Village Global Podcast
676 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 79 ratingsThe Village Global podcast takes you inside the world of venture capital and technology, featuring enlightening interviews with entrepreneurs, investors and tech industry leaders. Learn more at www.villageglobal.vc.
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Episodes
Consumer Social, Marketplaces, and Becoming a Better Investor with James Currier
May 11, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 56.2 MBJames Currier (@JamesCurrier), partner at NFX, joins Erik on this episode. It was recorded as part of an On Deck Angels event. They discuss: - Why founders are more authentic at the accelerator stage than at the seed stage. - Why San Francisco will remain the centre of tech in the future, just as New York and LA have remained the centre of banking and movie-making, respectively. - James’s thesis that founders in consumer social need to be a really special type of person — someone great at ...
How Tech Can Transform Education with John Katzman
May 09, 2021 20:22 - 51 minutes - 47.4 MBJohn Katzman (@johnkatzman), CEO of Noodle, joins Erik on this episode to discuss: - John’s theory that tech has had less of an impact on education than people thought it would because it’s been grafted on rather than causing a rethinking of how education is delivered. - Why the “fundamentalist capitalists” were wrong about markets solving the problems with education. - His thoughts on income share agreements. - Why any degree should always involve active learning throughout a person’s li...
Lessons Learned as an Investor and The Future of PropTech with Pete Flint
May 04, 2021 18:26 - 1 hour - 56.3 MBPete Flint (@peteflint), partner at NFX, joins Erik on this episode. It was recorded as part of an On Deck Angels event. They discuss: - Pete’s journey from Trulia to investor. - Why over time he became less focused on the idea and strategy of a team and more on the team itself and its ability to execute. - Why it’s a mistake to have a portfolio of growth channels, and why instead a company should be world-class at one channel. - His information diet. - The two phases of PropTech and the...
The State and Future of Space in 2021 with Delian Asparouhov and Chris Power
May 02, 2021 12:00 - 29 minutes - 27 MBDelian Asparouhov (@zebulgar) of Varda and Founders Fund, and Chris Power (@2112Power), founder and CEO of Hadrian, join Erik on this episode to discuss: - What they're working on and how they're bringing tech to industrial manufacturing. - How Chris navigated the idea maze with Hadrian, a company with aims to build space and defense components 2X faster. - The three types of space companies: satellite operators, launch operators, and supply chain companies. - Where they would be invest...
The State and Future of EdTech with Mercedes Bent and Anne Dwane
April 29, 2021 12:00 - 49 minutes - 45.5 MBMercedes Bent (@mercebent), partner at Lightspeed, joins Erik and co-host Anne Dwane to discuss: - What Mercedes and the EdTech space in general learned from General Assembly, a company ahead of its time. - Her market map of EdTech and why she says it should perhaps be called LearnTech rather than EdTech. - The future of community and social-driven learning, including why peer-to-peer learning is so effective. - Her thoughts on corporations as credentializers and why she hasn’t been optim...
Andrew Wilkinson’s Lessons Learned From Building Tiny
April 27, 2021 12:00 - 52 minutes - 48.1 MBAndrew Wilkinson (@awilkinson) co-founder of Tiny, was interviewed by Andrew Barry of On Deck at a special event. They discussed: - His start as a designer and how great product and design became the common thread that runs through the businesses he tries to buy. - How to think about building a moat around you when you’re an individual versus a brand. - What he means when he says he “tries to buy businesses that are like New Zealand — in the middle of nowhere, quietly successful, and away ...
Restoring The Promise of Higher Education with Richard Vedder
April 25, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 55.2 MBRichard Vedder, author of Restoring The Promise: Higher Education in America, joins Erik to discuss: - The origins of the myth that higher education is the key to career success. - The unintended consequences of student loans, including the fact that colleges raised tuition dramatically in response to the increase in borrowing. - The key pieces of government regulation that impacted higher education and why the GI Bill led to an explosion in the number of universities. - Where he agrees a...
The Future of Work in a Remote-First World with Alex Bouaziz and Yasmin Razavi
April 22, 2021 12:00 - 35 minutes - 32.7 MBYasmin Razavi (@yasminrazavi), GP at Spark Growth, and Alex Bouaziz (@ Bouazizalex), founder of Deel, join Erik on this episode to discuss: - The story of the founding of Deel and the "why now" for the business. - Advice for hiring remotely, and why you should be able to close someone in a week and a half. - What culture and team building looks like in a remote company. - How to keep remote employees from feeling like second-class citizens. - How remote work might change post-COVID. - H...
How To Grow as a Customer Success Professional with Kelly Hook
April 20, 2021 12:00 - 15 minutes - 14.3 MBKelly Hook (@KellyHook), program director of the On Deck Customer Success program, joins Erik on this episode to discuss: - How she got into customer success. - How the field of customer success got its start, just 25 years ago. - Common misconceptions about the field. - Why you need to have empathy, a collaborative spirit, and data analysis skills to be successful. - What the On Deck Customer Success program will look like and who it is for. - How customer success professionals can gro...
Super Founders: What Data Reveals About Billion-Dollar Startups with Ali Tamaseb
April 18, 2021 12:00 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MBAli Tamaseb (@alitamaseb), investor at DCVC and author of Super Founders: What Data Reveals About Billion-Dollar Startups joins Erik to discuss: - His learnings from gathering data on unicorns and comparing them to a random selection of startups that didn’t succeed. - Why the age of a founder doesn’t correlate to success. - Why successful founders aren’t necessarily solving personal problems and are often going through a deliberate ideation process. - How data could make someone a better ...
Scott Belsky’s Angel Investing Lessons and Requests For Startups
April 15, 2021 12:00 - 47 minutes - 43.7 MBScott Belsky (@scottbelsky), angel investor and Chief Product Officer at Adobe, joined Erik for an On Deck Angels event to discuss: - How he came to make his first investments in Uber and Pinterest. - How his thinking on investing has evolved and the principles he’s picked up over time. - Why being an operator-investor is the greatest opportunity in the space today, and why founders are drawn to operator angels. - Why he gravitates to the pre-momentum stage — Scott says he likes to focus ...
How To Grow as a Product Manager with Andrew Yu
April 13, 2021 12:00 - 17 minutes - 15.7 MBAndrew Yu (@andrewcyu), who is running the On Deck Product Management program, joins Erik on this episode to discuss: - His non-traditional route to becoming a product manager. (Fun fact: He recently worked on the Biden campaign and inauguration). - What the ODPM program will look like, including the “intentional networking” they have planned. - What “productizing yourself” as a product manager looks like. - How the field has evolved over time. Thanks for listening — if you like what you...
The Future of the Creator Economy, Social Media, and Internet Culture with Rex Woodbury
April 11, 2021 12:00 - 48 minutes - 44.1 MBRex Woodbury (@rex_woodbury) of Index Ventures joins Erik on this episode to discuss: - Where he’s looking to invest in the creator economy. - Why authenticity and vulnerability are replacing performative and status-driven social media. - The shift away from an ad-based model on the web. - Why we won’t see mega-celebrities like Oprah ever again. - What the financialization of culture means and how NFTs and staking fits into it. - His learnings as a student of meme culture. - The future...
Risk, Confidence, and Seriousness: Katherine Boyle’s Advice For Founders
April 08, 2021 12:00 - 47 minutes - 43.2 MBKatherine Boyle (@KTmBoyle), partner at General Catalyst, joins Erik on this episode recorded as part of an event for Villagers. Due to technical difficulties, Mustafa Khan, part of the team at Village Global, conducted the first part of the interview. They discuss: - Katherine’s focus on narrative when evaluating founders: “who’s the protagonist and what are they solving?” - The fact that Katherine doesn’t have strong frameworks for investing — for her it’s about how the story makes her fe...
The Future of Investing with Kyla Scanlon and Tom White
April 06, 2021 14:07 - 23 minutes - 21.6 MBKyla Scanlon (@kylascan) and Tom White (@ TomJWhiteIV), who are running On Deck Investing, join Erik on this episode to discuss: - Why managing your own psychology is as important as your asset allocation. - How to think about your own “life portfolio” holistically, instead of just paying attention to your investment portfolio. - Why it’s “never been a better or worse time to be an investor” and how On Deck Investing can help. - Why investing is like a liberal art, and how you can become ...
The Scout Mindset with Julia Galef
April 04, 2021 12:00 - 55 minutes - 50.9 MBJulia Galef (@juliagalef), author of The Scout Mindset, joins Erik on this episode to discuss: - Why everyone, including entrepreneurs, should want to see reality more clearly. - The fact that the bottleneck to more rationality is not lack of knowledge, but lack of motivation to see the world as it really is. - Why the “soldier mindset” is the default mindset and why signalling keeps it that way. - Why thinking probabilistically has a calming psychological effect. - How to adopt the scou...
Navigating Your Startup Through a Crisis with Pete Flint
April 01, 2021 12:00 - 48 minutes - 44.8 MBPete Flint (@peteflint), partner at NFX, joins Erik on this episode. It was recorded as part of an event for Villagers. They discuss: - How to gain ground in a downturn as a startup by doubling down on the things that are working. - Lessons from starting Trulia during the Great Recession, when no one was buying homes. - How and why to “turn all fixed costs to variable costs.” - Ideas for how to do teambuilding in an all-remote environment. - Predictions for the future of work post-COVID....
The State of Direct-To-Consumer in 2021 with Austin Rief and Nik Sharma
March 30, 2021 12:00 - 42 minutes - 38.7 MBAustin Rief (@austin_rief), co-founder of Morning Brew, and Nik Sharma (@mrsharma), investor, advisor, and operator at Sharma Brands, join Erik to discuss: - Their direct-to-consumer investment theses. - Interesting ways that media companies are starting to get into commerce, like the hockey podcast that created a bestselling flavored vodka. - Why it's a "game of audience in the direct-to-consumer world." They say that distribution is the key now. - The difference between community and fa...
Justin Kan on Happiness, Hiring, and Time Management
March 28, 2021 14:55 - 56 minutes - 51.9 MBJustin Kan (@justinkan), investor and entrepreneur, joins Erik on this episode. It was recorded as part of a special event for Villagers. They discuss: - The evolution of how Justin approached mental health. - His playbook for being happier. - Why he decided to pull the plug at Atrium with money in the bank. - Why you should “go slow to go fast later” when you’re running an early-stage company. - How to know if you’re hiring at the right speed. - Why you should regularly do a calendar a...
How No-Code is Enabling Entrepreneurship and the Creator Economy with Emmanuel Straschnov and KP
March 25, 2021 12:00 - 28 minutes - 26.5 MBEmmanuel Straschnov (@estraschnov), founder and co-CEO of Bubble, and KP (@thisiskp_) of On Deck, join Erik on this episode to discuss: - The story of Bubble, which was founded in 2012. - How no-code is changing the creation process for startups and the fact that they've seen companies raise millions of dollars without a single engineer. - The phases of the evolution of no-code. - Why they hope that in five years people don't talk about no-code as a separate category anymore. - Some of t...
The 2020s, Economic Growth, and Deep Tech with Eli Dourado
March 23, 2021 12:00 - 53 minutes - 48.8 MBEli Dourado (@elidourado) of the Center for Growth and Opportunity, joins Erik on this episode to discuss: - Why Eli wants to radically increase GDP per capita and the current bottlenecks to achieving that. - Why he thinks the 2020s will be the decade of atoms. - Why amazing scientific breakthroughs like CRISPR haven't translated into new products or treatments. - Why he's excited about geothermal power and how it could change geopolitics if its potential is realized. - His breakdown of ...
The Future of Sleep Fitness with Matteo Franceschetti of Eight Sleep
March 21, 2021 12:00 - 23 minutes - 21.6 MBMatteo Franceschetti (@m_franceschetti), founder and CEO at Eight Sleep, joins Erik on this episode to discuss: - The differences between deep, light, and REM sleep, and how to "compress sleep" so that it takes up less time. - The new wave of predictive health and how Eight Sleep fits into it. - His thoughts on the book Why We Sleep. - The importance of temperature and how it affects sleep. - Where he would be investing if he was running a fund focused on the category. - How they think ...
Crypto, Gaming, and Space with Alice Lloyd George
March 18, 2021 12:00 - 39 minutes - 36.3 MBAlice Lloyd George (@alice__LG), VC at Rogue, joins Erik on this episode to discuss: - Why she loves studying Silicon Valley history and what she's learned from it. - What she's learned being part of the crypto community since 2013. - Why she's excited about the current crypto wave and her assessment of the impacts of NFTs. - Where she's excited in climate tech. - New opportunities arising in space after the cost to reach low-earth orbit went down by 90% in the last decade. - The fact t...
Accelerating The Talent of The Future with Shriya Nevatia and Anirudh Pai
March 16, 2021 12:00 - 25 minutes - 23.8 MBShriya Nevatia (@shriyanevatia) and Anirudh Pai (@ani_pai) of On Deck Catalyst join Erik on this episode to discuss: - Why you should look for a mentor a few steps ahead of you rather than seeking out the most successful person you can think of. - Why young people need to remember that the people around them at their level can teach them a lot and will become the next unicorn founders — probably sooner than you think. - Erik's breakdown of the career version of the Innovator's Dilemma and ...
The Business of Belonging with David Spinks
March 14, 2021 12:00 - 52 minutes - 48.3 MBDavid Spinks (@DavidSpinks), author of The Business of Belonging, joins Erik on this episode to discuss: - The evolution of the different movements in this space, from customer service to customer success to community. - How to make your users feel like they’re a part of the business. - His requests for startups in the space. - How to earn the trust of your users. - How to get a community off the ground. - How to enable your community to engage itself. - What to do when excitement wane...
The State and Future of NFTs with Cooper Turley
March 11, 2021 13:00 - 38 minutes - 34.9 MBCooper Turley (@Cooopahtroopa), head of crypto strategy at Audius, joins Erik on this episode. They discuss: - How he got into the space and how it has evolved over the last few years. - Why NFTs are taking off now. - The market map of the different players in the space at the moment. - How a personal token works. - Advice for people doing an NFT. - How NFTs will reshape the music industry. - His predictions for the future of NFTs. - How tokens will become equity. Thanks for listenin...
Unbundling Higher Education with Megan O’Connor
March 09, 2021 13:00 - 43 minutes - 39.9 MBMegan O’Connor (@MeganMOConnor), Head of Strategic Partnerships at Chegg, joins Erik on this episode to discuss: - What she saw change in education when the pandemic hit. - Whether incumbent universities will adapt to a more value-oriented student. - How to unbundle a credential. - The idea of digital guilds. - What Megan would do if she was building a brand new university today. - The state of homeschooling. - The prospects of a Facebook University or Walmart University. Thanks for l...
The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life with Luke Burgis
March 07, 2021 13:00 - 52 minutes - 47.8 MBLuke Burgis (@lukeburgis), author of Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life joins Erik on this episode to discuss: - How he’s making the audience for Rene Girard’s work bigger. - Why innovation became high status while imitation was high status earlier in history. - What is most often misunderstood about mimetic desire. - The difference between internal and external mediators. - What all this has to do with entrepreneurship. - How leaders can manage mimesis in their compa...
Secrets of Public Speaking and Oral Communication from Renowned Speaking Coach
March 04, 2021 13:00 - 42 minutes - 39 MBMichael Balaoing, founder of Candlelion, joins Ben Casnocha on this episode to discuss: - The importance of the acronym WTF (what’s the feeling?) when you’re giving a presentation. - The four roles that you take on as a speaker: captain, pilot, guide, and game show host. - The five questions to ask when seeking feedback on a presentation. - How to keep the audience engaged throughout a talk, not just during the Q&A at the end. - How to bake stories into your presentations and remix your ...
Transforming Higher Education with Ryan Craig and Daniel Pianko
March 02, 2021 13:00 - 52 minutes - 47.6 MBRyan Craig (@ryancraigap) and Daniel Pianko (@danielpianko) of Achieve Partners join Erik on this episode to discuss: - The multiple crises in higher education: of affordability, of completion, and of employability. - Why there doesn’t yet exist a Walmart University. - Why they think that big companies will be some of the great educational institutions of the 21st century. - Their thoughts on ISAs. - What they would change if they could change anything about higher ed. - How to fix the ...
Relationship Coaching, Bloated MVPs, and Evaluating Startup Ideas with Liron Shapira
February 28, 2021 13:00 - 39 minutes - 35.9 MBLiron Shapira (@liron), co-founder of Relationship Hero, joins Erik on this episode to discuss: - How they are creating a new industry and new a field of study in relationships. - Why people are becoming more goal-oriented and analytical in general in society and how this applies to dating and relationships. - His thoughts on unbundling venture capital. - The bloated MVP thesis and the idea of a “Great Filter” for startups. - Misconceptions that people have about building an MVP. - The ...
Making It Easier For Startups To Get Started with Capbase with Greg Miaskiewicz and Sheel Mohnot
February 25, 2021 13:00 - 38 minutes - 35.5 MBSheel Mohnot (@pitdesi), and Greg Miaskiewicz (@miaskiewicz), join Erik on this episode. Sheel is a Network Leader at Village Global, and Greg is CEO and co-founder of Capbase. They discuss: - How Capbase can help streamline the workflows involved in getting a company off the ground. - How Greg navigated the idea maze and validated his hypothesis. - Why there should be more transparency in investing and startups. - The pros and cons of transparency within a company. - Ethical investing....
The Future of the US Dollar as the Global Reserve Currency with Lyn Alden, Nic Carter, Brent Johnson, and Luke Gromen
February 23, 2021 16:34 - 1 hour - 67.6 MBErik is joined on this episode, recorded as part of a Big Ideas Clubhouse, by: - Lyn Alden (@LynAldenContact), founder of Lyn Alden Investment Strategy - Nic Carter (@nic__carter), partner at Castle Island Ventures - Brent Johnson of Santiago Capital - Luke Gromen (@LukeGromen), founder of Forest for the Trees - Katherine Boyle (@KTmBoyle), partner at General Catalyst - Dan Romero (@dwr), angel investor They discuss: - Whether the US dollar being the global reserve currency has led to...
Principles of Product Management and Growth Marketing from Legendary PM Who Helped Build LinkedIn, Wealthfront, and Instacart
February 20, 2021 13:00 - 47 minutes - 43.6 MBElliot Shmukler (@eshmu), of Anomalo, joins Ben Casnocha on the podcast to discuss: - How growth marketing has evolved over the last decade or so since he was an early pioneer of the field at LinkedIn in 2008. - What people misunderstand about A/B testing, and the right way to go about it. - Why he doesn’t like the term “growth hacking.” - Why people should both be more humble and more ambitious with their growth marketing program. - Lessons from his time at LinkedIn, eBay, Wealthfront, ...
The New Frontiers in Fintech with Sar Haribhakti
February 16, 2021 16:48 - 28 minutes - 26 MBSar Haribhakti (@sarthakgh), program lead for On Deck Fintech, joins Erik on this episode to discuss: - How fintech has evolved over time, from PayPal to Stripe to now. - How fintech is different from other areas in tech. - The most frontier themes in fintech today. - Why the lines between what is fintech and what isn’t are blurring. - How On Deck has been expanding opportunity for people. - Sar’s experience going from outsider to insider in fintech. - The biggest misconceptions people...
Founder Tips, Focus, and Fintech with Santiago Suarez, CEO Addi.com
February 16, 2021 03:55 - 21 minutes - 20 MBSantiago Suarez (@SantiaSua), co-founder and CEO of ADDI, joins Village Global co-founder and partner Anne Dwane on this episode. They discuss: - What he wish he knew when he started ADDI. - Why hustle alone has never made a company successful, and why he says it’s necessary but not sufficient. - His experience going through the Village Global Accelerator, and now mentoring founders in the program. - Where he’s looking to invest in fintech. - Startups he would like to exist that don’t ye...
Learning in Public with Anna Gat and Anne-Laure Le Cunff
February 13, 2021 17:25 - 54 minutes - 50 MBAnna Gat (@TheAnnaGat), founder of Interintellect, and Anne-Laure Le Cunff (@anthilemoon), founder of Ness Labs, join Erik on this episode to discuss: - What it’s like putting on virtual events in the COVID era. - The difference between public and private language. - How to scale a community while keeping it human, including the best tools to use. - The importance of documentation in community-building. - The community architect role. - How to think about which topics are off-limits for...
Transforming Metabolic Fitness with Josh Clemente of Levels
February 11, 2021 13:00 - 25 minutes - 23.5 MBJosh Clemente (@joshuasforrest), founder of Levels, joins Erik on this episode to discuss: - The personal story that led him to start the company. - The fact that most people in America are metabolically unhealthy and what Levels is doing about it. - How they are taking huge amounts of complex data and distilling it down to a single score. - The history of nutrition research and the debates in the space. - What’s coming up from Levels. *The deadline to get your application in for the sp...
How To Build a Health Tech Company with Owen Willis and Nikhil Krishnan
February 09, 2021 13:00 - 26 minutes - 24.1 MBOwen Willis (@jowenwillis), lead of the On Deck Health Tech Fellowship, and Nikhil Krishnan (@nikillinit) of Out-of-Pocket, join Erik on this episode to discuss: - How health has evolved from a historical perspective. - How the environment has changed for companies in the space in the last decade. - Common misconceptions about building a company in healthcare. - Why in healthcare no one cares about reducing costs but instead only about increasing revenue. - The purpose of the fellowship ...
Tether, Bitcoin Double-Spend Allegations, and The Weaponization of the Market with David Fauchier
February 07, 2021 13:00 - 42 minutes - 38.9 MBDavid Fauchier (@dfauchier), of Nickel Digital Asset Management, joins Erik on this episode to discuss: - The philosophy at Nickel Digital and the strategies they’re looking to back. - A primer on market making. - His thoughts on the Tether controversy. - His explanation of the allegations of Bitcoin double-spending and the cascade of effects from it. - An explanation of the self-reinforcing market dynamics in the GameStop saga. - What changes and what doesn’t because of GameStop, and h...
What the Science of Relationships Can Teach Founders with Behavioral Scientist Logan Ury
February 04, 2021 13:00 - 44 minutes - 40.8 MBLogan Ury (@loganury), Director of Relationship Science at Hinge and author of How To Not Die Alone, joins Erik on this episode to discuss: - Why a great relationship is really just a culmination of a series of small decisions, and how to be “intentional every step of the way.” - How the three dating tendencies apply to cofounders as well as to romantic partners. - What leads to external CEO candidates being paid more but performing worse than internal ones. - Why life is happier for sati...
How To Create a Successful Online Course with Andrew Barry
February 02, 2021 13:00 - 19 minutes - 18.1 MBAndrew Barry (@Bazzaruto), program director for On Deck Course Creators, joins Erik on this episode to discuss: - The history of online courses and why they’ve exploded in the past few years. - What the On Deck Course Creators program is and what people can expect to get out of it. - The two key things you need to get right when creating an online course. - Common misconceptions that people have about what it takes to build one. - How to think about monetization. - The future of the ODC...
Investing in New Asset Classes and The Future of Venture with Ali Hamed and Brian Harwitt
January 31, 2021 13:00 - 54 minutes - 50 MBAli Hamed (@AliBHamed) and Brian Harwitt (@bharwitt) of CoVenture join Erik on this episode to discuss: - Their new fund, Crossbeam Venture Partners, and what they’re investing in. - The types of new asset classes they’re looking at and why these are often “a better version of something old school.” - Their thoughts on investing in creators. - The merits of equity vs. other forms of capital from a founder’s perspective. - Why they’re excited about roll-ups. - How venture is evolving and...
Online Communities, Hardware, and Investing Frameworks with Nabeel Hyatt
January 28, 2021 13:00 - 49 minutes - 45.7 MBNabeel Hyatt (@nabeel), investor at Spark Capital, joins Erik on this episode. It was recorded as part of an On Deck Angels event. They discuss: - His path to becoming an investor. - Why he likens being a VC to being a middle manager at a large conglomerate company. - How he thinks about frameworks for investing. - How to quickly get up to speed on spaces that are new to you as an investor. - Why there are so few hardware companies at scale and why he’s investing in the space. - Why he’...
How To Become a Great Speaker and Storyteller with Robbie Crabtree
January 26, 2021 13:00 - 35 minutes - 32.7 MBRobbie Crabtree (@robbiecrab), founder of On Deck Performative Speaking, joins Erik on this episode to discuss: - The importance of conveying emotion to an audience. - Communicating in a Zoom world. - How he uses pop culture as inspiration. - Common misconceptions people have about being a great speaker. - The ingredients of a great story. - What people can expect to learn during the On Deck Performative Speaking Fellowship. Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please re...
Cloudflare Co-Founder Michelle Zatlyn’s Advice on Hiring, Fundraising, Scaling, and more
January 24, 2021 13:00 - 50 minutes - 46.3 MBMichelle Zatlyn (@zatlyn), co-founder, president, and COO of Cloudflare, joined Village Global co-founder and partner Ben Casnocha for a masterclass with our founders in late 2020. They discussed: - The origin story of Cloudflare, including how the co-founders met, and how Michelle realized that she too could start a company. - Her advice on fundraising after raising more than $300M for Cloudflare, including why you should keep the rest of the VC partnership in mind, and how to show rather...
The Psychology of Money with Morgan Housel
January 21, 2021 13:00 - 58 minutes - 53.3 MBMorgan Housel (@morganhousel), partner at Collaborative Fund, and author of the book The Psychology of Money, joins Erik on this episode to discuss: - Why it’s not realistic to be rational and an investor should aim to be merely reasonable instead. - What people don’t understand about compounding. - The difference between getting wealthy and staying wealthy. - Bets on what is going to change vs. what is not going to change. - Why people overestimate the benefit that money brings to them....
Marc Andreessen and Erik Torenberg on How To Fix Higher Education
January 19, 2021 19:13 - 27 minutes - 25.1 MBMarc Andreessen of a16z (@pmarca) and Erik Torenberg (@eriktorenberg) joined Sriram Krishnan (@sriramk) and Aarthi Ramamurthy (@aarthir) on their Good Time show on Clubhouse. Topics discussed: - Why college is broken. - The reasons for the lack of innovation. - Why it’s so hard for colleges to be disrupted. - How college could be unbundled. - New approaches that are being tried in the space. - How On Deck is creating a new type of education experience. To listen to Marc speak more ful...
Calm.com CEO on How He Built the World's #1 Meditation App
January 16, 2021 13:00 - 49 minutes - 45.3 MBMichael Acton Smith, co-founder and co-CEO of Calm, joined Ben Casnocha, co-founder and partner of Village Global, at a special virtual masterclass for Village Global founders, Network Leaders, and friends of the firm. They discussed: - How Michael got into meditation, his personal practice, and meditating together as a company. - The story of the early days of Calm, including their fundraising journey and how they acquired their first users. - How to maintain confidence when everyone thin...
How To Supercharge Your Career in Design with Mindaugas Petrutis and Jeff Anders
January 12, 2021 13:00 - 23 minutes - 21.7 MBMindaugas Petrutis, head of the On Deck Design Fellowship, and Jeff Anders (Hilnbrand) (@jeffand_), Co-Founder of Ambrook, join Erik on this episode. They discuss: - The On Deck Design Fellowship. - The five I’s of design. - How to think about the forks in the road you’ll face as a designer. - Whether to move into management or continue as an individual contributor. - What you will get out of the ODD Fellowship. - How to think about transitioning to a specific vertical as a designer. ...