The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified
1,035 episodes — Page 1 of 21
Investor Stories 497: Passing on Snapchat, Canva, and Hugging Face: The Rules of Thumb That Cost VCs Billions (Vaidya, Fubini and Patel, Rosenbloom)
519. Don't Play the Game on the Field, What the 500 Largest Exits Tell Us, How and When to Sell Secondary, and VC's Identity Crisis (Micah Rosenbloom)
Investor Stories 496: Three Lessons for the Next Generation of VCs: Find Your Edge, Build Your Network, Stay in the Game (Solomon, Vaidya, Chen)
Investor Stories 495: Perseverance at Roofstock, Speed at Zero, Discovery at Anduril — Why These Founders Stand Out (Black, Chen, Fubini and Patel)
518. The Power of Founder Mafias, Why Venture is Bifurcating, and Lessons from Good Strategy, Bad Strategy (Ross Fubini and Manish Patel)
Investor Stories 494: Passing on Outliers, Misjudging Founder Quality, and Holding Too Tightly — Lessons from Notable, Superset, and Fika (Solomon, Vaidya, Chen)
Investor Stories 493: Founder CEO Removal, Acquisition Pressure, and Co-Founder Conflict — Lessons from Investors at Volition, Notable, and Fika (Cheng, Solomon, Chen)
517. Fear and Greed in AI, The Rise of Kingmakers, and Is Seed the Sucker Round? (John Chen)
Investor Stories 492: Best Questions from Grant Emery, Ben Black, and Glenn Solomon: Market Truths, Enduring Value, and Founder Conviction (Demaree, Black, Solomon)
Investor Stories 491: What Visionary Leaders at Jackpocket, Vercel, and Microsoft Do Differently(Peter Davis, Solomon, Vaidya)
516. AI Cost Structures and Pricing, Proprietary Data Sets That Create Moats, and a Clear Method for Determining Which Problem to Solve First (Vivek Vaidya)
Investor Stories 490: Investors from Volition, Acadian Ventures, and Interplay Ventures on Building Competence, Operating Experience, and Investing with Purpose (Cheng, Black, Peter Davis)
Investor Stories 489: Missing Airbnb, Zocdoc, and Prediction Markets — Lessons from the Deals Investors Passed On (Demaree, Peter Davis, Solomon)
515. 3 Multi-Billion-Dollar Exits in 1 Year, Lessons from Airbnb, HashiCorp, Slack, and Square, The VC Case for Staying Small, and the Battle Between Open-Weight vs. Closed Models (Glenn Solomon)
Investor Stories 488: Losing Conviction, Overpaying for Discounts, and Selling Too Early — Lessons from Volition, Acadian, and Interplay (Cheng, Black, Peter Davis)
Investor Stories 487: Legal Battles, Founder Fraud, and High-Stakes Conflict — Lessons from Investors at Acadian Ventures, Interplay Ventures, and OneBrief (Demaree, Black, Peter Davis)
514. AI's Effect on the Demand Curve, Investing in Durable Barriers, Large Cap vs. Small Cap Seed Deals, and Building an Internal AI Machine (Mark Peter Davis)
Investor Stories 486: The Traits of Visionary Founders: Ecosystem-Scale Thinking, Data-Driven Truth-Seeking, and Relentless Customer Experience Design (Blank, Demaree, Cheng)
Investor Stories 485: Inside VC Anti-Portfolios: Missing Whatnot, Facebook & MongoDB (Dillon, Cheng, Black)
513. Opening Late-Stage Venture to Everyone, Beating 10-Year Lockups, Why Logos Don't Equal Alpha, and Building Power Law as a Public VC Fund (Ben Black)
Investor Stories 484: Why Selling Too Early Hurts Returns, The Leadership Power of Sleep, and The Costliest Investment Mistakes (Tananbaum, Ries, Demaree)
Investor Stories 483: Best LP Questions from David Ulevich, Eric Ries, and Larry Cheng: Mission, Partnership Culture, and Enduring Institutions (Ulevitch, Ries, Cheng)
512. Is SpaceX Over or Undervalued, Why Consensus Kills, How Chewy Beat Amazon, and the GameStop Saga from a Board Member (Larry Cheng)
Investor Stories 482: Key Advice from a Top Investor and Two Unicorn Founders: Why Companies Pick Investors, Authentic Leadership, and Loving the Game (Austin, Schlacks, Demaree)
Investor Stories 481: Lessons Learned from Centana Growth, a16z, and Emergence: Trusting Management, Spotting Original Thinkers, and Investing Before Revenue (Byunn, Ulevitch, Saper)
511. The Future of Military Planning: Defense Tech Beyond the Bubble, AI Software as Combat Power, and the Rise of AI Wargaming (Grant Demaree)
Investor Stories 480: The Traits of Visionary Founders: Customer Obsession, Self Disruption, and Why Love Can Be a Competitive Advantage (Dillon, Patnam, Ries)
Investor Stories 479: Startup Lessons from Steve Blank, Seth Levine, and Ben Orthlieb: Hubris, Influence, and Founder Selection (Orthlieb, Levine, Blank)
510. The Hyper-Scaler CEO Whisperer and Founder of the Lean Startup Movement on Incorruptible Startups, Building to Thrive and Survive, and Creating a Governance Fortress (Eric Ries)
Investor Stories 478: Visionary Founder Lessons from Poshmark, Centana, and EquipmentShare: Love, Listening, and Leadership (Chaddha, Byunn, Schlacks)
Investor Stories 477: Why VCs Passed on Figma, ClickUp, Uber, Pinterest, Okta, DoorDash, and Anthropic: Lessons from Investor Anti Portfolios (Ulevitch, Saper, Patnam)
509. The Downstream Effects of SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic Soaking Up $3T in the Public Market, Who Is Netscape and Who Is Google in the AI Era, and the Impact of Private Credit Redemption Requests on PE and VC (Sandesh Patnam)
Investor Stories 476: Staying in Your Zone of Genius, Why People Change for Themselves, and The Hard Lessons of Founder Accountability (Callaghan, Schlacks, Dillon)
Investor Stories 475: What Makes Founders Exceptional, Navigating Complex Ethical Issues, and Building with Intensity (Ortlieb, Ulevitch, Saper)
508. Maintaining U.S. Dominance, Navigating Defense Tech, Prime Obsolence, and Why Your Startup is Likely DOA (Steve Blank)
Investor Stories 474: Trusting Your Own Point of View, Why Conventional Wisdom Leads to Mediocrity, and Building a Personal Conviction Engine (Byunn, Levine, Dillon)
Investor Stories 473: Speed at Legora, Intensity at Mysten, Mastery at Heights Labs — Why These Founders Stand Out (Effron, Austin, Simpson)
507. Consumer Retrenchment or Reallocation, AI Impact on GTM and Purchase Decisions, How to Balance Consumer Sentiment vs. Behavior, and Where Smaller Funds Win (Natalie Dillon)
Investor Stories 472: Think Big, Stay Patient, Earn Access — Venture Advice from Foresite, Mayfield, and Blue Moon (Tananbaum, Chaddha, Orthlieb)
Investor Stories 471: Missing Great AI Bets, Losing Conviction, and Overweighting Founders — Lessons from Redpoint, a16z, and Outside VC (Effron, Austin, Simpson)
506. Mirage PMF, What LLMs Will Take On and What They Will Avoid, Why Outcomes Will Shift Models from Software to Services, and How Pricing Playbooks Are Being Rewritten (Jake Saper)
Investor Stories 470: Passing on Uber, Perplexity, and Fintech's Breakout Winners — The Stories Behind the Misses (Orthlieb, Callaghan, Byunn)
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Ben Orthlieb of Blue Moon Jon Callaghan of True Ventures Eric Byunn of Centana Growth Each investor highlights a situation where they decided not to invest, why they passed, and how it played out. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.
Investor Stories 469: What Visionary Leaders at Pixxel, eToro, and Founders Fund Do Differently (Mohapatra, Banks, Orlovski)
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Hemant Mohapatra of Lightspeed India Lara Banks of Makena Capital Management Victor Orlovski of R136 Ventures We asked guests to discuss the most visionary founder that they've worked with and what makes them so special. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.
505. The Ins and Outs of EquipmentShare's $6B IPO, The Construction Job Site in 10 Years, Where AI Thrives and Struggles to Solve Complex Problems, and Roll Ups in the VC Space (Willy Schlacks)
Willy Schlacks of EquipmentShare joins Nick to discuss The Ins and Outs of EquipmentShare's $6B IPO, The Construction Job Site in 10 Years, Where AI Thrives and Struggles to Solve Complex Problems, and Roll Ups in the VC Space. In this episode we cover: The IPO Process and Preparation Differences Between Public and Private Market Investors Stock Performance and Direct Listing Considerations Advice for Early-Stage Founders Investing in Personal Growth The Role of AI and Data in Construction Future of the Job Site Managing Fear and Creativity Guest Links: Willy's LinkedIn EquipmentShare's LinkedIn EquipmentShare's Website The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter
Investor Stories 468: Selling Too Early, LP Pressure, and Investor Tension — Lessons from Investors at Foundry Group, Centana Growth, and Andreessen Horowitz (Levine, Byunn, Ulevitch)
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Seth Levine of Foundry Eric Byunn of Centana Growth David Ulevitch of Andreessen Horowitz We discuss major conflicts that guests have faced and how they resolved them. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.
Investor Stories 467: Investors from Techstars, Redpoint, and Andreessen Horowitz on Strategy, Writing, and Building an Edge in Venture (Cohen, Effron, Simpson)
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: David Cohen of Techstars Jacob Effron of Redpoint Arianna Simpson of Andreessen Horowitz We asked guests for the most important piece of advice that they'd share with folks early in their venture career. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.
Investor Stories 466: Jim Tananbaum, Eric Byunn, and Ben Orthlieb on the Questions LPs Should Be Asking (Tananbaum, Orthlieb, Byunn)
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Jim Tananbaum of Foresite Capital Ben Orthlieb of Blue Moon Eric Byunn of Centana Growth We asked guests to share the best question they've ever been asked by an allocator. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.
504. American Dynamism: The Future of U.S. Industrials, Backing Companies with Major Production Components, Manufacturing Sovereignty, and Why Space Dominance is Critical (David Ulevitch)
David Ulevitch of Andreessen Horowitz joins Nick to discuss American Dynamism: The Future of U.S. Industrials, Backing Companies with Major Production Components, Manufacturing Sovereignty, and Why Space Dominance is Critical. In this episode we cover: Challenges in Venture Capital and Investment Philosophy Handling Startups and Market Pivots Navigating Dual-Use Startups Government Sales and Market Education Long-Term Revenue and Production Challenges American Dynamism Practice and Investment Thesis Supply Chain and Vertical Integration Policy Advocacy and Government Affairs Future of American Dynamism and Energy Investments Guest Links: David's LinkedIn David's X a16z's LinkedIn a16z's Website The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.
Investor Stories 465: Pricing Too Late, Selling Too Early, Investing Too Fast — Hard Lessons from Top VCs (Ramanujam, Cohen, Orlovski)
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Madhavan Ramanujam of 49 Palms Ventures David Cohen of Techstars Victor Orlovski of R136 Ventures We asked guests to tell the most important lesson they've learned in their career. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.
Investor Stories 464: Anti Portfolio Confessions: Missing Twilio, Zoom, DocuSign, MongoDB, and Solana (Austin, Simpson, Chaddha)
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Ethan Austin of Outside VC Arianna Simpson of Andreessen Horowitz Navin Chaddha of Mayfield Each investor highlights a situation where they decided not to invest, why they passed, and how it played out. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.