UVC

In this episode, you will learn:

• Pavel’s journey of building a web development company straight out of university
• How hard was it for Pavel to move to the US from  Russia and start a venture fund?
• How does Mindrock Capital operate and the value it provides to its investors?
• How does the prediction model at Mindrock Capital that evaluates the probability of a startup’s success work? What are its data points?
• What is the Hack Temple project, the reason why Pavel started it and why it's a mystical project for him?
• Implications of the war in Ukraine on Mindrock Capital and how they have managed to cope with it 

About

Pavel Cherkashin is the Managing Partner at Mindrock Capital. At Mindrock, Pavel is responsible for it's vision and strategy. He oversees over $1B in AUM. Earlier in his career, Pavel held senior positions at Microsoft Russia, Adobe Systems and Siebel Systems. He founded several IT companies that were acquired by leading global organizations and managed two early-stage venture capital funds.

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

In this episode you will learn:

• Why did Chirag start 8X Ventures instead of staying as a VC at 500 Global?
• Why is 8X Ventures based in Dubai?
• How does 8X Ventures compete with VC funds that are geographically closer to the deep-tech startups in Europe and US?
• Why does 8X Ventures invest in only deep-tech startups?
• According to Chirag, why have VC firms (which initially started with deep-tech investments) now diversified into other sectors?
• Why should deep-tech startups choose 8X Ventures over other VC funds?
• What does Industry 4.0 mean for the developed and developing world?
• Why does Chirag think that Founder-CEOs aren't always the best option for a deep-tech startup in the long term?

About

Chirag Gupta is the Managing Partner at 8X Ventures, a Deeptech-themed venture capital firm. He invests in startups that will lead disruptive technological innovation and create sustainable value for industries and economies. Before 8X Ventures, he held various positions at 500 Global, Careem, McKinsey, PwC/Strategy& and Korn Ferry. Chirag holds an MBA from the University of Chicago: Booth and Nanyang Business School. He studied Business Analytics at Harvard University (with Harvard scholarship).

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

In this episode you will learn:

• Why does Future Ventures invest in only technology risk startups?
• Can a venture fund afford to build a portfolio of just deep tech startups while giving good returns? If so, how?
• Maryanna shares why she invests with an abundance mindset and why it’s important.
• 3 questions that Maryanna asks herself while looking to invest in a deep tech startup
• How does Future Ventures support the startups they invest in?
• 2 reasons why deep tech startups originate in and around universities
• Why does Future Ventures have a fund life of 15 years instead of the traditional 10 years?
• Why does Future Ventures operate with a tiny team and not follow the service model that many large funds employ, and is it sustainable?
• What does Maryanna think about the future of the food industry and energy?

About

Maryanna Saenko is an early-stage venture capitalist with an interest in robotics, quantum computing, blockchain, aerospace, and the future of food. Previously she was at Khosla Ventures, and prior to that at DFJ, where she worked with Steve to focus on frontier technology investments. She was also an investment partner at Airbus Ventures where she led a series of venture investments strategically aligned with Airbus’ future-of-aerospace initiatives. Before Airbus, Maryanna was a consultant at Lux Research and a research engineer at Cabot Corporation.

Maryanna graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a BS in BioMedical Engineering and a BS and MS in Materials Science and Engineering. 

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

In this episode you will learn:

• How did Mark convince his co-founders to work on his idea of Appboy (Braze) when they were building a different product at the time?
• As a founder, what is the hardest thing that Mark had to overcome while building Braze?
• What was Mark’s experience of raising a bridge round for Braze like? According to Mark, what percentage of startups end up raising a bridge round, and what percentage actually figures this out from the seed round?
• What does Mark really mean when he says, “never underestimate your competitors but at the same time don’t chase them”?
• Why did Mark raise the m]x[v capital fund? What are its focus areas in terms of stage, geography and sector?
• What makes a great investor? What are some do’s and don'ts of early-stage investing? Would a great founder in a not-so-good market succeed?
• What are the signs of a great founder or a great founding team according to Mark? What can the founding team do to attract great talent?
• What are some of the benefits of an ‘operator focussed approach’ in investing?
• What is the future of the cloud and what are some of the areas in the cloud where you find great opportunities to build businesses?

About

Mark Ghermezian is a serial entrepreneur and successful investor with 20+ years of experience in founding, building, and investing in early-stage SaaS startups. Before becoming the Founder and General Partner at m]x[v Capital, Mark co-founded Braze (BRZE) and led the company as its founding CEO, pioneering a new category from ideation to IPO (Braze IPO’d in November 2021). As an angel investor, Mark was an early investor in companies such as Nutanix, Lattice, Thoughtspot, Rubrik, and Riskified, along with 50 other investments, primarily focused on SaaS, experiencing several IPOs, unicorns, and successful exits. At m]x[v Capital, Mark is proud to be a mentor to his founders and entrepreneurs, offering his experience and expertise to help their companies find the same success.

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

In this episode, you will learn:

• Silicon Valley’s open and sharing culture and the role VCs had in its making
• The mindset of a VC
• The role VCs played in making companies like Apple what they are today
• VCs who’ve stood out to Sebastian while researching for the book
• Bill Gurley and his investment in Uber + how he understood that network businesses are lucrative
• What is the solution for growth investors coming in and spoiling the market?
• Why taking risks as a VC shouldn’t equate to writing checks with minimum due diligence
• The importance of network embeddedness + preparedness for a VC
• 3 things to do to remain at the top as a VC

About

Sebastian Mallaby is the Paul A. Volcker senior fellow for international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He is an experienced journalist and public speaker and contributes to a variety of publications, including Foreign Affairs, the Atlantic, the Washington Post, and the Financial Times, where he spent two years as a contributing editor. He is also the author of five books, most recently The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future.

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

About

Michael Blakey

Michael Blakey is the Managing Partner and co-founder of Singapore-based venture capital firm Cocoon Capital. Set-up alongside Will Klippgen in 2016, Cocoon adopts a hands-on, founder-first approach to early-stage investing. Before this Michael was an entrepreneur and since 2000 was a full-time angel investor who was named ‘UK Angel Investor of the Year 2015’, selected as one of the Maserati 100, and classified as a "Business Angel you should know".

Blackfrog

Blackfrog Technologies Pvt. Ltd. is a Manipal, Karnataka, India-based technology startup company that seeks to improve the efficiency of immunization supply chains. We have developed a patented system for precision cold-chain and vaccine traceability with support from BIRAC (DBT) and leading impact investors in the nation including Venture Centre (NCL, Pune) and Social Alpha to provide logistical support in the last-mile delivery of vaccines.

Emvólio is a portable, battery-powered refrigeration device that will strictly maintain any preset temperature for over 12 hours for the last-mile transport of vaccines. Emvólio’s 2-litre capacity enables it to carry 30- 50 vials, which is standard for a daylong immunization campaign. Further device capabilities include continuous temperature monitoring, location tracking, state-of-charge indication, communication with headquarters via live tracking, and vital statistics for improved coverage.

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

In this episode you will learn:

• Why did Aly start a VC fund focussed on Web3 and other emerging techs
• What are some of the differences and similarities of investing in Web3 companies when compared to SAAS companies?
• What are the risks of tokenisation?
• “If you have a good social media presence or an audience, Web3 startups would want your money.” How true is this statement?
• What are some of the transparency issues in web3 startups?
• Can venture capital move away from the current partnership model to a DAO model in the future?
• Is Jack Dorsey right when he says VCs control Web3?

About

Aly Madhavji 穆亚霖 is the Managing Partner at Blockchain Founders Fund which invests in and venture builds top-tier startups. He is a Limited Partner on Loyal VC and Draper Goren Holm. Aly consults organizations on emerging technologies such as INSEAD and the UN on solutions to help alleviate poverty. He is a Senior Blockchain Fellow at INSEAD and was recognized as a “Blockchain 100” Global Leader by Lattice80.

He is an internationally acclaimed author, publishing three books and a monthly columnist for the leading blockchain magazine. Aly serves as a board member of CryptoStar Corp. (TSXV: CSTR), Soluna Holdings (NASDAQ: SLNH) and has served on various advisory boards including the University of Toronto’s Governing Council, which manages a $2.5B budget. He is a mentor with Chinaccelerator, an elite accelerator program operated by the venture fund SOSV with $1.1B+ AUM and the Mobile Only Accelerator (MOX).

Aly holds a Master of Global Affairs as a Schwarzman Scholar from Tsinghua University (清华大学), a Master of Business Administration from INSEAD (Singapore and France), and a Bachelor of Commerce with Distinction from the University of Toronto.

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

In this episode, you will learn:

1. Why is Intudo Ventures an ‘Indonesia-only’ venture capital firm?
2. Intudo Ventures is an independent VC firm, ie no single LP owns more than 10% of the fund.  Why is this important?
3. How is Intudo’s team consisting of just nine people set up and operate to ensure they support all their portfolio startups well?
4. According to Eddy, why will his ‘concentrated portfolio’ approach give better returns as compared to the ‘index’ investing approach?
5. What is a commercial-operational dependency moat?
6. Why does Intudo primarily focus on B2B or B2B2C startups instead of B2C startups?
7. What does Eddy mean when he says that Intudo looks for non-contentious companies?
8. Why does Eddy believe that building a VC is like building a startup?

About

Eddy Chan is a founding partner of “Indonesia-only” Independent venture capital firm Intudo Ventures with over US$230 million in committed capital, that acts as the Indonesia beachhead strategy for dozens of leading institutions, funds and family offices from the United States, Europe, and Asia and supports the “digital transformation” strategy of dozens of Indonesian conglomerates.

Intudo portfolio companies include Xendit, Pintu, Halodoc, TaniHub, Kargo, PasarPolis, BeliMobilGue, Nalagenetics, Yummy Corp., and more.

Eddy works closely with top Indonesian “Pulkam S.E.A. Turtles” and local Indonesian talent via professional and student associations and has been featured as a speaker at the annual Harvard Asia Business Conference (2019-2022), MIT Asia Business Conference (2020-2022) and Southeast Asia MBA Weekend (2018-2022).

Prior to co-founding Intudo Ventures, Eddy worked on venture investments in startups since the late 1990s, including PayPal, Palantir, and Affirm, founded and operated venture-backed technology companies with operations in Silicon Valley and Asia, practiced corporate/M&A law and worked as an investment banker.

Eddy holds a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was a Global Law Scholar, and a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley’s Walter A. Haas School of Business.

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

About

Jeevan Sunner

Jeevan graduated from UCL in Pharmacology where she spent time in clinical settings spanning healthcare and academia. She thereafter joined PwC's Insolvency and Restructuring department, implementing turnaround and restructuring projects for large corporates during crisis. After completing her ACA Chartered Accountancy qualification, she moved to PwC's Commercial Innovation team where she worked with 20+ B2B SaaS startups whom she supported throughout their Series A fundraises. Jeevan is co-creator of startup podcast, When Unicorns Fly, and has interviewed guests from Seedrs, Antler, Innovate UK, Indiegogo and Lakestar. Jeevan joined Playfair in September 2020. She works closely with portfolio companies, sources and leads deals, and co-leads Playfair's D&I initiative: Female Founder Office Hours. She was recently shortlisted on Sifted's Top 30 Young Venture Capitalists list. Outside of Playfair, you can find Jeevan on the squash court or with a camera in hand. She is dog mum to our office pooch, Cassius.

Waitrr provides contactless QR ordering & payments technology to restaurants, cafes, bars & hotels in seven countries. Customers scan QR codes to order food & drinks, and make payment, all from within their phone’s browser (i.e. NO app download required). Orders go straight into the POS, without the need for manual entry. Waitrr’s partners reduce their manpower costs, increase average ticket sizes and increase table turns, increasing profits by more than 15%. 

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com

In this podcast episode, you will learn:

• According to Insik, what are the values, skillsets and dynamics of a great team? What should be the ideal size of a founding team?
• What are some things that the startup founders don’t understand about VCs?
• When should startups think about forming a board, what is the role of the board and who should be a part of it?
• What is the role of a board member and an advisor?
• How does Insik assess a company that works with data; for example, a company working on data security for the cloud?
• What is an investment thesis and how do you come up with it? Do investors really need an investment thesis?
• What is the reason for the current VC funding winter and why a correction like this is needed for the startup ecosystem?

About

Insik is a General Partner at Vertex Ventures US and is a former founder of Loudcloud and Kiva Software, companies that helped shift enterprise technology categories. At Vertex US, he works with founders who are pursuing advancements in data science and machine learning, enterprise process automation, and real-time infrastructure.

Prior to Vertex US, Insik served as General Partner at Rembrandt Venture Partners where he led investments in A Bit Lucky (acquired by Zynga), CloudOn (acquired by Dropbox), and Ooyala (acquired by Telstra). Before that, he was a Partner at Accel Partners, here investing and advising companies including Cloudera, Couchbase, Facebook, Mochi Media (acquired by Shanda), and Terracotta (acquired by Software AG).

As the Co-founder and Chief Tactician of Loudcloud, which later was renamed Opsware, Insik helped create the cloud computing paradigm and the data center automation software category.

Loudcloud IPO’ed and then was acquired by HP in 2007. His first company, Kiva Software created the Application Server Market market. Enterprises such as E*Trade, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo developed their first online sites using Kiva. Netscape acquired Kiva in 1997 for $180 million.

He is currently on the boards of Testlio, Interana, Zepl, Cyberhaven, Evisort and Upsolver and holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from UC Berkeley and currently serves on the university’s Executive Advisory Board for the College of Engineering.

 

🔗 Follow us:

🏠Website : https://understandingvc.com/

🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/understanding-vc/

🎧 Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/show/1q7DxW3FEyP7EhH8m0VvAD

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/understanding-vc/id1551524895

 

💌 Connect with Rahul: 

🤝🏻 LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulthayyalamkandy/

📩 Email : [email protected]

🐣 Twitter : https://twitter.com/rahul0720

 

📍 About: 

Understanding VC is a podcast that provides founders with the knowledge and resources they need to understand venture capital. Our goal is to create the best and most comprehensive resource on venture capital on the internet, so that founders can make informed decisions about their businesses and secure the funding they need to succeed.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uvcmedia.com