rational vc - podcast cover

rational vc

Cyrus Yari and Iman Olyarationalvc.com
Learn from history's Greatest Minds — and find Timeless ideas you can apply to business and life. Every episode we explore a Lindy book: We strive to become polymaths like our investing and business icons, pulling the Big Ideas from a wide range of disciplines. For the curious-minded seeking Worldly Wisdom. rationalvc.com “In my whole life, I have known no wise people who didn’t read all the time — none, zero. [...] I constantly see people rise in life who are not the smartest, sometimes not even the most diligent, but they are learning machines. They go to bed every night a little wiser than they were when they got up, and boy does that help, particularly when you have a long run ahead of you.” — Charlie Munger

Episodes

#024 - Rational Musings: Learnings From Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting 2021

Cyrus and Iman discuss the recent 2021 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. We covered inflation, innovation affecting the world's largest companies, crazes such as Robinhood, Bitcoin, SPACs, and finally details around Warren Buffett's successor following Charlie Munger's leak. You can also watch this in video format on our youtube channel to see supporting material: https://youtu.be/UgDs-Gcdepg Materials referenced: Full Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx-Oz... ...

May 26, 202129 min

#023 - Rational Musings: Bitcoin Crash, Now What? Revisiting Pros and Cons, Plus the State of European VC

In our latest Rational Musing market roundup, Iman and Cyrus give a Lindy take on some updates in the world of tech. We cover all things Bitcoin, Crypto, and Blockchain, weighing up the pros and cons following comments from Charlie Munger, Nassim Taleb, and Balaji Srinivasan, in addition to the state of European venture capital following recent reports on investment data. You can also watch this in video format on our youtube channel to see supporting material: https://youtu.be/FHSQewr_2d8 Mater...

May 21, 202129 min

#022 - Rational Musings: Doordash, Crazy Valuations, Apple the New King of M&A, Death of SPACs, & Hiring Forever Changed

In our latest Rational Musing market roundup, Iman and Cyrus give a Lindy take on some updates in the world of tech. We cover delivery startup valuations, moats, Apple's M&A strategy, hiring, the future of careers in tech, and whether SPACs are dying out. You can also watch this in video format on our youtube channel to see accompanying slides and screen share. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQupUzDkKEc Materials referenced in the show: Asim Qureshi post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/asimq_.....

May 12, 202125 min

#021 - Kiyan Zandiyeh: The World's Leading Tech Investor In Frontier Markets (SturgeonCapital.com)

From investing at a young age, to working for Nouriel Roubini, before ultimately becoming the Chief Investment Officer at Sturgeon Capital, Kiyan Zandiyeh is considered the world's leading technology investor in frontier markets. Kiyan shares all there is to know about these underlooked markets where Sturgeon has been exceptionally successful, with the first fund returning 5x-7x and the second fund projected to created 500k jobs through its investments. www.sturgeoncapital.com This podcast provi...

May 03, 202153 min

#020 - Dr. Cameron Sepah: Founder, Investor, Professor, Harvard Psychologist, & Exec Coach to Elite CEOs & VCs

Dr. Sepah is a clinical psychologist, professor of psychiatry and a serial entrepreneur. He recently founded Maximus; a consumer health company that provides men with content, community, and clinical support to optimise them in mind and body. Maximus has raised $5M from Silicon Valley goats such as Founders Fund and 8VC as well as leading angel investors/operators from Bulletproof, Tinder, Coinbase, Daily Stoic, & Shopify. The guys discuss the Maximus mission, masculinity, entrepreneurship and m...

Apr 19, 20211 hr 15 min

#018 - Special Ep: What Cyrus Learned From Peter Kaufman on The Multidisciplinary Approach to Thinking

In this special (no guest) episode of our podcast, Cyrus shares his learnings from Kaufman's rare talk. Kaufman covered everything from physics and biology to game theory, mental models, decision-making, leadership, business, managing relationships, and generally living a better life. Discover Magazine archive of interviews collated in one file: https://www.valueinvestingworld.com/2019/04/the-big-ideas-discover-magazine-and.html ​ --- This podcast provides regular content on technology investing...

Mar 22, 202124 min

#017 - Amir Nooriala: From Executive At Europe's Most Valuable FinTech To Joining Accel-Backed Callsign

Amir is Chief Commercial Officer of Callsign - a leading digital identity startup backed by Accel. A seasoned Exec, he's passionate about social mobility and also co-founded FinTech North London - a networking group with some of the biggest names in UK FinTech. Cyrus and Iman talk to Amir about his background and moving from corporate life to OakNorth (Europe's most valuable FinTech at the time) and then Callsign. He has held COO/CSO/CCO roles. Amir's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirno...

Mar 16, 202158 min

#015 - Sarah Nöckel: Building the Largest Community for Women in Tech & VC (Femstreet and Northzone VC)

Sarah Nöckel is the founder of Femstreet, the largest global community for women in Tech and Venture Capital. She's also a Venture Capitalist, working as an Investment Manager at Northzone. The trio talk building communities, growing side hustles, and female / minority representation in Tech and VC. Femstreet: https://www.femstreet.com/ Sarah's Twitter: https://twitter.com/SarahNoeckel This podcast provides regular content on technology investing and technology building. We also write long-form ...

Feb 15, 202142 min

#014 - Paul Cuatrecasas: Go Tech or Go Extinct, and Why Value Investing Is Dead (aquaapartners.com)

Cyrus and Iman talk to Paul Cuatrecasas, Founder and CEO of Aquaa Partners. From Wall Street to London, Paul has several decades of experience in Tech M&A. His book “Go Tech or Go Extinct” shows how CEOs need to think about M&A and transformation in the tech age. Paul also explains his thesis on the death of value investing and why tech businesses will be the only ones to survive. www.aquaapartners.com Go Tech or Go Extinct: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Paul-Cuatrecasas/e/B07XTM1DR1/ref=dp_byline_co...

Feb 02, 20211 hr

#013 - Sean Seton-Rogers: Leaving the US and Taking Over European VC (PROfounders Capital, Ex-Benchmark)

Cyrus and Iman talk to Sean Seton-Rogers - General Partner at PROfounders Capital and a Forbes Midas List VC in 2020. Sean explains why PROfounders is a fund for founders, backed by founders. Sean also explains his approach to investing, how he thinks about the venture market and growing competition in VC. The guys also discuss the future of Europe and even test Sean the sneaker-head on his Jordan collection 👟 Sean's Twitter: https://twitter.com/setonrog PROfounders website: https://www.profoun...

Jan 25, 202159 min

#011 - Cyrus and Iman's talk at the McKinsey Early Stage Investor Conference: Startup Scaling

Cyrus and Iman were invited to the McKinsey Early Stage Investor Conference. They held a working session with a series of startups across two days where they outlined their approach to building efficient and successful startups. This is a snippet of one of their sessions. They talk about go-to-market strategy, startup scaling, developing product, and fundraising. They also touch on actionable tips, metrics, and top mistakes. This podcast provides weekly content on technology investing and techno...

Jan 11, 202131 min

#010 - Michael Ginzo: Starting a Company in a Pandemic & Raising VC Funding (Hofy.co)

Cyrus talks to Michael Ginzo, Co-Founder of Hofy, a leading remote working B2B subscription startup. Hofy enable companies to set up home offices for their employees online in just a couple of clicks. Michael discusses the early days of setting up Hofy, achieving product-market fit, scaling, Hofy tech, closing large clients, advice on raising VC funding, the future of remote work, efficiency hacks, and the mental models he uses as a successful COO. Hofy: https://www.hofy.co/ Michael's LinkedIn: ...

Dec 28, 202055 min

#009 - SPACSMAS SPECIAL: Everything You Need to Know About Investing in SPACs

SPACs seem to be the hot topic of investing at the moment, with big names like Chamath and Bill Ackman setting up their own SPACs. Retail investors have access to this opportunity too. So Cyrus and Iman look into SPACs to see what all the hype is about and to test their relative merits vs traditional methods of raising capital. Merry Christmas! This podcast provides weekly content on technology investing and technology building. We also write long-form memos on all things tech investing and buil...

Dec 21, 202055 min

#008 - Andi Kazeroonian: Leading UK FinTech VC Talks Key Criteria for Investing (Outward VC)

Cyrus and Iman interview Andi Kazeroonian: Investment Manager at leading UK FinTech venture fund Outward VC. Andi discusses what he looks for in investments, the future of European tech, and investing in Primary Bid early on, in addition to participating in their follow-on round of £50M (Series B). He also talks through what key criteria he looks for in founders he invests in, and the state of UK FinTech. Outward VC are a FinTech focused VC fund with a distinct strategy addressing a clear value ...

Dec 14, 20201 hr 3 min

#007 - Matteo Franceschetti: Raising $70 million from Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, YC (Eight Sleep)

Cyrus and Iman interview seasoned founder: Matteo Franceschetti - CEO and Co-Founder of Eight Sleep, the leaders in sleep technology. Through their patented technology, Eight Sleep make products that leverage machine learning and artificial intelligence to improve your sleep through thermoregulation and analytics. The company is not just focused on sleep. They are now growing into a digital health company. Since launching in 2015, Matteo and his co-founders (Alexandra Zatarain and Massimo Andrea...

Dec 07, 202056 min

#006 - Go-To-Market & Effective Product Management

Many founders often focus on the wrong things in the early stages. Iman and Cyrus cover all things on go-to-market strategy from a strategist's point of view, and how to set up an effective product management function, what to track, and biases to be aware of so you don't get caught up in the traps of inefficiency. This is the last of our 6 MVP episodes - lookout for a big step up from next week with world-class guests and improved production quality! This podcast will provide weekly content on ...

Nov 30, 20201 hr 1 min

#005 - Rolling Funds Are Changing Venture Capital

There's a revolution coming in tech investing. Rolling funds are making early-stage investing more accessible to the masses. They're also making it easier for anyone to set up a fund. Cyrus and Iman cover everything you need to know, including what they are, the problem they solve, differences vs. traditional venture, pros, cons, and the future. This podcast will provide weekly content on technology investing and technology building. We break everything down to first principles, to simplify the ...

Nov 23, 202043 min

#004 - Where Would You Invest and Why? A 20-Year View

Cyrus and Iman break down the most interesting industry verticals for long-term investment and explain why these make a strong case for a 20-year hold. They also challenge each other on the future of these spaces and how disruption will occur. This podcast will provide weekly content on technology investing and technology building. We break everything down to first principles, to simplify the complex technology world. Whether you're a newbie in the tech space and just want to know how the market...

Nov 16, 202033 min

#003 - Breaking Into Venture Capital: Advice for 18-35 Year Olds

After receiving a number of messages, Cyrus and Iman share their thoughts on entering the technology ecosystem and navigating career paths in this space. Do any of the below apply to you or someone you know? Send them this video if so! 1) You've just graduated high school and you don't know what to do. But you're interested in technology and investing because you always see interesting stories in the news and online. 2) You've just graduated from university and want to explore career options in ...

Nov 10, 202041 min

#002 - Venture Capital is a Game

Have tech valuations ever baffled you? Are you sceptical of why Tesla is worth so much? Is the Venture Capital space confusing? In this episode we talk through the confusing world of venture capital and tech investing. We answer some of these questions and more. This podcast will provide weekly content on technology investing and technology building. We break everything down to first principles, to simplify the complex technology world. Whether you're a newbie in the tech space and just want to ...

Nov 02, 202040 min

#001 - Introduction

In the first episode of our brand new podcast, we (Cyrus and Iman) discuss rational vc and what the aim of the show is. We also discuss our backgrounds, what our initial thoughts on tech markets are and how we plan to go forward. This channel will provide weekly content on technology investing and technology building. We break everything down to first principles, to simplify the complex technology world. Whether you're a newbie in the tech space and just want to know how the market works, or you...

Oct 26, 202031 min