Follow Arian: https://twitter.com/arian_ghashghai

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About Arian:

Arian is the Founding Partner of Earthling VC, a forward-thinking investment firm focused on pre-seed companies at the forefront of the next digital revolution. Before committing to venture capital full-time, Arian was a senior machine learning engineer at Meta Reality Labs, where he specialized in spatial AI development. Simultaneously, he actively engaged in angel investing and offered operational support to early-stage startups.

With a passion for innovation and a keen eye for emerging trends, he is dedicated to propelling the next wave of digital breakthroughs and empowering the visionary founders behind them and support founders buildeing for the next paradigm shift in digital technology.

In this episode, we talk about the future of computing, what is the augmentative era, has the augmentative era started, what will replace our screens, what is the future of consumer technology, how to build companies for the future, what factor decides which companies will last, how does the general consumer think, difference between product and technology, how to time the market, role of ai in the future of computing, fundraising for futuristic companies + so much more!

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Follow Sudhir: https://twitter.com/sudhirksethi

Follow Chiratae: https://twitter.com/chirataevc

About Sudhir:

Sudhir is Founder & Chairman of Chiratae Ventures India Advisors. Chiratae Ventures. Chiratae is a leading VC firm with an AUM of $ 1.2 b, invested in 130 plus companies, exited 60 plus, has taken 3 companies public, funded 9 Unicorns, and backed 15 market leaders. The firm is based out of Bangalore with offices in Mumbai and Delhi.

Since 1998, Sudhir and his team have advised on investments across Deep Tech, Agri Tech, Digital Consumer, SAAS, Fintech and Healthcare Sectors. Key investments include Myntra, Flipkart, FirstCry, Lenskart, PolicyBazaar, Curefit, Agrostar, Emotix, Uniphore and PlaySimple amongst others. Today Chiratae Ventures is a leading tech VC in India with Mr. Ratan Tata, Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan, Mr. Bruno Raschle, Dr Andreas Hettich, Mr. Manish Choksi, Mr Patrick McGovern, Mr Puneet Pushkarna, Mr Ken Shibusawa as well as Dr. Ferzaan Engineer on its Global Advisory Board and India Advisory Board.

In 2021, Sudhir was recognized by Red Herring as one of the leading venture capitalists in the country. He has been named among the Top Ten IT Professionals by Dataquest and by Bloomberg UTV as “Visionary Venture Capitalist’’ in 2011. Sudhir has been featured in Subroto Bagchi’s book ‘’Zen Garden – Conversations with Pathmakers’’, in 2014.

In addition to leading Chiratae Ventures India Advisors, Sudhir has served on EMPEA Venture Capital Council (Emerging Markets Private Equity Association). He has served as Advisor on the Technology Innovation and Productivity Council of the GMR Group. He also served on the Executive

Committee of Indian Venture Capital Association (IVCA), Investment

Committee of UTI Ventures, on the Board of Ascent Capital and on the Board of Advisors at N.S. Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurship, IIM Bangalore. He also served on the Executive Committee of NASSCOM. With over 30 years of experience, Sudhir has served at various leadership positions at HCL, Wiproand Cyient, as well as Country Head of Walden International India!

In this episode we talk about how did venture capital start in india, who invested in indian vc funds in the early days, did family offices invest in indian vc funds in the early days, the role of family offices in indian vc funds, the governmental regulations for vc funds in india, what’s wrong with the regulations in india, the role of discipline in investing, how should indian founders raise money, competition in venture between international and domestic venture firms + so much more!

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Follow Amber: https://twitter.com/amberillig

Follow Martin: https://twitter.com/martingtobias

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FUNDRAISING STAGES DEFINED (ANGEL/PRE-SEED/SEED/SERIES A):

https://incisive.vc/2022/12/23/fundraising-stages-defined-angel-pre-seed-seed-series-a/

About Amber:

Amber started her career as an engineer at Eli Lilly and Delta Faucet, she quickly rose through the ranks and took on operations leadership roles at some of the world's most innovative companies, including Apple, Snap, Cruise, and Atmos.

In 2019, Amber's passion for investing led her to found The Council, a consortium of all-female operators, where she served as a General Partner. Since then, she has been an active angel investor, focusing on early-stage startups disrupting traditional industries.

The Council Fund, a $5 million debut fund targeting pre-seed and seed-stage startups in the Vertical SaaS, Fintech, and Healthcare industries. Through The Council Fund, Amber aims to provide the support and resources needed for founders to transform traditional industries and create lasting change.

About Martin:

Martin is the founder of Incisive Ventures, a Pre-Seed Fund based in Seattle, Martin invests in technology companies that are focused on reducing friction at scale. Leveraging his extensive network built over years as an angel investor in 60+ companies, including 4 unicorns that have secured $2.5B+ in follow-on financing, Martin brings a unique perspective and expertise to the companies he invests in.

Martin is also an active angel investor with over 250 companies in his portfolio. His investment experience extends to his role as a venture partner at a major VC firm and as a limited partner in over a dozen VC funds. Additionally, he is the Founder of Element8, a leading Angel network that connects investors with promising early-stage companies.

As a three-time venture-backed CEO with a background at Microsoft and Accenture, Martin has successfully raised over $500M in funding for his own companies, including two IPOs. His operational experience as an entrepreneur, combined with his deep understanding of early-stage technology companies, enables him to provide invaluable guidance and support to founders as they navigate the challenges of building transformative businesses.

Pre-seed funding is the earliest stage of venture capital financing, occurring before seed funding. It involves investing in startups during their initial development phases when founders are still refining their business models and validating product concepts. Investors in this stage include founders, angel investors, and early-stage venture capital funds, providing capital and guidance to help startups transition from ideation to product development.

Pre-seed investments are relatively modest, covering early expenses such as hiring key team members and developing prototypes. While pre-seed funding carries high risks due to the uncertainty of a startup's success, it enables investors to potentially reap substantial returns if the startup grows into a successful business. Thorough due diligence is essential for investors to assess a startup's viability before committing capital.

That is what we discuss in The Forum today.

Evolution of Pre-Seed.

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Follow Julian: https://twitter.com/julianweisser

Doola: https://www.doola.com/

About Julian:

Julian Weisser is an accomplished entrepreneur, investor, and musician with a diverse background in healthcare, technology, and education. He is the co-founder and CEO of OnDeck, which is a pre-accelerator, he has played a key role in the growth and success of OnDeck, which has helped launch over 1,000 startups in the past 5 years.

In this episode we talk about what is a pre-accelearator, how to come up with ideas that change the world, building companies based on ideas vs building companies on insights, how to know if your startup can have impact the world, should founders give up, is luck important while building a company, the importance of serendipity, should founders own a niche, is tam important, how should founders build a network + so much more!

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Follow Chris: https://twitter.com/_cturner

Follow Michael: https://twitter.com/flowidealism/

Follow Ryan: https://twitter.com/delk

The modern education system is far from perfect. With its standardized approach, rigid curricula, and emphasis on rote memorization, it often fails to meet the needs of individual students. As a result, many kids are left feeling disengaged and unmotivated, while essential skills like critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving are left by the wayside.

To make matters worse, inequitable funding and resources have led to significant disparities in educational opportunities, with students from low-income backgrounds or marginalized communities being particularly affected. On top of that, the pressure on students to perform academically, combined with a lack of support for mental health, has contributed to a concerning rise in anxiety, depression, and stress among young people.

Meanwhile, teachers are grappling with inadequate training, low pay, and a lack of professional development opportunities, leading to high turnover rates and a negative impact on the quality of education. The over-reliance on technology in the classroom has also raised concerns, with some arguing that it leads to distracted learning, reduced face-to-face interaction, and an overemphasis on digital skills at the expense of other essential abilities.

Finally, perhaps the most concerning issue of all is the system's failure to instill a love of learning and curiosity in students. Without these qualities, individuals are less likely to adapt and continue growing throughout their lives, which is a serious shortcoming in today's rapidly changing world.

So, what can we do to address these issues and create a more effective, equitable, and supportive education system? It's clear that systemic change is needed, with a renewed focus on student-centered learning, equity, and holistic development. By embracing new pedagogical approaches, prioritizing mental health, supporting teachers, and fostering lifelong learning, we can transform education and better prepare students for the challenges and opportunities of the modern world.

That is what we discuss in The Forum today.

Fixing Education.

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Follow Jim: https://twitter.com/2000f

About Jim:

Jim is the co-founder of the mobile payment company Square alongside Jack Dorsey. Currently, he's dedicated to changing the digital advertising landscape as the founder of Invisibly. Jim's innovative mindset and contributions to the tech industry have been recognized through various accolades, including being named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. With his drive for innovation and passion for business, Jim continues to inspire and impact the world of technology.

In this episode we talk about what creates an incredible product, why do simple products become complex, what makes Steve Jobs a great founder, where should founders start, why has no one else solved the problem before, how to deal with rules at an innovative company, how to build a team at an innovative company, what drives away people, how to live at the edge of humanity, building a hardware product, manufacturing the product, should manufacturing be outsourced? + so much more!

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Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonrShuman

About Jason:

Jason is a General Partner at Primary VC, where he leads new investments in consumer healthcare, fintech, proptech and marketplaces. The Boston native and University of Miami alum has jumped between sides of the table over the last eight years but started his career as the Founder of a D2C footwear company. Forbes featured him on the 30 Under 30 in Venture Capital list; Venture Capital Journal named him one of Venture Capital's 40 rising stars.

In this episode we talk about is the venture model successful, do VCs have product market fit, why do LPs like venture capital, why can’t startups directly raise money from LPs, when should founders raise VC money, is raising VC money better than loans, why should founders value their equity, how are companies valued, how should founders figure out their CAC, what makes a good market, what makes building a company hard, should founders pay themselves + so much more!

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Follow John: https://twitter.com/jaentwistle

About John:

John is the founder and CEO of Wander, a disruptive startup transforming the short-term rental landscape. With an impressive track record of raising over $27 million in funding, John and his team are dedicated to providing top-notch experiences for travelers.

Before founding Wander, John was a Thiel Fellow and co-founder of Coder, a venture-backed startup revolutionizing the software development landscape by moving workstations to the cloud, boosting security and productivity for development teams.

John's innovative spirit and passion for entrepreneurship have earned him recognition in the industry. In 2022, he was featured in Business Insider's "30 Rising Stars of Real Estate" for his groundbreaking work at Wander. Additionally, his impactful work at Coder led him to be included in Forbes' prestigious "30 under 30" list in 2019.

John's dedication to transforming industries and his proven success as a leader make him a remarkable figure to watch in the world of entrepreneurship and innovation.

In this episode, we talk about what is a great product, how to create incredible products, does the industry dictate whether the product is great or not, the true definition of a great product, should all products solve problems, how to develop extremely high standards, what should the mvp look like, how to find product market fit, how to create an operating plan, how to scale the company, how to set the pricing for your product + so much more!

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Follow Dan: https://twitter.com/dsiroker

About Dan:

Dan is the co-founder and CEO of Rewind AI, a startup that is using AI to help people remember and relive their lives. Prior to Rewind AI, he was the co-founder and former CEO of Optimizely, a leading experimentation and personalization platform used by some of the world's largest companies. Dan's entrepreneurial journey started in politics, where he was the Director of Analytics for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. He is a graduate of Stanford University, where he studied computer science and economics.

In this episode we talk about what is ai, how has ai evolved over time, how to build an ai company, the four stages of societal reactions, why do people fear ai, what is agi, is agi good or bad for the society, impact of agi on the job market, should ai be regulated, can ai be regulated, what is asi, what are llms, what do llms do, how do llms work, what is gpt, dependence of application layer companies on different llms, how should product management work + so much more!

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Follow Rodrigo: https://twitter.com/rod_mallo

About Rodrigo:

Rodrigo is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and the founder of Outsized VC. Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Rodrigo dropped out of law school just weeks before graduation to start his first company. Over the next decade, he built, crashed, and sold several technology companies in Latin America. In 2017, Rodrigo joined SOSV, the world's most active deep tech fund, as a Partner. During his four years at SOSV, he invested in 43 companies. In 2021, he decided to strike out on his own and raised his own venture capital fund, building the firm that he wished he had when he was an entrepreneur. Currently based in London, Rodrigo spends his days seeking out exceptional people doing exceptional things and investing in their ideas.

In this episode we talk about what is deep tech, why is deep tech a bad term, what moves the world forward, is design important in moving the world forward, differentiating between what you think people need vs what people truly need, the toughest part of building a company, should founders raise vc money, what is the need of raising money, what type of founders should raise vc money, should vc money be treated as a loan + so much more!

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