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.

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

• Jill Chase
• Eric Boduch
• Mike Whitmire

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.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and we'll send a list of potential investors right to your inbox!

Vince Hsieh of Cypress Growth Capital joins Nick to discuss Non-Dilutive Capital That's More Flexible Than Debt, Why Ruthless Prioritization Leads to Scale, and the One Ingredient That Makes a Company Investable at Any Stage. In this episode we cover:

• Economic Benefits and Equity Components
• Loss Ratio and Investment Criteria
• Ruthless Prioritization and Team Building
• Impact of AI and Hardware-Enabled Software
• Advantages of Investing Outside Coastal Tech Hubs
• Common Fundraising Mistakes and Prioritization

Guest Links:

• Guest's LinkedIn
• Guest's Twitter
• 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
• Laura Chau

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.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and we'll send a list of potential investors right to your inbox!

Kyle York of York IE joins Nick to discuss The VC Myth, AI Hype, Mastering GTM, and The Smart Approach to Capital Strategy and Achieving Startup Success. In this episode we cover:

• Rolling Syndicate and Market Challenges
• Operational Support and Early-Stage Investing
• Sustainable Growth and AI Opportunities
• Vertical Software and Market Consolidation
• Founder-VC Relationships and Due Diligence
• Successful Founder Traits and Market Trends
• Venture Trends and Future Perspectives
• Master Class for Early-Stage Founders

Guest Links:

• LinkedIn (guest)
• Twitter/X (guest)
• Twitter (company)
• 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.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and we'll send a list of potential investors right to your inbox!

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

• David Garcia
• Bradley Tusk
• Ted Seides

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.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and we'll send a list of potential investors right to your inbox!

Alexander Niehenke of Scale Venture Partners joins Nick to discuss The Future of AI is Vertical, Why Vertical TAMs are Getting Exponentially Larger, and Lessons from the Sector Giants that Lead to Dominance. In this episode we cover:

• Historical Reasons for Horizontal SaaS Success
• Shift Towards Vertical SaaS Solutions
• Unfair Advantages of Vertical AI Solutions
• Lessons for Modern Founders
• Expansion Strategies for Vertical Startups
• Talent Dilution and Competitive Moats
• VC Diligence and Founder Evaluation
• Regulatory Risk and Investment Decisions
• Motivation and Future of 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.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and we'll send a list of potential investors right to your inbox!

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

• Phin Upham
• Sandeep Patil
• Jill Chase

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.

Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and we'll send a list of potential investors right to your inbox!