In this episode of StrictlyVC Download, hosts Connie Loizos and Alex Gove are joined by, Ali Partovi, co-founder and CEO of Neo. They talk about Neo's evolution from a scholar program that provides grants to talented technical young people to a venture fund that recently raised $320 million in committed capital. Partovi discusses Neo's investment philosophy, which focuses on identifying future tech leaders while they're still in college. He explains his three key criteria for selecting founders and emphasizes the importance of charisma, leadership potential and the ability to attract other talented individuals.

Chapters:

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This week on Strictly VC Download, TechCrunch Editor in Chief, Connie Loizos, sits down with Julie Wainwright, the founder of The RealReal who faced one of tech's most public failures with Pets.com. They discuss Julie's recent memoir, Time to Get Real. They get into board dynamics, leadership challenges, and how she rebuilt her career when Silicon Valley tried to write her off.

Chapter:

00:00 - Introduction

03:08 - Breaking barriers in tech leadership

06:08 - Leading pets.com through the dot-com boom and bust

09:10 - Personal fallout: Divorce, media pressure, and retreat from Silicon Valley

12:27 - Rebuilding after failure and exploring new business ideas

15:35 - The founding of The RealReal and insights on launching in luxury resale

18:08 - Leadership challenges, difficult personalities, and board dynamics

21:34 - Reflecting on stepping down from The RealReal and its impact

24:28 - Launching Ahara and the mission behind personalized nutrition

27:03 - Nutrition trends, combating misinformation, and final reflections

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This week Connie Loizos and Alex Gove are joined by return guest Hans Swildens. Hans is the founder and CEO of Industry Ventures, a firm known  for its pioneering role in the venture secondary market. With stakes in over 700 venture funds and years of experience in the secondaries market, we wanted to have him on to discuss how VCs are thinking about venture’s current liquidity problem.

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Forerunner has seen a number of high-profile successes in their investments, showing an ability to get ahead of consumer trends with investments in Oura, Chime, the Farmer's Dog and beyond in non-B2C companies. And to get a sense of how that happened, and what's next for Forerunner in the AI era, TechCrunch Editor-in-Chief Connie Loizos spoke with their Founder and Managing Partner Kirsten Green during a StrictlyVC event in San Francisco.

Chapters:

00:00 - Introduction and Kirsten’s Investing Philosophy

01:42 - Founding Forerunner and the Early Vision

03:28 - Identifying Consumer Behavior Shifts

05:10 - Building Trust with Founders

06:47 - Evaluating Consumer Brands Today

08:15 - Challenges and Lessons in Venture

10:03 - Forerunner’s Collaborative Approach

11:50 - What Makes a Standout Founder

13:30 - Advice for Entrepreneurs and Wrap-Up

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In this bonus episode, Connie Loizos is joined by Flexport's CEO Ryan Petersen to discuss the ins and outs of the tariffs' impact, the industry's reaction and why Petersen still sees long-term opportunity in global trade.

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In this week's episode, Connie Loizos and Alex Gove are joined by entrepreneur, futurist, and best-selling author Peter Diamandis. He's founder of XPRIZE Foundation and the co-founder of SIngularity University. In this conversation he laid out his vision for how tech will transform our lives and make longevity advances in the near future. The question is, will these advances just be for the unlta-wealthy?

Chapters:

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:02:26 - Peter Diamandis on Longevity Escape Velocity

00:08:14 - Epigenetic Reprograming and the Future of Gene Therapy

00:10:59 - Diamandis's Investments in Longevity Startups

00:11:28 - The XPrize Foundation and the Healthspan XPrize

00:14:19 - Comparing Approaches to Longevity: Brian Johnson and XPrize

00:15:18 - Fountain Life: Diagnostics and Therapeutics

00:18:28 - The Mechanics of the Healthspan XPrize

00:24:13 - Peter Diamandis and Elon Musk

00:27:13 - AI, Purpose, and the Future of Work

00:30:48 - Wealth Concentration and the Idea of Abundance

00:34:19 - The Post-Capitalist Society

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Today Connie and Alex are joined by Jonah Peretti who has been working in digital media for the past two decades as the founder and CEO of BuzzFeed—a brand that has seen a ton of evolution. Last month, Jonah announced the next phase of Buzzfeed, a social media platform that will use AI to ensure a positive environment. They’re investing $10 million into BuzzFeed island which is an AI-native social media platform.

Chapters:

00:00 - Introduction

03:19 - Previewing BF Island: A New AI-Native Social Platform

09:40 - Reimagining the Internet: From Crack Cocaine to Beer and Wine

11:16 - AI Models, Guard Rails, and Creative Hallucinations

15:26 - BuzzFeed's Business Model and Financial Strategy

18:30 - Divesting Complex Networks and First We Feast

22:03 - AI's Role in Content Creation and Media Efficiency

25:48 - The Closure of BuzzFeed News and Digital Journalism Challenges

28:24 - Balancing Financial Pressures with Creative Innovation

32:33 - Future of Media and Launching New Platforms

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This week on StrictlyVC Download TechCrunch editor-in-chief Connie Loizos and StrictlyVC’s Alex Gove are joined by Michael Kim, the long-time VC and founder of Cendana Capital where he has built a $2.6 billion portfolio focused exclusively on seed and pre-seed funds, backing some of the most successful emerging managers in the industry. In this episode they discuss Cendana’s latest $600 million fundraise, the rise of secondaries and how they’re affecting returns, how Cendana’s team sniffs out the winners in a competitive market, and of course we got into how AI is changing the startup ecosystem.

00:00 - Introduction

03:49 - The Fundraising Journey and Institutional Investors

05:20 - Key Partnerships and Early Support

07:48 - Growth and Investment Strategy Adjustments

11:20 - The Rise of Secondaries in Venture Capital

14:32 - Identifying and Backing Emerging Fund Managers

17:24 - The Impact of AI on Venture Capital and Startups

18:19 - Changing Venture Investment Structures and Trends

20:26 - Spotlight on New Fund Managers

21:41 - Co-Investments, SPVs, and Strategic Adjustments

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In this episode TechCrunch Editor in Chief, Connie Loizos, is joined by Aileen Lee the founder of Cowboy Ventures. Aileen coined the term "unicorn" in a TechCrunch article all the way back in late 2013. In this conversation, they discuss what’s on the horizon for Cowboy Ventures and how she’s thinking about AI’s impact on job creation, automation, and new business models—while also giving listeners a glimpse into Cowboy’s own recent team changes.

Chapters:

00:00 - Introduction

04:30 - The Startup Liquidity Crisis and Venture Capital Overload

06:59 - The Secondary Market and Startup Exits

12:00 - Investing in "Unsexy Tech"

19:46 - Changes at Cowboy Ventures and Team Transitions

21:30 - The Workforce of the Future and AI’s Role

31:25 - AI’s Role in Reviving Consumer Tech

34:21 - AI’s Potential to Reinvent Everyday Processes

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In this week's episode, Connie Loizos is joined by Kevin Rose, best known for founding Digg. The news aggregator changed the way people engaged with the news back in 2004, and it's apparently coming back. That’s right. Kevin joined forces with Alexis Ohanian – his former rival and the co-founder of Reddit, and Digg’s new CEO Justin Mezzell to relaunch Digg for a completely new and expanded audience. In this conversation, Rose shares the story behind repurchasing Digg, why now is the perfect moment for a comeback, and how AI will play a key role in moderating and enhancing online discourse.

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