer science and holds a Ph.D. in Information Technology from MIT.
In today’s episode, we cover:
- Albert’s assessment of the problem of climate change and his concern level
- His views on what it will take to get the problem under control in the short term and long term
- The work they do at USV, their core expertise, and how that expertise can help
- The roles of innovation, policy, and collective action
- What types of innovation can be most impactful, and when
- The upcoming election and stakes
- Roles of China and India
- Roles of big oil and utilities
- How Albert would allocate $100B to maximize its impact in climate fight
- Albert’s advice for others looking to find their lane
Links to topics discussed in this episode:
USV: https://www.usv.com/
World After Capital: http://worldaftercapital.org/
Greta Thunberg: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greta_Thunberg
Extinction Rebellion: https://rebellion.earth/
Nori: https://nori.com/
John Maynard Keynes, Economics Policies for our Grandchildren: https://www.sloww.co/keynes-economic-possibilities/
Faye McNeill: https://cheme.columbia.edu/faculty/v-mcneill
Ecosia: https://www.ecosia.org/
Universal Basic Income: https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/universal-basic-income-UBI
How Much is Enough?: https://www.amazon.com/How-Much-Enough-Money-Good/dp/152267795X
You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at [email protected], where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.
Enjoy the show!
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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant