Something Ventured -- Silicon Valley Podcast

Monique Woodard is a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley.  She is one of the very rare Black, female General partners in venture capital.  Previously on Something Ventured we explored Monique’s unique path to becoming a venture capitalist, and what she invests in. As events drove the Black Lives Matter (“BLM”) movement to accelerate worldwide, Monique was gracious enough to come back and share her thoughts. She discusses what she believes is the state of the BLM movement in general, and Silicon Valley’s dismal record on supporting Black investors and entrepreneurs in particular. She offers pure, unvarnished advice about what Silicon Valley can do – actually do – to begin fixing its problem. www.monique.vc www.somethingventured.us 

Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly. Not every podcast includes a Langston Hughes quote.  Not every venture capitalist is Somesh Dash.  Somesh is a partner at the venture capital firm IVP.  IVP is one of the largest, most established venture firms in Silicon Valley.  From his post there, Somesh has seen several cycles of Silicon Valley’s ups and downs. In this episode, we contemplate recent events:  Racial issues converging with US 2020 presidential politics and a country on edge from Covid. Looking to the leadership example of Ailene Lee and All Rise, we contemplate what more Silicon Valley might do to be supportive of black Americans.  Not just the few (too few) black VCs and Founders in Silicon Valley, but All black Americans. We turn to the long arc of investing in Silicon Valley – from the early days of IVP, the dot com crash, the 2008 financial crisis, the last 10 years and – the great unknown that is next.  We finish with how VCs have reacted to Covid, and

(Note:  This episode was recorded before the Covid crisis. It includes a brief introduction with Eric Tarczynski to update the status of his fund and college investing, post Covid.) Eric Tarczynski is the founder of Contrary, a venture capital firm focused on investing in college students starting companies.  In this episode, Eric discusses how he built a network of college entrepreneurs, and how he created a venture fund focused on investing in college students.  We discuss the unique benefits and risks of investing in young founders, many with no work experience, as well as the lessons from famous college founder – Mark Zuckerberg.  Colleges Contrary includes in its network are:  Boston College, Boston University, BYU, Brown, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Emory, Georgia Tech, Harvard, NYU, Northeastern, Ohio State, Penn State, Princeton, Rice, Stanford, Texas A&M, Tufts, Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, University of Chicago, UC Boulder, University of Illinois, University of Maryland, Univer

Raj Kapoor contracted Covid in mid-March.  He and his family are recovered and well. But Raj is taking aim at shortening the path to a post-Covid world.  He partnered with Clara Health to create www.worldwithoutcovid.org.  The site let’s people register to help researchers worldwide accelerate their race to find better testing, treatments, and vaccines. Raj has been a venture capitalist (Mayfield) and a entrepreneur (SnapFish).  He is currently the Chief Strategy Officer at Lyft.  In this episode we discuss Raj’s journey from contracting to recovering from Covid.  We also discuss the path to finding a treatment, and the why’s and how’s of California’s lockdown.  We also discuss (Caifornia Governor) Gavin Newsom’s “6 Criteria for lifting quarantine”, and the current state of the US Presidential race. We turn to Lyft, and the future of transportation (the original topic of this episode):   How Lyft is faring during the Covid crisis, how will change cities, and how Lyft affect climate change. Finally, we briefly

In the midst of the Covid crisis, how should Silicon Valley think about China?  Kaiser Kuo is founder and host of the Sinica podcast, and has been a longtime journalist and tech executive in China. Few people know more about the intricacies of China’s politics and their interaction with technology companies. In this episode we discuss China’s responsibility for Covid, and compare its response times to those of the US.  We discuss how the US should think about China going forward as a new world order emerges.  Also, as this crisis passes what can we do to make sure it doesn’t happen again? Finally, Kaiser discusses how we’ve flip flopped on how we view technology and other governments.  Is technology a tool of revolution? (Arab Spring) or of control (WeChat contact tracking apps). Sinica Podcast:  https://supchina.com/series/sinica/ Something Ventured:  www.somethingventured.us

Joe Garofoli is the Senior Political Writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, and host of the “It’s All Political” podcasts.  He recently broke the story of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which ultimately led to the resignation of the Acting Secretary of the Navy.  In this episode we discuss the political implications of the COVID outbreak, and how Donald Trump is (not) doing in managing the crisis.  We discuss the next moves for candidate Joe Biden and now-former candidate Bernie Sanders. Also discussed is the performance of California Governor Gavin Newsom and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and how their styles differ. Finally we discuss the implications for the California economy, and Silicon Valley in particular. https://projects.sfchronicle.com/tools/podcasts/ www.somethingventured.us

Mike Stutz is a Hollywood producer, director and writer.  He’s worked across genres, and recently has focused on reality TV (Animal Planet, Discovery Network, etc.) In this episode, Mike discusses the impact of COVID-19 on Hollywood:  How it affects writers, producers and even standup comics. We also discuss: What happened when Mike decided to leave Los Angeles for Arkansas and political protest when you can’t gather. Finally – we end on a positive note (really!) about how to address depression and suicide when everyone is isolated. Mike on Twitter:  @suicideblows Mike on Instagram:  @resistanceclown Mike’s Fairytale video:  https://vimeo.com/400062533 Something Ventured website:  www.somethingventured.us

(Note this episode was recorded before the current Coronavirus crisis) Matt Hulett is President of Rosetta Stone – one of the largest language learning companies in the world.  Long known for its striking yellow boxes of CDs (those CDs are now a thing of the past, BTW), Rosetta helps people learn almost any language from any mobile device or computer, at their own pace. Matt came to Rosetta Stone after stints at Expedia, Atom Entertainment and RealNetworks. Where he worked for famous internet execs like Rob Glaser and Barry Diller. In this episode we discuss Matt’s early interaction with computers (including his experiences with Telnet and Sun workstations!).  We discuss his path to becoming a public company CEO, and the difference in running turnarounds, startups and big brands. We also discuss no less than the state of literary education in the US and how Lexia Learning helps kids learn to read.  Matt shares a few of his leadership lessons, and discusses how he keeps Rosetta stone out of the tricky politics

Paul-Henri Ferrand is the Chief Operating Officer of Brex. Brex, the corporate card that accelerates entrepreneurs and scaling businesses, is founded by Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi, two engineers who previously founded Pagar.me, a Brazil payment processing company. Brex has raised $315M in equity and $510M in debt, and is backed by the co-founders of PayPal (Max Levchin and Peter Thiel), Y Combinator, Ribbit Capital, Greenoaks Capital, DST Global, IVP, and Carl Pascarella (former CEO of Visa). Before becoming COO of Brex, Paul-Henri was President, Global Customer Operations for Google Cloud, and before that President of Dell US. In this episode, Paul-Henri discusses why he moved from leading an enormous public company, to helping execute at a startup.  He contrasts the cultures of the various companies – Dell, Google and Brex,  and discusses what it means to “consumerize finance”.  We also discuss why immigrants (Paul-Henri is an immigrant to the US, as are with both founders of Brex) find the US s

Brianne Kimmel is a newly minted venture capitalist.  She didn’t join a venture fund: She started her own. Her fund ⁠— Work Life Ventures ⁠— invests in new technologies and services for your work life.    Work today has a whole new meaning: it's social w/ Slack, flexible w/ Zoom and approachable through low-code and no-code tools for anyone with an idea to build something.   Brianne's recent investments range from enterprise software (i.e. developer productivity tools) to creator tools that help anyone launch their own course, jewelry line or creative business.  Brianne has been an angel investor on evenings and weekends, had a YC company, and scaled Zendesk from a single product to multi-product platform.  She started her career building influencer programs for Nikon, then scaled into Head of Social Media at Expedia — in Sydney, Hong Kong and Silicon Valley.  But Brianne’s path to Silicon Valley wasn’t obvious.  She started out in northeast Ohio, started attended Kent State while she was in high school and s

Do you know why we download podcasts, but stream video?  This is the podcast that tells the story. Jeff Macpherson is founder of AR/VR training company Motive.io.  But before that – he created and acted in “Tiki Bar TV”. If you don’t know what that is, you can -- and should -- find it at TikiBarTV.com.  Tiki Bar TV was at the red-hot center of the early video wars – which were at one point a knife-fight between Apple and YouTube. “Tiki Bar TV” caught the eye of Steve Jobs, and ended up being featured in one of Jobs’ famous onstage product unveilings. In this episode we talk about the arc of video on the Internet, what it’s like getting the call that Steve Jobs wants to include you in his presentation, and what it’s like to collaborate with Tosca Musk, Lala and Johnny Johnny.  We also discuss how web series have changed, and early BBS culture. www.motive.io www.somethingventured.us @drtiki on Twitter

In honor of Keller's recent warmly received recent talk at Jackson Square ventures -- here she is again! ----- Keller Fitzsimmons is the author of Lost in Startuplandia: Wayfinding for the Weary Entrepreneur.  She gives lie to the idea that entrepreneurship is a thrilling, lucrative adventure.  All is great, of course, until things go horribly wrong. “As crisis after crisis hits, even the most seasoned founder can get disoriented. Whether you're in the throes of business woes or just getting into the game, E. Keller Fitzsimmons has written a field guide outlining the terrain to help you avoid getting Lost in Startuplandia.” Keller is a serial tech entrepreneur, artist, and mother of two. She is the cofounder of Custom Reality Services, a virtual reality production company whose first two projects, Across the Line (2016) and Ashe '68 (2019), premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Keller is the recipient of the Silvertip PwC Entrepreneurship Award and Speech Technology's Luminary Award. Her work has been publ

Marco Zappacosta is a co-Founder & CEO of Thumbtack, a startup that lets people find local professionals for “pretty much anything”.  Thumbtack has raised over $400 million and is valued at well over $1 billion.  Investors include Sequoia Capital, Cyan Banister, Jason Calcanis and brothers Ali and Hadi Partovi.  Marco has been recognized by Forbes as top “30 under 30” entrepreneur, and Thumbtack is recognized as one of Fortune's "Great Place to Work".   In this episode, Marco discusses how he built Thumbtack, and what it’s like to transition from overseeing a small team, to hundreds of people.  He talks about how Thumbtack is succeeding where others failed – getting liquidity in local services   We also discuss how Thumbtack enables local ‘entrepreneurs’ to build their business on its platform, and find a market for their traditional or unique service.  Finally we cover what structural changes are needed in the US economy to enable ‘gig’ workers, and why he’s been interested in the state of Social Sec

Chris Douvos has a rare job.  There are very few venture capitalists in the world.  There’s an even more scarce job, however:  Several ‘fund-of-funds” exist that provide capital to venture capital firms, and a path into venture capital for large institutions that want to invest in Silicon Valley.  Chris Douvos’ Ahoy Capital is one of those funds. In this wide-ranging discussion, Chris tells us how he made his way up and through a history major to his current profession.  We talk about what Chris has seen from his unique perch in Silicon Valley:  What has changed, what he sees in the future.  Chris explains how he became an early investor in superstar venture firms like First Round and DCVC, and why he didn’t invest in the equally successful Baseline Ventures. Also quoted are Walt Whitman, and at least one Greek Philosopher  If you don’t know Chris – meet him on this episode! Ahoy Capital https://www.ahoycap.com   Something Ventured https://somethingventured.us     

Mike Maples, Jr. is Founder and General Partner of Floodgate, a seed investing firm that has made early investments in companies like Twitter, Demandforce and Lyft.  He was #12 on the 2018 “Midas List” of top venture capitalists. The seed investing trend he identified has become, literally, an entire category of investors.  He is also the host of his own podcast – Starting Greatness. In this episode of Something Ventured we talk about Mike’s path to Silicon Valley, the investing opportunity he saw here, and how it has changed over time.  He explains terms like ‘earned secret’ and “thunder lizard”, and the overarching importance of “why now”. If you’d like to get to know Mike Maples, Jr. – don’t miss this episode, and listen to his new podcast – Starting Greatness. Starting Greatness podcast https://medium.com/starting-greatness Floodgate https://floodgate.com Something Ventured https://somethingventured.us 

David Hornik is a partner at August Capital. He is also the much-loved creator and executive producer of “The Lobby”.  In preparing for this podcast, a number of people expressed sincere affection for David, The Lobby, and the relationships it has fostered.  In this episode David explains what the Lobby is, and where the idea came from.  In addition to The Lobby, David started (with his colleagues) the first venture capital blog, VentureBlog, and the first venture capital podcast, VentureCast. He has been honored by Forbes Magazine as a member of its Midas List of top Venture Capitalists. As a venture capitalist, David over the last 20 years has worked closely with technology companies to help them grow and prosper. David joined August Capital in 2000 to invest in a broad range of software companies. Since that time, he has invested in dozens of companies across the software spectrum, including a number of enterprise software and SaaS (e.g, Splunk, Fastly, GitLab), consumer services (e.g., Evite, Ebates, Drop

Joe Garofoli is the Senior Political Writer for the San Francisco Chronicle.  He is also host of the San Francisco Chronicle podcast “It’s All Political”.  Guests on “It’s All Political” recently have included California Governor Gavin Newsom, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and a “Who’s Who” of Democratic presidential hopefuls. Very few people have Joe Garofoli’s unique perch – here in San Francisco in the heart of Silicon Valley – to view California and National politics through the lens of Silicon Valley.  In this podcast he takes us “behind the scenes” of the current state of California and National US politics. We talk about everything from the recent wildfires in California, to the relationship between Governor Gavin Newsom and President Donald Trump, to what issues you REALLY should be paying attention to in the upcoming California ballots. Joe Garofoli on Twitter: https://twitter.com/joegarofoli Kent Lindstrom on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentlind  Joe Garofoli at SFGate: https://www.sfgate.com/author/

Ryan Petersen founded Flexport to make the world a more connected and better place.  He wanted to “fix the user experience in global trade”.  It’s been quite a success so far.  To date – the company has raised $1.3  billion, and Paul Graham, the founder of Y Combinator, told Bloomberg News, "There will be more international trade because of Flexport and international trade is a very big thing for there to be more of".   Before starting Flexport, Ryan was co-founder and CEO of ImportGenius.com, a data-as-a-service business for global shipping. He holds a degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from Columbia University. In this wide-ranging discussion, we cover Ryan's path to becoming an entrepreneur and why he thought international trade needing shaking up.  He talks about the early days of Flexport, building a strong excutive team to compliment his strenghts and how his role as a CEO and the company have scaled through each stage of growth.  Also discussed are the current tr

Josh Felser co-founded and sold two companies -- Spinner and Grouper – for a combined value of nearly $400 million.  Then, he and his partner, Dave Samuel, started one of Silicon Valley’s most successful seed venture funds – Freestyle.   Freestyle has backed companies like Airtable, Intercom, BetterUp, Patreon and Wag. In this wide-ranging discussion, Josh talks about building Spinner and the nail-biting moment an acquirer asked him “what’s your number”.  We also cover Josh’s rebuttal to Kent’s previous episode on Burning Man, and how Josh first met California’s governor, Gavin Newsom.   Other topics include mental health in Silicon Valley, and how to support women and people of color in Silicon Valley.  Also included is some music advice for podcaster Harry Stebbings. Freestyle http://freestyle.vc Burning Man https://burningman.org Rush https://www.rush.com/band/

Dan Scheinman is one of the best investors – and nicest people – you may not have heard of…yet.  But you should know him, because he has become a force in Silicon Valley.  After running Corporate Development at Cisco, Dan became an investor.  Investing his own capital, he has backed from the earliest stages firms like Zoom, Arista, SentinalOne and CyCognito.  These companies are now collectively worth tens of billions of dollars. We briefly discuss the passing of Sequoia Capital Founder and Cisco Board Chairman Don Valentine and his legacy.  We talk about the ups and downs at Cisco – which at various times has been the most valuable company in the world.  Dan talks about how to find true outliers in tech companies, and what it means to be truly ‘contrarian’.  We discuss ageism in Silicon Valley, and why investing in women, people of color and those over 35 is an investing advantage.  Dan tells the story of how he became the first investor in video conferencing company Zoom – which is now valued at nearly $20