Alexander Niehenke of Scale Venture Partners joins Nick to discuss The Future of AI is Vertical, Why Vertical TAMs are Getting Exponentially Larger, and Lessons from the Sector Giants that Lead to Dominance. In this episode we cover: Historical Reasons for Horizontal SaaS Success Shift Towards Vertical SaaS Solutions Unfair Advantages of Vertical AI Solutions Lessons for Modern Founders Expansion Strategies for Vertical Startups Talent Dilution and Competitive Moats VC Diligence and Founder Eval...
Mar 10, 2025•42 min•Ep 473•Transcript available on Metacast On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Phin Upham Sandeep Patil Jill Chase We asked guests for the most important piece of advice that they'd share with folks early in their venture career. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social . You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by ...
Mar 06, 2025•8 min•Ep 391•Transcript available on Metacast Joseph Ruscio of Heavybit joins Nick to discuss DeepSeek’s Impact on Other LLMs, AI’s Effect on Software Engineering, Nvidia’s Future, and the Next Wave of Developer-First Companies. In this episode we cover: Impact of AI on Venture Capital and Developer Tools Challenges and Opportunities in Scaling Developer-First Companies Utilizing GitHub and Other Tools for Market Insights Recommendations for Founders and Investors Guest Links : Guest’s LinkedIn Company’s LinkedIn Company’s Website Twitter/X...
Mar 03, 2025•50 min•Ep 472•Transcript available on Metacast On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Heidi Roizen Eric Boduch Gregory Ho We asked guests to discuss the most visionary founder that they've worked with and what makes them so special. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social . You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visi...
Feb 27, 2025•9 min•Ep 390•Transcript available on Metacast Shashank Saxena of Sierra Ventures joins Nick to discuss How AI Transforms Services into Software and Revolutionizes Enterprise SaaS. In this episode we cover: Vendor Management System Vinley The Future of Work and AI The Role of AI in Enterprise Adoption Regulation and AI Adoption Characteristics of Successful Founders Guest Links : Shashank’s LinkedIn Company’s LinkedIn Company’s Website Company's Twitter The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm...
Feb 24, 2025•31 min•Ep 471•Transcript available on Metacast On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Alexa von Tobel Adam Felesky Sandeep Patil We asked guests to share the best question they've ever been asked by an allocator. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social . You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn an...
Feb 20, 2025•8 min•Ep 389•Transcript available on Metacast Mike Schroepfer of Gigascale Capital joins Nick to discuss The Former CTO of Meta on DeepSeek, Lessons from Zuckerberg, The Next $10T Market Opportunity, and the Impact of DeepTech on Energy Costs and Climate Change. In this episode we cover: Challenges and Innovations at Facebook Lessons from Working with Mark Zuckerberg Gigascale Capital's Investment Thesis Deep Tech Investments and Market Opportunities Regulation and Its Role in Climate and Energy Future of Energy and Climate Tech Inspiring F...
Feb 17, 2025•52 min•Ep 470•Transcript available on Metacast On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Heidi Roizen Phin Upham Gregory Ho We asked guests to tell the most important lesson they've learned in their career. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social . You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter...
Feb 13, 2025•7 min•Ep 388•Transcript available on Metacast Daniela Binatti of Pismo joins Nick to discuss Overcoming the Odds: Pismo's Journey to Build API-First Banking, Fixing Finance's Broken Core, and the Future of Payments. In this episode we cover: Challenges in Banking and Pismo's Solution Target Market and Client Base Overcoming Objections and Sales Cycles Innovation and Cultural Transformation Trends and Opportunities in Banking Geographic Challenges and Market Expansion Future Opportunities and Blockchain Founding and Building Pismo Building i...
Feb 10, 2025•34 min•Ep 469•Transcript available on Metacast On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Sandeep Patil Jill Chase Eric Boduch Each investor highlights a situation where they decided not to invest, why they passed, and how it played out. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social . You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by vis...
Feb 06, 2025•5 min•Ep 387•Transcript available on Metacast Shamin Walsh of BAM Ventures joins Nick to discuss When Product-Market-Fit Isn’t Enough: The Hidden Forces Behind Brand Loyalty, Gravity, and Increasing Consumer Spend. In this episode we cover: Investment Metrics and Market Dynamics Consumer Spend Bifurcation and Market Trends Consumer Tech and Signal Identification Thesis-Driven vs. Founder-Driven Investing Brand Market Fit and Loyalty Cross-Cultural Insights and Market Adaptation Making Money in Consumer Investing Founder Traits and Market Co...
Feb 03, 2025•45 min•Ep 468•Transcript available on Metacast On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Oren Yunger Laura Chau Mike Whitmire We asked guests to discuss the factor that could cause the most disruption to the industry going forward and how that will change the next decade of venture. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social . You...
Jan 30, 2025•5 min•Ep 386•Transcript available on Metacast Barry Schuler of DFJ Growth Ventures joins Nick to discuss Lessons from Jobs, Musk, Case, and Armstrong – What It Takes to Transform Industries and Build Trillion-Dollar Companies. In this episode we cover: The Similarities of the Jobs, Musk, Case and Armstrong Portfolio Construction Impressions from Steve Jobs The Need for Great Electric Cars The Decision to Invest in Coinbase Investment Thesis in the Data Center Space The Future of Interfaces Guest Links : LinkedIn X Firm The host of The Full ...
Jan 27, 2025•44 min•Ep 467•Transcript available on Metacast On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Sami Inkinen Heidi Roizen Eric Boduch We asked guests for the most important piece of advice that they'd share with folks early in their venture career. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social . You can learn more about New Stack Ventures b...
Jan 23, 2025•5 min•Ep 385•Transcript available on Metacast Kevin Jiang of Mangusta Capital joins Nick to discuss Investing in xAI, Wiz, and Flexport; Masayoshi Son’s Superpower; How Elon Will Win the LLM War; and Whether AI Is an Extinction-Level Event for SaaS. In this episode we cover: Choosing Early-Stage Investing Over Growth Investing Masayoshi and SoftBank's Investment Decisions X AI and Elon Musk's Vision for AI Vertical AI and Industry-Specific Solutions Scalability and Expansion in Vertical AI Challenges and Opportunities in AI Adoption Guest L...
Jan 20, 2025•52 min•Ep 466•Transcript available on Metacast On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Phin Upham Sandeep Patil Jill Chase We asked guests to discuss the most visionary founder that they've worked with and what makes them so special. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social . You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visi...
Jan 16, 2025•7 min•Ep 384•Transcript available on Metacast Craig Shapiro of Collaborative Fund joins Nick to discuss The Villain Test, Lessons from an OG at Sequoia, Spotting Superstars at Seed, Mastering Follow-on, and the Future of Consumer Tech. In this episode we cover: Mission-Driven Founders and Impact Investing Future of Consumer Products and Personalization Consumer Behavior and Building Long-Term Brands Data Privacy and Consumer Behavior Later-Stage Investing and Identifying Breakouts Hiring and Talent Development The Villain Test and Consumer ...
Jan 13, 2025•45 min•Ep 465•Transcript available on Metacast On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Mike Droesch Sami Inkinen Heidi Roizen We asked guests to share the best question they've ever been asked by an allocator. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social . You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Tw...
Jan 09, 2025•6 min•Ep 383•Transcript available on Metacast On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Alexa von Tobel Adam Felesky Sandeep Patil We asked guests to tell the most important lesson they've learned in their career. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social . You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and...
Jan 07, 2025•7 min•Ep 382•Transcript available on Metacast On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Sami Inkinen Heidi Roizen Phin Upham Each investor highlights a situation where they decided not to invest, why they passed, and how it played out. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social . You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by vis...
Jan 02, 2025•9 min•Ep 381•Transcript available on Metacast In this special replay episode Ambar Bhattacharyya of Maverick Capital joins Nick to discuss Healthcare Deep Dive – How AI and GLP-1 Megatrends Affect the Industry, Why Specialities Need to be Integrated, and Insights on Bundling vs. Unbundling. In this episode we cover: Healthcare Trends, Including High Deductible Health Plans and Cash Pay Models US Halthcare System, Incentives for Preventative Medicine, and Potential for Value-Based Outcome-Oriented Systems AI Adoption in Healthcare, Including...
Dec 30, 2024•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Mike Droesch Sandeep Patil Jill Chase We asked guests to discuss the factor that could cause the most disruption to the industry going forward and how that will change the next decade of venture. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social . Yo...
Dec 26, 2024•7 min•Ep 380•Transcript available on Metacast In this special replay episode Adrian Aoun of Forward joins Nick to discuss Why Healthcare is Broken and How to Fix it, A Future Path Forward Where Doctors are Architects not Providers, and How the Employer-Sponsored Healthcare System is Designed to Fail Us. In this episode we cover: AI, Startups, and Entrepreneurship With Google Executives Larry Page and Sergey Brin Democratizing Healthcare Through AI-Powered Pods Healthcare Innovation and Technology Adoption Assessing Talent and Building Teams...
Dec 23, 2024•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Ambar Bhattacharyya Rick Heitzmann Alexa von Tobel We asked guests for the most important piece of advice that they'd share with folks early in their venture career. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social . You can learn more about New Sta...
Dec 19, 2024•9 min•Ep 379•Transcript available on Metacast Han Shen of iFly.vc joins Nick to discuss Hyper-Concentration, Identifying $4B Weee! At Seed, How to Invest in Deals that Have No Competition, and How to Spot Consumer Trends Before They’re Obvious. In this episode we cover: The Role of Customer Insights in Investment Decisions Han Shen's Investment Strategy and Focus on U.S. Market Investment Themes and Portfolio Construction Investment in We and Lessons Learned from China Founder Insights and Growth Potential Investment Framework and Underwrit...
Dec 16, 2024•53 min•Ep 464•Transcript available on Metacast On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Adam Felesky Mike Droesch Sami Inkinen We asked guests to discuss the most visionary founder that they've worked with and what makes them so special. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social . You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by v...
Dec 12, 2024•7 min•Ep 378•Transcript available on Metacast Manish Patel of Nava Ventures joins Nick to discuss Lessons from Larry Page, Why Subscriptions Won’t Work in the Era of AI, How Enterprises Will Adopt AI, and the 3 Keys to Building Great Products. In this episode we cover: Challenges and Lessons at Google The Evolution of AI and Advertising Nava Ventures' Thesis and Investment Strategy Investing in AI and Enterprise Sales Lessons from Scopely's Success The Importance of Human Needs in Product Design Guest Links : Manish’s LinkedIn Nava’s Linked...
Dec 09, 2024•54 min•Ep 463•Transcript available on Metacast On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Pejman Nozad James Joaquin Rick Heitzmann We asked guests to share the best question they've ever been asked by an allocator. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social . You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and...
Dec 05, 2024•6 min•Ep 377•Transcript available on Metacast Godard Abel of G2 joins Nick to discuss The Founder and CEO of G2 on AI’s Impact on Enterprise SaaS, How to Embrace the Climb, and Insights on Managing Through Crisis. In this episode we cover: Founding G2 and Market Challenges Metrics and Marketplace Growth Investor Insights and Data Utilization Founder Mode and Leadership Building Strong Support Systems Embracing AI and Innovation Guest Links : Godard’s LinkedIn G2’s LinkedIn G2’s Website Godard’s Twitter/X The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick...
Dec 02, 2024•41 min•Ep 462•Transcript available on Metacast On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured: Ambar Bhattacharyya Mike Droesch Sami Inkinen We asked guests to tell the most important lesson they've learned in their career. The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures , a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social . You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn ...
Nov 28, 2024•8 min•Ep 376•Transcript available on Metacast 
