Host Matt Cohen talks with Dave Lambert, founder and managing director of Right Side Capital Management. Founded in 2009, Right Side takes a quantitative, data-driven approach to early-stage investments, focusing on capital-efficient tech startups. It has funded over 2,000 companies, offering rapid investment decisions and fostering innovation in the fragmented seed-stage funding market.

Dave explains how Right Side invests in very early-stage startups using data instead of gut feelings. He also discusses how technology, like AI, is changing startups and shares stories from his career.

About Dave Lambert:

Dave Lambert is the Founder and Managing Director of Right Side Capital Management, a pre-VC stage investment firm based in San Francisco.

Before founding Right Side Capital, Dave was the CEO and Founder of WorkMetro Inc., a network of local online job boards operating across major U.S. metropolitan markets. He successfully expanded the company to over 20 markets before its acquisition by Jobing.com in 2008. Earlier in his career, he founded Acorn Computer, Inc., which provided IT solutions to businesses and institutions in the San Francisco Bay Area for over a decade.

Dave earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Stanford University, specializing in Values, Technology, Science & Society with a focus on Artificial Intelligence.

Topics

* (01:15) Dave’s background growing up in Denver, his entrepreneurial beginnings with a computer hardware company, and how those experiences led to founding Right Side Capital

* (03:26) How The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb influenced the creation of Right Side Capital, focusing on “positive black swans” (startups with unexpected, outsized success)

* (05:53) Understanding the Power Law in Venture Capital

* (08:39) How Right Side makes investment decisions, often providing a “yes” or “no” within a week and why they focus on startups with small funding needs and clear metrics

* (11:48) What Metrics Right Side Looks For

* (16:11) TradingView: A Success Story

* (21:08) Impact of AI on Startups

* (25:56) Low-Headcount Companies Thriving

* (28:37) Changing Founder mindsets toward profitability and capital efficiency rather than raising successive funding rounds

* (29:04) Tax Benefits for Venture Investors

* (33:26) The Role of Accelerators

* (36:40) Challenges in VC Fundraising and Innovation

* (40:00) Resilient Entrepreneurs

* (43:10) Dave’s Tech and Productivity Setup

Dave Lambert's Fast Favorites

* Favorite Podcast: Slow Burn

* Favorite Newsletter/Blog: Dave doesn’t have a single favorite but enjoys reading a variety of blogs and newsletters, especially about tech, venture capital, and economics.

* Favorite Tech Gadget: Golf simulators

* Favorite New Trend: Entrepreneurs focusing on profitability as the main goal instead of just raising money

* Favorite Book: Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin – A guide on leadership and accountability, teaching lessons from Navy SEALs.

* Favorite Life Lesson: “Believe in yourself and trust your own judgment.”

Follow Matt Cohen and Tank Talks here!

Podcast production support provided by Agentbee.ai

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tanktalks.substack.com