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Episode #60: The 2025 Venture Review feat. Hunter Walk (Homebrew, Screendoor) and Peter Walker (Carta)
Episode 60

Episode #60: The 2025 Venture Review feat. Hunter Walk (Homebrew, Screendoor) and Peter Walker (Carta)

The Learning Corner by Precursor · Mia Farnham, Charles Hudson

December 18, 202532m 47s

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Show Notes

This end‑of‑year episode of The Learning Corner by Precursor brings together our first podcast guests, Hunter Walk (Homebrew, Screendoor) and Peter Walker (Carta) for a wide‑ranging conversation on how venture capital has evolved in 2025. We unpack ballooning early‑stage valuations, the distortion created by media attention, and how few companies actually sit at the top of the market. We also discuss today’s exit landscape, growing pressure for liquidity, the rise of secondaries, and what recent IPOs and M&A activity mean for funds of different sizes. We close by examining what early‑stage venture really looks like today, from changing GP‑LP dynamics to faster paths to scale and the push to build more with smaller teams. (0:00) Introduction and the importance of a founder's toolbox (2:01) Year-end reflection on major themes and valuations (4:36) Fundraising mistakes and valuation insights (9:02) Investment criteria and San Francisco's fundraising scene (15:25) Impact of valuation on future rounds and investment strategies (20:29) Startup exits and M&A environment (26:09) Venture trends and games in venture (28:18) Emerging managers, mega funds, and venture Darwinism (31:24) LPs and venture allocations, closing remarks