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

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

• Mike Whitmire
• David Garcia
• Bradley Tusk

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.

Mike Maples of Floodgate joins Nick to discuss The OG Seed Investor, Mike Maples Jr., on Spotting Inflection Points, Living in the Future, and Why the Best Form of Competition Is No Competition. In this episode we cover:

• The Evolution of Seed Investing
• Identifying Exceptional Founders
• The Role of Inflections in Startups
• The Impact of AI on Startups
• Sea Changes and Business Model Migrations
• The Importance of Specificity and Narrative Design
• The Role of Pattern Recognition in Venture Capital

Guest Links:

• Twitter/X (guest)
• 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.

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

• Rusty Ralston and Jay Patil
• Mathias Schilling
• Kevin Stevens

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 Twitter.

Chris Rizik of Renaissance Venture Capital joins Nick to discuss Inside the LP Playbook with Venture Vanguard, Chris Rizik: What Metrics Actually Matter, How to Fix Venture's Liquidity Crisis, and Why Co-Invests Are a Trap. In this episode we cover:

• Connectivity and Customer Engagement
• Undemo Day and Its Unique Features
• Venture Capital Liquidity Crisis and Exit Problems
• Co-Investment Rights and Their Challenges
• Capital Constraints and Pro Rata Rights
• Valuation and Exit Strategies
• Capital Efficient Startups and Exit Paths
• Pharma and Biotech Investments
• Company Creation and Emerging Models
• AI and Venture Strategy
• Midwest Venture Ecosystem and Future Potential

Guest Links:

• Twitter/X (guest)
• 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.

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

• Gregory Ho
• Oren Yunger
• Bradley Tusk

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.

Somesh Dash of IVP joins Nick to discuss Classical vs. Jazz Leadership, IPO Readiness & Key Metrics for a Successful Offering, Requirements for David to Beat Goliath, and Why Altman and Other Leaders are Pivoting to Open Source. In this episode we cover:

• AI's Role in Venture Investing
• AI Open Source & Model Layer
• AI in Healthcare, Education & Social Impact
• Globalization of Tech, Broader Trends & Perspectives
• Founder Traits & Evaluation
• Market Dynamics & Cycles
• Future of Tech & AI-Native Generation

Guest Links:

• Guest's LinkedIn
• Company's LinkedIn
• Company's Website
• Twitter/X (guest)

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:

• Laura Chau
• Mike Whitmire
• David Garcia

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.

Aaref Hilaly of Bain Capital Ventures joins Nick to discuss The Biggest Misconceptions About AI Agents, Why Defensibility Doesn't Matter at Seed, and Whether the AI Center of Gravity Is Shifting to China. In this episode we cover:

• AI Investment Strategy and Market Utility
• Impact of AI on Jobs and Early Instances of Reasoning
• Open vs. Closed Source Models and Data Control
• Scenario Planning and Unique Insights of Backed Companies
• Infrastructure and Application Investment Focus
• Future of Vertical Solutions and Infrastructure Investment

Guest Links:

• Twitter/X (guest)
• 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.

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

• Phin Upham
• Gregory Ho
• Oren Yunger

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.

Ryan Delk of Primer joins Nick to discuss Fixing Education with a Startup Mentality: The Innovative Micro Schools-Model Backed by Founders Fund, Khosla, and Sam Altman. In this episode we cover:

• Challenges in the American Education System
• Comparative Analysis of American Education
• Measuring Success in Education
• Broken Incentive Structures in Education
• Primer's Educational Model
• Teacher Selection and Empowerment
• Future of Education and Policy Changes

Guest Links:

• Guest's LinkedIn
• Company's LinkedIn
• Company's Website
• Ryan's Twitter/X

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.