In this episode of Turpentine VC, Somesh Dash, General Partner at IVP, joins Erik Torenberg to discuss how IVP differentiates itself, winning late stage deals, team construction, why venture capital in 2024 looks like private equity in 2008, the future of IVP, and much more. --- RECOMMENDED PODCAST: History 102 with WhatifAltHist Every week, creator of WhatifAltHist Rudyard Lynch and Erik Torenberg cover a major topic in history in depth -- in under an hour. This season will cover classical Gree...
Feb 13, 2024•56 min•Ep. 26
In this episode of Turpentine VC, Erik is joined by Frank Rotman, the founding partner of QED investors, a fintech-focused VC firm. Frank provides a nuanced analysis of investing in fintech and neo banks, offers his view of the larger macro environment, and maintains the need for discipline and resilience in business. This episode was recorded with Frank in 2023 but remains just as relevant today. --- RECOMMENDED PODCAST: History 102 with WhatifAltHist Every week, creator of WhatifAltHist Rudyar...
Feb 06, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 25
In this episode of Turpentine VC, Ali Hamed, Partner at CoVenture, joins Erik Torenberg to discuss the advantages of investing across asset classes, CoVenture’s inflection points, the importance of being liked in venture, and asset classes Ali hopes to invest in in the future. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/turpentine --- RECOMMENDED PODCAST: History 102 with WhatifAltHist Every week, creator of WhatifAltHist Rudyard Lynch and Erik Tor...
Jan 30, 2024•58 min•Ep. 24
In this episode of Turpentine VC, Tomasz Tunguz, General Partner at Theory Ventures, joins Erik Torenberg to discuss the Theory Ventures model, the coming contraction in investable VC dollars, the parallels between PE and VC, and much more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/turpentine --- RECOMMENDED PODCAST: History 102 with WhatifAltHist Every week, creator of WhatifAltHist Rudyard Lynch and Erik Torenberg cover a major topic in history...
Jan 23, 2024•52 min•Ep. 23
In this episode of Turpentine VC, Phin Barnes, co-founder of The General Partnership, joins Erik Torenberg to discuss Phin’s idea of building a YC for emerging fund managers, the sweat equity model, and building the General Partnership. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/turpentine --- RECOMMENDED PODCAST: History 102 with WhatifAltHist Every week, creator of WhatifAltHist Rudyard Lynch and Erik Torenberg cover a major topic in history in ...
Jan 16, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 22
In this episode of Turpentine VC, Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit and Seven Seven Six, joins Erik Torenberg to discuss how Seven Seven Six is a “tech company that deploys venture capital”, the lack of internal metrics in venture, and how he plans to reinvent venture using software. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/turpentine --- RECOMMENDED PODCAST: History 102 with WhatifAltHist Every week, creator of WhatifAltHist Rudyard Lynch an...
Jan 09, 2024•56 min•Ep. 21
In this episode of Turpentine VC, Erik Torenberg speaks to Katherine Boyle, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz leading the firm’s American Dynamism fund. They discuss why Katherine and a16z started the American Dynamism practice and what they hope to accomplish. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/turpentine --- RECOMMENDED PODCAST: History 102 with WhatifAltHist Every week, creator of WhatifAltHist Rudyard Lynch and Erik Torenberg cove...
Jan 02, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 20
In this episode of Turpentine VC, Erik Torenberg sits with Rebecca Kaden, Managing Partner at Union Square Ventures. They discuss USV's partnership-driven model, different venture strategies, whether automation in venture is imminent, and what USV looks for in investors. If you need an ecommerce platform, check out our sponsor Shopify: https://shopify.com/momentofzen for a $1/month trial period. --- RECOMMENDED PODCAST: History 102 with WhatifAltHist Every week, creator of WhatifAltHist Rudyard ...
Dec 26, 2023•53 min•Ep. 19
Today we’re back with Sam Lessin for a round 2 focused on the changing landscape of venture. We dig into the viability of M&A as a strategy for startups, “its always been crypto”, media businesses, and the role of reputation systems. If you need an ecommerce platform, check out our sponsor Shopify: https://shopify.com/momentofzen for a $1/month trial period. --- RECOMMENDED PODCAST: History 102 with WhatifAltHist Every week, creator of WhatifAltHist Rudyard Lynch and Erik Torenberg cover a m...
Dec 19, 2023•57 min•Ep. 18
Today we're joined by Elad Gil, an accomplished investor and founder, who shares his insights on the idea maze and solo capitalism. He discusses the significance of market changes and shifts in technology in identifying viable business opportunities. In addition, Gil shares his viewpoints on sectors like AI, crypto, and EdTech. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/turpentine --- Check out Erik's new show Request for Startups featuring a rota...
Dec 12, 2023•56 min•Ep. 17
Today we're joined by Howard Morgan to dive into his illustrious career in venture. He discusses the firms he helped start, Renaissance Technologies, Idealab, First Round Capital, and now at B Capital. Morgan also highlights the importance of global investing and the challenges it presents. They also discuss frontier areas including genomics, bioinformatics, longevity, and space technology. Morgan reflects on lessons learned and mistakes made throughout his career and offers advice for emerging ...
Dec 06, 2023•54 min•Ep. 16
Today we're joined by Logan Bartlett of Redpoint to dive into Redpoint's approach to venture, trends and predictions for the VC ecosystem, and a breakdown of the strategies and craft of the asset class's most consequential players. Cloud Infrastructure for all your needs: do more and spend less with Oracle. Take a free test drive of OCI at https://oracle.com/turpentine --- Check out Erik's new show Request for Startups featuring a rotating cast of founders and investors (including Dan) sharing t...
Nov 28, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 15
Today we're joined by Kareem of Thrive Capital for one of the most extensive conversations we've had on the show—we cover the core insight that drove Thrive to invest in late-stage companies like Stripe and Slack, how they approach thinking about fund size and timing, the benefits of a concentrated portfolio, and more. If you’re looking to improve your sourcing, tracking, and due diligence, check out: https://synaptic.com/turpentine --- SPONSORS: 🧲 Learn why Craft, Bedrock, NEA and 100s more tr...
Nov 15, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 14
This week's episode of Turpentine VC features Benchmark GPs Sarah Tavel and Eric Vishria. We discuss ideas that are central to Benchmark's beliefs in firm-building, including why platform teams exist to help the general partners more so than founders themselves. If you’re looking to improve your sourcing, tracking, and due diligence, check out: https://synaptic.com/turpentine --- SPONSORS: 🧲 Learn why Craft, Bedrock, NEA and 100s more trust Harmonic’s data to source deals. Harmonic is the most ...
Nov 07, 2023•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 13
Erik is joined by Alfred Lin, partner at Sequoia Capital for over 13 years, and investor in Airbnb, Doordash, Houzz, and more legendary Silicon Valley companies. We dive into the unique ways which Sequoia operates as a firm in this episode: why they don't actually track A-U-M, why they launched the Sequoia Capital Fund, the decision-making behind creating Sequoia Arc, and more. If you’re looking to improve your sourcing, tracking, and due diligence, check out: https://synaptic.com/turpentine ---...
Oct 31, 2023•58 min•Ep. 10
On episode eleven of Turpentine VC, Ann Miura-Ko—co-founding partner at Floodgate—sits down with Erik Torenberg to dive deep into the core fundamentals of VC partners talk about behind close doors, including how to identify inflection points to give you an edge when starting a fund, muscles Floodgate has built in the -1 to 0 space, the true opportunities in AI, and more. If you’re looking to improve your sourcing, tracking, and due diligence, check out: https://synaptic.com/turpentine --- SPONSO...
Oct 24, 2023•46 min•Ep. 11
Trae Stephens, General Partner at Founders Fund, joins Erik Torenberg to chat through how the firm's focus on independent thinking and debate culture, and counterintuitive lack of true process, has been key in helping them build an enduring fund. If you’re looking to improve your sourcing, tracking, and due diligence, check out: https://synaptic.com/turpentine We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff,...
Oct 17, 2023•50 min•Ep. 8
Sam Lessin, General Partner at Slow Ventures, and Seth Rosenberg, General Partner at Greylock, debate what the effects of AI on incumbents and the next wave of AI-first products will look like. If you’re looking to improve your sourcing, tracking, and due diligence, check out: https://synaptic.com/turpentine We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, ...
Oct 03, 2023•44 min•Ep. 7
Roger Ehrenberg of IA Ventures joins Erik on episode 8 of Turpentine VC to talk about his contrarian and opinionated view of how seed funds should operate, and how that's allowed him to generate 10x fund returns. If you’re looking to improve your sourcing, tracking, and due diligence, check out: https://synaptic.com/turpentine We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Inv...
Sep 26, 2023•41 min•Ep. 8
This week, Erik is joined by Mike Maples, Jr, co-founder of Floodgate, a storied seed firm that's invested in Lyft, Okta, Twitch, and Twitter, to name a few unicorn portcos. If you’re looking to improve your sourcing, tracking, and due diligence, check out: https://synaptic.com/turpentine We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list...
Sep 19, 2023•54 min•Ep. 7
10 years after their initial launch, Susa is relaunching the firm with a new vision and strategy, which Susa General Partner, Chad Byers, tells us about in this episode of Turpentine VC. If you’re looking to improve your sourcing, tracking, and due diligence, check out: https://synaptic.com/turpentine We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and mor...
Sep 12, 2023•53 min•Ep. 9
Hemant Taneja is the CEO of General Catalyst, and runs the firm like a true business: defining its mission and values, approaching the product from a problem-solving perspective, and more. If you’re looking to improve your sourcing, tracking, and due diligence, check out: http://synaptic.com/turpentine We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and mo...
Sep 05, 2023•42 min•Ep. 5
This week Erik is joined by Sam Lessin, General Partner at the early-stage VC firm Slow Ventures, essayist, and former VP of Product at Facebook. If you’re looking to make fund administration easy and intuitive, check out: http://carta.com/turpentine --- SPONSORS: 🧲 Learn why Craft, Bedrock, NEA and 100s more trust Harmonic’s data to source deals. Harmonic is the most complete startup database, finding new companies as soon as they incorporate and tracking them through IPO. Head to https://bit....
Aug 29, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 14
In episode three of Turpentine VC, Aydin Senkut and Erik Torenberg examine the generalist approach to VC that Felicis pioneered. If you’re looking to make fund administration easy and intuitive, check out: http://carta.com/turpentine We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list of JDs, check out: eriktorenberg.com . --- SPONSORS: 🧲...
Aug 22, 2023•56 min•Ep. 3
This week on Turpentine VC, Mamoon Hamid and Ilya Fushman of Kleiner Perkins join Erik to discuss how they’ve seized the torch and helped drive the next chapter of the firm’s iconic history. If you’re looking to make fund administration easy and intuitive, check out: http://carta.com/turpentine We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For ...
Aug 15, 2023•58 min•Ep. 2
Ben Horowitz, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and one of the most influential venture capitalists of the last decade, joins Erik for the inaugural episode of Turpentine VC. If you’re looking to make fund administration easy and intuitive, check out: http://carta.com/turpentine We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list of...
Aug 08, 2023•42 min•Ep. 1
On Turpentine VC, host and venture capitalist Erik Torenberg delves deep into the art and science of building successful venture firms through conversations with the world’s best investors and operators. Hear about insider strategies on decision-making, investment theses, and building firms for the long term—from the ground-level, VC to VC. Guests in season 1 include Ben Horowitz of a16z, Mamood Hamid and Ilya Fushman of Kleiner Perkins, and Alfred Lin of Sequoia. We're hiring across the board a...
Aug 05, 2023•2 min
