VC10X - Venture Capital Podcast

Ben Kohlmann is a Partner at Cubit Capital where he looks into Frontier Tech Investments. Ben is a former F18 pilot in the US Navy. Ben led the Chief of Naval Operations Rapid Innovation Cell and is also the co-founder of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum. In this episode, we talk about - - How's the experience of flying an F18 fighter jet? - How Ben built a culture of non-conformity within the US Navy? - How is the speed of innovation in Defence forces? - What's the Product-Market Fit equivalent for DefenceTech startups? - Product validation in the battlefield - What do DefenceTech startups learn from the ongoing wars? - How are DefenceTech startups different from software startups in terms of revenue & sales cycles? & lots more Links: ⭐ Sponsored by Podcast10x - End-to-end podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.com Cubit Capital - https://cubit.capital/ Ben Kohlmann on X - https://x.com/benkohlmann Ben Kohlmann on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminkohlmann 🎙️Hosted by Prashant Choubey Follow Prashant on X - https://x.com/ChoubeySahab Follow Prashant on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab Email - prashantchoubey3@gmail.com Subscribe to VC10X on Youtube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@vc10x VC10X is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & YouTube.

Jeroen van Doornik is the Founder & Managing Partner at Pacenotes where they are backing top-tier funds and doubling down on breakout companies In this episode, we talk about: - How to build a VC firm that stands the test of time? - What separates "Emerging Firms" from "Brand Name Firms"? - The challenges faced by Limited Partners - Most crucial metrics for VC firms to track - Leading deals Vs co-investing alongside other leads, what's a better strategy for VCs? - Reserve Vs No Reserve: what's a better approach? - Solo GPs Vs Multiple GPs: what do LPs prefer? & lots more Links: ⭐ Sponsored by Podcast10x - End-to-end podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.com Pacenotes - https://www.pacenotes.vc/ Follow Jeroen van Doornik on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeroenvandoornik 🎙️ Hosted by Prashant Choubey Follow Prashant on X - https://x.com/ChoubeySahab Follow Prashant on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab Email - prashantchoubey3@gmail.com Subscribe to VC10X on Youtube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@vc10x VC10X is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & YouTube.

Guy Cherni is a deep-tech founder and investor. Guy is the Co-Founder and the managing partner of Climate First, which supports deep-tech and Climatech startups. He invested in more than 30 companies disrupting the fields of Energy, Materials, Food, Mobility, and more. Prior to Climate First, Guy Co-founded Atlas Dynamics, the leading European unmanned aerial systems (UAS) company that redefines the drone industry using autonomous swarms. In this episode, we talk about - - How Climate is the greatest opportunity of this generation? - What's the mission at ClimateFirst? - The ClimateFirst London roadshow - How is investing in deeptech startups different from investing in software startups? - Lifecycle of a Deeptech startup & lots more Links: ⭐ Sponsored by Podcast10x - Podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.com Climate First - https://climatefirst.vc/ Follow Climate First on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/climatefirst/ Follow Guy on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/guycherni 🎙️ Hosted by Prashant Choubey Follow Prashant on X - https://x.com/ChoubeySahab Follow Prashant on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab Email - prashantchoubey3@gmail.com Subscribe to VC10X on Youtube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@vc10x VC10X is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & YouTube.

Nick McLean is one of the founders of Four Pillars Investors. Four Pillars Investors is a private equity firm that purchases and operates businesses in the lower middle-market ($20M in sales to $250M in sales). Their ideal acquisition candidates are companies with untapped potential for growth. In this episode, we talk about: - What is Private Equity? - How is Private Equity investing different from Venture Capital? - Investment thesis at Four Pillars Investors - How do Private Equity firms determine the valuation of a business? - Why is it important for founders to understand the world of Private Equity to have it as an exit option? - What type of businesses do Private Equity firms back? - How have rising interest rates impacted activity in Private Equity? & lots more Links: ⭐ Sponsored by Podcast10x - https://podcast10x.com Four Pillars Investors - https://www.fourpillarsinvestors.com/ Follow Nick on X - https://x.com/NickFourPillars Nick's YouTube - https://youtube.com/@NickFourPillars Nick's Book - https://www.fourpillarsinvestors.com/book 🎙️ Hosted by Prashant Choubey Follow Prashant on X - https://x.com/ChoubeySahab Follow Prashant on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab Email - prashantchoubey3@gmail.com Subscribe to VC10X on Youtube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@vc10x VC10X is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & YouTube.

Mikhail Taver is the founder of Taver Capital. Mikhail was one of the first to invest in AI when it wasn't popular. The fund has backed 20 AI startups and achieved 4 successful exits. Today he narrows his focus to another niche - industrial AI. We talk about: - Mikhail's story and how you started investing - How can AI help enhance productivity, cut costs & reduce carbon footprint of heavy industries? - How big is the opportunity for industrial AI? - How long does it take for Industrial AI startups to get market ready? - Some portfolio companies doing exciting work & lots more Links: ⭐ Sponsored by Podcast10x - Podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.com Taver Capital website - https://www.taver.capital/ Follow Mikhail on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mtaver 🎙️ Hosted by Prashant Choubey Follow Prashant on X - https://x.com/ChoubeySahab Follow Prashant on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab Email - prashantchoubey3@gmail.com Subscribe to VC10X on Youtube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@vc10x VC10X is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & YouTube.

Nicole Priel is a Partner at Inbex Investor and is focused on Israel VC investments. Ibex Investors is a US-based investment firm targeting outsized returns through niche, non-correlated, differentiated strategies. They've offices in Denver, New York, and Israel. In this episode, we talk about - - Nicole's story and how her mother introduced her to investing at the age of 11 - Investment thesis at Ibex Investors - How Israeli founders are showing resilience in times of war? - Increased focus on mental health of founders - Impact of war on business in Israel - Her advice for founders building during difficult times & lots more Links: ⭐Sponsored by Podcast10x - Podcasting agency for investors - https://podcast10x.com Ibex Investors - https://www.ibexinvestors.com/ Ibex Investors Portfolio - https://www.ibexinvestors.com/private-portfolio Follow Nicole on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolegp/ 🎙️ Hosted by Prashant Choubey Follow Prashant on X - https://x.com/ChoubeySahab Follow Prashant on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab Email - prashantchoubey3@gmail.com Subscribe to VC10X on Youtube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@vc10x VC10X is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & YouTube.

Justin Smith is a Managing Partner at Recharge Capital and leads venture investments. In this episode, we talk about - - What's the mission at Recharge Capital? - What is Thematic investing? - Key focus sectors at Recharge Capital - Some exciting portfolio companies - How Recharge Capital helps it's portfolio companies succeed? - Portfolio construction strategy & lots more Links: ⭐Sponsor - Podcast10x - Podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.com Recharge Capital website - https://www.rechargecapital.com/ Follow Justin on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-b-smith 🎙️ Hosted by Prashant Choubey Follow Prashant on X - https://x.com/ChoubeySahab Follow Prashant on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab Email - prashantchoubey3@gmail.com Subscribe to VC10X on Youtube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@vc10x VC10X is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & YouTube.

Sam Merchant is an Investment Associate at Hambro Perks Leaders Fund - an international investment firm investing in private technology companies leveraging different fund structures like venture capital, venture debt, secondaries, etc. In this episode, we talk about - - Sam's story and how he got into investing - How investing is done differently at different funds at Hambro Perks? - How different market conditions impact the activity levels of different funds types? - What are the traits of Product Market Fit? - Cap table blunders founders should avoid - How should founders figure out the right valuation for their early-stage startup? - What should founders include in investor updates? & lots more Links: ⭐Sponsor: Podcast10x - Podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.com Hambro Perks website - https://www.hambroperks.com/ Follow Sam on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-marchant 🎙️ Hosted by Prashant Choubey Follow Prashant on X - https://x.com/ChoubeySahab Follow Prashant on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab Email - prashantchoubey3@gmail.com Subscribe to VC10X on Youtube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@vc10x VC10X is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & YouTube.

Ashish Kumar is a Co-founder & General Partner at Fundamentum. Ashish began Institutional Investment as a Partner at Fundamentum Fund 1, a Series B/B+ focused VC Fund out of India. He later co-founded Fundamentum Investment Advisors alongside Nandan Nilekeni (Co-founder of Infosys) & Sanjeev Aggarwal (Founding CEO at IBM) which manages the latest Fundamentum Partnership Fund, where he is a General Partner. Fundamentum will lead investment rounds from $10 to $25 Million in companies that have attained the product market fit, have an initial momentum, and are looking to scale up. In this episode, we talk about: - Founding story of Fundamentum - Growth investing landscape in India - How to assess PMF in startups? - Portfolio success stories: PharmEasy & Spinny - Exit landscape in India & lots more Links: ⭐Sponsor: Podcast10x - Podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.com Fundamentum website - https://www.fundamentum.co.in/ Follow Ashish on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashishk/ 🎙️ Hosted by Prashant Choubey Follow Prashant on X - https://x.com/ChoubeySahab Follow Prashant on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab Email - prashantchoubey3@gmail.com Subscribe to VC10X on Youtube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@vc10x VC10X is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & YouTube

Zach Coelius is the founder and Managing Partner at Coelius Capital. Zach runs a VC fund, an angel syndicate & a rolling fund at the same time. Some of his popular investments include Cruise Automation, Branch, BounceX, Angellist, Booksy, HelloSign, Apprente, Mercury and 50-plus other startups. Timeline: 00:00 - Coming up.. 00:45 - Episode intro 01:51 - Sponsored by Podcast10x.com - End-to-end podcasting agency for VCs 03:32 - Zach's story & starting with a 100% success rate in startup investments 06:34 - Story of how Zach raised $33 Million fund from 60 LPs in 3 weeks over Zoom calls in 2021 09:04 - Coelius Capital 09:48 - How has Zach's investment thesis evolved over time? 14:51 - Fund positioning for LPs 17:16 - No explicit reserve strategy 18:39 - Do returns get muted in VC funds due to LP guardrails on investment thesis? 20:12 - Funding weird ideas 24:37 - What's a harder job, founder or VC? 26:49 - Syndicate vs VC fund vs Rolling fund - managing all 3 simultaneously 29:14 - Why syndicate is a superpower? 31:14 - Common thread in successful companies 33:00 - VC bull run vs now 39:03 - Biggest learning as a VC 39:52 - Rapid fire round Links- ⭐Sponsor: Podcast10x - podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.com Coelius Capital website - https://coelius.vc/ Follow Zach on X - https://x.com/zachcoelius Follow Zach on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachcoelius 🎙️ Hosted by Prashant Choubey Follow Prashant on X - https://x.com/ChoubeySahab Follow Prashant on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab Email - prashantchoubey3@gmail.com Subscribe to VC10X on Youtube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@vc10x VC10X is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & YouTube.

Adam Nash is the former CEO of Wealthfront and current Founder and CEO of Daffy. Prior to Wealthfront & Daffy, Adam has a strong operational experience holding executive positions at LinkedIn, Ebay, Dropbox and Apple. Adam is also an angel investor in Firebase (sold to Google), Opendoor (Ticker: OPEN), Figma, Gusto, and several other startups. To top it all off Adam is an Adjunct Professor at Stanford University where he teaches a class on personal finance. This episode is divided into 2 halves, the 1st half focusing on Adam's insights on angel investing in some highly successful companies, while the 2nd half focuses on Adam's founder journey and insights on how to build a world-class product. We also talk about his investment into Figma, key metrics to track for early-stage startups, how to create customer delight, and lessons from his stint at top companies like eBay, Dropbox, LinkedIn, and Apple. This episode is a wealth of wisdom for all founders on how to build world-class products & companies. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro clip 00:53 - Episode intro 02:02 - Sponsored by Podcast10x - podcasting agency for VCs & startups 03:43 - Background story of Adam Nash 05:46 - How Adam started angel investing in startups? 09:13 - Investing in Figma at the early stage 14:30 - Leveraging the network & operator experience to get access to quality deals 16:26 - How Adam evaluates a deal? 20:38 - Why he founded Daffy? 24:23 - How to build world-class products? 29:00 - Virality factor in products 37:24 - Customer delight factor in products 42:00 - How to get world-class people to work with you? 46:46 - Key metrics to track for early stage startups 51:44 - Lessons from working at Linkedin, eBay, Dropbox & Apple 55:27 - How to connect with Adam and learn more about Daffy? Links: ⭐ Sponsor: End-to-end podcasting agency for VCs & startups - https://podcast10x.com Check out Daffy.org ($25 free donation invite code) - https://www.daffy.org/adamnash/invite Follow Adam on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamnash Follow Adam on X - https://x.com/adamnash 🎙️Hosted by Prashant Choubey Follow Prashant on Linkedin - ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab/⁠ Follow Prashant on X - ⁠https://twitter.com/ChoubeySahab⁠ Subscribe to VC10X on Youtube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@vc10x⁠ VC10X is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts.

Vineet Rai is a co-founder & Chairman of Aavishkaar. The Aavishkaar Group is focused on developing the impact ecosystem in Asia and Africa, and manages assets in excess of USD 1 billion across equity and credit, with 6,000+ employees across India, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Kenya. We talk about - - The story how Vineet started Aavishkaar back in 2001 alongside his wife - How was "Impact Investing" founded and Aavishkaar's key role in it? - Aavishkaar being the only Indian fund that is a case study in Stanford Business School with not one, but 3 case studies done at Aavishkaar - How is "Impact investing" different from mainstream VC investing? - Relevance of impact investing in developed and developing countries - Helping the Bangladesh government seed the local investing ecosystem with a Fund of Funds model - How founders struggle with "Martyr syndrome"? & lots more Links: ⭐Sponsor: Podcast10x - End-to-end podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.com Aavishkaar website - https://aavishkaargroup.com/ Follow Vineet on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/vineet-rai-536160 Follow Vineet on X - https://x.com/Raivineet 🎙️Hosted by Prashant Choubey Linkedin - ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab/⁠ X - ⁠https://twitter.com/ChoubeySahab⁠ Subscribe to VC10X on Youtube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@vc10x⁠ VC10X is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts.

Andrea Hippeau is a Partner at Lerer Hippeau - an early stage sector-agnostic venture capital firm based in New York City. In this episode we talk about - - Andrea's story of how she started working in venture capital - How has Lerer Hippeau evolved over the past 10 years she's been at the firm? - How has the New York startup ecosystem matured over the years? - Why sales is one of the most important skills for startup founders? - Breaking the stigma around bridge rounds - How to build (& back) successful consumer brands? - Why it is a good idea to have a board in place from the early stages of a startup? - Patterns she's seeing in the startup & vc landscape & lots more Links: Sponsor: https://podcast10x.com Lerer Hippeau website - https://www.lererhippeau.com/ Follow Andrea on X - https://x.com/AndreaHippeau Hosted by Prashant Choubey Linkedin - ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab/⁠ X - ⁠https://twitter.com/ChoubeySahab⁠ Subscribe to VC10X on Youtube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@vc10x⁠ VC10X is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts.

Dan Bowyer is a Co-founder & Partner at Superseed - an early-stage venture capital for technical teams transforming how the world works. Dan has more than 20 years of entrepreneurial experience, having built and exited 2 startups and invested in many more. In this episode we talk about - - What's the focus at Superseed? - Why AI is a massively transformative technology? - What's happening with Nvidia? - The 5 layers of opportunities in AI - Will AI lead to the end of SaaS industry as companies could make their own tools using AI? - Is OpenAI a threat for small AI startups? - How will AI impact legacy industries like manufacturing, medicine, etc? & lots more.. Links: Sponsor: https://podcast10x.com SuperSeed website - https://www.superseed.com/ Follow Dan on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/danbowyer Hosted by Prashant Choubey Linkedin - ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab/⁠ X - ⁠https://twitter.com/ChoubeySahab⁠ Subscribe to VC10X on Youtube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@vc10x⁠ VC10X is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts.

Pushkar Singh is a Co-founder of Tremis Capital. At Tremis Capital they invest in startups and help post-PMF startups construct their investment rounds with their deal advisory services. In this episode we talk about - What is Tremis Capital? - Fundraising tips for founders - Who should and who should not angel invest? - How should new angel investors approach angel investing? - Equity vs debt financing options for startups - Why is now a great time to build a business in India? & lots more Links: Sponsor: https://podcast10x.com Tremis Capital website - https://www.tremis.in/ Follow Pushkar on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pushkarsingh Hosted by Prashant Choubey Linkedin - ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab/⁠ X - ⁠https://twitter.com/ChoubeySahab Subscribe to VC10X on Youtube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@vc10x⁠ VC10X is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts.

Gonzalo Galindo is the CEO of Cemex Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Cemex, a multinational cement manufacturing giant. In this episode, we talk about - - The mission at Cemex Ventures - Importance of strategic alignment in corporate venture capital firms - Focus on sustainability - Sub-sectors they invest in at Cemex Ventures - Portfolio companies doing exciting work - Founder or Problem: what is more important while evaluating a deal & much more Links: Cemex Ventures - https://www.cemexventures.com/ Cemex Ventures on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/cemexventures/ Hosted by Prashant Choubey Linkedin - ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab/⁠ X - ⁠https://twitter.com/ChoubeySahab⁠ Subscribe to VC10X on Youtube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@vc10x⁠ VC10X is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts.

Ertan is a venture capital fund of funds pioneer in Europe, and Founder of Multiple Capital, a fund of funds focusing on micro funds, emerging managers, first-time funds, and solo GPs. He has combined 20 years’ experience of asset management, fund of funds, VC and information technology operating roles. Now they're deploying out of their fund III at Multiple Capital. In this episode, we talk about - - Focus of the new fund at Multiple Capital - Fundraising tips for GPs & founders - Comparison of investing into VC funds vs investing in a FoFs from an LP's perspective on multiple fronts like return profile, risk profile, diversification, management fee, fund duration, etc and lots more Sponsor: https://podcast10x.com Episode links: Multiple Capital website - https://www.multiple.capital/ Follow Ertan on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ertancan Follow Ertan on X - https://x.com/rtancan Hosted by Prashant Choubey Linkedin - ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab/⁠ X - ⁠https://twitter.com/ChoubeySahab⁠ Subscribe to VC10X on Youtube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@vc10x⁠ VC10X is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts.

Anil is the Founder and Managing Partner at Unicorn India Ventures. He has been one of the pioneers of angel investments in India as head of operations and President at Mumbai Angels and Bangalore Angels, leading Angel Investment forums in India. Anil has helped close approximately 100+ venture-financing deals and was directly involved in closure of over 50+ deals. Anil has served on the Board of 6 companies and is involved with various incubation centers as mentor in India as well as internationally. In this episode we talk about - - Early days of the Indian startup ecosystem - Investing in India's first unicorn via Mumbai angels - How they found LPs for their fund 1, and how has that changed for fund 3? - How are tier 2/3 founders different from founders from metro cities? - How they spot high quality founders? & lots more.. Links: Unicorn India Ventures - https://www.unicornivc.com/ Follow Anil on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aniljoshi74 Hosted by Prashant Choubey Linkedin - ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab/⁠ X - ⁠https://twitter.com/ChoubeySahab⁠ Subscribe to VC10X on Youtube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@vc10x⁠ VC10X is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts.

Katelyn Donnelly is the founder and Managing Director of Avalanche VC, an early-stage venture firm investing early in technology companies that transform how people learn, earn, and own. Previously, she was co-founder and Director at Delivery Associates, the leading public sector advisory firm implementing technology and large-scale reform worldwide. She served on the board until the company partnered with a private equity firm in November 2022. Constantly curious, she has invested in companies, funds, and founders building behind massive trends that are obviously the future. In this episode, we talk about - - Investing in companies that ride Avalanches, or massive trends that'll change the world forever - How do they identify an Avalanche? - What are some upcoming Avalanches that they've spotted? - How they stand out in an incredibly competitive early stage investing? - How they think about portfolio construction? - Katelyn's biggest learning as a VC & lots more Links- Avalanche VC website - https://avalanche.vc/ Follow Katelyn on Twitter - https://x.com/krdonnelly Follow Katelyn on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/katelyndonnelly Hosted by Prashant Choubey Linkedin - ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab/⁠ X - ⁠https://twitter.com/ChoubeySahab⁠ Subscribe to VC10X on Youtube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@vc10x⁠ VC10X is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts.

Amit Singh is a co-founder of Misfits Capital, earlier Amit had founded Shuttl, app-based commute service for office goers. Amit has invested in several startups. In this episode, we talk about: - Story of Misfits Capital - How is Misfits different from syndicates on Angellist & Let's Venture? - How they evaluate startups at Misfits Capital? - Why founders need to play the market? & lots more Links: Amit Singh on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amisingh Email - mike@misfits.capital Misfits Capital website - https://www.misfits.capital/ Hosted by Prashant Choubey Linkedin - ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab/⁠ X - ⁠https://twitter.com/ChoubeySahab⁠ Subscribe to VC10X on Youtube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@vc10x⁠ VC10X is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts.