Village Global's Venture Stories

Justin 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 audit.- How to deal with an employee who is unhappy.- How to be authentic and transparent at work.Check out Justin's podcast at https://listen.justin.quest and YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfRtwc6K_VU9N4OjNnU2P7gThanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

Emmanuel 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 the cool projects started by On Deck No-Code Fellows.- Their advice on getting started in no-code.- Where they would be investing if they were running a fund focused on the space.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

Eli 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 his position as a technological optimist and cultural pessimist.- Where he agrees or disagrees with Tyler Cowen, Bryan Caplan, Peter Thiel, and Samuel Hammond.- Why entrepreneurs shouldn't shy away from areas with regulatory risk, since "that's where all the action happens."Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

Matteo 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 about what to build next.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

Alice 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 that the vision that people had for the internet from decades ago seems to be making a return.- Her analysis of Roblox, game engines, and AR/VR.Flux Podcast:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/flux/id1192848099Rogue: http://roguevc.com/Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

Shriya 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 why you should take more risks earlier in your career.- What they've learned about mentor and mentee relationships.- Why being willing to look silly early for a small period of time is a big arbitrage opportunity.- What people can expect from the On Deck Catalyst program.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

David 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 wanes.- Common traps to watch out for.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

Cooper 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 listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

Megan 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 listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

Luke 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 company.- The difference between mimetic and objective value.- The founder’s mythology and mimetic theory.- Why Nietzsche was right about resentment.- Luke’s relationship with Tony Hsieh.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

Michael 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 talks for different audiences.- The keys to virtual communication in the COVID era.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

Ryan 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 fact that half of people entering a degree program don’t complete it.- Why we should make higher education free.- How they foresee the unbundling of college happening.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

Liron 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 future of dating apps.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

Sheel 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.- How to give feedback as an investor.- How the pandemic changes company formation.- The future of Capbase.*The deadline to get your application in for the spring vintage of the Village Global Accelerator is March 1st! It’s a personalized and tight-knit program with an amazing network of peers, advisors, and experts. Companies that have been through the accelerator have raised from some of the top venture funds in the world, like a16z, First Round Capital, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, True Ventures, Felicis and more.Learn more and apply at www.villageglobal.vc/accelerator!Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup

Erik 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 investorThey discuss:- Whether the US dollar being the global reserve currency has led to a hollowing-out of the American manufacturing base.- Whether the US should be looking to move on from being the global reserve currency.- Why the pandemic has pulled forward American loss of leverage in the world.- How Bitcoin relates to this and whether there will be a transition to it as the global reserve currency.- Thoughts on China and its behavior in global currency markets.*The deadline to get your application in for the spring vintage of the Village Global Accelerator is March 1st! It’s a personalized and tight-knit program with an amazing network of peers, advisors, and experts. Companies that have been through the accelerator have raised from some of the top venture funds in the world, like a16z, First Round Capital, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, True Ventures, Felicis and more.Learn more and apply at www.villageglobal.vc/accelerator!Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at www.villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Want to get updates from us? Subscribe to get a peek inside the Village. We’ll send you reading recommendations, exclusive event invites, and commentary on the latest happenings in Silicon Valley. www.villageglobal.vc/signup