Something Ventured -- Silicon Valley Podcast

Chris Douvos has a rare job.  There are very few venture capitalists in the world.  There’s an even more scarce job, however:  Several ‘fund-of-funds” exist that provide capital to venture capital firms, and a path into venture capital for large institutions that want to invest in Silicon Valley.  Chris Douvos’ Ahoy Capital is one of those funds.

In this wide-ranging discussion, Chris tells us how he made his way up and through a history major to his current profession.  We talk about what Chris has seen from his unique perch in Silicon Valley:  What has changed, what he sees in the future.  Chris explains how he became an early investor in superstar venture firms like First Round and DCVC, and why he didn’t invest in the equally successful Baseline Ventures.

Also quoted are Walt Whitman, and at least one Greek Philosopher  If you don’t know Chris – meet him on this episode!

Ahoy Capital

https://www.ahoycap.com

 

Something Ventured

https://somethingventured.us 

 

 

Direct download: 122_Chris_Douvos_2019.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 7:58pm EDT

Mike Maples, Jr. is Founder and General Partner of Floodgate, a seed investing firm that has made early investments in companies like Twitter, Demandforce and Lyft.  He was #12 on the 2018 “Midas List” of top venture capitalists. The seed investing trend he identified has become, literally, an entire category of investors.  He is also the host of his own podcast – Starting Greatness.

In this episode of Something Ventured we talk about Mike’s path to Silicon Valley, the investing opportunity he saw here, and how it has changed over time.  He explains terms like ‘earned secret’ and “thunder lizard”, and the overarching importance of “why now”.

If you’d like to get to know Mike Maples, Jr. – don’t miss this episode, and listen to his new podcast – Starting Greatness.

Starting Greatness podcast https://medium.com/starting-greatness

Floodgate https://floodgate.com

Something Ventured https://somethingventured.us 

Direct download: 121_Mike_Maples_2019.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 6:08pm EDT

David Hornik is a partner at August Capital. He is also the much-loved creator and executive producer of “The Lobby”.  In preparing for this podcast, a number of people expressed sincere affection for David, The Lobby, and the relationships it has fostered.  In this episode David explains what the Lobby is, and where the idea came from. 

In addition to The Lobby, David started (with his colleagues) the first venture capital blog, VentureBlog, and the first venture capital podcast, VentureCast. He has been honored by Forbes Magazine as a member of its Midas List of top Venture Capitalists.

As a venture capitalist, David over the last 20 years has worked closely with technology companies to help them grow and prosper. David joined August Capital in 2000 to invest in a broad range of software companies. Since that time, he has invested in dozens of companies across the software spectrum, including a number of enterprise software and SaaS (e.g, Splunk, Fastly, GitLab), consumer services (e.g., Evite, Ebates, Drop), and financial technology companies (e.g., WePay, Bill.com, PayNearMe).

In this podcast we discuss everything from his investments in Broadway musicals, to the state of venture capital, to the issues faced by the LGBTQ community in Silicon Valley.  Warning – this podcast includes singing!

August Capital https://www.augustcap.com

The Lobby https://www.thelobbyconference.com/the-lobby

Something Ventured https://somethingventured.us 

Direct download: 120_david_hornik_edited_2019.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 5:12pm EDT

1