The Full Ratchet: Vc | Venture Capital | Angel Investors | Startup Investing | Fundraising | Crowdfunding | Pitch | Private E

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Stuart Larkins & Ezra Galston Ben Einstein Bilal Zuberi  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.

Ben Narasin of NEA joins Nick to discuss how NEA makes decisions, why he joined the firm and the key traits he looks for in founders. In this episode, we cover: -Why he made the move to NEA -His Investment focus -the role of Venture Partner at NEA -the investment process the firm... and if decisions are made by committee -Ben's Evaluation Process -the key factor that every successful founder possesses -The common red flags that pop up and cause him to say no to strong startups -Why he believes his job is to say no -How he assess opportunities with 100 reasons to say yes and one reason to say no -Ben's evolving approach toward weighing risk factors in startups -how the tech and investing industry has changed over the past decade -how AUM is driving a bifurcation in venture -finally we get Ben's response to the recent Techcrunch article highlighting the crash in early-stage VC funding   To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follow us on twitt

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: -Guy Turner -Jonathon Triest & Brett DeMarrais -William Mougayar -Madhavan Ramanujam 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.

Eric Ries, author of the Lean Startup and The Startup Way, joins Nick to discuss his new book and his response to the naysayers. In this episode, we cover: Eric's backstory and path to working in tech Steve Blank was on the program and mentioned Peter Thiel's famous comments where he decried the MVP and lean startup approach. Steve thought he was entirely wrong. But I'd love to hear your response to Peter. Peter said in his book, "forget minimum viable products. Ever since Apple started in 1976, Jobs saw that you could change the world through careful planning, not by listening to focus group feedback or copying other's successes." For those that read the lean startup some time ago or maybe those that are newer to tech, can you provide a refresher of the key concepts? Why'd you write The Startup Way? Who is the audience for The Startup Way? Is this for transforming existing, large organizations or for companies establishing their culture and their process? In part one of the book, you talk about the modern c

Welcome back to TFR for another Cram Session. In these special releases, we have aggregated the takeaways and tips from previous episodes. In this installment, we will be recapping the following episodes: 96. Student-Focused VC Funds, Part 1 (Peter Boyce II) 97. Student-Focused VC Funds, Part 2 (Peter Boyce II) 98. Public Policy for Angel Investors, Part 1 (David Verrill) 99. Public Policy for Angel Investors, Part 2 (David Verrill) 102. The Limited Partner, Part 1 (Lindel Eakman) 103. The Limited Partner, Part 2 (Lindel Eakman) 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: John Buttrick Semil Shah Eric Paley 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.

Brendan Wallace of Fifth Wall Ventures joins Nick to discuss Kingmaking, De-Risking Every Investment & the Future of Real Estate Tech.  In this episode, we cover: how building a fund is different from a startup why fifth wall invests in real estate tech why they take a different approach to workign with LPs and portcos how large corporate LPs get comfortable with threatening tech that can destroy existing asset value Brendan gives an overview of the real estate tech landscape and how it's segmented why he thinks no other funds are focused on this sector the common demoniator he looks for in startups the concept of the built world and how tech will bridge the gap between physical and digital the most disruptive ideas he's come across in real estate how the hot trends like AI, AV, robotics and VR/AR will effect the sector and finally, what's surprised him most since raising fifth wall fund 1   To listen more, please visit http://fullratchet.net/podcast-episodes/ for all of our other episodes. Also, follo

J.B. Pritzker of Pritzker Group Venture Capital joins Nick to discuss his impact on tech in Illinois, where he gets his motivation and why he's running for Governor. In this episode, we cover the following questions: Take me back to your childhood...What was it like growing up in your family and what did you learn from your parents? Your father and uncle famously built and managed Hyatt Hotels...Who was your biggest inspiration in the family? You could have gone in many directions with your career... hotel industry, education, straight into politics. Why'd you choose the path you did? Who were your primary inspirations in tech? Looking through your accomplishments, you're clearly a builder, a creator, you've got internal drive. Where do you get your motivation? What's the greatest lesson you've learned from your career in venture that informs your bid for governor? If you could go back and talk to young J.B... a J.B. in his teens, what would you tell him? What's the best lesson that you've learned from your

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: -Christine Tsai -John Greathouse -Lindel Eakman   Each investor describes a situation where they did decide to invest, what the key factors were that led to “Yes” and how that investment has worked out.   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.

Bilal Zuberi of Lux Capital joins Nick to discuss Startup Moats. In this episode, we cover: An overview of moats Example companies with moats How to build a monopoly from the outset and if Bilal requires in startups he invests in Incremental vs. step-change innovation and the implications on the breadth and depth of the moat The types of moats Bilal's take on data and network effect-based moats using a business model as a moat His thoughts on building brand as a sustainable competitive advantage How NPS score plays a role An example where Bilal thought there was a moat but it proved not to have the defensibility predicted And finally I get Bilal's take on Lux's investment strategy, their portfolio and how they are building value in the water, on the ground, in the air and even up in space   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.

Vic Pascucci of Lightbank joins Nick to discuss New Founders, New Stages, New Offerings-- The Only Constant in Venture is Change. In this episode, we cover: Where'd you get your start in venture and how'd your path lead to Lightbank? Can you walk us through the Lightbank backstory... before you joined? What's the current thesis and investment focus for the firm? How active a role do you play with portfolio companies? What, if anything, do you think the team at Lightbank can do a better job of going forward? Do you think your approach is different than Eric and Brad's? Recently spoke w/ Semil Shah about the multiple stages, within seed... pre-seed, seed, inst seed, post seed, seed extension. WTF is going on with the seed round? There's been an explosion of seed funds... do you think this is a problem? Is there a bubble at seed or, w/ the way barriers to startup have come down, is the influx of capital warranted? I'm noticing entrepreneurs moving away from SAFEs and Convertibles... are you seeing the same? If

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Adam Draper Chris Farmer Mark Suster Each investor highlights a situation where they decided not to invest, why they passed, and how it played out.   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.

Madhavan Ramanujam of Simon-Kutcher & Partners joins Nick to discuss Monetization Strategy & Why Price Trumps Product. In this episode, we cover: What's the backstory and how did you develope this monetization expertise? What VC firms and/or investors have you worked with? What's the most common missteps that innovators make? What are the 4 types of innovation fails? I want to talk about your three key rules for monetizing new products: Having the WTP conversation early, Investigating how to charge not just what to charge and not settling for one-size fits all... Let's start w/ the WTP conversation, walk us through this point and the three questions one should ask? Essentially, are you suggesting that startups run a conjoint analysis to see what features customers want and how much they'll pay or is it more than that? How do the results inform the pricing strategy? Is this the Van Westendorp methodology, if not, how's it different? Talk more about the second rule... Investigating how to charge, not j

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: David Verrill Galen Mason Jason Calacanis   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.

Zach Coelius of joins Nick to discuss Investing in Rocket Ships Before they Take Off, Part 1. We address questions including: His Path to investing The Biggest difference between entrepreneur Zach vs. the entrepreneur Zach invests in? Best lesson from his startup, Triggit? Right place, right time... how do you apply to investing? Top 3 characteristics you look for in founders? Great entrepreneur... bad idea/bad market... how do you proceed? How about with founders that aren't quite ready yet for funding? How did you get your start on AL? Strengths of Syndication Process? Krypto Labs in Abu Dhabi- major takeaways, thoughts on crypto & ICOs? Early exits... do you take them when you get the option?  At what amount/multiple do you take money off the table Lessons from poker that you apply to investing?   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: Andrew Parker Niki Scevak Bryce Roberts Charles Hudson Each investor illustrates a critical lesson learned about startup investing and how it's changed their approach.

Semil Shah of Haystack joins Nick to discuss First Institutional VC Fund Raised-- Key Learnings, Part 1. We address questions including: Maybe we can start off with how your investment focus has evolved since the last time you joined us. What are your thoughts on how seed has split into pre-seed, seed, seed extension, and post seed? Are you investing once with a company or reserving for these various stages within seed? You just closed fund 3... tell us about the first two funds that set the stage. Would you do things differently if you could go back? Which raise was the hardest? How did the expectations of LPs change from the early funds to the institutional fund? What surprised you most about the raise? Did you connect w/ prospectives through referrals, cold calls, a combination? Walk us through the metrics... how many targets, meetings, avg commitment amt, etc. Did you ever think you might not complete the raise? What's the best advice you got on the raise and who'd you get it from? In our first interview

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: -Ben Einstein -Ezra Galston & Stuart Larkins -David Cowan 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.

Guy Turner of Hyde Park Venture Partners joins Nick to cover founder profiles and the characteristics that lead to the strongest startups. We address questions including: You've observed over 50 startups, across your portfolio, and have written extensively about founder profiles. What are the two high-level categories of characteristics that you've observed? Within the inspection characteristics category... what are the three dimensions that matter most? The first two modes seem to differ primarily on the experience dimension... what are the two modes and what are their strengths and weaknesses? Mode 3 you call the exec turned founder.... and mode 4 seems to have the ingredients for big outcomes or big flameouts. Walk us through each of these and their defining characteristics. We've discussed four modes, but based on your framework there should be eight. What about the other four modes? Do you think modes 1 and 2 work better for all investors or just HPVP? Dealflow filtering and evaluation... can you use th

In today's special segment the following investors are featured: Chris Olsen Jay Acunzo Mike Collett