This is it—the very first episode of We The Builders. Earlier this year, I sat down with Shahin Farshchi in LA. He is a General Partner at Lux Capital, a venture fund with $5B AUM. To kick us off, who better than the man who was investing in hard tech 18 years before it was cool:
Shahin has invested in companies manufacturing in space (Varda), building autonomous transportation systems (Zoox), providing robots as a service (Formic), automating industries (Covariant), using space to revolutionize the Earth observation industry (Planet), 3D printing rockets (Relativity Space) and many more.
The Jetsons Future I thought I would be living in 2025 is partly being built. We have a long way to go but this is exactly how we inspire the next generation. If someone from 1900 woke up and read this, they would call it science fiction. Thank you Shahin, for believing in and being a partner to these incredible companies and founders.
Shahin is an incredibly kind soul, helpful, accessible and a role model for younger aspiring venture capitalists. From what I have personally observed and heard from friends building companies, he will cheer you on and have incredible empathy for the fact that you had the courage to build. In many cases, more than capital, that is what you need most.
Hope you enjoy the conversation!
Follow on X:
Highlights & Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
02:13 Berkeley to Iran in teenage
05:01 Adapting to different education systems
09:05 Early transformative experiences
14:49 Mentors and role models
18:20 On breaking into research labs and flipping rejections
25:01 Story of getting into grad school, applying for funding, and early research
32:41 Going from research to venture capital
34:50 Commercializing his research and starting a company
38:04 Thoughts on ingredients of a good startup
45:11 Where do the best founders come from
50:34 Why PhDs are not equipped to commercialize
1:02 Breakthrough innovation timeline
1:05 Solving for shareholder demand
1:10:22 How to think about what problem to solve
1:14:10 State of the education system
Watch on YouTube here:
P.S. Huge thanks to Mark and the Bonfire Ventures team for hosting this recording in Brentwood!
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wethebuilders.us
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.