With a few dozen software exits under his belt (including Box, Square, Mulesoft & JFrog), nobody knows enterprise investing like Sapphire Ventures’ President + PartnerJai Das. Likewise, Floodgate co-founder + Partner Mike Maples Jr. is often credited with pioneering seed investing as we know it, with names like Twitter, Twitch and Lyft in his portfolio. Together, they join Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures, and Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners, to share how they pick winners at their respective stages. What does it take to spot someone who sees the future before it’s here? How do inflection points like AI impact an investor’s thesis? And are there more opportunities in the market for VCs today? Plus, Jai and Mike discuss the one throughline from seed to growth to lead to a successful exit: the management team.
Learn more about Sapphire Partners: sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partners
Learn more about OpenLP: openlp.vc
Learn more about Asylum Ventures: asylum.vc
Learn more about Sapphire Ventures: sapphireventures.com
Learn more about Floodgate: floodgate.com
Subscribe to the OpenLP newsletter for a monthly roundup of the latest venture insights, including the newest Origins episodes, delivered straight to your inbox.
CHAPTERS:
0:00-Introduction & the Burning Question4:08-Intro to Sapphire Ventures
6:02-Intro to Floodgate7:56-Setting the Stage at Seed
10:30-Inflection Points: We're Going Through a Sea Change of Mass Cognition
13:43-What’s Happening at the Growth Stage
15:17-More Choice in the Market
16:10-Importance of Management Team
17:44-Mike’s New Book “Pattern Breakers”
23:09-The Three Things Floodgate Looks for in a Founder
25:25-Founder Future Fit & Pivots
27:56-In Enterprise Software, You Don’t Always Have to Build a New Category29:52-AI: Over-Valued? Under-Valued?
32:50-Is There Anything Left in AI Non-Consensus?
34:37-How Sapphire Approaches GenAI Investing
37:31-The Exit Market Today
44:10-How to Approach Founder Liquidity
Popular Podcasts
Boysober
Have you ever wondered what life might be like if you stopped worrying about being wanted, and focused on understanding what you actually want? That was the question Hope Woodard asked herself after a string of situationships inspired her to take a break from sex and dating. She went "boysober," a personal concept that sparked a global movement among women looking to prioritize themselves over men. Now, Hope is looking to expand the ways we explore our relationship to relationships. Taking a bold, unfiltered look into modern love, romance, and self-discovery, Boysober will dive into messy stories about dating, sex, love, friendship, and breaking generational patterns—all with humor, vulnerability, and a fresh perspective.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com