The Boost VC Podcast

By Adam Draper

What's The Boost VC Podcast about?

Join Boost VC’s Founder & Managing Director Adam Draper, to learn about emerging technology from leading figures in the industry. Each episode we interview founders and investors to explore topics like startup strategy and venture capital, as well as incredible technology like bitcoin, virtual reality, AI, exoskeletons, drones, space and more.

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The Boost VC Podcast episodes:

09.12.2023
Bringing Scientific Expertise to the VC Market—with Arkady Kulik of RPV
On this episode of The Boost VC Podcast, Arkady joins us to explain how the RPV team’s extensive background in science and entrepreneurship serves deep tech startups.
06.12.2023
DeepTech Series Ep # 4: Betting on Mission-Driven Deep Tech—with Maryanna Saenko of Future Ventures
Maryanna Saenko is Cofounder and Partner at Future Ventures, an early-stage VC firm that focuses on mission-driven companies at the cutting edge of disruptive technology.
06.05.2023
DeepTech Series Ep # 3: What to Look for in a Deep Tech Founder—with Greg Castle of Anorak Ventures
On this episode of Boost VC, Greg joins us to explore how his view of venture investing has changed since he wrote his first check, explaining what he looks for in a founder and how he evaluates deep tech startups...
05.21.2023
DeepTech Series Ep # 2: Thesis Development for Deep Tech—with Seth Winterroth of Eclipse Ventures
On this episode of Boost VC, Seth joins us to explore how Eclipse thinks about investing in emerging technologies, explaining how the team engages with customers and leverages internal expertise to identify high-magnitude market opportunities.
05.15.2023
DeepTech Series Ep # 1: Making Global-Scale Impact Through Deep Tech—with Ian Rountree of Cantos
On this episode of Boost VC, Ian joins us to share his definition of deep tech and explain why he underwrites technical risk rather than market risk.
12.13.2022
DeSci Ep # 7: How DeSci Bridges Academia and the Startup World—with Niklas Rindtorff of LabDAO
Niklas Rindtorff is the classical scientist behind LabDAO, an online home for inventors that builds open tools for scientific research. Niklas coauthored his first paper before the age of 20, and he has expertise in CRISPR and cancer research.
11.29.2022
DeSci Ep # 6: Commercializing Science for Climate Solutions—with George Church & Ben Lamm of Colossal
In academia, most scientists publish their ideas and stop there. But if we want our breakthroughs to benefit society, we have to take it a step further.
11.09.2022
DeSci Ep #5: An Investor’s Perspective on DeSci—with James Sinka of Orange DAO
James Sinka is a classically trained chemist and materials engineer and DeSci investor at Orange DAO, a fund for crypto projects supported by an alliance of Y Combinator alumni.
09.08.2022
DeSci Ep #4: Decentralizing Drug Development—with Paul Kohlhaas & Tyler Golato of Molecule
On this episode of Boost VC, Paul and Tyler join us to explain how their personal experiences with the failures of healthcare inspired their interest in changing the system.
08.15.2022
DeSci Ep #3: Why Scientists Are the Unappreciated Creator Class—with Jocelynn Pearl of LabDAO
On this episode of Boost VC, Jocelynn joins us to explain how DeSci solves for speed of translation and communicates science better than existing systems, exploring how the movement might specifically facilitate breakthroughs around rare disease.
08.04.2022
DeSci Ep. #2: Addressing the Misalignment of Incentives in Science—with Patrick Joyce of ResearchHub
Patrick Joyce is the Cofounder and COO of ResearchHub, a Reddit-style forum that allows anyone to share, discuss and curate scientific papers—and earn ERC-20 tokens for doing so.
07.27.2022
DeSci Ep. #1: Using Web3 Tech to Reward Good Science—with Chris Hill & Philipp Koellinger of DeSci Labs
The system for publishing scientific research is broken. Academic success is measured by citations rather than scientific quality. And publishing companies have a monopoly on the knowledge scientists produce. Can we use blockchain technology to promote the verifiability of scientific findings?...
07.27.2022
DeSci Intro: A Framework for Understanding Decentralized Science or DeSci
On this edition of Boost VC, I’m sharing a framework for the next several episodes of the podcast around decentralized science or DeSci. I discuss the incentive system that drives publishing in science and how it constrains which breakthroughs make it...
06.28.2022
The DotCom Boom And Bust with guests Marc Andreessen and Tim Draper
Marc Andreessen is Founder and General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, and Tim Draper is Founder and Managing Director at Draper VC. And both Marc and Tim were either running or investing in tech startups at the time.
06.30.2021
Ep.111 Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Ask an Astronaut—with Dr. Edward Lu of B612
Given the opportunity, what would you ask an astronaut? What’s it like to be in space? How is it different from Earth? What does it take to become an astronaut? How has spacecraft tech evolved over the years? Will we...
03.25.2021
Ep. 110: Solving the $800M Problem of Apparel Returns—with Vadim Rogovskiy of 3DLOOK
A total of $2T in apparel is sold online each year. But 30% to 40% of that apparel is returned. So, what if consumers could snap a couple of photos with their smartphone camera and get clothes that are the...
02.18.2021
Ep. 109: Translating Complex Tech Through Design—with Daniel Scrivner of Flow
Design is about much more than just making things look good. Design is valuable because it translates the complexities of technology to us mere mortals. It serves as a way to educate the market and make tech easy for everyday...
01.28.2021
Ep. 108: Designing the Test Flight of VR—with Orla Harris of SideQuest
This has been a transformative year for VR. In addition to the launch of Quest 2, the global pandemic is forcing us to explore alternative ways to communicate. And SideQuest VR has been at the center of the action, creating...
01.21.2021
Ep. 107: The Future of Fundraising—with Joris Delanoue & Thibauld Favre of Fairmint
When serial entrepreneurs Thibauld Favre and Joris Delanoue joined forces to build the future of fundraising, the Frenchmen chose San Francisco as their home base in large part because of its investor mindset. So, how do Silicon Valley VCs think...
01.14.2021
Ep. 106: A Migration Path from USD to Crypto—with Andy Bromberg of Eco
Andy Bromberg is the new CEO of Eco, a wallet designed to simplify everyday finances and maximize earning power. Andy began his career in startups as the CEO of political media platform Sidewire before cofounding CoinList in 2017, where...
01.07.2021
Ep. 105: Get Uncle Sam to Invest in Your Startup—with Sedale Turbovsky of OpenGrants
Sedale Turbovsky is the Cofounder and CEO of OpenGrants, the most powerful grant search tool in the US. The OpenGrants team is on a mission to unlock billions of dollars in grant funding for the best startups in the world,...
12.17.2020
Ep. 104: Building Your Team & Product in Tandem—with Sam Cole & Sameer Baroova of FitXR
CEO Sam Cole and CPO Sameer Baroova are the Cofounders of FitXR, a startup that is putting the fun back into fitness by way of award-winning virtual reality fitness experiences. In FitXR’s virtual gym, users have access to 20-plus hours...
12.10.2020
Ep. 103: Why Now is the Right Time for Crypto—with Chris Dixon of a16z
12.02.2020
Ep. 102: The Next Big Idea in Crypto—with Cameron & Tyler Winklevoss of Gemini
Cameron and Tyler are the Cofounders of Gemini, a next-generation cryptocurrency exchange and custodian that allows users to buy, sell and store digital assets. The brothers are famous for creating the precursor to Facebook (as portrayed in The Social Network)...
11.19.2020
Ep. 101: A Batwoman-Signal for Female Founders—with Jesse Draper of Halogen Ventures
Despite being raised in the tech startup world, Jesse Draper didn’t believe she could BE that. Because she didn’t see women entrepreneurs, it didn’t seem like an option. So, Jesse started seeking out female founders—first to interview and later to...
10.08.2020
Ep. 100: To Define Your Business Model, Follow the Money—with Emily Dong of Snout
Emily Dong is the Founder and CEO of SnoutID, a company working to improve the patient experience at veterinary practices through the centralization of data. Prior to Snout, she built and sold Pawprint Inc., a pet health app designed to...
10.01.2020
Ep. 99: Finding VC in an I-Don’t-Know Moment—with Dillon Liang
Dillon Liang is a Junior VC at Bullpen Capital, an early-stage, post-seed venture fund based in Silicon Valley. His resume prior to Bullpen includes roles at M13, Techstars Cedars-Sinai, Core Innovation Capital and Uncharted Ventures. Dillon earned his BA from...
09.25.2020
Ep.98: The Evolution of a Founder as a Startup Scales—with Spenser Skates of Amplitude
Spenser Skates is the Cofounder and CEO of Amplitude Analytics, the leading product intelligence platform that helps companies leverage customer data to build better products. After graduating from MIT in 2010, Spenser spent a year working in finance and convincing...
09.18.2020
Ep.97: If You Can’t Be a Unicorn, Be a Workhorse—with Aleem Mawani of Streak
Aleem Mawani is the Cofounder of Streak, a CRM for Gmail that helps small teams manage any workflow from their inbox, including sales, project management, fundraising, customer support, hiring and business development. Prior to Streak, Aleem served as a Program...
09.10.2020
Ep. 96: The Future of Education is VR—with Tom Impallomeni
Tom Impallomeni is the Cofounder and CEO of TribeXR, a startup that leverages VR to teach creative skills, with the ultimate goal of turning aspiring musicians into professionals and performers. Tom has an extensive background in building companies, and his...
09.03.2020
Ep.95: How dWeb Outdoes the Traditional Internet—with Matthew Gould & Brad Kam of Unstoppable Domains
Matthew Gould and Bradley Kam are the cofounders of Unstoppable Domains, a crypto startup that builds censorship-resistant websites and sells blockchain domain names to fund the gateway to the decentralized web. Prior to Unstoppable, Matthew and Brad both served on...
08.27.2020
Ep.94: Funding Biotech with Conscious Capitalism (to Save the World)—with Arvind Gupta
The old way of doing capitalism is about making money in the short term, and that way of thinking has caused a lot of destruction. But some venture funds are taking a new approach and deploying capital in a way...
04.11.2019
Ep.93: Leveraging VR to Revolutionize Healthcare Education & Training—with Brian Conyer of GIBLIB
A whole lot of founders make the mistake of undervaluing their product. Some even give it away for free, not realizing that generating revenue is critical to proving out a business model and attracting venture investors. Healthcare education startup GIBLIB...
04.04.2019
Ep. 92: The VC’s Role as the Sixth Man—with FinTech Investor Michael Sidgmore of Broadhaven Ventures
Michael is a Partner at Broadhaven Ventures, an independent investment bank serving the financial services industry. In his role at Broadhaven, Michael focuses on sourcing, investing and managing investments in early-stage FinTech startups. Prior to joining the firm, he served...
03.28.2019
Ep.91: Filling the Voids in the Crypto Market—with Joey Krug of Pantera Capital
Today, Joey joins us to explain how he balances his work for Pantera with his ongoing involvement in Augur. He offers insight around the early days of the Augur Project, discussing the decision to pursue an ICO, his method for...
03.21.2019
Ep. 90: Sparking Great Companies—with Keith Rabois of Founders Fund
Keith Rabois is General Partner at Founders Fund, a VC firm focused on supporting entrepreneurs building revolutionary technologies. Keith is known for guiding early-stage startups to become successful businesses, and his impressive resume includes executive positions at PayPal, LinkedIn and...
03.14.2019
Ep. 89: Inspiring Deep Tech Founders to Invest in Sales & Marketing—with Greg Castle of Anorak Ventures
Today, Greg joins us to share his experience as a seed investor in Oculus, explaining how the experience inspired him to become a VC. He describes his value-add for the companies he works with in the realm of sales and...
03.07.2019
Ep. 88: Building the Superpower of Personal Flight—with David Mayman of JetPack Aviation
David Mayman is the founder, CEO and Chief Test Pilot of JetPack Aviation, the undisputed leader in turbine-powered, VTOL aircraft. With more than a decade of experience refining its technology, JetPack is the first company to design and manufacture a...
02.28.2019
Ep. 87: Opportunities in Ocean Tech—with Liané Thompson of Aquaai
Liané Thompson is the cofounder and CEO of Aquaii, a B2B startup using AI, computer vision, machine learning and biomimicry to create ecofriendly robotic fish to monitor below the surface and gather sophisticated data from the ocean. Prior to Aquaai,...
02.21.2019
Ep. 86: The Tipping Point of VR Mass Adoption—with Tipatat Chennavasin of Venture Reality Fund
Tipatat Chennavasin is the cofounder and General Partner with The Venture Reality Fund, a VC firm that invests in early-stage AR, VR and AI startups in an effort to power the future of computing. Tipatat is a thought leader in...
01.17.2019
Ep. 85: Solving for Shared Experiences in XR—with Anjney Midha CEO of Ubiquity6
Anjney Midha is the cofounder and CEO of Ubiquity6, a startup using computer vision to create multiplayer experiences for augmented and virtual reality. Founded by alums from Metamind, Facebook, Tesla, Twitter and Stanford, the Ubiquity team is leveraging spatial computing...
11.15.2018
Ep. 84: Media in Crypto with Mike Dudas of The Block
Mike Dudas is the founder and CEO of The Block, the most reliable source of information for all things crypto. The media startup aims to cut through the noise, making the blockchain and cryptoassets accessible by way of social engagement...
11.08.2018
Ep. 83: Solving for Volatility in Crypto with a Decentralized Stablecoin—with Steven Becker of MakerDAO
Steven Becker is the President and COO of MakerDAO, a decentralized, autonomous organization on the Ethereum blockchain. Based in Santa Cruz, California, Maker seeks to realize the potential of cryptocurrency through its Dai stablecoin, collateral loans and decentralized governance. Steven...
10.18.2018
Ep. 82: The New Frontier of Marketing in the Crypto Space—with Jordan Spence of MyCrypto
Jordan Spence is the CMO of MyCrypto, an open-source, client-side tool for interacting with the blockchain. The Ethereum interface provides a suite of tools the community can use to generate a wallet on the Ethereum blockchain, access the addresses they...
10.11.2018
Ep. 81: Healthcare Innovation, Data Access & the Blockchain —with Kat Kuzmeskas of SimplyVital
Today, Kat joins us to discuss the challenges of innovating in the healthcare space, describing the market’s slow adoption of advanced technology and the reteaching necessary around the role of the blockchain. She shares her interest in healthcare administration and...
10.04.2018
Ep. 80: Pen Testing, Persistence & Product/Market Fit—with Jacob Hansen of Cobalt
When you’re building a startup, it is easy to get caught up in creating the product itself and assume that the technology is the most important thing. But Jacob Hansen argues that an early focus on users is necessary in...
09.27.2018
Ep. 79: {Rebroadcast}: Returning the Power of the Internet to Its Users—Via Cryptocurrency with a16z VC Chris Dixon
Chris is a general partner with VC firm Andreessen Horowitz. He has made several seed- and venture-stage investments for a16z, including BuzzFeed, Coinbase, Dispatch.ai, Oculus and Skydio. Chris is also an active angel investor, having made personal investments in tech...
09.20.2018
Ep. 78: {Rebroadcast}: Olaf Carlson-Wee, Founder of Polychain Capital
Do you know how a former lumberjack becomes the founder of and leader of the largest crypto hedge fund? Listen to this episode of The Boost VC podcast where Adam Draper talks to Olaf Carlson-Wee the founder of Polychain and...
09.13.2018
Ep. 77: {Rebroadcast}: Freedom, Global Entrepreneurship and the Possibilities of Cryptocurrency with VC Tim Draper
“Venture capital, to me, is a way that we can raise money to help entrepreneurs who can go out there and do something for the world that just opens it up. I am always pushing for freedom, and I think...
09.06.2018
Ep. 76: {Rebroadcast}: Sidechains, Stable Coins, and What’s Wrong with the ICO with Charlie Lee of Litecoin
Charlie Lee created Litecoin in 2011 while he was working as software engineer for Google. Litecoin is ‘the silver to Bitcoin’s gold,’ functioning as a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that complements Bitcoin. In the long-term, Charlie sees Litecoin becoming a payment currency...

What's The Boost VC Podcast about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The Boost VC Podcast episodes:

Bringing Scientific Expertise to the VC Market—with Arkady Kulik of RPV

DeepTech Series Ep # 4: Betting on Mission-Driven Deep Tech—with Maryanna Saenko of Future Ventures

DeepTech Series Ep # 3: What to Look for in a Deep Tech Founder—with Greg Castle of Anorak Ventures

DeepTech Series Ep # 2: Thesis Development for Deep Tech—with Seth Winterroth of Eclipse Ventures

DeepTech Series Ep # 1: Making Global-Scale Impact Through Deep Tech—with Ian Rountree of Cantos

DeSci Ep # 7: How DeSci Bridges Academia and the Startup World—with Niklas Rindtorff of LabDAO

DeSci Ep # 6: Commercializing Science for Climate Solutions—with George Church & Ben Lamm of Colossal

DeSci Ep #5: An Investor’s Perspective on DeSci—with James Sinka of Orange DAO

DeSci Ep #4: Decentralizing Drug Development—with Paul Kohlhaas & Tyler Golato of Molecule

DeSci Ep #3: Why Scientists Are the Unappreciated Creator Class—with Jocelynn Pearl of LabDAO

DeSci Ep. #2: Addressing the Misalignment of Incentives in Science—with Patrick Joyce of ResearchHub

DeSci Ep. #1: Using Web3 Tech to Reward Good Science—with Chris Hill & Philipp Koellinger of DeSci Labs

DeSci Intro: A Framework for Understanding Decentralized Science or DeSci

The DotCom Boom And Bust with guests Marc Andreessen and Tim Draper

Ep.111 Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Ask an Astronaut—with Dr. Edward Lu of B612

Ep. 110: Solving the $800M Problem of Apparel Returns—with Vadim Rogovskiy of 3DLOOK

Ep. 109: Translating Complex Tech Through Design—with Daniel Scrivner of Flow

Ep. 108: Designing the Test Flight of VR—with Orla Harris of SideQuest

Ep. 107: The Future of Fundraising—with Joris Delanoue & Thibauld Favre of Fairmint

Ep. 106: A Migration Path from USD to Crypto—with Andy Bromberg of Eco

Ep. 105: Get Uncle Sam to Invest in Your Startup—with Sedale Turbovsky of OpenGrants

Ep. 104: Building Your Team & Product in Tandem—with Sam Cole & Sameer Baroova of FitXR

Ep. 103: Why Now is the Right Time for Crypto—with Chris Dixon of a16z

Ep. 102: The Next Big Idea in Crypto—with Cameron & Tyler Winklevoss of Gemini

Ep. 101: A Batwoman-Signal for Female Founders—with Jesse Draper of Halogen Ventures

Ep. 100: To Define Your Business Model, Follow the Money—with Emily Dong of Snout

Ep. 99: Finding VC in an I-Don’t-Know Moment—with Dillon Liang

Ep.98: The Evolution of a Founder as a Startup Scales—with Spenser Skates of Amplitude

Ep.97: If You Can’t Be a Unicorn, Be a Workhorse—with Aleem Mawani of Streak

Ep. 96: The Future of Education is VR—with Tom Impallomeni

Ep.95: How dWeb Outdoes the Traditional Internet—with Matthew Gould & Brad Kam of Unstoppable Domains

Ep.94: Funding Biotech with Conscious Capitalism (to Save the World)—with Arvind Gupta

Ep.93: Leveraging VR to Revolutionize Healthcare Education & Training—with Brian Conyer of GIBLIB

Ep. 92: The VC’s Role as the Sixth Man—with FinTech Investor Michael Sidgmore of Broadhaven Ventures

Ep.91: Filling the Voids in the Crypto Market—with Joey Krug of Pantera Capital

Ep. 90: Sparking Great Companies—with Keith Rabois of Founders Fund

Ep. 89: Inspiring Deep Tech Founders to Invest in Sales & Marketing—with Greg Castle of Anorak Ventures

Ep. 88: Building the Superpower of Personal Flight—with David Mayman of JetPack Aviation

Ep. 87: Opportunities in Ocean Tech—with Liané Thompson of Aquaai

Ep. 86: The Tipping Point of VR Mass Adoption—with Tipatat Chennavasin of Venture Reality Fund

Ep. 85: Solving for Shared Experiences in XR—with Anjney Midha CEO of Ubiquity6

Ep. 84: Media in Crypto with Mike Dudas of The Block

Ep. 83: Solving for Volatility in Crypto with a Decentralized Stablecoin—with Steven Becker of MakerDAO

Ep. 82: The New Frontier of Marketing in the Crypto Space—with Jordan Spence of MyCrypto

Ep. 81: Healthcare Innovation, Data Access & the Blockchain —with Kat Kuzmeskas of SimplyVital

Ep. 80: Pen Testing, Persistence & Product/Market Fit—with Jacob Hansen of Cobalt

Ep. 79: {Rebroadcast}: Returning the Power of the Internet to Its Users—Via Cryptocurrency with a16z VC Chris Dixon

Ep. 78: {Rebroadcast}: Olaf Carlson-Wee, Founder of Polychain Capital

Ep. 77: {Rebroadcast}: Freedom, Global Entrepreneurship and the Possibilities of Cryptocurrency with VC Tim Draper

Ep. 76: {Rebroadcast}: Sidechains, Stable Coins, and What’s Wrong with the ICO with Charlie Lee of Litecoin