StartUp Podcast

Arlan has only a few months left before her cash runs out out when a seemingly perfect opportunity comes along. Is it too good to be true? Also, we take a look at Arlan's past as an entrepreneur, before she became a venture capitalist. What did she learn? And can she avoid making the same mistakes?

This is the fourth episode in a six-part series on Arlan Hamilton and her company, Backstage Capital.

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Like most venture capitalists, Arlan Hamilton plans to find the next billion dollar company by pattern matching—that's when VCs look to entrepreneurs who've been successful in the past and pick founders that match those qualities. Most VCs pattern match for people like Mark Zuckerberg or Jeff Bezos, but Arlan pattern matches for something different. 

How does Arlan predict who will be successful? And does she have the runway to prove out her theory?

This is the third episode in a six-part series on Arlan Hamilton and her company, Backstage Capital. 

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In this week’s episode we dive into what Silicon Valley considers “hustle” and how it may need to update its definition. We also find out how Arlan first got into venture capital—after months of sleeping on the floor at San Francisco International Airport. Plus, meet one venture capitalist who really gets Arlan’s goat.

This is the second episode in a six-part series on Arlan Hamilton and her company, Backstage Capital.

To find a list of our sponsors and show-related promo codes, go to gimlet.media/OurAdvertisers

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Silicon Valley is leaving money on the table, and Arlan Hamilton will go to extremes to prove it. She's a venture capitalist like no other — black, female, gay — and she's out to prove that investors in the Valley are overlooking big returns they could tap into by investing in more outsiders. Arlan calls them "underestimated" founders, and she's planning to get as rich as Richard Branson by investing in them. But her thesis is still untested, and she's running out of time to show Silicon Valley what she's got.

This is the first part of a six-part series on Arlan Hamilton and her company, Backstage Capital.

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What's it like having Zach Braff play you on TV? Alex gets to ponder that question with the man himself on stage at NYC Podfest. They also talk about Chris Sacca, swearing on podcasts, and crying at work in a conversation moderated by StartUp co-host Lisa Chow.

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Season 7 of StartUp is almost here! On April 27th, we’re taking you into the world of venture capital with Silicon Valley’s most unlikely power broker: Arlan Hamilton. 

Here’s a sneak peek of our story.

And are you looking for more Gimlet in your life? Then click here to view our guide to other Gimlet shows coming this spring.

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Gimlet co-founders Alex Blumberg and Matt Lieber are pretty much on the same page… right? 

This week, we put their relationship to the test. Producer Luke Malone got Matt and Alex into separate studios and asked them the same set of questions. Then, Matt and Alex listened back to each other’s answers and find out if they’re really as in sync as they thought. Do the same things keep them up at night? Do they want the same things for the company? And what were their first impressions of one another? 

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In honor of the release of the TV show Alex, Inc., we’re binge dropping episodes of StartUp—the podcast that started it all—along with brand-new after shows. These are the best episodes about Gimlet, as chosen by our listeners. The fifth is: Diversity Report.

If you were to walk into Gimlet HQ in 2015, there’s something you’d notice right off the bat. It was very white. In this episode, Alex talks to his coworkers about diversity at Gimlet—what it means, and what the company can do to improve moving forward. In the after show, Alex and Matt give the back story on how it came to be that they now have some big names playing them on TV. (Yes that rhymes.)

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In honor of the release of the TV show Alex, Inc., we’re binge dropping episodes of StartUp—the podcast that started it all—along with brand-new after shows. These are the best episodes about Gimlet, as chosen by our listeners. The fourth is: We Made a Mistake.

Gimlet Media makes a mistake—one that plunges the young company into the center of an internet controversy. In the after show, Alex takes one last listener call, and is challenged by one of his producers.

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In honor of the release of the TV show Alex, Inc., we’re binge dropping episodes of StartUp—the podcast that started it all—along with brand-new after shows. These are the best episodes about Gimlet, as chosen by our listeners. The third is: How to Name Your Company.

Alex and Matt need a company name. But finding one they both like proves to be a challenge. In this after show, Alex takes a listener question about naming the company.

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