Avsnitt
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This week I sat down with Justin Lopas—Co-Founder/COO of Base Power—a former SpaceX and Anduril engineer who shares incredible stories from the early days of Starship development in Boca Chica. He speaks on how his team ingeniously leveraged water tower construction techniques to build rockets, transforming an empty field into what would become Starbase.
The discussion also explores the critical relationship between energy access and human prosperity, leading to Justin's current mission with Base—Revolutionizing grid storage. He provides unique insights into the challenges of American manufacturing, how Texas has become the perfect testing ground for grid innovation, and the war for manufacturing between the US and China.
00:47 Meet Justin Lopez: Co-Founder of Base Power Company
01:33 Justin's Journey: From SpaceX to Anduril
09:04 The Birth of Base Power Company
11:10 Base Power's Vision and Strategy
15:49 Why Texas? Strategic Insights
19:50 Funding and Scaling Challenges
22:35 The Future of Manufacturing in the U.S.
29:56 Training and Workforce Development
31:42 The Role of AI in Energy Solutions
33:16 Conclusion and Final Thoughts -
In this episode, Adam Goldstein (Founder/CEO Archer Aviation) shares his extraordinary journey from witnessing 9/11 as a young investment banker, to founding Archer Aviation, a pioneering electric aircraft company. After experiencing the tragic events of September 11th firsthand, Goldstein navigated through six failed startups before building a successful company, learning invaluable lessons about product-market fit and sustainable business models along the way.
The conversation takes a dramatic turn as Goldstein reveals the intense legal battle with Boeing—That nearly destroyed Archer Aviation before its IPO—Offering rare insights into high-stakes corporate litigation. He also discusses how the Russia-Ukraine war exposed opportunities in modern defense, leading to Archer's strategic pivot into autonomous military solutions. Throughout the episode, Goldstein shares fascinating details about raising $2 billion for a flying car startup and why tackling massive, world-changing problems can actually be easier than building smaller companies.
00:00 Introduction and Host Welcome
00:41 Meet Adam Goldstein: From Finance to Tech
01:43 The Birth of Vettery
02:54 Investment Banking and 9/11 Experience
04:36 Lessons from the Hedge Fund World
06:44 Building and Scaling Vetteri
11:24 The Acquisition of Vettery
15:26 Founding Archer: A New Venture
19:27 The Challenge of Raising Capital]
19:47 Navigating the eVTOL Industry
21:20 Building a Credible Team
22:30 The Impact of COVID-19
23:12 Securing Initial Funding
24:40 Developing the First Prototype
24:53 Entering the SPAC Market
29:18 The Boeing Lawsuit
32:38 Future Prospects and Defense Opportunities
36:06 Conclusion and Final Thoughts -
Saknas det avsnitt?
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In this episode, former Third Point executive Keri Findley takes us behind the scenes of Wall Street's intense culture in the 2000s, sharing raw stories about her life navigating the world of finance. From learning to chug beer in Morgan Stanley conference rooms to being handed control of $200 million at age 25, Findley's journey offers a rare glimpse into the high-stakes world of Wall Street capital markets.
The conversation takes an fascinating turn when Findley reveals how a casual dinner conversation led to Peter Thiel becoming the sole investor in her $300M fund. She also provides valuable insights into why she ultimately rejected venture capital, and how the 2008 financial crisis created a massive opportunity in private credit that continues to shape markets today.
01:14 Carrie Finley's Background
02:00 Early Career and Challenges
05:54 Journey to Third Point
11:04 Founding Tacora Capital
14:47 Raising Funds and Peter Thiel's Support
20:13 Current Focus and Future Plans -
Rahul Vohra, founder and CEO of Superhuman, shares the fascinating journey of raising the company's initial capital through an unconventional approach. Rather than pursuing traditional venture capital, he strategically approached angels who had earned 3-22x returns from his previous startup Rapportive. This strategic decision, combined with a methodical three-step fundraising process, allowed him to maintain control while proving progress.
The story takes an interesting turn with a late-night steak dinner at Andreessen Horowitz that unexpectedly led to naming the company Superhuman. The conversation also reveals how a sophisticated family office preempted their Series A with just 10 users, recognizing the massive potential in the email market - where 1 billion professionals spend 3 hours daily, creating a trillion-hour annual opportunity. Perhaps most compelling is Vohra's unique approach to achieving product-market fit through personal onboarding sessions with wine and whiskey, demonstrating the power of high-touch customer development in building a product people love.
01:24 Raoul Vora's Journey Before Superhuman
01:58 The Early Days of Superhuman
02:45 Raising the Initial Capital
04:04 Challenges and Strategies in Fundraising
05:55 The A16Z Story
09:23 Series A and Beyond
15:04 The Waitlist Strategy
19:02 Series C and Market Reflections
24:05 Raoul Vohra as an Investor -
In this episode, we examine key trends in venture capital through 2024 and into 2025. Specifically, the dramatic 80% drop in first-time funds since 2021, why established VCs are leaving major firms like Sequoia, and breaking down the valuation gap between AI and non-AI startups using recent Carta data.
We also cover shifts in round sizes since the 2021 peak and provides insights into multi-stage funds' increasing presence in seed rounds, concluding with my predictions for venture capital in 2025.
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Brian Distelburger co-founded Yext in 2006 when NYC had virtually no tech scene, eventually taking the company public with remarkable capital efficiency. In a time when everyone was pursuing finance careers, Distelburger helped pioneer New York's startup ecosystem, turning his teenage dream into reality by building one of the city's earliest tech success stories. The company's dramatic reveal of $20M in revenue at TechCrunch's TC50 competition marked a turning point, leading to intense interest from Silicon Valley VCs who had previously overlooked the East Coast startup.
Now, Distelburger is tackling a new frontier with Windmill, which gives AI superpowers to managers. Drawing from his experience leading thousands of employees, he's addressing the fundamental challenge of how leaders can more effectively run their team in the way that works for them. With 400 companies already on the waitlist, Windmill is fundamentally reshaping how organizations think about span of control by leveraging AI to enable domain experts to manage larger teams effectively, all while the company takes a measured approach to growth and funding.
01:11 Founding Yext
01:40 Early Ventures and Challenges
03:53 Fundraising Journey
07:01 TechCrunch Disrupt and Growth
16:35 Transition and New Ventures
18:01 Building Windmill -
Ilir Sela is the Founder & CEO at Slice, a technology company helping independent pizzerias manage their day to day operations. Slice has raised over $100M from notable investors like KKR, Notable Capital, Primary Ventures and 01 Advisors.
-Not knowing a thing about venture capital and bootstrapping to $40M GMV
-Acquiring first customers going door to door in NYC
-Why he raised VC when the company vs bootstrap given early traction
-Relaunching from MyPizza to Slice in 2016
-The value of VCs when you're a solo founder -
Mark Ghermezian is the co-founder and prior CEO of Braze, a customer engagement platform used by businesses for multi-channel marketing. Braze raised $180M before its IPO from leading investors Meritech Capital, Battery Ventures and ICONIQ. Mark is now the founding GP at MXV.
In this episode we dig into:
Starting AppBoy/Braze and hustling to raise initial capital
Randomly meeting his co-founders on a street corner in NYC
The importance of building relationships between rounds with VCs
Why you should always get on a plane to close the deal
Stepping back as CEO pre-IPO
Building a VC firm from scratch -
Tarek is the co-founder and CEO of Kalshi, the first CFTC regulated exchange dedicated to trading on the outcome of future events. In this episode we discuss:
- Not being a hot company in YC
- Suing the government as a startup and winning
- Raising money from Sequoia, Henry Kravis, Schwab and others
- Being unable to take on more deposits because of demand during the presidential election
- The power of building a company that is "anti-pattern" to other companies -
Gaurav Misra is the co-founder and CEO of Captions, the leading video AI company building the future of video creation. Captions has raised over $80M from leading investors Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins, Index and A16Z. We dig into:
Launching in the app store and the product taking off on its ownUnintentionally making their first $500K in revenueWhy raise venture capital vs. bootstrap given the early traction Not starting a company before working at a startupScaling to 10M+ global creators on the platform The future of video with AI
Thank you to todays sponsor JoinWarp. Warp offers nearly instant payroll and compliance solutions for startups and venture capital firms. For a free pair of Apple Airpods 4, click to learn more at https://www.joinwarp.com/novpromo?utm_sour....Stifel Bank is committed to supporting the innovation community. Focused on seed- through late-stage companies, they provide a dynamic platform of collaborative solutions for treasury management and lending. Our clients enjoy access to the broader capabilities of Stifel, including Investment Banking, Private Client Banking, and Wealth Management. Stifel’s Wealth Management services provided by Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated. Shoot a note to [email protected] for more information.
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Nichole Wischoff is the founder and Managing Partner at Wischoff Ventures, a pre-seed and seed stage venture capital firm with $80M in AUM. Nichole is the host of the First Money In Podcast. This episode is her first solo session focused on the latest in the tech world at the earliest stages:
- Whats hot at pre-seed and seed stage right now
- Massive secondary sales replacing IPOs and the implications
- Should CEOs of big companies be building their own personal brands online -
Maria Davidson is the co-founder and CEO of Kojo, a startup building a construction materials management platform for contractors and suppliers. Merge has raised over $85M from leading investors 8VC, Tiger Global and Battery Ventures. We dig into:
- VCs passing on their $4M seed because construction tech was unproven
- How to acquire sub-contractors when they can't be found online and during Covid
- What most construction tech startups get wrong about the market opportunity
- Raising growth rounds at the height of the market in 2021
Thank you to todays sponsor JoinWarp. Warp offers nearly instant payroll and compliance solutions for startups and venture capital firms. For a free pair of Apple Airpods 4, click to learn more at https://www.joinwarp.com/novpromo?utm_source=nichole.Stifel Bank is committed to supporting the innovation community. Focused on seed- through late-stage companies, they provide a dynamic platform of collaborative solutions for treasury management and lending. Our clients enjoy access to the broader capabilities of Stifel, including Investment Banking, Private Client Banking, and Wealth Management. Stifel’s Wealth Management services provided by Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated. Shoot a note to [email protected] for more information.
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Shensi Ding is the co-founder and CEO of Merge, a startup that helps B2B companies build customer-facing integrations. Merge has raised over $75M from leading investors like NEA, Addition and Accel. We dig into:
- VCs passing on the seed round because $4.5M was "too large"
- Why giving their seed investor a board seat was great for the company
- The trouble with pitching non-technical investors a very technical product
- AI and its impact and opportunity for MergeThank you to todays sponsor JoinWarp. Warp offers nearly instant payroll and compliance solutions for startups and venture capital firms. For a free pair of Apple Airpods 4, click to learn more at https://www.joinwarp.com/novpromo?utm_source=nichole.
Stifel Bank is committed to supporting the innovation community. Focused on seed- through late-stage companies, they provide a dynamic platform of collaborative solutions for treasury management and lending. Our clients enjoy access to the broader capabilities of Stifel, including Investment Banking, Private Client Banking, and Wealth Management. Stifel’s Wealth Management services provided by Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated. Shoot a note to [email protected] for more information.
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Leif Abraham is the co-founder and co-CEO of Public.com, an investing platform with a mission to make the public markets work for everyone. Public.com was founded in 2019, scaled to over 1M users in the less than 18 months post launch and has since raised over $300M from notable investors like Accel and Tiger Global.
In Today's episode you will hear from Leif about:
- Pitching almost 100 VCs for his first company before getting a single yes from Thrive Capital
- What founders often get wrong when they go out to fundraise from VCs
- Massive tailwinds for Public.com due to Covid and Gamestop
- Events contracts and the election (Robinhood & Kalshi)
- His hot take on the future of consumer fintechThank you to todays sponsor Joinwarp.com. Warp offers almost instant payroll & compliance solutions for startups and venture capital firms. For a free pair of Apple Airpods 4, inquire to learn more. https://www.joinwarp.com/novpromo?utm_source=nichole
