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

By Nick MoranBusiness Technology Investing

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

November 27, 2025Investor Stories 443. Why Great Investors Move Slowly, Go Deep, and Surround Themselves with the Right People (Hsieh, Madera, Bussgang)
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:

Vince Hsieh of Cypress Growth Capital

Paul Madera of Meritech Capital

Jeff Bussgang of Flybridge Capital

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.

We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached.

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.
5 min
November 24, 2025Investor Stories 442. The Habits of Exceptional Founders, From Recruiting Great Teams to Understanding Customers (Walsh, Niehenke, Hilaly)
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:

Shamin Walsh of BAM Ventures

Alexander Niehenke of Scale Venture Partners

Aaref Hilaly of Bain Capital Ventures

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.

We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached.

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.
7 min
November 20, 2025Investor Stories 441. How Great Leaders Build Alignment, Set the Bar High, and Learn When to Let Go (Schroepfer, Saxena, Delk)
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:

Mike Schroepfer of Gigascale Capital

Shashank Saxena of Sierra Ventures

Ryan Delk of Primer

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.

We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached.

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.
6 min
November 17, 2025496. How Model Progress Shifts the Goalposts, Why The Death of Software Is Overstated, and How to Diligence Hypergrowth Without Getting Burned (Jacob Effron)
Jacob Effron of Redpoint joins Nick to discuss How Model Progress Shifts the Goalposts, Why The Death of Software Is Overstated, and How to Diligence Hypergrowth Without Getting Burned. In this episode we cover:

Investing in AI and Vertical Applications

Model Layer Advancements and Future Milestones

Challenges and Opportunities in Agentic AI

Investing in Tooling and Middleware

Product Market Fit and Defensibility in AI Applications

Verticals with Real Product Market Fit

The Evolution of AI Investing Metrics

Future Trends in AI and Robotics

Guest Links:

Jacob's LinkedIn

Jacob's X

Redpoint's LinkedIn

Redpoint'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.

We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached.

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.
38 min
November 13, 2025Investor Stories 440. The Questions That Expose True Alignment, How Founders Test Investors, and Why the Hard Ones Matter Most (Wang, Banks, Cohen)
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:

Casber Wang of Sapphire Ventures

Lara Banks of Makena Capital Management

David Cohen of Techstars

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.

We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached.

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.
6 min
November 10, 2025Investor Stories 439. From Angel Bets to Scalable Platforms, The Power of Listening, and Doing the Work Yourself (York, Dash, Madera)
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:

Kyle York of York IE

Somesh Dash of IVP

Paul Madera of Meritech Capital

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.

We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached.

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.
6 min
November 06, 2025Investor Stories 438. The Deals That Got Away: LinkedIn, Snowflake, and Zeitview (Jiang, Schuler, Rizik)
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:

Kevin Jiang of Mangusta Capital

Barry Schuler of DFJ Growth Ventures

Chris Rizik of Renaissance Venture Capital

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.

We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached.

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.
8 min
November 03, 2025495. From CTO to $500M AUM: Entry Point Discipline, Why People Matter at Every Stage, and the AI-Driven Future of Banking (Victor Orlovski)
Victor Orlovski of R136 Ventures joins Nick to discuss From CTO to $500M AUM: Entry Point Discipline, Why People Matter at Every Stage, and the AI-Driven Future of Banking. In this episode we cover:

Exit Strategies and Market Challenges

Risks and Opportunities in Late-Stage Investments

Banking and FinTech Challenges

Future of Financial Markets and AI in Banking

Impact of AI on Financial Institutions

Role of Founders in the AI Era

Guest Links:

Victor's LinkedIn

Victor's X

R136's LinkedIn

R136'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.

We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached.

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.
39 min
October 30, 2025Investor Stories 437. Why Founders Must Hold Their Ground, Why Investors Must Break Their Rules, and How Both Survive the Chaos (Binatti, Schroepfer, Ruscio)
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:

Daniela Binatti of Pismo

Mike Schroepfer of Gigascale Capital

Joseph Ruscio of Heavybit

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.

We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached.

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.
9 min
October 27, 2025Investor Stories 436. Visionary Founders, From Steve Jobs to Brian Armstrong, and the Leaders Blending Life Sciences and Technology (Schuler, Saxena, Bussgang)
On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:

Barry Schuler of DFJ Growth Ventures

Shashank Saxena of Sierra Ventures

Jeff Bussgang of Flybridge Capital

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.

We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached.

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.
6 min

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

From the publisher's feed

The podcast dedicated to demystifying Venture Capital. Nick Moran and Nate Pierotti interview VC's & Startup Founders and on how they build great technology startups.