I sat down with Jeremy Downs, angel investor in Anduril, SpaceX, and Snap, and an early hire at PayPal, Uber, and Facebook, to talk about what it really means to spot category-defining companies before they’re obvious.

Jeremy shared lessons from being inside some of the most important tech companies of the last two decades and how those experiences shaped his approach as an angel investor. We discussed how early teams build conviction, what separates generational companies from fast-growing ones, and how culture, timing, and product insight intersect at the earliest stages.

We also explored how investor judgment is formed before metrics exist, why certain opportunities feel uncomfortable early, and what patterns Jeremy has seen repeat across breakout companies.

If you’re trying to understand what it looks like to identify or build something truly category-defining before consensus forms, this episode is for you.