The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:

• Jon Terbell and Ted Clark
• Jay Patil
• Mathias Schilling

Each investor highlights a situation where they decided not to invest, why they passed, and how it played out.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area.

Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social.

You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.

Jeff Bussgang of Flybridge Capital joins Nick to discuss Calculating the Market Size for AI, Building an "Experimentation Machine," the Bull Case for Non-Technical Founders, and the Key to PMF in the AI Age. In this episode we cover:

• Exits and Liquidity in Venture Capital
• The Experimentation Machine and AI Opportunity
• Evaluating AI Businesses and Founders
• Challenges and Opportunities in AI Investing
• Entrepreneurship Education and Startup Ecosystems
• Product-Market Fit and Customer Discovery
• Future of AI and Venture Capital

Guest Links:

• Jeff's LinkedIn
• Jeff's X
• Flybridge's LinkedIn
• Flybridge's Website

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area.

Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social.

You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:

• Godard Abel
• Manish Patel
• Han Shen

We asked guests to discuss the factor that could cause the most disruption to the industry going forward and how that will change the next decade of venture.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area.

Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social.

You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitte

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:

• Laura Chau
• Mike Whitmire
• David Garcia

We asked guests for the most important piece of advice that they'd share with folks early in their venture career.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area.

Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social.

You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:

• Oren Yunger
• Bradley Tusk
• Jon Terbell and Ted Clark

We asked guests to discuss the most visionary founder that they've worked with and what makes them so special.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area.

Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social.

You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.

Medha Agarwal of Defy joins Nick to discuss AI Revenue-Model Transformation, Building an AI Moat, and The Arrival of Agents. In this episode we cover:

• Revenue Models and Business Models in AI-Driven Vertical Software
• Challenges and Opportunities in Vertical Software
• Defensibility and Market Differentiation
• Founder-Investor Relationships and Early Decision-Making
• Sourcing Top-Tier Talent and Seed Investing Trends
• Future of Work and AI's Impact

Guest Links:

• Medha's LinkedIn
• Medha's X
• Defy's LinkedIn
• Defy's Website

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area.

Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social.

You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:

• Jill Chase
• Eric Boduch
• Mike Whitmire

We asked guests to share the best question they've ever been asked by an allocator.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area.

Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social.

You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.

Casber Wang of Sapphire Ventures joins Nick to discuss How AI Reshapes Distribution Models, What Startups Get Wrong About Product-Led Growth, and the Real Use Case for Agents. In this episode we cover:

• AI's Impact on Business Models and Capital Efficiency
• Defensibility and Product Market Fit
• AI Fatigue and Market Conditions
• Fundraising and Investor Expectations
• Cybersecurity and Competitive Intensity
• AI Agents and Enterprise Value
• Glean's Success in Enterprise Search
• Market Conditions and Investment Strategy

Guest Links:

• Casber's LinkedIn
• Casber's Twitter/X
• Sapphire's LinkedIn
• Sapphire's Website

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area.

Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social.

You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.

On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:

• Oren Yunger
• Laura Chau
• Jon Terbell and Ted Clark

We asked guests to tell the most important lesson they've learned in their career.

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area.

Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social.

You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.

Paul Madera of Meritech Capital joins Nick to discuss Co-Founding Meritech, Betting Early on Facebook and Salesforce, Avoiding Shiny Objects, and Thinking Like a Public Market Investor. In this episode we cover:

• Challenges in Late-Stage Venture Capital
• Revenue Momentum and Investment Decisions
• Public vs. Private Markets and AI Investments
• Defense Tech and AI's Role in Workflow Software
• AI's Adoption Curve and Market Competition
• Investment Strategies and Future Outlook

Guest Links:

• Guest's LinkedIn
• Company's LinkedIn
• Company's Website

The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area.

Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social.

You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.