#002: Adrian Stone - The Not So Small Time VC
Summary: Important Favour This is one of our foundation episodes so we need your help doing the following: 1) Listen to this; then 2) PLEASE leave a review on iTunes. Lauren and I will personally read EVERY review and, based on that feedback, we’ll either stop or continue with the podcast. If you like them, we will release another 8 episodes over the next two months. We have some amazing people lined up, whom I sure you will love hearing from. Constructive criticism and suggestions for improvement are crucial, whether on iTunes or through social media. Adrian Stone ( @SmallTimeVC ) is an angel investor & entrepreneur, who’s done immense work in the Melbourne Startup scene. A self-declared small time VC, he’s well known for running one of Australia’s earliest accelerators ( AngelCube ), and voicing an array of opinions over Twitter. Adrian now spends most of his time on unique investments & finance, slowly working on a great little publication called Seven. This guy is a lot of fun to talk to, always dropping something interesting when it comes to general entrepreneurship, and grinding it out in the business world. We covered a wide-ranging array of topics including: His first job at Tandy and becoming an entrepreneur & investor On indirectly instilling an entrepreneurial spirit as a father On indirectly or directly learning from his parents, that he still carries today Thoughts on the future of electric and autonomous cars How he picks his angel investments Advice for those wanting to get into angel investing Lessons learnt being in venture capital Recommended/go-to books for gifting Something he believes in, that others may not How he defines success and finding direction in career choice, without worrying about money Enjoy the episode, Jordan Michaelides Show Notes Bio from first job at Tandy to becoming an entrepreneur & investor {04:52} How to work an earnout {17:34} How Y Combinator inspired Angelcube, and the link to Inspire 9 {27:04} On indirectly instilling an entrepreneurial spirit as a father {37:50} On indirectly or directly learning from his parents, that he still carries today {43:27} Commentary on events like Brexit and President Trump {50:34} On the value of a Tesla as a luxury car {01:00:28} Thoughts on the future of electric and autonomous cars {01:06:38} How he picks his angel investments {01:18:22} Advice for those wanting to get into angel investing and his background on Investors Org {01:22:28} Lessons learnt being in venture capital {01:28:43} Recommended/go-to books for gifting {01:31:10} Morning rituals {01:36:07} Amazing purchases under $200 {01:40:32} Something he believes in, that others may not {01:42:04} How he defines success and finding direction in career choice, without worrying about money {01:45:07} Select Links & People mentioned from the Episode Connect with Adrian: Twitter , Medium & Office Hours Vaping Vape Nation: H3H3 Meme Tandy Electronics SurePlan LeasePlan Acqui-hiring David Heinemeier Hansson (DHH) Ruby on Rails Org YCombinator Angelcube Nathan Sampimon RetailMeNot Inspire 9 Adrian’s pitch to interstate startups to relocate Adam Stone Speedlancer 500 Startups Centenarian Letter from the Royals Anders Army Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari Scrap multiculturalism, Pauline Hanson declares (ABC) Tesla Model S Elon Musk Tesla Ludicrous Mode Reactions Spaceballs: IMDb & Trailer Brian Roemmele , On Quora Bloomberg New Energy Finance Uber Philadelphia Self-Driving Experiment (Wired) Singapore’s Self-Driving Taxi’s SevOne The E Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowtiz Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki The Richest Man in Babylon by George S Clason Bose QuietComfort 35 Apple Airpods Peter Thiel The Fermi Paradox - Wait But Why Seven - Adrian’s Personal Finance Publication on Medium
