Investing in Startups
Investing In Startups explores the strategies and stories of leading early-stage venture capitalists. The show is for VCs, angels, founders, operators, and the startup-curious. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just dipping your toes into startups, this podcast is your guide to navigating this dynamic ecosystem. The show is hosted by Joe Magyer, Founder and Managing Partner of Seaplane Ventures.
Episodes
We're trying something new with our first roundtable! Our guests are Sonia Nagar from SNAK Venture Partners and Colin Gardiner from Yonder Ventures. Sonia and Colin are both early-stage investors, friends of mine, and experts on marketplaces and network effects. We talked about AI’s role in marketplaces, why network effects aren’t more popular (even though they should be), how to make your own luck, what it’s...
Our guest this week is Hunter Walk, Co-Founder of Homebrew and Screendoor. Hunter has a deep background in product, including from his time at Google and YouTube, but is best known for his investing. Homebrew’s big wins over the years include Chime, Plaid, Gusto, Cruise, and more. We talked about trust and context, product, funnel math, investing life after LPs, and why Hunter isn’t as fussy these days about ...
Joe Magyer is the host of Investing in Startups, but his real job is running his early-stage boutique, Seaplane Ventures. In this episode, Joe is interviewed by his friend Owen Raszkiewicz, Founder and CIO of Rask Group and host of the Australian Investors Podcast. Joe talked why he made the move from public to private markets, how small firms can compete with big firms, the current venture landscape, putting...
Jackie DiMonte is the Cofounder and General Partner of Grid Capital. We talked about power laws, investing with conviction, how to help founders in their earliest stages, small funds vs. big funds, and whether pre-seed valuations really are mental. We spoke in depth about:
- Why Pre/Seed (not just “pre-seed”). Jackie sees pre/seed as a continuum...
Morgan Flager is the Managing Partner of Silverton Partners. Silverton is an early-stage firm that has had more than 30 companies IPO or get acquired. We talked about the art and science of portfolio construction, when to bend on price, and which of team, product, or market is most important. We also dove into:
Silverton’s “early PMF” lane. Sweet spot...
Rex Salisbury is the Founder and General Partner of fintech-focused Cambrian Ventures. We talked about how Rex built a big community and following in the fintech world, why fintech startups are on a roll, disruption versus partnership, and how the venture world is evolving.
Other topics include:
- The Bay Area fosters a unique culture of openness a...
Charles Hudson is the Managing Partner and Founder of Precursor Ventures. Precursor is a generalist pre-seed firm based in San Francisco that invests in startups from all over. We talked about the importance of founder-centric investing, portfolio construction, and the balancing act of taking money off the table with winners. Charles has made over 400 investments at Precursor and has a lot of insights to draw...
David Cohen is the CEO and Cofounder of Techstars. Techstars is one of the OGs of startup accelerators, investing in almost 5,000 startups since Techstars was founded in 2006. David himself is a serial entrepreneur who was the founding CEO at Techstars, later stepped back from that role, and then returned as CEO in 2024. We talked about the problems that Techstars solves for founders, how vibe-coding affects ...
Gigi Levy-Weiss is a serial founder and a Founding Partner at NFX. NFX is an early-stage firm that has established itself as one of leading experts in network effects. We talked about network effects, AI agents, the importance of speed of exectuion, why first-mover advantages are overrated, and how NFX has built its own brand, systems, and network effects.
We also covered:
...
Josh Muccio is the Founder of Read more
Shawn Merani is the Founder and Managing Partner of Parade Ventures. Parade is a seed stage venture firm with an affinity for enterprise software. We talked about the state of seed investing, relationships, observing vs. predicting, cheating, AI and a huge win Shawn had recently with the acquisition of Moveworks. Shawn is a sharp guy and this was a really fun conversation. Please enjoy.
...
Jason Freedman is a serial founder and General Partner at Read more
Our guest this week is Jamie Melzer, Managing Partner at Altra Venture Partners. Altra invests in late-stage and pre-IPO venture-backed startups via secondaries. Jamie took us on a behind-the-scenes tour of the secondary market, how it works, why it is relevant to early stage investors and founders, and where the market is heading. This was the first time we’ve talked about secondaries on Investing in Startup...
Our guest this week is Itamar Novick, Founder of Recursive Ventures. Itamar is a solo capitalist with a focus on pre-seed startups built around data and AI. We talked about the opportunities and challenges that AI presents, anti-patterns to avoid in startups, winning deals, and why Itamar thinks that most VCs do NOT add value to startups. Itamar has been a founder, executive, and investor, so this was a really thou...
Our guest this week is Tyler Norwood, Managing Partner for Antler in the US. Antler is the world’s most active seed investor backing founders at the inception stage from all over. We talked about the impact of vibe coding, the traits that Tyler sees in Antler’s most successful founders, why timing matters, and the value of surrounding yourself with other builders. Please enjoy.
Here are some bullets ...
Our guest this week is Han Shen, Founding Partner of iFly.vc. iFly is an early-stage firm with a non-consensus, high-conviction approach to investing. Han himself is a very successful investor but also matches that success with equal levels of modesty and empathy. We talked about investing in non-consensus startups in an industry that is very consensus-driven, the vibe shift, investing with conviction, and how Han ...
Ethan Austin is the Founder and General Partner of Outside VC. Outside is a Boulder-based firm with a focus on pre-seed startups, outsider founders, and financial inclusion. We talked about why Ethan whether investors should be friends with founders, fintech, what it was like running Techstars Boulder during Covid, and life as a solo GP. We dove further into the following topics:
- Origin Story is ...
Mark Peter Davis is the Managing Partner of Interplay Ventures. Interplay is a venture capital firm, but also an incubator and family office. Mark himself is a serial entrepreneur and also the host of the Innovation with Mark Peter Davis podcast, which is a great listen for founders. We talked about the mix of geopolitics and startups, what Mark needs to see from startups to invest, why ideas still matter, and advi...
Elizabeth Yin is a General Partner at Hustle Fund. Hustle Fund invests in “hilariously early” startups in the US and beyond. We talked about Elizabeth’s favorite questions to ask founders, navigating disagreements in a healthy way, AI, the art of pitching, and why VCs should be a little more patient with founders. I really enjoyed this one and hope you do as well.
Takeaways:
Transparent...
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