https://simplecast.com Fully Vested Undersubscribed chats about tech and venture with Jason D. Rowley & Graham C. Peck 2020 Jason D. Rowley & Graham C. Peck. All Rights Reserved. en Fri, 1 Mar 2024 18:05:00 +0000 Fri, 1 Mar 2024 18:05:11 +0000 https://fullyvested.co Fully Vested https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/fc0e8c87-d1dd-491a-9f09-30bc57c23da1/1881fff4-8948-4449-a017-cca099c7e786/3000x3000/fullyvested-art-f.jpg?aid=rss_feed https://fullyvested.co episodic Undersubscribed chats about tech and venture with Jason D. Rowley & Graham C. Peck Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck no https://feeds.simplecast.com/CCYozm5z angel investing, investing, venture capital, startup, startup investing, technology Jason D. Rowley & Graham C. Peck graham@fullyvested.co 89fb9aa8-dea0-4064-8a3d-ad414d8bc271 Back to the 90s Is Generative AI disruptive or sustaining?

A quick recap of Clayton Christensen's conceptual framework of disruptive and enabling innovations...

Disruptive Innovation

Disruptive Innovation: This refers to a process where a smaller company with fewer resources successfully challenges established incumbent businesses. Disruptive innovations typically start by capturing the lower end of the market – offering products or services that are more affordable and accessible. Over time, these innovations improve in quality and performance, eventually displacing the established competitors. Disruptive innovations often change the competitive landscape and can lead to the creation of entirely new markets. A classic example is how digital photography disrupted the traditional film photography industry.

Arguments For GenAI As Disruptive Innovation

  1. Low-End Disruption: Christensen often emphasized how disruptive innovations initially target the lower end of the market. In the case of Generative AI, it could initially appeal to smaller businesses or individuals who couldn't previously afford professional services in fields like design, content creation, or data analysis.

  2. Market Transformation: Generative AI has the potential to create new markets and value networks, especially in fields like art, content creation, and design, where it enables the creation of novel content that was previously not possible or required extensive human effort.

  3. Accessibility: By democratizing skills that were once niche or expert-level (like graphic design, coding, or prose writing), generative AI can disrupt traditional industries by making these skills accessible to a wider audience.

  4. Cost Efficiency: It can significantly reduce costs in content production, potentially disrupting sectors reliant on human labor for these tasks.

  5. Innovative Business Models: The technology could lead to new business models, particularly in personalized content creation, marketing, and customer interaction, disrupting conventional business strategies.

    Arguments Against GenAI As Disruptive Innovation

  6. Dependency on Existing Infrastructure: Generative AI is highly dependent on existing data and computing infrastructure, suggesting it's more of an evolution than a radical market disruptor.

  7. Ethical and Regulatory Constraints: Potential ethical issues and regulatory hurdles, especially around data privacy and intellectual property, might slow down its disruptive impact.

  8. Integration with Current Systems: Rather than replacing existing systems, generative AI is often used to enhance them, suggesting a more gradual market evolution.

    Sustaining Innovation

Sustaining Innovation: Sustaining innovations, on the other hand, do not disrupt existing markets but rather evolve them. These innovations enhance or improve existing products, services, or processes, making them more efficient, effective, or accessible. They tend to support and extend the life of existing companies or industries rather than replacing them. An example of sustaining innovation could be the evolution of smartphones, where each new model offers improvements and additional features that enhance user experience but do not necessarily disrupt the existing market in the way the first smartphones did.

Arguments For GenAI As Sustaining Innovation

  1. Enhancing Current Products: Generative AI often acts as an enhancement to existing digital products, like improving software with AI capabilities, which aligns with sustaining innovation.

  2. Gradual Improvement: The technology is seeing incremental improvements, aligning with the idea of gradual enhancements characteristic of sustaining innovation.

  3. Appealing to Existing Market: In many cases, it serves the existing market better by offering more efficient, high-quality outputs (like in graphic design, coding, or data analysis).

    Arguments Against GenAI As Sustaining Innovation

  4. Potential for Market Transformation: The long-term potential of generative AI could be to completely transform markets, not just sustain them.

  5. Beyond Mere Improvement: Generative AI introduces capabilities (like creating new forms of art or generating new data) that go beyond simple improvements of existing products.

  6. Altering Consumer Behavior: Its ability to change how consumers interact with technology (for instance, preferring AI-generated content) suggests a shift in market dynamics, not just sustaining existing ones.

    Further Reading

📺 Clayton Christensen: Disruptive innovation(Clayton Christensen presenting at the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford, uploaded to YouTube in June 2013)

📃 What Is Disruptive Innovation?(Christensen, Raynor, and McDonald for the December 2015 issue of the Harvard Business Review)

📃 Sustaining vs. Disruptive Innovation: What's the Difference? (Catherine Cote for Harvard Business School Online, February 2022)

📺 Disruptive Technology vs. Sustaining Technology (Ashley Hodgson on YouTube, December 2022)

📃 Differences between early adopters of disruptive and sustaining innovations (Reinhardt and Gurtner, 2015)

Generative AI Economics

The Briefest of Overviews

The emerging Generative AI sphere breaks the model of software economics, to an extent.

Traditional Software Economics: Building and launching a new SaaS product (for example) is low CapEx, high OpEx, and high margin.

Foundation Model Developer Economics: High CapEx (considering that as of right now progress is gated by access to chips). High OpEx (considering that data acquisition, data engineering, model training, and most importantly model inference are massive cost centers).

Training and Inference Costs

Discriminative AIGenerative AI
Training CostsHighHigh
Inference CostsLowHigh

AI Training: The Learning Phase

Think of AI training like teaching a student. In this phase, you're giving the AI model lots of examples (this is your data) to learn from. These examples could be anything from pictures of cats and dogs to customer reviews.

  • How It Works: The AI model looks at this data and tries to find patterns. For instance, it might notice that cat pictures often have pointy ears and whiskers. It's like studying for an exam — the model is trying to learn as much as possible from the data it's given.
  • The Goal: The aim is to make the AI understand these patterns well enough so that it can make its own decisions or predictions later. It's all about the model learning the rules of the game from the examples it sees.
  • The Challenge: This phase can be resource-heavy. It requires a lot of computational power (think high-end GPUs or specialized hardware), and it can take a lot of time, depending on how complex the task is.

    AI Inference: The Application Phase

Now, imagine the student (our AI model) has graduated and is ready to apply what it learned in the real world. This is the inference phase.

Inference in Discriminative AI:

  • Overview: This is like asking the AI model a multiple-choice question. You present it with new data (like an image or a piece of text), and based on its training, it categorizes or identifies this data. Think of it as asking, "Based on what you've learned, what do you think this is?"
  • Application: It's widely used in tasks like image recognition (identifying objects in pictures), spam detection (categorizing emails), or sentiment analysis (understanding if a review is positive or negative).

Inference in Generative AI:

  • Overview: Here, instead of categorizing, the AI is creating something new. It's like giving the AI a set of ingredients (data and conditions) and asking it to cook up a new dish (output). This output could be a piece of text, an image, or even music.
  • How It Works: The model uses patterns it learned during training to generate new, original content. For instance, if it's been trained on a lot of landscape paintings, it can generate a new painting that doesn't exist yet but looks like it could belong to the same collection.
  • Application: Generative AI is used in creative fields like art generation (creating new images), content writing (generating articles or stories), or even in generating synthetic data for further AI training.

    Further Reading

📃 Navigating the High Cost of AI Compute (Appenzeller et al. for the Andreessen Horowitz blog, April 2023)

📃 Compute and Energy Consumption Trends in Deep Learning Inference (Desislavov et al., March 2023. ArXiv ID: 2109.05472)

📃 How Inferencing Differs From Training in Machine Learning Applications (Sam Fuller for Semiconductor Engineering, January 2022)

📃 The Inference Cost Of Search Disruption – Large Language Model Cost Analysis (Dylan Patel and Afzal Ahmad in SemiAnalysis. February 2023)

Where The Value Lies

As with any emerging technology, there are generally three types of players:

  • Those building core technology (e.g. doing whatever equivalent of "bench science" is in their field)
  • Those packaging/implementing core technologies into specialized applications
  • Those providing the infrastructure to builders and packagers

At least at this stage, it's clear that captured value is redounded to those participants, in rank order:

  1. Infrastructure Providers — e.g. Cloud providers (Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services, etc.), Semiconductor developers (Nvidia, Graphcore, Groq, Cerebras. etc ... plus all the chip development efforts at big companies like Amazon and Microsoft, etc)
  2. Foundation Model builders — e.g. OpenAI, Anthropic, Deepgram, etc.
  3. Implementers — e.g. Companies that build "wrappers" around infrastructure and foundation models. Put differently: Companies/projects which integrate with foundation model APIs and package outputs from said APIs

Further Reading

📃 Exploring opportunities in the gen AI value chain (Härlin et al. for McKinsey Digital, April 2023)

📃 The value​​​ ​​​chain of general-purpose AI​​ (Küspert et al. for the Ada Lovelace Institute, February 2023)

📃 “Behind the Hype: A Deep Dive into the AI Value Chain” (Arun Rao on Hash Collision, June 2023)

📃 Generative AI Value Chain (Matt Rickard publishing on his blog, November 2022)

📃 Basics on the Layers and Value Chain of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Florian Seemann on Medium, April 2023)

📃 Generative AI Value Chain (Andy Wu and Matt Higgins publishing a Harvard Business School Background Note, July 2023)

Other Mentions and Links

Title Ideas

  • Back to the 90s
  • A Whale With Moose Antlers
  • Breathless Dorks on Twitter
  • Whither the Poop Shovelers?
  • Graham's Personal Hope
  • Luxurious Techno-Communism
]]> Fri, 1 Mar 2024 18:05:00 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/back-to-the-90s-IVjHSyXr Is Generative AI disruptive or sustaining?

A quick recap of Clayton Christensen's conceptual framework of disruptive and enabling innovations...

Disruptive Innovation

Disruptive Innovation: This refers to a process where a smaller company with fewer resources successfully challenges established incumbent businesses. Disruptive innovations typically start by capturing the lower end of the market – offering products or services that are more affordable and accessible. Over time, these innovations improve in quality and performance, eventually displacing the established competitors. Disruptive innovations often change the competitive landscape and can lead to the creation of entirely new markets. A classic example is how digital photography disrupted the traditional film photography industry.

Arguments For GenAI As Disruptive Innovation

  1. Low-End Disruption: Christensen often emphasized how disruptive innovations initially target the lower end of the market. In the case of Generative AI, it could initially appeal to smaller businesses or individuals who couldn't previously afford professional services in fields like design, content creation, or data analysis.

  2. Market Transformation: Generative AI has the potential to create new markets and value networks, especially in fields like art, content creation, and design, where it enables the creation of novel content that was previously not possible or required extensive human effort.

  3. Accessibility: By democratizing skills that were once niche or expert-level (like graphic design, coding, or prose writing), generative AI can disrupt traditional industries by making these skills accessible to a wider audience.

  4. Cost Efficiency: It can significantly reduce costs in content production, potentially disrupting sectors reliant on human labor for these tasks.

  5. Innovative Business Models: The technology could lead to new business models, particularly in personalized content creation, marketing, and customer interaction, disrupting conventional business strategies.

    Arguments Against GenAI As Disruptive Innovation

  6. Dependency on Existing Infrastructure: Generative AI is highly dependent on existing data and computing infrastructure, suggesting it's more of an evolution than a radical market disruptor.

  7. Ethical and Regulatory Constraints: Potential ethical issues and regulatory hurdles, especially around data privacy and intellectual property, might slow down its disruptive impact.

  8. Integration with Current Systems: Rather than replacing existing systems, generative AI is often used to enhance them, suggesting a more gradual market evolution.

    Sustaining Innovation

Sustaining Innovation: Sustaining innovations, on the other hand, do not disrupt existing markets but rather evolve them. These innovations enhance or improve existing products, services, or processes, making them more efficient, effective, or accessible. They tend to support and extend the life of existing companies or industries rather than replacing them. An example of sustaining innovation could be the evolution of smartphones, where each new model offers improvements and additional features that enhance user experience but do not necessarily disrupt the existing market in the way the first smartphones did.

Arguments For GenAI As Sustaining Innovation

  1. Enhancing Current Products: Generative AI often acts as an enhancement to existing digital products, like improving software with AI capabilities, which aligns with sustaining innovation.

  2. Gradual Improvement: The technology is seeing incremental improvements, aligning with the idea of gradual enhancements characteristic of sustaining innovation.

  3. Appealing to Existing Market: In many cases, it serves the existing market better by offering more efficient, high-quality outputs (like in graphic design, coding, or data analysis).

    Arguments Against GenAI As Sustaining Innovation

  4. Potential for Market Transformation: The long-term potential of generative AI could be to completely transform markets, not just sustain them.

  5. Beyond Mere Improvement: Generative AI introduces capabilities (like creating new forms of art or generating new data) that go beyond simple improvements of existing products.

  6. Altering Consumer Behavior: Its ability to change how consumers interact with technology (for instance, preferring AI-generated content) suggests a shift in market dynamics, not just sustaining existing ones.

    Further Reading

📺 Clayton Christensen: Disruptive innovation(Clayton Christensen presenting at the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford, uploaded to YouTube in June 2013)

📃 What Is Disruptive Innovation?(Christensen, Raynor, and McDonald for the December 2015 issue of the Harvard Business Review)

📃 Sustaining vs. Disruptive Innovation: What's the Difference? (Catherine Cote for Harvard Business School Online, February 2022)

📺 Disruptive Technology vs. Sustaining Technology (Ashley Hodgson on YouTube, December 2022)

📃 Differences between early adopters of disruptive and sustaining innovations (Reinhardt and Gurtner, 2015)

Generative AI Economics

The Briefest of Overviews

The emerging Generative AI sphere breaks the model of software economics, to an extent.

Traditional Software Economics: Building and launching a new SaaS product (for example) is low CapEx, high OpEx, and high margin.

Foundation Model Developer Economics: High CapEx (considering that as of right now progress is gated by access to chips). High OpEx (considering that data acquisition, data engineering, model training, and most importantly model inference are massive cost centers).

Training and Inference Costs

Discriminative AIGenerative AI
Training CostsHighHigh
Inference CostsLowHigh

AI Training: The Learning Phase

Think of AI training like teaching a student. In this phase, you're giving the AI model lots of examples (this is your data) to learn from. These examples could be anything from pictures of cats and dogs to customer reviews.

  • How It Works: The AI model looks at this data and tries to find patterns. For instance, it might notice that cat pictures often have pointy ears and whiskers. It's like studying for an exam — the model is trying to learn as much as possible from the data it's given.
  • The Goal: The aim is to make the AI understand these patterns well enough so that it can make its own decisions or predictions later. It's all about the model learning the rules of the game from the examples it sees.
  • The Challenge: This phase can be resource-heavy. It requires a lot of computational power (think high-end GPUs or specialized hardware), and it can take a lot of time, depending on how complex the task is.

    AI Inference: The Application Phase

Now, imagine the student (our AI model) has graduated and is ready to apply what it learned in the real world. This is the inference phase.

Inference in Discriminative AI:

  • Overview: This is like asking the AI model a multiple-choice question. You present it with new data (like an image or a piece of text), and based on its training, it categorizes or identifies this data. Think of it as asking, "Based on what you've learned, what do you think this is?"
  • Application: It's widely used in tasks like image recognition (identifying objects in pictures), spam detection (categorizing emails), or sentiment analysis (understanding if a review is positive or negative).

Inference in Generative AI:

  • Overview: Here, instead of categorizing, the AI is creating something new. It's like giving the AI a set of ingredients (data and conditions) and asking it to cook up a new dish (output). This output could be a piece of text, an image, or even music.
  • How It Works: The model uses patterns it learned during training to generate new, original content. For instance, if it's been trained on a lot of landscape paintings, it can generate a new painting that doesn't exist yet but looks like it could belong to the same collection.
  • Application: Generative AI is used in creative fields like art generation (creating new images), content writing (generating articles or stories), or even in generating synthetic data for further AI training.

    Further Reading

📃 Navigating the High Cost of AI Compute (Appenzeller et al. for the Andreessen Horowitz blog, April 2023)

📃 Compute and Energy Consumption Trends in Deep Learning Inference (Desislavov et al., March 2023. ArXiv ID: 2109.05472)

📃 How Inferencing Differs From Training in Machine Learning Applications (Sam Fuller for Semiconductor Engineering, January 2022)

📃 The Inference Cost Of Search Disruption – Large Language Model Cost Analysis (Dylan Patel and Afzal Ahmad in SemiAnalysis. February 2023)

Where The Value Lies

As with any emerging technology, there are generally three types of players:

  • Those building core technology (e.g. doing whatever equivalent of "bench science" is in their field)
  • Those packaging/implementing core technologies into specialized applications
  • Those providing the infrastructure to builders and packagers

At least at this stage, it's clear that captured value is redounded to those participants, in rank order:

  1. Infrastructure Providers — e.g. Cloud providers (Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services, etc.), Semiconductor developers (Nvidia, Graphcore, Groq, Cerebras. etc ... plus all the chip development efforts at big companies like Amazon and Microsoft, etc)
  2. Foundation Model builders — e.g. OpenAI, Anthropic, Deepgram, etc.
  3. Implementers — e.g. Companies that build "wrappers" around infrastructure and foundation models. Put differently: Companies/projects which integrate with foundation model APIs and package outputs from said APIs

Further Reading

📃 Exploring opportunities in the gen AI value chain (Härlin et al. for McKinsey Digital, April 2023)

📃 The value​​​ ​​​chain of general-purpose AI​​ (Küspert et al. for the Ada Lovelace Institute, February 2023)

📃 “Behind the Hype: A Deep Dive into the AI Value Chain” (Arun Rao on Hash Collision, June 2023)

📃 Generative AI Value Chain (Matt Rickard publishing on his blog, November 2022)

📃 Basics on the Layers and Value Chain of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Florian Seemann on Medium, April 2023)

📃 Generative AI Value Chain (Andy Wu and Matt Higgins publishing a Harvard Business School Background Note, July 2023)

Other Mentions and Links

Title Ideas

  • Back to the 90s
  • A Whale With Moose Antlers
  • Breathless Dorks on Twitter
  • Whither the Poop Shovelers?
  • Graham's Personal Hope
  • Luxurious Techno-Communism
]]> Back to the 90s Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley 01:12:37 Jason and Graham continue their discussion of Generative AI, this time talking about market structure and more about long-run impacts. Jason and Graham continue their discussion of Generative AI, this time talking about market structure and more about long-run impacts. venture capital, generative ai, startups no full 45 9243c115-6648-47b4-bf78-eb52cd7af76b The Case of Cat Modeling Many of the core technologies behind Generative AI are not exactly brand new. For example, the "Attention Is All You Need" paper, which described and introduced the Transformer model (the "T" in ChatGPT), was published in 2017. Diffusion models—the backbone of image generation tools like StableDiffusion and DALL-e—were introduced in 2015 and were originally inspired by thermodynamic modeling techniques. Generative adversarial networks (GANs) were introduced in 2014.

However, Generative AI has seemingly taken the world by storm over the past couple years. In this episode, Graham and Jason discuss—in broad strokes—what Generative AI is, what's required to train and run foundation models, where the value lies, and frontier challenges.

Fact-Checking And Corrections

Before we begin...

  • At around 36:16 Jason said that the Pile was compiled by OpenAI or one of its research affiliates. This is not correct. The Pile was compiled by Eleuther.ai, and we couldn't find documentation suggesting that OpenAI incorporates the entirety of The Pile into its training data corpus.
  • At 49:07 Jason mentions "The Open Source Institute" but actually meant to mention the Open Source Initiative

Applied Machine Learning 101

Not all AI and applied machine learning models are created equally, and models can be designed to complete specific types of tasks. Broadly speaking, there are two types of applied machine learning models: Discriminative and Generative.

Discriminative AI

Definition: Discriminative AI focuses on learning the boundary between different classes of data from a given set of training data. Unlike generative models that learn to generate data, discriminative models learn to differentiate between classes and make predictions or decisions based on the input data.

Historical Background TLDR:

  • The development of Discriminative AI has its roots in statistical and machine learning approaches aimed at classification tasks.
  • Logistic regression and Support Vector Machines (SVMs) are early examples of discriminative models, which have been used for many years in various fields including computer vision and natural language processing.
  • Over time, with the development of deep learning, discriminative models like Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) have become highly effective for a wide range of classification tasks.

Pop Culture Example(s):

**Real-World Example(s

  • Automatic speech recognition (ASR)
  • Spam and abuse detection
  • Facial recognition, such as Apple's Face ID and more Orwellian examples in places ranging from China to England

Further Reading:

Generative AI

Definition: Generative AI refers to a type of artificial intelligence that is capable of generating new data samples that are similar to a given set of training data. This is achieved through algorithms that learn the underlying patterns, structures, and distributions inherent in the training data, and can generate novel data points with similar properties.

Historical Background TLDR:

  • The origins of Generative AI can be traced back to the development of generative models, with early instances including probabilistic graphical models in the early 2000s.
  • However, the field truly began to gain traction with the advent of Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) b y Ian Goodfellow and his colleagues in 2014.
  • Since then, various generative models like Variational Autoencoders (VAEs) and others have also gained prominence, contributing to the rapid advancement of Generative AI.

Pop Culture Example:

  • The AI from the movie Her (2013)

Real-World Example(s):

  • OpenAI's GPT family, alongside image models like StableDiffusion, and Midjourney.

Further Reading:

Further Reading By Topic

In rough order of when these topics were mentioned in the episode...

Economic/Industry Impacts of AI

How Large Language Models Will Transform Science, Society, and AI (Alex Tamkin and Deep Ganguli for Stanford HAI's blog, February 2021)

The Economic Potential of Generative AI: The Next Productivity Frontier ( McKinsey & Co., June 2023)

Generative AI Could Raise Global GDP by 7% (Goldman Sachs, April 2023)

Generative AI Promises an Economic Revolution. Managing the Disruption Will Be Crucial. (Bob Fernandez for WSJ Pro Central Banking, August 2023)

The Economic Case for Generative AI and Foundation Models (Martin Casado and Sarah Wang for the Andreessen Horowitz Enterprise blog, August 2023)

Generative AI and the software development lifecycle(Birgitta Böckeler and Ryan Murray for Thoughtworks, September 2023)

How generative AI is changing the way developers work (Damian Brady for The GitHub Blog, April 2023)

The AI Business Defensibility Problem (Jay F. publishing on their Substack, The Data Stream)

Using Language Models Effectively

The emerging types of language models and why they matter (Kyle Wiggers for TechCrunch, April 2023)

Prompt Engineering (Lilian Weng on her blog Lil'Log, March 2023)

Prompt Engineering Techniques: Chain-of-Thought & Tree-of-Thought (both by Brad Nikkel for the Deepgram blog)

11 Tips to Take Your ChatGPT Prompts to the Next Level (David Nield for WIRED, March 2023)

Prompt Engineering 101 (Raza Habib and Sinan Ozdemir for the Humanloop blog, December 2022)

Here There Be Dragons

Hallucinations

Data Poisoning & Related

Intellectual Property and Fair Use

Academic and Creative "Honesty"

Human Costs of AI Training (Picking on OpenAI here, but RLHF and similar fine-tuning techniques are employed by many/most LLM developers)

Big Questions

Adam Smith and the Pin Factory

📚 An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith (via Project Gutenberg)

Division of Labor and Specialization (Econlib)

Adam Smith and the Pin Factory (John Kay on his blog, September 2019)

The Pin Factory (Adam Smith Works, a project of the Liberty Fund)

Adam Smith and Pin-making: Some Inconvenient Truths (Timothy Taylor publishing on his blog, Conversable Economist. August 2022)

Also Mentioned

Training Datasets

The Pile

ImageNet

Articles and Books

(Alleged) Leaked Google memo mentioned at around 48:05 Google "We Have No Moat, And Neither Does OpenAI (SemiAnalysis publishing a whitepaper, allegedly written by a Google staff member, which suggested that open source advancements pose an existential threat to both Google and OpenAI. May 2023)

Infinite Jest (Wikipedia page on the 1996 novel by the late David Foster Wallace), mentioned around 54:30

History of Faxes vs. Emails

In reference to 1:08:30 or thereabouts:

A fun fact which blew our mind: The earliest instances of facsimile transmission stretch back to the 1890s, and the core technology matured up through the 1940s. The first telephonic fax patent was filed in 1964 by Xerox Corporation.

The first email was sent in 1971.

]]> Wed, 13 Dec 2023 19:15:00 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Jason D. Rowley, Graham Peck) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/the-case-of-cat-modeling-Xx9dMTMn Many of the core technologies behind Generative AI are not exactly brand new. For example, the "Attention Is All You Need" paper, which described and introduced the Transformer model (the "T" in ChatGPT), was published in 2017. Diffusion models—the backbone of image generation tools like StableDiffusion and DALL-e—were introduced in 2015 and were originally inspired by thermodynamic modeling techniques. Generative adversarial networks (GANs) were introduced in 2014.

However, Generative AI has seemingly taken the world by storm over the past couple years. In this episode, Graham and Jason discuss—in broad strokes—what Generative AI is, what's required to train and run foundation models, where the value lies, and frontier challenges.

Fact-Checking And Corrections

Before we begin...

  • At around 36:16 Jason said that the Pile was compiled by OpenAI or one of its research affiliates. This is not correct. The Pile was compiled by Eleuther.ai, and we couldn't find documentation suggesting that OpenAI incorporates the entirety of The Pile into its training data corpus.
  • At 49:07 Jason mentions "The Open Source Institute" but actually meant to mention the Open Source Initiative

Applied Machine Learning 101

Not all AI and applied machine learning models are created equally, and models can be designed to complete specific types of tasks. Broadly speaking, there are two types of applied machine learning models: Discriminative and Generative.

Discriminative AI

Definition: Discriminative AI focuses on learning the boundary between different classes of data from a given set of training data. Unlike generative models that learn to generate data, discriminative models learn to differentiate between classes and make predictions or decisions based on the input data.

Historical Background TLDR:

  • The development of Discriminative AI has its roots in statistical and machine learning approaches aimed at classification tasks.
  • Logistic regression and Support Vector Machines (SVMs) are early examples of discriminative models, which have been used for many years in various fields including computer vision and natural language processing.
  • Over time, with the development of deep learning, discriminative models like Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) have become highly effective for a wide range of classification tasks.

Pop Culture Example(s):

**Real-World Example(s

  • Automatic speech recognition (ASR)
  • Spam and abuse detection
  • Facial recognition, such as Apple's Face ID and more Orwellian examples in places ranging from China to England

Further Reading:

Generative AI

Definition: Generative AI refers to a type of artificial intelligence that is capable of generating new data samples that are similar to a given set of training data. This is achieved through algorithms that learn the underlying patterns, structures, and distributions inherent in the training data, and can generate novel data points with similar properties.

Historical Background TLDR:

  • The origins of Generative AI can be traced back to the development of generative models, with early instances including probabilistic graphical models in the early 2000s.
  • However, the field truly began to gain traction with the advent of Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) b y Ian Goodfellow and his colleagues in 2014.
  • Since then, various generative models like Variational Autoencoders (VAEs) and others have also gained prominence, contributing to the rapid advancement of Generative AI.

Pop Culture Example:

  • The AI from the movie Her (2013)

Real-World Example(s):

  • OpenAI's GPT family, alongside image models like StableDiffusion, and Midjourney.

Further Reading:

Further Reading By Topic

In rough order of when these topics were mentioned in the episode...

Economic/Industry Impacts of AI

How Large Language Models Will Transform Science, Society, and AI (Alex Tamkin and Deep Ganguli for Stanford HAI's blog, February 2021)

The Economic Potential of Generative AI: The Next Productivity Frontier ( McKinsey & Co., June 2023)

Generative AI Could Raise Global GDP by 7% (Goldman Sachs, April 2023)

Generative AI Promises an Economic Revolution. Managing the Disruption Will Be Crucial. (Bob Fernandez for WSJ Pro Central Banking, August 2023)

The Economic Case for Generative AI and Foundation Models (Martin Casado and Sarah Wang for the Andreessen Horowitz Enterprise blog, August 2023)

Generative AI and the software development lifecycle(Birgitta Böckeler and Ryan Murray for Thoughtworks, September 2023)

How generative AI is changing the way developers work (Damian Brady for The GitHub Blog, April 2023)

The AI Business Defensibility Problem (Jay F. publishing on their Substack, The Data Stream)

Using Language Models Effectively

The emerging types of language models and why they matter (Kyle Wiggers for TechCrunch, April 2023)

Prompt Engineering (Lilian Weng on her blog Lil'Log, March 2023)

Prompt Engineering Techniques: Chain-of-Thought & Tree-of-Thought (both by Brad Nikkel for the Deepgram blog)

11 Tips to Take Your ChatGPT Prompts to the Next Level (David Nield for WIRED, March 2023)

Prompt Engineering 101 (Raza Habib and Sinan Ozdemir for the Humanloop blog, December 2022)

Here There Be Dragons

Hallucinations

Data Poisoning & Related

Intellectual Property and Fair Use

Academic and Creative "Honesty"

Human Costs of AI Training (Picking on OpenAI here, but RLHF and similar fine-tuning techniques are employed by many/most LLM developers)

Big Questions

Adam Smith and the Pin Factory

📚 An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith (via Project Gutenberg)

Division of Labor and Specialization (Econlib)

Adam Smith and the Pin Factory (John Kay on his blog, September 2019)

The Pin Factory (Adam Smith Works, a project of the Liberty Fund)

Adam Smith and Pin-making: Some Inconvenient Truths (Timothy Taylor publishing on his blog, Conversable Economist. August 2022)

Also Mentioned

Training Datasets

The Pile

ImageNet

Articles and Books

(Alleged) Leaked Google memo mentioned at around 48:05 Google "We Have No Moat, And Neither Does OpenAI (SemiAnalysis publishing a whitepaper, allegedly written by a Google staff member, which suggested that open source advancements pose an existential threat to both Google and OpenAI. May 2023)

Infinite Jest (Wikipedia page on the 1996 novel by the late David Foster Wallace), mentioned around 54:30

History of Faxes vs. Emails

In reference to 1:08:30 or thereabouts:

A fun fact which blew our mind: The earliest instances of facsimile transmission stretch back to the 1890s, and the core technology matured up through the 1940s. The first telephonic fax patent was filed in 1964 by Xerox Corporation.

The first email was sent in 1971.

]]> The Case of Cat Modeling Jason D. Rowley, Graham Peck 01:10:17 Jason and Graham return for a new season of Fully Vested. This time, we chat about generative artificial intelligence, its applications, and some of its discontents. Jason and Graham return for a new season of Fully Vested. This time, we chat about generative artificial intelligence, its applications, and some of its discontents. venture capital, generative ai, technology trends, startups no full 44 30a5a2f2-9a1d-4bdb-bbe3-504c74352108 Might Go Down General

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Markets Retrace Their Steps

  • Throughout January 2022, US stock market indices gave up nearly a year of gains.
  • The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite index closed on January 28th at 13,770, down nearly 14% from highs set in November 2021.
  • Why?
    • Nearly a decade of expansionist monetary policy is likely coming to an end.
    • Inflation is at its highest level in the past 40 years.
    • US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell signaled intent to raise interest rates in an effort to reign in inflation. (Goldman Sachs anticipates 5 rate hikes in 2022, expecting rates to hit between 1.25-1.5% by year's end.)

What could this mean for the VC market?

  • Historically, higher interest rates give more conservative investors a path toward a more risk-off strategy, diverting capital from alternative asset classes like venture capital or private equity
    • Higher interest rates lead to a higher discount rate on future cash flows, which could depress equity value today
  • That said, it still feels like investor risk appetite is close to all-time highs. (Might not be quite as hot as it was in Q2-Q3 2021, but still...)
  • Jason's conjecture: If we're going to see a significant decline in either check size or deal volume, it's probably going to come at late-stage first. So much value is locked into late-stage unicorn companies, and with the IPO market cooling down and a dwindling pool of entities which could afford to buy these companies, we can probably expect investor trepidation to hit late-stage first.

Some Reading

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher who has previously worked with Uzabase, Golden.com, Crunchbase News and others. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams as a partner of FYC Labs and other technology development organizations.
]]> Thu, 24 Feb 2022 13:00:00 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/043-might-go-down-bXYrYEds General

Subscribe to Fully Vested at FullyVested.co or through your podcast app of choice.

Markets Retrace Their Steps

  • Throughout January 2022, US stock market indices gave up nearly a year of gains.
  • The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite index closed on January 28th at 13,770, down nearly 14% from highs set in November 2021.
  • Why?
    • Nearly a decade of expansionist monetary policy is likely coming to an end.
    • Inflation is at its highest level in the past 40 years.
    • US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell signaled intent to raise interest rates in an effort to reign in inflation. (Goldman Sachs anticipates 5 rate hikes in 2022, expecting rates to hit between 1.25-1.5% by year's end.)

What could this mean for the VC market?

  • Historically, higher interest rates give more conservative investors a path toward a more risk-off strategy, diverting capital from alternative asset classes like venture capital or private equity
    • Higher interest rates lead to a higher discount rate on future cash flows, which could depress equity value today
  • That said, it still feels like investor risk appetite is close to all-time highs. (Might not be quite as hot as it was in Q2-Q3 2021, but still...)
  • Jason's conjecture: If we're going to see a significant decline in either check size or deal volume, it's probably going to come at late-stage first. So much value is locked into late-stage unicorn companies, and with the IPO market cooling down and a dwindling pool of entities which could afford to buy these companies, we can probably expect investor trepidation to hit late-stage first.

Some Reading

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher who has previously worked with Uzabase, Golden.com, Crunchbase News and others. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams as a partner of FYC Labs and other technology development organizations.
]]> Might Go Down Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck 00:46:32 In this episode, we discuss the knock-on effects of the decrease in public market prices and valuation on the venture capital markets. In this episode, we discuss the knock-on effects of the decrease in public market prices and valuation on the venture capital markets. no full 43 ebfb3198-d679-475e-b7c7-115064de6900 What Goes Up General

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Stating the Obvious about the Increase

  • 2021 was a crazy year for the VC market.
  • Top-line numbers:
    • CB Insights reports that venture investment reached $621 billion in 2021, up 111% from 2020 levels.
    • Crunchbase News’ data points in a similar direction, finding $643 billion worth of global venture investment last year, up 92% year on year.
  • Superbly Supergiant: CB Insights finds there were 1,556 VC rounds of $100M or more, up 147% from 2020's all-time high of 630.
  • Unicorn Watch: Crunchbase News pegged the rate of new unicorn creation at "more than ten each week" in 2021. CB Insights says there are now 959 unicorns as of the end of Q4 2021, up 69% from the 569 tallied at the end of Q4 2020.
  • Most active investors include: Tiger Global Management, SoftBank Investment Advisors, Andreessen Horowitz, and Insight Ventures

Some Reading

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher who has previously worked with Uzabase, Golden.com, Crunchbase News and others. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams as a partner of FYC Labs and other technology development organizations.
]]> Wed, 23 Feb 2022 19:00:00 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/042-what-goes-up-r8IVFk6E General

Subscribe to Fully Vested at FullyVested.co or through your podcast app of choice.

Stating the Obvious about the Increase

  • 2021 was a crazy year for the VC market.
  • Top-line numbers:
    • CB Insights reports that venture investment reached $621 billion in 2021, up 111% from 2020 levels.
    • Crunchbase News’ data points in a similar direction, finding $643 billion worth of global venture investment last year, up 92% year on year.
  • Superbly Supergiant: CB Insights finds there were 1,556 VC rounds of $100M or more, up 147% from 2020's all-time high of 630.
  • Unicorn Watch: Crunchbase News pegged the rate of new unicorn creation at "more than ten each week" in 2021. CB Insights says there are now 959 unicorns as of the end of Q4 2021, up 69% from the 569 tallied at the end of Q4 2020.
  • Most active investors include: Tiger Global Management, SoftBank Investment Advisors, Andreessen Horowitz, and Insight Ventures

Some Reading

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher who has previously worked with Uzabase, Golden.com, Crunchbase News and others. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams as a partner of FYC Labs and other technology development organizations.
]]> What Goes Up Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck 00:38:26 In this episode, we discuss the record-setting year of 2021 in Venture Capital. Specifically the number of deals, dollars deployed and valuations at which they were deployed. In this episode, we discuss the record-setting year of 2021 in Venture Capital. Specifically the number of deals, dollars deployed and valuations at which they were deployed. no full 42 c89089b7-2551-498d-9029-fb5b2f245c99 Stingers at Ten Paces General

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The present and future of work

The first cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by a novel coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2, were identified near Wuhan, China as early as November 2019. A few months later, in early 2020, much of the world went into lockdown.

As the COVID-19 crisis approaches its 2nd full year, it's becoming increasingly clear that the way we work has changed, if not forever than for what's likely to be the next 5 or 10 years at least. This is especially true for knowledge workers.

Technology as an enabler

  • It's kind of hard to imagine what this pandemic would've been like had it happened in, say, 1989.
  • Tools and services like video conferencing, workplace chat, remote event/conference platforms, cloud storage, and others enable partially or fully-distributed work.

Concerns about the role of tech

  • "Zoom fatigue" and other phenomena are very real.
  • Some companies are implementing systems to surveil workers.

Flexibility as a mega-trend in knowledge work

  • Especially before vaccines became widely available, professionals often had to balance work, family, and personal needs all from one place: their homes. For folks with children, working adults needed to meet their professional obligations, while also serving as a teacher or supervisor of school-aged kids engaged in remote learning. These circumstances necessitated increased flexibility in work arrangements.
  • With more time away from the office, more workers are coming to terms with the fact that commuting to an office and spending the majority of the day there has taken up a lot of mental bandwidth.

Reading list

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher who has previously worked with Uzabase, Golden.com, Crunchbase News and others. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Mon, 8 Nov 2021 13:00:00 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/041-stingers-at-ten-paces-UI5sUuqD General

Subscribe to Fully Vested at FullyVested.co or through your podcast app of choice.

The present and future of work

The first cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by a novel coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2, were identified near Wuhan, China as early as November 2019. A few months later, in early 2020, much of the world went into lockdown.

As the COVID-19 crisis approaches its 2nd full year, it's becoming increasingly clear that the way we work has changed, if not forever than for what's likely to be the next 5 or 10 years at least. This is especially true for knowledge workers.

Technology as an enabler

  • It's kind of hard to imagine what this pandemic would've been like had it happened in, say, 1989.
  • Tools and services like video conferencing, workplace chat, remote event/conference platforms, cloud storage, and others enable partially or fully-distributed work.

Concerns about the role of tech

  • "Zoom fatigue" and other phenomena are very real.
  • Some companies are implementing systems to surveil workers.

Flexibility as a mega-trend in knowledge work

  • Especially before vaccines became widely available, professionals often had to balance work, family, and personal needs all from one place: their homes. For folks with children, working adults needed to meet their professional obligations, while also serving as a teacher or supervisor of school-aged kids engaged in remote learning. These circumstances necessitated increased flexibility in work arrangements.
  • With more time away from the office, more workers are coming to terms with the fact that commuting to an office and spending the majority of the day there has taken up a lot of mental bandwidth.

Reading list

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher who has previously worked with Uzabase, Golden.com, Crunchbase News and others. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Stingers at Ten Paces Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck 00:55:43 In this episode, we discuss how the pandemic has impacted the ongoing working from home of most knowledge-based workers and how that will impact company culture moving forward. In this episode, we discuss how the pandemic has impacted the ongoing working from home of most knowledge-based workers and how that will impact company culture moving forward. no full 41 6da7a253-2381-44ca-aa76-72404e5d8deb Let's Call It Ebullient General

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Reading list

Key takeaways

The venture capital market is on fire:

  • Crunchbase projects that $160 billion was invested worldwide in Q3 2021, up from $159 billion in Q2 2021.
  • This makes Q3 2021 the biggest quarter ever for VC investments.
  • The numbers speak for themselves, and they're staggering. As Crunchbase News points out, prior to 2021 there was no single quarter in which $100 billion or more was transacted.
  • Putting this in perspective: Crunchbase projected that around $322 billion was invested in all of 2018, the previous high water mark. In other words, more venture capital has been invested in the past 6 months than was invested in the entire year of 2018.

Supergiant venture deals ($100M+) continue to dominate:

  • According to Crunchbase News, supergiant deal volume in Q3 2021 was up 97% from the same period in 2020.
  • Supergiant deals also accounted for the largest share of total dollar volume—64%—ever.

Let's get into some of the numbers:

  • Seed stage. Crunchbase projects that $6.5 billion was invested in angel and seed-stage deals worldwide in Q3 2021, which is up 47% from the same quarter in 2020. With new, multi-hundred million dollar funds from the likes of Andreessen Horowitz, NfX, and Greylock coming online last quarter, it's likely that pre-seed and seed funding totals are going to continue to increase over the coming quarters.
  • Early stage. Crunchbase projects that $49.3 billion was invested in early-stage deals in Q3 2021, which is up a whopping 104% from Q3 2020. Deal counts are projected to be up 19% from the same period last year. This is very good news, considering that a year or two ago there were concerns that seed and early-stage deal volume was declining, which could've resulted in downstream deal flow constraints in future years.
  • Late stage and Technology growth. Crunchbase projects that $104.2 billion was invested in late-stage and technology growth rounds in Q3 2021, up YoY by 69%. Deal and dollar volume slipped slightly from Q2 2021 but there's nothing notable about that; dollar volume is still above $100 billion for the second quarter in a row.

Exits:

  • Public market investors continue to invest in IPOs, direct listings, and SPACs. There may be some concerns about the quality of companies going public these days, however.
  • M&A market keeps puttering along too.

Big numbers raise big questions

  • Despite the economic hardship of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and uncertainty about the future, public markets are near all-time highs and the VC market is experiencing its biggest-ever boom. At some point, the punch at this party will either run out or someone is going to take away the punchbowl. When will this happen?
  • With so much capital going into late-stage deals these days, will there be sufficient appetite by public investors or the M&A market to get liquidity for all these companies over the coming few years?
  • Will macroeconomic factors in China, Europe, or the United States change the market dynamic in a material way in Q4 2021? In 2022?

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher who has previously worked with Uzabase, Golden.com, Crunchbase News and others. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Wed, 27 Oct 2021 12:00:00 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/040-lets-call-it-ebullient-ZSWGoEiX General

Subscribe to Fully Vested at FullyVested.co or through your podcast app of choice.

Reading list

Key takeaways

The venture capital market is on fire:

  • Crunchbase projects that $160 billion was invested worldwide in Q3 2021, up from $159 billion in Q2 2021.
  • This makes Q3 2021 the biggest quarter ever for VC investments.
  • The numbers speak for themselves, and they're staggering. As Crunchbase News points out, prior to 2021 there was no single quarter in which $100 billion or more was transacted.
  • Putting this in perspective: Crunchbase projected that around $322 billion was invested in all of 2018, the previous high water mark. In other words, more venture capital has been invested in the past 6 months than was invested in the entire year of 2018.

Supergiant venture deals ($100M+) continue to dominate:

  • According to Crunchbase News, supergiant deal volume in Q3 2021 was up 97% from the same period in 2020.
  • Supergiant deals also accounted for the largest share of total dollar volume—64%—ever.

Let's get into some of the numbers:

  • Seed stage. Crunchbase projects that $6.5 billion was invested in angel and seed-stage deals worldwide in Q3 2021, which is up 47% from the same quarter in 2020. With new, multi-hundred million dollar funds from the likes of Andreessen Horowitz, NfX, and Greylock coming online last quarter, it's likely that pre-seed and seed funding totals are going to continue to increase over the coming quarters.
  • Early stage. Crunchbase projects that $49.3 billion was invested in early-stage deals in Q3 2021, which is up a whopping 104% from Q3 2020. Deal counts are projected to be up 19% from the same period last year. This is very good news, considering that a year or two ago there were concerns that seed and early-stage deal volume was declining, which could've resulted in downstream deal flow constraints in future years.
  • Late stage and Technology growth. Crunchbase projects that $104.2 billion was invested in late-stage and technology growth rounds in Q3 2021, up YoY by 69%. Deal and dollar volume slipped slightly from Q2 2021 but there's nothing notable about that; dollar volume is still above $100 billion for the second quarter in a row.

Exits:

  • Public market investors continue to invest in IPOs, direct listings, and SPACs. There may be some concerns about the quality of companies going public these days, however.
  • M&A market keeps puttering along too.

Big numbers raise big questions

  • Despite the economic hardship of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and uncertainty about the future, public markets are near all-time highs and the VC market is experiencing its biggest-ever boom. At some point, the punch at this party will either run out or someone is going to take away the punchbowl. When will this happen?
  • With so much capital going into late-stage deals these days, will there be sufficient appetite by public investors or the M&A market to get liquidity for all these companies over the coming few years?
  • Will macroeconomic factors in China, Europe, or the United States change the market dynamic in a material way in Q4 2021? In 2022?

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher who has previously worked with Uzabase, Golden.com, Crunchbase News and others. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Let's Call It Ebullient Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck 01:06:27 In this episode, we discuss the record-breaking Q3 2021 global venture capital investing statistics. In this episode, we discuss the record-breaking Q3 2021 global venture capital investing statistics. no full 40 d51b38ee-337c-4cc0-b607-3ea0d1105d45 Blow Up or BLOW UP! General

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How To Raise A Venture Capital Round?

Basic Steps / Outline

Section begins at 8m25s.

  1. Determine if the business you're working on is, in fact, a startup!
  2. Decide how much of your company you're willing to sell in this round, vis a vis the amount of money you need to raise. This will give some rough numbers around target valuation.
  3. Prepare some flavor of presentation, whether it's just a naked demo of the product or a pitch deck (usually followed up by a demo)
  4. Identify investors who are a fit for your company (based on stage, industry, strategy, etc) and categorize them by the quality of fit: good fit, better fit, best fit.
  5. Reach out to and pitch Good Fit investors first, to get practice and iterate on your pitch. Then move on to Better Fit and Best Fit investors.
  6. As interest builds in the round, determine who you want in your round and how much room you want to allocate for them.
  7. Review incoming term sheets with relevant legal counsel, co-founders, board members, and/or advisors.
  8. Select offers based on the best terms (and/or value added).
  9. Send wiring details. Issue shares/notes. Update your cap table.
  10. Get back to work building the future!

Jason's Questions for Graham

(Might not get to all of 'em but here's what I had in mind... I've got thoughts/explanations for most of these but I thought here's your time to shine!)

  • What are some of the "right" reasons for a company to raise a venture capital round? Any "wrong" reasons?
    • Jason starts: 28:00
    • Graham starts: 28:18
  • At different stages (Seed, Early, Late) what are some of the traits companies should look for in an investor?
    • Jason starts: 33:59
    • Graham starts: 35:06
  • Understanding that every investor is different, what are some general rules of thumb entrepreneurs should keep in mind when reaching out to investors to pitch?
    • Jason starts: 45:21
    • Graham starts: 46:18
  • Should startups pitch to VCs who have invested in their competitors?
    • Jason starts: 54:01
    • Graham starts: 54:43

Bonus questions:

  • Should startups always seek a new investor to lead a round, or are there benefits to raising an "inside round"? What are those benefits, if any?
    • Graham starts: 1:00:15
  • Can we talk a bit about general solicitation?
    • Jason starts: 1:05:10
    • Graham starts: 1:07:48

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher who has previously worked with Uzabase, Golden.com, Crunchbase News and others. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Tue, 12 Oct 2021 12:00:00 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/039-blow-up-or-blow-up-s6iKbk98 General

Subscribe to Fully Vested at FullyVested.co or through your podcast app of choice.

How To Raise A Venture Capital Round?

Basic Steps / Outline

Section begins at 8m25s.

  1. Determine if the business you're working on is, in fact, a startup!
  2. Decide how much of your company you're willing to sell in this round, vis a vis the amount of money you need to raise. This will give some rough numbers around target valuation.
  3. Prepare some flavor of presentation, whether it's just a naked demo of the product or a pitch deck (usually followed up by a demo)
  4. Identify investors who are a fit for your company (based on stage, industry, strategy, etc) and categorize them by the quality of fit: good fit, better fit, best fit.
  5. Reach out to and pitch Good Fit investors first, to get practice and iterate on your pitch. Then move on to Better Fit and Best Fit investors.
  6. As interest builds in the round, determine who you want in your round and how much room you want to allocate for them.
  7. Review incoming term sheets with relevant legal counsel, co-founders, board members, and/or advisors.
  8. Select offers based on the best terms (and/or value added).
  9. Send wiring details. Issue shares/notes. Update your cap table.
  10. Get back to work building the future!

Jason's Questions for Graham

(Might not get to all of 'em but here's what I had in mind... I've got thoughts/explanations for most of these but I thought here's your time to shine!)

  • What are some of the "right" reasons for a company to raise a venture capital round? Any "wrong" reasons?
    • Jason starts: 28:00
    • Graham starts: 28:18
  • At different stages (Seed, Early, Late) what are some of the traits companies should look for in an investor?
    • Jason starts: 33:59
    • Graham starts: 35:06
  • Understanding that every investor is different, what are some general rules of thumb entrepreneurs should keep in mind when reaching out to investors to pitch?
    • Jason starts: 45:21
    • Graham starts: 46:18
  • Should startups pitch to VCs who have invested in their competitors?
    • Jason starts: 54:01
    • Graham starts: 54:43

Bonus questions:

  • Should startups always seek a new investor to lead a round, or are there benefits to raising an "inside round"? What are those benefits, if any?
    • Graham starts: 1:00:15
  • Can we talk a bit about general solicitation?
    • Jason starts: 1:05:10
    • Graham starts: 1:07:48

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher who has previously worked with Uzabase, Golden.com, Crunchbase News and others. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Blow Up or BLOW UP! Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley 01:10:50 We discuss how companies and their founders go about raising a venture capital funding round. We discuss how companies and their founders go about raising a venture capital funding round. no full 39 9d15d4df-e0d4-4c8c-bd2a-2a293f77c0b9 I'm not an expert, but HUGE General

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Some definitions

"Startups" are hard to define, but many different definitions point toward similar themes:

  • "A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model." – First sentence of the Wikipedia page for 'Startup company,' at least at the time of recording
  • "A startup is a newly established company whose corporate form allows a clear distinction between different shareholders and the ability to receive outside financing while the goal is super rapid growth and market dominance by offering an innovative product or service." – Marius Schober, on his blog
  • "A startup is an organization formed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model." – Steve Blank
  • "Properly defined, a startup is the largest group of people you can convince of a plan to build a different future. A new company’s most important strength is new thinking: even more important than nimbleness, small size affords space to think." – Peter Thiel, in his book Zero To One
  • "A startup is a company designed to grow fast." – Paul Graham, founder of Viaweb and Y Combinator, in September 2012
  • "A startup is a human institution designed to create a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty." – Eric Reis in his book, The Lean Startup
  • "A startup is a venture that is initiated by its founders around an idea or a problem with a potential for significant business opportunity and impact." – Startup Commons
  • "A 'startup' is a company that is confused about: 1. What its product is, 2. Who its customers are, [and] 3. How to make money. As soon as it figures out all 3 things, it ceases being a startup and becomes a real business. Except most times, that doesn't happen." – Dave McClure, founder of 500 Startups and Practical VC, on Quora in 2013

Some differentiators between startups and small businesses

It just so happens that one of your Fully Vested co-hosts has done some writing about this. From the Startup Fundamentals cluster on Golden...

Startups tend to share several characteristics which serve to distinguish them from small businesses:

  • Innovation. Startup companies are typically built around a new idea, method, or product. While the products and services a startup may offer are enabled by technology, not all startups are rooted in unique, defensible intellectual property. They may offer a new type of business or service model (ex. app-based ride-hailing services vs. the traditional taxi industry) or a unique design or interaction model which sets them apart from established competitors.
  • Risk. Startup companies often operate at the edge of a technical field or market for their product or service. Given their small size, limited resources, and often unproven demand for their commercial offerings, startup companies experience high rates of business failure. However, with high risk can come high reward.
  • Scale. Almost by definition, startup companies start small. At launch, they may serve a small geographic area or a specific customer segment, sometimes referred to as a "beachhead market." However, from a management and economic standpoint, startups are designed to scale up beyond their initial markets and serve many, many customers. For startups, economic viability is often predicated on very large scale.
  • Speed. Small team sizes and relatively flat organizational structures let startup teams make decisions and move quickly to seize upon a market opportunity. Limited available resources (see runway) and competitive pressure makes speed a necessity.

Some resources

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Wed, 4 Aug 2021 12:00:00 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/038-im-not-an-expert-but-huge-iXOFXXMI General

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Some definitions

"Startups" are hard to define, but many different definitions point toward similar themes:

  • "A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model." – First sentence of the Wikipedia page for 'Startup company,' at least at the time of recording
  • "A startup is a newly established company whose corporate form allows a clear distinction between different shareholders and the ability to receive outside financing while the goal is super rapid growth and market dominance by offering an innovative product or service." – Marius Schober, on his blog
  • "A startup is an organization formed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model." – Steve Blank
  • "Properly defined, a startup is the largest group of people you can convince of a plan to build a different future. A new company’s most important strength is new thinking: even more important than nimbleness, small size affords space to think." – Peter Thiel, in his book Zero To One
  • "A startup is a company designed to grow fast." – Paul Graham, founder of Viaweb and Y Combinator, in September 2012
  • "A startup is a human institution designed to create a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty." – Eric Reis in his book, The Lean Startup
  • "A startup is a venture that is initiated by its founders around an idea or a problem with a potential for significant business opportunity and impact." – Startup Commons
  • "A 'startup' is a company that is confused about: 1. What its product is, 2. Who its customers are, [and] 3. How to make money. As soon as it figures out all 3 things, it ceases being a startup and becomes a real business. Except most times, that doesn't happen." – Dave McClure, founder of 500 Startups and Practical VC, on Quora in 2013

Some differentiators between startups and small businesses

It just so happens that one of your Fully Vested co-hosts has done some writing about this. From the Startup Fundamentals cluster on Golden...

Startups tend to share several characteristics which serve to distinguish them from small businesses:

  • Innovation. Startup companies are typically built around a new idea, method, or product. While the products and services a startup may offer are enabled by technology, not all startups are rooted in unique, defensible intellectual property. They may offer a new type of business or service model (ex. app-based ride-hailing services vs. the traditional taxi industry) or a unique design or interaction model which sets them apart from established competitors.
  • Risk. Startup companies often operate at the edge of a technical field or market for their product or service. Given their small size, limited resources, and often unproven demand for their commercial offerings, startup companies experience high rates of business failure. However, with high risk can come high reward.
  • Scale. Almost by definition, startup companies start small. At launch, they may serve a small geographic area or a specific customer segment, sometimes referred to as a "beachhead market." However, from a management and economic standpoint, startups are designed to scale up beyond their initial markets and serve many, many customers. For startups, economic viability is often predicated on very large scale.
  • Speed. Small team sizes and relatively flat organizational structures let startup teams make decisions and move quickly to seize upon a market opportunity. Limited available resources (see runway) and competitive pressure makes speed a necessity.

Some resources

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> I'm not an expert, but HUGE Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley 00:48:48 This week we discuss the burning question “What is (and is not) a startup?” This week we discuss the burning question “What is (and is not) a startup?” yes full 38 cdbcb40a-c913-455c-9d40-4c852baae1dc Full Derp for Crypto General

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Overview

  • Cryptocurrency markets have seen their biggest bull run yet. After a pretty docile couple years since the last bubble in late 2017.
  • Crypto prices began picking up in Q4 2020 as more institutional interest poured into the space. Open interest in Bitcoin (BTC) futures on the CME went from roughly $400M in October 2020 to $1.6B in January 2021. Crypto exchanges saw a similar run-up in volume.
  • Meanwhile, Ethereum (ETH) also began to see some price traction starting in mid-Q3 2020. Ethereum, a blockchain platform which enables decentralized applications, also started to firm up plans for Ethereum 2.0, which would take the platform away from Proof of Work and toward Proof of Stake
  • At time of recording, both Bitcoin and Ethereum hit all-time highs in Q2 2021. Ethereum hit nearly $4,400 per coin on Coinbase in mid-May and Bitcoin hit roughly $65,000 in mid April.

Other weird side-tangents

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Thu, 3 Jun 2021 12:00:00 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Jason D. Rowley & Graham C. Peck) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/037-full-derp-for-crypto-J9arhZV9 General

Subscribe to Fully Vested at FullyVested.co or through your podcast app of choice.

Overview

  • Cryptocurrency markets have seen their biggest bull run yet. After a pretty docile couple years since the last bubble in late 2017.
  • Crypto prices began picking up in Q4 2020 as more institutional interest poured into the space. Open interest in Bitcoin (BTC) futures on the CME went from roughly $400M in October 2020 to $1.6B in January 2021. Crypto exchanges saw a similar run-up in volume.
  • Meanwhile, Ethereum (ETH) also began to see some price traction starting in mid-Q3 2020. Ethereum, a blockchain platform which enables decentralized applications, also started to firm up plans for Ethereum 2.0, which would take the platform away from Proof of Work and toward Proof of Stake
  • At time of recording, both Bitcoin and Ethereum hit all-time highs in Q2 2021. Ethereum hit nearly $4,400 per coin on Coinbase in mid-May and Bitcoin hit roughly $65,000 in mid April.

Other weird side-tangents

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Full Derp for Crypto Jason D. Rowley & Graham C. Peck 00:56:01 This week we discuss several interesting aspects of the cryptocurrency markets including the impact of Elon Musk and Tesla, Dogecoin, the environmental impacts of proof of work and various government/regulatory responses to cryptocurrencies. This week we discuss several interesting aspects of the cryptocurrency markets including the impact of Elon Musk and Tesla, Dogecoin, the environmental impacts of proof of work and various government/regulatory responses to cryptocurrencies. no full 37 5e524620-5815-490e-b929-99db234bb1b3 Constipated Capital General

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Major trends

Each one of these could probably get its own episode of Fully Vested, but it's important to mention them briefly here. It's hard to believe all these mechanics were at work all in the first months of 2021.

  • New POTUS.
  • U.S. COVID-19 vaccination campaign kicks off in earnest. Variants of Concern spread worldwide. All eyes are on India and Brazil.
  • Cryptocurrency market surges. NFTs gain (temporary) traction.
  • Pre-merger SPAC valuations may have peaked (temporarily?) as sidelined cash goes in search of work amid ZIRP environment.
  • Venture capital funding continues its multi-year surge in total dollar volume.
  • Major U.S. stock indices ended the quarter at or near all-time highs.

Some highlights of VC funding data

Globally

  • Crunchbase reports that Q1 2021 hit a high water mark for total venture capital dollar volume. Crunchbase's reported totals for the quarter was $125 billion, up 50% QoQ and up a massive 94% compared to Q1 2020 (which, keep in mind, was affected by the emerging coronavirus pandemic)
  • Crunchbase reports that angel and seed-stage deal counts continued their decline, falling 19% from the prior quarter. Seed-stage dollar volume remains largely flat though. This might be attributable to reporting delays.
  • Crunchbase reports that early-stage activity (defined as Series A and Series B, with a subset of other round types based on deal size) is up markedly. With reported dollar volume at $35.5B globally, Q1 2021 saw a 45% QoQ increase and a 63% jump over Q1 of 2020. Deal volume is also up QoQ but down relative to the same time last year. Of course, this is also affected by data reporting lags.
  • Late-stage (Series C and later) and technology growth (PE rounds raised by privately-held previously venture-backed startups) activity is where the world saw the most growth. With $85.6B in dollar volume reported across 751 deals, late-stage dealmaking drove global totals higher. Dollar volume grew 56% QoQ and a massive 122% relative to Q1 of 2020

U.S. & Canada

  • North American seed and angel deal and dollar volume are down relative to last quarter. Dollar volume is reported to be slightly up from the same quarter last year.
  • Early-stage deal and dollar volume are also up relative to last quarter, as well as last year. Similar to global figures, it's clear that average deal size at this stage is up markedly.
  • Late-stage and tech growth deals in North America reflect global trends: Crunchbase reports that Q1 2021 dollar volume clocks in at $51B vs $29.8B in Q4 2020 and vs $21.3B in Q1 2020.

Links to various data companies' Q1 '21 VC reports

Links to Q1 2021 VC market commentary

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Tue, 11 May 2021 12:00:00 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/36-constipated-capital-uASdImyE General

Subscribe to Fully Vested at FullyVested.co or through your podcast app of choice.

Major trends

Each one of these could probably get its own episode of Fully Vested, but it's important to mention them briefly here. It's hard to believe all these mechanics were at work all in the first months of 2021.

  • New POTUS.
  • U.S. COVID-19 vaccination campaign kicks off in earnest. Variants of Concern spread worldwide. All eyes are on India and Brazil.
  • Cryptocurrency market surges. NFTs gain (temporary) traction.
  • Pre-merger SPAC valuations may have peaked (temporarily?) as sidelined cash goes in search of work amid ZIRP environment.
  • Venture capital funding continues its multi-year surge in total dollar volume.
  • Major U.S. stock indices ended the quarter at or near all-time highs.

Some highlights of VC funding data

Globally

  • Crunchbase reports that Q1 2021 hit a high water mark for total venture capital dollar volume. Crunchbase's reported totals for the quarter was $125 billion, up 50% QoQ and up a massive 94% compared to Q1 2020 (which, keep in mind, was affected by the emerging coronavirus pandemic)
  • Crunchbase reports that angel and seed-stage deal counts continued their decline, falling 19% from the prior quarter. Seed-stage dollar volume remains largely flat though. This might be attributable to reporting delays.
  • Crunchbase reports that early-stage activity (defined as Series A and Series B, with a subset of other round types based on deal size) is up markedly. With reported dollar volume at $35.5B globally, Q1 2021 saw a 45% QoQ increase and a 63% jump over Q1 of 2020. Deal volume is also up QoQ but down relative to the same time last year. Of course, this is also affected by data reporting lags.
  • Late-stage (Series C and later) and technology growth (PE rounds raised by privately-held previously venture-backed startups) activity is where the world saw the most growth. With $85.6B in dollar volume reported across 751 deals, late-stage dealmaking drove global totals higher. Dollar volume grew 56% QoQ and a massive 122% relative to Q1 of 2020

U.S. & Canada

  • North American seed and angel deal and dollar volume are down relative to last quarter. Dollar volume is reported to be slightly up from the same quarter last year.
  • Early-stage deal and dollar volume are also up relative to last quarter, as well as last year. Similar to global figures, it's clear that average deal size at this stage is up markedly.
  • Late-stage and tech growth deals in North America reflect global trends: Crunchbase reports that Q1 2021 dollar volume clocks in at $51B vs $29.8B in Q4 2020 and vs $21.3B in Q1 2020.

Links to various data companies' Q1 '21 VC reports

Links to Q1 2021 VC market commentary

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Constipated Capital Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck 01:12:17 This week we discuss the record-breaking Q1 2021 Venture Capital statistics globally and domestically, especially as reported by Crunchbase. This week we discuss the record-breaking Q1 2021 Venture Capital statistics globally and domestically, especially as reported by Crunchbase. no full 36 ccfd9636-59d5-411d-8e78-47b89f86565e Risk is Part of the Game General

Subscribe to Fully Vested at FullyVested.co or through your podcast app of choice.

Disclaimers

Neither Jason Rowley nor Graham Peck are financial advisors or tax professionals. We're just a couple of friends talking about our opinions of money and tech stuff on the internet.

Fully Vested content is primarily for entertainment purposes only; although we do try hard to stick to the facts according to the best of our knowledge at the time of recording, this content is not to be taken as legal or investment advice. Consult your own advisors and do your own research before deciding to make investments in private-market companies.

Equity Crowdfunding

New companies have several options for funding their startup and scale-out. They may solely rely on revenue from customers and clients, may be funded through the personal savings of their founder(s), may sell securities to outside investors, or some combination thereof.

Equity crowdfunding is a relatively new option for raising capital. Prior to June 2015, equity crowdfunding in the U.S. was limited to accredited investors participating in Regulation D offerings brokered through registered online portals like AngelList, CircleUp, SeedInvest, and others. These offerings were limited to accredited investors only.

Title IV of the JOBS Act of 2012 became effective in June 2015, which allowed unaccredited investors to invest in Regulation A+ offerings (with some minor restrictions depending on the terms of the deal).

Title III of the JOBS Act went into effect in May 2016, which allows companies to sell shares to unaccredited investors through a registered online portal. Under these Regulation CF offerings, unaccredited investors are limited in the amount of money they can invest annually, and issuers (companies) are required to disclose significantly more information about their businesses than they would otherwise be required to under a traditional private placement offering.

2020 changes coming into effect for Reg CF

In March 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission released a proposed set of changes to various regulations governing exempt securities offerings. Many of those rule changes were passed in November 2020 and went into effect in early 2021.

A vastly simplified list of changes includes:

  • Raising the offering limit in Reg CF offerings from $1.07M to $5M
  • Removing annual investment limits for accredited investors
  • Changing the investment limits for non-accredited investors by taking the "greater" rather than the "lesser" of annual income or net worth when calculating the investment limits. For most non-accredited investors, this rule change results in significantly increased limits.

Further reading

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Tue, 13 Apr 2021 12:00:00 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/035-risk-is-part-of-the-game-R59tZLYd General

Subscribe to Fully Vested at FullyVested.co or through your podcast app of choice.

Disclaimers

Neither Jason Rowley nor Graham Peck are financial advisors or tax professionals. We're just a couple of friends talking about our opinions of money and tech stuff on the internet.

Fully Vested content is primarily for entertainment purposes only; although we do try hard to stick to the facts according to the best of our knowledge at the time of recording, this content is not to be taken as legal or investment advice. Consult your own advisors and do your own research before deciding to make investments in private-market companies.

Equity Crowdfunding

New companies have several options for funding their startup and scale-out. They may solely rely on revenue from customers and clients, may be funded through the personal savings of their founder(s), may sell securities to outside investors, or some combination thereof.

Equity crowdfunding is a relatively new option for raising capital. Prior to June 2015, equity crowdfunding in the U.S. was limited to accredited investors participating in Regulation D offerings brokered through registered online portals like AngelList, CircleUp, SeedInvest, and others. These offerings were limited to accredited investors only.

Title IV of the JOBS Act of 2012 became effective in June 2015, which allowed unaccredited investors to invest in Regulation A+ offerings (with some minor restrictions depending on the terms of the deal).

Title III of the JOBS Act went into effect in May 2016, which allows companies to sell shares to unaccredited investors through a registered online portal. Under these Regulation CF offerings, unaccredited investors are limited in the amount of money they can invest annually, and issuers (companies) are required to disclose significantly more information about their businesses than they would otherwise be required to under a traditional private placement offering.

2020 changes coming into effect for Reg CF

In March 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission released a proposed set of changes to various regulations governing exempt securities offerings. Many of those rule changes were passed in November 2020 and went into effect in early 2021.

A vastly simplified list of changes includes:

  • Raising the offering limit in Reg CF offerings from $1.07M to $5M
  • Removing annual investment limits for accredited investors
  • Changing the investment limits for non-accredited investors by taking the "greater" rather than the "lesser" of annual income or net worth when calculating the investment limits. For most non-accredited investors, this rule change results in significantly increased limits.

Further reading

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Risk is Part of the Game Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck 00:57:32 In this episode of Fully Vested, Graham and Jason discuss recent changes to Regulation Crowdfunding ("Reg CF") offerings. We discuss risks of investing in private companies, recent rule changes which expand access to Reg CF offerings, the possible effect of these changes on market dynamics, and some of Jason's small bets. In this episode of Fully Vested, Graham and Jason discuss recent changes to Regulation Crowdfunding ("Reg CF") offerings. We discuss risks of investing in private companies, recent rule changes which expand access to Reg CF offerings, the possible effect of these changes on market dynamics, and some of Jason's small bets. no full 35 e4ddfa0c-0216-45d7-a77d-f1933ed68156 ZIRPity Do Dah General

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ZIRP Has Been Eating The World

More about ZIRP

ZIRP as possible explanatory variable for some recent trends

If ZIRP results in both the cost of money being low, and sources of risk-free returns in excess of inflation to dry up, then it follows that the later stages of an economic cycle under ZIRP may be characterized by speculative surges in certain markets and assets.

Possible recent events spurred on by ZIRP:

  • Dislocation in the housing market. Rents are down but home prices are up significantly. Derek Thompson's March 5, 2021 article for The Atlantic covers it well.
  • The recent run-up of Bitcoin may be tied to inflation fears brought on by a combination of ZIRP and making the money printer go BRRRRR. What's arguably a speculative bubble in non-fungible tokens is also somewhat exacerbated by so much risk capital coming off the sidelines.
  • The proliferation of (relatively) affordable margin trading for retail investors has likely accelerated the meme stock trend.

This said, much like how no individual severe weather event can be tied to global climate change, few if any of these speculative rushes can be directly attributed to ZIRP. But just like how a warming planet is more likely to generate severe weather events with greater frequency, the froth and churn of markets grows choppier under ZIRP.

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Mon, 22 Mar 2021 12:00:00 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/034-zirpity-do-dah-_Hj2yGA8 General

Subscribe to Fully Vested at FullyVested.co or through your podcast app of choice.

ZIRP Has Been Eating The World

More about ZIRP

ZIRP as possible explanatory variable for some recent trends

If ZIRP results in both the cost of money being low, and sources of risk-free returns in excess of inflation to dry up, then it follows that the later stages of an economic cycle under ZIRP may be characterized by speculative surges in certain markets and assets.

Possible recent events spurred on by ZIRP:

  • Dislocation in the housing market. Rents are down but home prices are up significantly. Derek Thompson's March 5, 2021 article for The Atlantic covers it well.
  • The recent run-up of Bitcoin may be tied to inflation fears brought on by a combination of ZIRP and making the money printer go BRRRRR. What's arguably a speculative bubble in non-fungible tokens is also somewhat exacerbated by so much risk capital coming off the sidelines.
  • The proliferation of (relatively) affordable margin trading for retail investors has likely accelerated the meme stock trend.

This said, much like how no individual severe weather event can be tied to global climate change, few if any of these speculative rushes can be directly attributed to ZIRP. But just like how a warming planet is more likely to generate severe weather events with greater frequency, the froth and churn of markets grows choppier under ZIRP.

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> ZIRPity Do Dah Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley 00:59:13 We continue our discussion of how Zero Interest Rate Policy impacts macroeconomic factors including real estate, public markets and private investing. We continue our discussion of how Zero Interest Rate Policy impacts macroeconomic factors including real estate, public markets and private investing. no full 34 469df526-faf0-438f-9fe0-e60cd933ef04 In Short, We Like the Show! General

Subscribe to Fully Vested at FullyVested.co or through your podcast app of choice.

Topic: Valuations of Public Markets and the Recent Short Squeeze of Gamestop and Others

A note from your hosts

Neither of us are registered financial professionals and all information discussed on Fully Vested is the personal opinions and interpretations of the hosts, and should not be taken as financial advice.

We as hosts are speaking from the perspective gained from information that is publicly available at the time of recording.

What is going on with GameStop?

TLDR:

  • WallStreetBets (WSB) is a group on community platform site Reddit. WSB is an irreverent, often profane community of folks sharing stock tips, self-styled due diligence analysis, and screenshots of their brokerage accounts.
  • Users of WSB noticed that shares in GameStop – a brick-and-mortar video game retailer which found itself on the wrong end of several trends (digitization of game purchasing, decline of physical retail, pandemic stress, etc.) – were sold short at a ratio of 140% of the float.
  • Users started buying up positions in GameStop, driving up the price over 8,100 percent over a 1-year period (based on the closing price of $325.00 on January 29, 2020), causing a partial short squeeze.
  • Meanwhile, several online brokerages – most notably Robinhood – limited trading activity on GameStop and several other stocks which the WSB community have been buying. Some assert a conspiracy between Robinhood and its order clearinghouse/counterparties drove the limits (which included temporarily blocking buy orders while allowing sell orders to go through, before simply placing limits on the number of shares which can be purchased). Robinhood asserts that it was simply trying to met requirements set by its clearinghouse and financial regulators.
  • The fallout so far:
    • On February 1, Robinhood announced it had raised an additional $3.4B in capital led by late-stage finch firm Ribbit Capital, with participation from existing investors including ICONIQ Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, Index Ventures, and NEA. That figure includes $1B in equity financing announced on January 29th. On January 28th, Bloomberg reported that Robinhood had drawn down "at least several hundred million dollars" from credit lines to meet liquidity requirements.
    • Melvin Capital, one of the largest short sellers in GameStop, lost 53% in January, and took in additional capital from Citadel and other investors.

Some good links:

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Tue, 2 Mar 2021 13:00:00 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/033-in-short-we-like-the-show-YDLN8GcS General

Subscribe to Fully Vested at FullyVested.co or through your podcast app of choice.

Topic: Valuations of Public Markets and the Recent Short Squeeze of Gamestop and Others

A note from your hosts

Neither of us are registered financial professionals and all information discussed on Fully Vested is the personal opinions and interpretations of the hosts, and should not be taken as financial advice.

We as hosts are speaking from the perspective gained from information that is publicly available at the time of recording.

What is going on with GameStop?

TLDR:

  • WallStreetBets (WSB) is a group on community platform site Reddit. WSB is an irreverent, often profane community of folks sharing stock tips, self-styled due diligence analysis, and screenshots of their brokerage accounts.
  • Users of WSB noticed that shares in GameStop – a brick-and-mortar video game retailer which found itself on the wrong end of several trends (digitization of game purchasing, decline of physical retail, pandemic stress, etc.) – were sold short at a ratio of 140% of the float.
  • Users started buying up positions in GameStop, driving up the price over 8,100 percent over a 1-year period (based on the closing price of $325.00 on January 29, 2020), causing a partial short squeeze.
  • Meanwhile, several online brokerages – most notably Robinhood – limited trading activity on GameStop and several other stocks which the WSB community have been buying. Some assert a conspiracy between Robinhood and its order clearinghouse/counterparties drove the limits (which included temporarily blocking buy orders while allowing sell orders to go through, before simply placing limits on the number of shares which can be purchased). Robinhood asserts that it was simply trying to met requirements set by its clearinghouse and financial regulators.
  • The fallout so far:
    • On February 1, Robinhood announced it had raised an additional $3.4B in capital led by late-stage finch firm Ribbit Capital, with participation from existing investors including ICONIQ Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, Index Ventures, and NEA. That figure includes $1B in equity financing announced on January 29th. On January 28th, Bloomberg reported that Robinhood had drawn down "at least several hundred million dollars" from credit lines to meet liquidity requirements.
    • Melvin Capital, one of the largest short sellers in GameStop, lost 53% in January, and took in additional capital from Citadel and other investors.

Some good links:

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> In Short, We Like the Show! Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley 01:13:40 This week we discuss the recent volatility in trading of several stocks including Gamestop as well as long term market fundamentals and we start a discussion about the Zero Interest Rate Monetary Policy. This week we discuss the recent volatility in trading of several stocks including Gamestop as well as long term market fundamentals and we start a discussion about the Zero Interest Rate Monetary Policy. no full 33 467b4894-d12a-4681-be08-e92861227157 Re: The Right of Pro Rata General

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Topic: Pro Rata Rights

General guides

Other Posts And Articles About Pro Rata

What Is Pro Rata?

  • Pro rata rights typically protect investors when things go well for a company; price-based antidilution provisions protect investors when things go poorly. Conceptually, they're related though: both deal terms help shareholders at least maintain the % of a company they own as valuations change from round to round.
  • Pro rata rights are a form of anti-dilution protection which grants investors the right but not the obligation to invest additional capital in subsequent rounds such that an investor can maintain their proportional stake of the company's shares as the company raises more money
  • Pro rata rights are a typical term for investors to ask for in the venture deal-making process. However, they're a negotiated term; startup founders are able to deny an investor's request for pro rata rights, but this may preclude an investor from making a commitment. (Many investors' financial models and, sometimes, their LP agreements, pre-suppose pro rata rights after the first check.)
  • Pro rata rights also serve to protect investors from downside events like equity cramdowns, wherein a company may issue a vast number of shares to its employees and other investors, thus diluting the equity stake of a particular investor or class of investors.
  • Percentage-based pro rata rights are most common, but some investors may push for dollar-for-dollar or fixed-sum pro rata rights, which may result in super pro rata rights, granting an investor the right to increase their relative stake in a company in subsequent rounds.

Key Concepts

  • Investment required to maintain pro rata stake = percent of the stake you want to maintain * number of new shares being issued * share price at new round

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Tue, 22 Sep 2020 12:00:13 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/032-re-the-right-of-pro-rata-06Z4ArXd General

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Topic: Pro Rata Rights

General guides

Other Posts And Articles About Pro Rata

What Is Pro Rata?

  • Pro rata rights typically protect investors when things go well for a company; price-based antidilution provisions protect investors when things go poorly. Conceptually, they're related though: both deal terms help shareholders at least maintain the % of a company they own as valuations change from round to round.
  • Pro rata rights are a form of anti-dilution protection which grants investors the right but not the obligation to invest additional capital in subsequent rounds such that an investor can maintain their proportional stake of the company's shares as the company raises more money
  • Pro rata rights are a typical term for investors to ask for in the venture deal-making process. However, they're a negotiated term; startup founders are able to deny an investor's request for pro rata rights, but this may preclude an investor from making a commitment. (Many investors' financial models and, sometimes, their LP agreements, pre-suppose pro rata rights after the first check.)
  • Pro rata rights also serve to protect investors from downside events like equity cramdowns, wherein a company may issue a vast number of shares to its employees and other investors, thus diluting the equity stake of a particular investor or class of investors.
  • Percentage-based pro rata rights are most common, but some investors may push for dollar-for-dollar or fixed-sum pro rata rights, which may result in super pro rata rights, granting an investor the right to increase their relative stake in a company in subsequent rounds.

Key Concepts

  • Investment required to maintain pro rata stake = percent of the stake you want to maintain * number of new shares being issued * share price at new round

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Re: The Right of Pro Rata Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck 00:51:30 This week we discuss pro-rata rights of venture capital investors and deals. This week we discuss pro-rata rights of venture capital investors and deals. no full 32 d106ad4b-95d8-4c38-9cef-78df6b323a5d Stale Good News! (Good COVID News #2) General

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Companies Which Raised Money During Covid Times

Run The World

Based in Mountain View, California, Run The World is a startup founded in July 2019 which builds software tools to help conference organizers produce virtual conferences. It provides event templates, streaming video, real-time chat and other features which help structure interactions between conference speakers and attendees, as well as community features to help attendees network with one another.

At time of recording, the company has raised $14.8 million to date. Run The World closed $10.8 million in a Series A funding round co-led by Founders Fund and Andreessen Horowitz.

Articles:

Tock

Tock is a Chicago-based company behind restaurant and winery booking software of the same name. The company's business user base consists of nearly 3,000 restaurants, wineries, and pop-ups across 28 countries, as of February 2020, according to the company. Many of those businesses were forced to close due to the public health response to COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. In response, Tock built out Tock To Go, which aims to help restaurants with pickup and delivery booking. Tock has onboarded 1,000 businesses in April onto the new platform. Tock's take rate is 3% as opposed to the 25% or more charged by bigger platform providers like Uber Eats and DoorDash. It looks like mostly high-end restaurants use the platform.

Tock raised $10 million in an "oversubscribed" funding round led by Valor Siren Ventures with participation from prior investor Origin Ventures. The round was announced on May 12.

Articles:

QuillBot

Founded by alumni (and one dropout) from the University of Illinois system, Chicago-based QuillBot is a company which uses natural language processing technology to summarize and paraphrase text. It identifies and suggests synonyms to replace words and phrases contained within text. The company offers its service through its website and offers extensions for Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and Google's Chrome web browser. QuillBot's service is free to try with limited functionality, but the company sells premium subscriptions for as little as $80 per year, depending on billing frequency.

In late April, QuillBot announced that it raised $4.25 million in a seed funding round co-led by Sierra Ventures and GSV Ventures, which saw participation from Service Provider Capital.

Articles:

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Thu, 10 Sep 2020 12:00:10 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/031-stale-good-news-5VG6FwiH General

Subscribe to Fully Vested at FullyVested.co or through your podcast app of choice.

Companies Which Raised Money During Covid Times

Run The World

Based in Mountain View, California, Run The World is a startup founded in July 2019 which builds software tools to help conference organizers produce virtual conferences. It provides event templates, streaming video, real-time chat and other features which help structure interactions between conference speakers and attendees, as well as community features to help attendees network with one another.

At time of recording, the company has raised $14.8 million to date. Run The World closed $10.8 million in a Series A funding round co-led by Founders Fund and Andreessen Horowitz.

Articles:

Tock

Tock is a Chicago-based company behind restaurant and winery booking software of the same name. The company's business user base consists of nearly 3,000 restaurants, wineries, and pop-ups across 28 countries, as of February 2020, according to the company. Many of those businesses were forced to close due to the public health response to COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. In response, Tock built out Tock To Go, which aims to help restaurants with pickup and delivery booking. Tock has onboarded 1,000 businesses in April onto the new platform. Tock's take rate is 3% as opposed to the 25% or more charged by bigger platform providers like Uber Eats and DoorDash. It looks like mostly high-end restaurants use the platform.

Tock raised $10 million in an "oversubscribed" funding round led by Valor Siren Ventures with participation from prior investor Origin Ventures. The round was announced on May 12.

Articles:

QuillBot

Founded by alumni (and one dropout) from the University of Illinois system, Chicago-based QuillBot is a company which uses natural language processing technology to summarize and paraphrase text. It identifies and suggests synonyms to replace words and phrases contained within text. The company offers its service through its website and offers extensions for Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and Google's Chrome web browser. QuillBot's service is free to try with limited functionality, but the company sells premium subscriptions for as little as $80 per year, depending on billing frequency.

In late April, QuillBot announced that it raised $4.25 million in a seed funding round co-led by Sierra Ventures and GSV Ventures, which saw participation from Service Provider Capital.

Articles:

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Stale Good News! (Good COVID News #2) Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck 00:53:53 This week we explore several funding rounds that have been announced since the COVID-19 pandemic has been a significant factor. We call this our good news during the Pandemic episode. Those companies are Run The World, a virtual conferencing platform, Chicago based Tock, a restaurant technology company and Chicago based Quillbot which helps content generators refresh and paraphrase the content in new and interesting ways. This week we explore several funding rounds that have been announced since the COVID-19 pandemic has been a significant factor. We call this our good news during the Pandemic episode. Those companies are Run The World, a virtual conferencing platform, Chicago based Tock, a restaurant technology company and Chicago based Quillbot which helps content generators refresh and paraphrase the content in new and interesting ways. no full 31 247c80a7-4dce-48fb-a1ff-5a2ada595bce Stacked Benches (Good COVID News #1) General

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Cashdrop's $2.7M Seed

CASHDROP, a Chicago-based contactless payments and mobile-first e-commerce platform company founded by Mexican immigrant Ruben Flores-Martinez, announced that it raised $2.7 million in seed funding back in early August. Harlem Capital led the deal, which saw participation from Founder Collective, Long Journey Ventures, and M25. Individual investors in the round include Cyan Banister (now a partner at Long Journey Ventures), Adobe chief product officer Scott Belsky, Fullscreen founder George Strompolos, and YouTube pioneer Michelle Phan.

CASHDROP's unique differentiators are its economic model and software platform. The company says new merchants can spin up an online storefront for their products and services in as little as 15 minutes. CASHDROP includes inventory management and reporting features, and may expand to more service business verticals in the future. Its biggest point of leverage is its economic model. Rather than taking a commission/marketplace fee from businesses on the platform, CASHDROP charges the customer a 5% convenience fee, leaving the platform free to use for businesses and relatively inexpensive for consumers. The company has seen significant user growth during COVID, mostly from restaurants seeking to sidestep high marketplace fees imposed by incumbent food ordering platforms like DoorDash, GrubHub, and Uber Eats.

Read more about the deal:

(Disclosure: Jason and Graham are friends with members of the CASHDROP team. Jason served as a compensated advisor and service provider to the company during its funding round announcement, and Graham has financial ties to one of the firms which invested in the round.)

Trove's $16M Series A

On August 25th, Bay Area-based startup Trove announced it had raised $16 million in a Series A round, with media reporting it was raised at a $75 million post-money valuation. Andreessen Horowitz led the round. The company was part of Y Combinator's S20 batch and successfully raised their round pre-Demo Day.

Trove is in the business of helping startups communicate the potential value of equity (usually offered as options of some sort) issued as part of typical employee compensation packages to prospective recruits and current members of the team. This, in theory, gives employees greater transparency into the current and potential value of the shares they're issued, while also helping employers allocate equity more wisely. Simultaneously, Trove grants access to anonymized market performance data to help employers understand what other industry participants are offering their prospective employees.

Read more about the deal:

Barn2Door's $6M Series A2

On August 26th, Seattle area online marketplace startup Barn2Door raised $6 million in a new round of funding led by Bullpen Capital. Participating investors in the deal include Sugar Mountain, Raine Ventures, Quiet Capital, Lead Edge Capital, and Global Founders Capital. Crunchbase lists the round as a Series A, though the round type was not named explicitly in media coverage of the transaction. Barn2Door raised $3.4 million for the first tranche of its Series A back in October 2019; that particular round was led by Lead Edge Capital out of New York. According to Golden, the company has raised nearly $12.5 million across its publicly-disclosed funding rounds.

Barn2Door operates a vertical-specific marketplace platform aimed at helping farmers sell their produce, proteins, and other agricultural products directly to consumers via e-commerce. The company's platform works for different types of farms (dairy, produce, animal proteins, flowers, etc.) and service models ranging from subscription community-supported agriculture (CSA) boxes, to on-farm pickup, local delivery, and even shipping, depending on the model of the farm's direct-to-customer business. Barn2Door, founded in March 2015, is part of a growing trend of companies which offer more direct connections between farmers and end consumers. The growing D2C side of some farm businesses helps the farmer generate higher margin on agricultural products.

Read more about the deal:

Undock

Based in New York City, Undock is a company building software which helps people who schedule lots of meetings (which is probably most of us these days) schedule those meetings right from their email inbox. The interaction model is neat: Using a little NLP magic, Undock's plugin detects when a user is proposing times for a meeting; based on the user's availability and preferred times to meet, Undock will drop down some times which work, and the proposed time is entered as a link in the outgoing email. Recipients can confirm the time by clicking the link in the email. Undock detects if a message is going to another Undock user, and is able to suggest times which are mutually agreeable for all parties. On August 24, the company announced it raised $1.6 million in a seed round led by Lightship Capital. Participating investors in the deal include Bessemer Venture Partners, Alumni Ventures Group, Active Capital, Lerer Hippeau, as well as individual investors Arlan Hamilton (founding partner of Backstage Capital) and veteran startup ops exec Sarah Imbach.

Read more about the deal:

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Tue, 8 Sep 2020 12:00:30 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/030-stacked-benches-WYkYubKc General

Subscribe to Fully Vested at FullyVested.co or through your podcast app of choice.

Cashdrop's $2.7M Seed

CASHDROP, a Chicago-based contactless payments and mobile-first e-commerce platform company founded by Mexican immigrant Ruben Flores-Martinez, announced that it raised $2.7 million in seed funding back in early August. Harlem Capital led the deal, which saw participation from Founder Collective, Long Journey Ventures, and M25. Individual investors in the round include Cyan Banister (now a partner at Long Journey Ventures), Adobe chief product officer Scott Belsky, Fullscreen founder George Strompolos, and YouTube pioneer Michelle Phan.

CASHDROP's unique differentiators are its economic model and software platform. The company says new merchants can spin up an online storefront for their products and services in as little as 15 minutes. CASHDROP includes inventory management and reporting features, and may expand to more service business verticals in the future. Its biggest point of leverage is its economic model. Rather than taking a commission/marketplace fee from businesses on the platform, CASHDROP charges the customer a 5% convenience fee, leaving the platform free to use for businesses and relatively inexpensive for consumers. The company has seen significant user growth during COVID, mostly from restaurants seeking to sidestep high marketplace fees imposed by incumbent food ordering platforms like DoorDash, GrubHub, and Uber Eats.

Read more about the deal:

(Disclosure: Jason and Graham are friends with members of the CASHDROP team. Jason served as a compensated advisor and service provider to the company during its funding round announcement, and Graham has financial ties to one of the firms which invested in the round.)

Trove's $16M Series A

On August 25th, Bay Area-based startup Trove announced it had raised $16 million in a Series A round, with media reporting it was raised at a $75 million post-money valuation. Andreessen Horowitz led the round. The company was part of Y Combinator's S20 batch and successfully raised their round pre-Demo Day.

Trove is in the business of helping startups communicate the potential value of equity (usually offered as options of some sort) issued as part of typical employee compensation packages to prospective recruits and current members of the team. This, in theory, gives employees greater transparency into the current and potential value of the shares they're issued, while also helping employers allocate equity more wisely. Simultaneously, Trove grants access to anonymized market performance data to help employers understand what other industry participants are offering their prospective employees.

Read more about the deal:

Barn2Door's $6M Series A2

On August 26th, Seattle area online marketplace startup Barn2Door raised $6 million in a new round of funding led by Bullpen Capital. Participating investors in the deal include Sugar Mountain, Raine Ventures, Quiet Capital, Lead Edge Capital, and Global Founders Capital. Crunchbase lists the round as a Series A, though the round type was not named explicitly in media coverage of the transaction. Barn2Door raised $3.4 million for the first tranche of its Series A back in October 2019; that particular round was led by Lead Edge Capital out of New York. According to Golden, the company has raised nearly $12.5 million across its publicly-disclosed funding rounds.

Barn2Door operates a vertical-specific marketplace platform aimed at helping farmers sell their produce, proteins, and other agricultural products directly to consumers via e-commerce. The company's platform works for different types of farms (dairy, produce, animal proteins, flowers, etc.) and service models ranging from subscription community-supported agriculture (CSA) boxes, to on-farm pickup, local delivery, and even shipping, depending on the model of the farm's direct-to-customer business. Barn2Door, founded in March 2015, is part of a growing trend of companies which offer more direct connections between farmers and end consumers. The growing D2C side of some farm businesses helps the farmer generate higher margin on agricultural products.

Read more about the deal:

Undock

Based in New York City, Undock is a company building software which helps people who schedule lots of meetings (which is probably most of us these days) schedule those meetings right from their email inbox. The interaction model is neat: Using a little NLP magic, Undock's plugin detects when a user is proposing times for a meeting; based on the user's availability and preferred times to meet, Undock will drop down some times which work, and the proposed time is entered as a link in the outgoing email. Recipients can confirm the time by clicking the link in the email. Undock detects if a message is going to another Undock user, and is able to suggest times which are mutually agreeable for all parties. On August 24, the company announced it raised $1.6 million in a seed round led by Lightship Capital. Participating investors in the deal include Bessemer Venture Partners, Alumni Ventures Group, Active Capital, Lerer Hippeau, as well as individual investors Arlan Hamilton (founding partner of Backstage Capital) and veteran startup ops exec Sarah Imbach.

Read more about the deal:

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Stacked Benches (Good COVID News #1) Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck 01:04:19 This week we explore several funding rounds that have been announced since the COVID-19 pandemic. This is another in our series of good news during the Pandemic episodes. Those companies are Immigrant Founded, Chicago based Cashdrop, a small retail POS, Trove, a Y-combinator S20 class graduate in the option pool management business, Barn2Door, a Shopify of Farm to Table and Undock a new way to manage your schedule. This week we explore several funding rounds that have been announced since the COVID-19 pandemic. This is another in our series of good news during the Pandemic episodes. Those companies are Immigrant Founded, Chicago based Cashdrop, a small retail POS, Trove, a Y-combinator S20 class graduate in the option pool management business, Barn2Door, a Shopify of Farm to Table and Undock a new way to manage your schedule. no full 30 55811fe8-8b4d-46a4-814a-8082f212eaa0 Firms of a Feather General

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Links about VC scout programs

General stuff about deal sourcing

What Scout Programs Are

Examples of Scout Programs At Established Firms

  • Sequoia Capital
    • Sarah Lacy's 2012 article about Sequoia's scouting program is super good. It explains the strategy of spinning up LLCs for scouts.
    • Connie Loizos's 2019 article for TC is also very good.
  • Canaan Partners
  • Village Global
  • A16Z
  • Upfront Ventures
  • Lightspeed Venture Partners (This year focusing on bringing together people from Black, Latinx, Indigenous and Pacific Islander communities)
  • Accel
  • Founders Fund
  • Index Ventures
  • Spark Capital
  • First Round Capital

VC Scout Programs Today

  • Indie.vc has a wide scouting program. The firm also launched what it calls a Cub Scouting program.
  • Spearhead.co basically gives founders a $1M "search fund" they deploy into startups of their choosing.
  • Cleo Capital, launched by former Sequoia scout Sarah Kunst, has a scout program primarily comprised of women in business

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Mon, 31 Aug 2020 12:00:05 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/029-firms-of-a-feather-BSPPgeLy General

Subscribe to Fully Vested at FullyVested.co or through your podcast app of choice.

Links about VC scout programs

General stuff about deal sourcing

What Scout Programs Are

Examples of Scout Programs At Established Firms

  • Sequoia Capital
    • Sarah Lacy's 2012 article about Sequoia's scouting program is super good. It explains the strategy of spinning up LLCs for scouts.
    • Connie Loizos's 2019 article for TC is also very good.
  • Canaan Partners
  • Village Global
  • A16Z
  • Upfront Ventures
  • Lightspeed Venture Partners (This year focusing on bringing together people from Black, Latinx, Indigenous and Pacific Islander communities)
  • Accel
  • Founders Fund
  • Index Ventures
  • Spark Capital
  • First Round Capital

VC Scout Programs Today

  • Indie.vc has a wide scouting program. The firm also launched what it calls a Cub Scouting program.
  • Spearhead.co basically gives founders a $1M "search fund" they deploy into startups of their choosing.
  • Cleo Capital, launched by former Sequoia scout Sarah Kunst, has a scout program primarily comprised of women in business

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Firms of a Feather Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley 00:50:37 This week we discuss venture scouting programs and routes to get a job in the venture capital industry. This week we discuss venture scouting programs and routes to get a job in the venture capital industry. no full 29 931798fe-19e5-422f-8eb9-b71126af885a Don't Tread on My App General

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Notes

Hey App Dispute with Apple

Segway Ends Production

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Tue, 4 Aug 2020 12:00:13 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/028-dont-tread-on-my-app-ggo2wPZ_ General

Subscribe to Fully Vested at FullyVested.co or through your podcast app of choice.

Notes

Hey App Dispute with Apple

Segway Ends Production

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Don't Tread on My App Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley 01:05:45 On this week's episode, we discuss local Chicago Company Basecamp’s new Email App, Hey, and the upcoming end of production of Segways. On this week's episode, we discuss local Chicago Company Basecamp’s new Email App, Hey, and the upcoming end of production of Segways. no full 28 5b373d4f-fcfb-4b8f-8f29-324504acc03e Goat Rodeo of a Roadshow General

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Notes: Quarterly VC Data

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community, and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Tue, 21 Jul 2020 12:00:24 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/027-goat-rodeo-of-a-roadshow-Upu_U60s General

Subscribe to Fully Vested at FullyVested.co or through your podcast app of choice.

Notes: Quarterly VC Data

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community, and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Goat Rodeo of a Roadshow Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck 01:02:27 This week Jason and Graham discuss the Crunchbase Q2 Global Venture Capital Report. This week Jason and Graham discuss the Crunchbase Q2 Global Venture Capital Report. no full 27 54cf4429-f2f3-496e-af19-c6b69ab133cd Black Lives Matter General

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Notes: Related to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery

What Happened

  • For roughly nine minutes on Memorial Day 2020, white police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd's neck in Minneapolis. Floyd died on the scene. His death was ruled a homicide by the medical examiner. A bystander's cell phone video went viral on Facebook and other social media sites, and catalyzed the protests we're seeing now. Floyd was 46 and left behind 5 children. Chauvin and attending officers have been charged with second degree murder and other charges.
  • Just after midnight on March 13, 2020, Louisville, KY police officers used a battering ram in a no-knock raid on Breonna Taylor's apartment. This was in conjunction with an investigation of two men suspected to have been selling drugs out of a house 10 miles from Taylor's apartment. Police shot Taylor eight times. She died in her home at 26.
  • Father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael, both white, allegedly participated in the killing of 25 year-old Ahmaud Arbery, a black man, while Arbery was jogging through Glynn County, Georgia. Travis fatally shot Arbery with a shotgun and rammed Arbery with his truck, shouting racial epithets. A man named William Bryan Jr. recorded the killing on cell phone video. In a plot twist, it was revealed this past week that former law enforcement officer Gregory McMichael himself was the person who leaked the video of the murder. Gregory, Travis, and accomplice

Our Response

  • Black Lives Matter. This is the official stance of Fully Vested.
  • If you, your company, or your investment firm has the means, consider donating to one of the many organizations supporting racial justice and police and prison reform. To support protesters and others who are kept in jail before trial, donate to a bail fund.
  • However your company can, find ways to support employees who participate in protests and the broader movement for racial justice and to end police brutality. This can and should include matching employee donations, if your company has the means.
  • It's not merely enough to just not be racist these days; one must be actively anti-racist. People will not feel welcome at your table if you tell them to bring their own chair; if you've already got your seat, make space and invite folks in.

Startup & Venture Capital Community's Response

Since Fully Vested is primarily a show about VC and startups, we'll focus on the response from that community:

  • What black VCs are saying
    • Hat-tip to former Crunchbase News colleague Sophia Kunthara for collating this.
    • Precursor Ventures, an all-black VC firm. "The Precursor team is grieving the loss of our brothers and sister to police violence. We are an all black team. We invest in black founders. We believe that their lives and our lives matter. We remain steadfast in our efforts to create a more just venture ecosystem. We stand alongside those who work to combat the effects that institutional racism and police brutality have on communities of color."
      • Disclosure: Precursor Ventures backed a company run by friends of Graham and Jason. Our mention of the statement from Precursor Ventures founding partner Charles Hudson was not motivated by those associations.
    • Harlem Capital, an all-black VC firm. "While the protests are striking, we encourage people to focus on the root cause of these events, which are racism, injustice, and oppression. Words can be meaningful, but actions speak louder. Actions like texting a black colleague, educating yourself and your network, speaking up publicly, voting in elections and voting with your dollars are the start of meaningful change. As a firm with a mission focused on increasing access for minorities and women, we continue to focus on economic empowerment and using our energy to make the world a more equitable place."
  • VC firms commit to support black founders & promote diversity.
    • SoftBank raised $100M for a fund earmarked for companies founded and led by people of color. While this is a nice gesture, SoftBank has invested tens of billions of dollars in startups founded by white guys, many of which have a history of discrimination or lack of inclusivity.
    • Andreessen Horowitz announced its Talent x Opportunity (TxO) fund, which consists of $2.2 million donated by A16Z partners. The donor-advised fund's returns will be reinvested in the fund, making more capital available to underserved founders over time. Also worth noting, A16Z raised its Cultural Leadership Fund back in 2019, which is aimed at advancing more African Americans into technology.
      • Disclosure: A16Z is an investor in Jason's employer and a A16Z partner sits on the company's board. Our mention of these efforts is unconnected with A16Z's association with Jason's employer.

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community, and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Mon, 13 Jul 2020 12:00:04 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/026-black-lives-matter-RxUcsA9L General

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Notes: Related to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery

What Happened

  • For roughly nine minutes on Memorial Day 2020, white police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd's neck in Minneapolis. Floyd died on the scene. His death was ruled a homicide by the medical examiner. A bystander's cell phone video went viral on Facebook and other social media sites, and catalyzed the protests we're seeing now. Floyd was 46 and left behind 5 children. Chauvin and attending officers have been charged with second degree murder and other charges.
  • Just after midnight on March 13, 2020, Louisville, KY police officers used a battering ram in a no-knock raid on Breonna Taylor's apartment. This was in conjunction with an investigation of two men suspected to have been selling drugs out of a house 10 miles from Taylor's apartment. Police shot Taylor eight times. She died in her home at 26.
  • Father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael, both white, allegedly participated in the killing of 25 year-old Ahmaud Arbery, a black man, while Arbery was jogging through Glynn County, Georgia. Travis fatally shot Arbery with a shotgun and rammed Arbery with his truck, shouting racial epithets. A man named William Bryan Jr. recorded the killing on cell phone video. In a plot twist, it was revealed this past week that former law enforcement officer Gregory McMichael himself was the person who leaked the video of the murder. Gregory, Travis, and accomplice

Our Response

  • Black Lives Matter. This is the official stance of Fully Vested.
  • If you, your company, or your investment firm has the means, consider donating to one of the many organizations supporting racial justice and police and prison reform. To support protesters and others who are kept in jail before trial, donate to a bail fund.
  • However your company can, find ways to support employees who participate in protests and the broader movement for racial justice and to end police brutality. This can and should include matching employee donations, if your company has the means.
  • It's not merely enough to just not be racist these days; one must be actively anti-racist. People will not feel welcome at your table if you tell them to bring their own chair; if you've already got your seat, make space and invite folks in.

Startup & Venture Capital Community's Response

Since Fully Vested is primarily a show about VC and startups, we'll focus on the response from that community:

  • What black VCs are saying
    • Hat-tip to former Crunchbase News colleague Sophia Kunthara for collating this.
    • Precursor Ventures, an all-black VC firm. "The Precursor team is grieving the loss of our brothers and sister to police violence. We are an all black team. We invest in black founders. We believe that their lives and our lives matter. We remain steadfast in our efforts to create a more just venture ecosystem. We stand alongside those who work to combat the effects that institutional racism and police brutality have on communities of color."
      • Disclosure: Precursor Ventures backed a company run by friends of Graham and Jason. Our mention of the statement from Precursor Ventures founding partner Charles Hudson was not motivated by those associations.
    • Harlem Capital, an all-black VC firm. "While the protests are striking, we encourage people to focus on the root cause of these events, which are racism, injustice, and oppression. Words can be meaningful, but actions speak louder. Actions like texting a black colleague, educating yourself and your network, speaking up publicly, voting in elections and voting with your dollars are the start of meaningful change. As a firm with a mission focused on increasing access for minorities and women, we continue to focus on economic empowerment and using our energy to make the world a more equitable place."
  • VC firms commit to support black founders & promote diversity.
    • SoftBank raised $100M for a fund earmarked for companies founded and led by people of color. While this is a nice gesture, SoftBank has invested tens of billions of dollars in startups founded by white guys, many of which have a history of discrimination or lack of inclusivity.
    • Andreessen Horowitz announced its Talent x Opportunity (TxO) fund, which consists of $2.2 million donated by A16Z partners. The donor-advised fund's returns will be reinvested in the fund, making more capital available to underserved founders over time. Also worth noting, A16Z raised its Cultural Leadership Fund back in 2019, which is aimed at advancing more African Americans into technology.
      • Disclosure: A16Z is an investor in Jason's employer and a A16Z partner sits on the company's board. Our mention of these efforts is unconnected with A16Z's association with Jason's employer.

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open-source community, and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Black Lives Matter Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck 01:16:10 On this special episode of Fully Vested Jason and Graham discuss and stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. On this special episode of Fully Vested Jason and Graham discuss and stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. no full 26 0601185c-496e-4582-843e-67d6d9a42c89 Pronounced G as in Gif General

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Notes

Facebook Buys Giphy

  • On Friday, Axios broke the news that Facebook was going to acquire popular Gif-sharing and search platform Giphy, reportedly for $400 million. Giphy is going to retain its branding and will have its functionality wrapped into Instagram.
  • Giphy had raised just north of $150 million in equity funding. Its last reported private market valuation was $600 million, which Giphy earned in its $72 million Series D round from October 31, 2016. Giphy's later-stage investors may have taken a haircut on their shares, and the liquidation preference stack of Giphy is not public knowledge. In other words, it's likely that common shareholders walked away with something, but it's unclear how much.
  • There's speculation that Facebook's decision was motivated by the company's insatiable hunger for user data, as folks like Owen Williams of OneZero and Fabrizio Bulleri of Reclaim The Net point out.
  • This is reminiscent of Facebook's acquisition of VPN service Onavo, which the company reportedly used as a way to track up-and-coming competitors. Facebook shut down Onavo, which TechCrunch characterized as "its spyware VPN app," in February 2019.
  • It's unclear the extent to which Giphy will be able to access user data on the individual level. Others have pointed out that many large services which include Giphy integrations serve content and requests through proxies. This may not let Facebook know what individual users are searching for, but may provide aggregate activity insights to Facebook over time.

Andreessen Horowitz backs the hottest new social app on the block

  • Listeners who don't spend lots of time on VC Twitter may not have heard of Clubhouse, a "spontaneous" voice-driven social networking application developed by successful founder Paul Davidson.
  • In April 2020, for TechCrunch, Josh Constine wrote about Clubhouse and a wash of related, new social networking apps that have recently sprung up. It's interesting that there's so much activity in the social networking space all of a sudden, and that the platforms are incredibly diverse in their interaction models.
  • Alex Konrad reported in Forbes that Andreessen Horowitz led a seed round in Clubhouse which valued the startup at $100 million. The deal involved $10 million in primary equity backing, plus $2 million in a secondary sale of company shares, presumably netting founder Paul Davidson a tidy little payday. The application had less than 5,000 users at the time of reporting.

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open source community,and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Wed, 27 May 2020 12:00:05 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/025-pronounced-g-as-in-gif-9H_QocJJ General

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Notes

Facebook Buys Giphy

  • On Friday, Axios broke the news that Facebook was going to acquire popular Gif-sharing and search platform Giphy, reportedly for $400 million. Giphy is going to retain its branding and will have its functionality wrapped into Instagram.
  • Giphy had raised just north of $150 million in equity funding. Its last reported private market valuation was $600 million, which Giphy earned in its $72 million Series D round from October 31, 2016. Giphy's later-stage investors may have taken a haircut on their shares, and the liquidation preference stack of Giphy is not public knowledge. In other words, it's likely that common shareholders walked away with something, but it's unclear how much.
  • There's speculation that Facebook's decision was motivated by the company's insatiable hunger for user data, as folks like Owen Williams of OneZero and Fabrizio Bulleri of Reclaim The Net point out.
  • This is reminiscent of Facebook's acquisition of VPN service Onavo, which the company reportedly used as a way to track up-and-coming competitors. Facebook shut down Onavo, which TechCrunch characterized as "its spyware VPN app," in February 2019.
  • It's unclear the extent to which Giphy will be able to access user data on the individual level. Others have pointed out that many large services which include Giphy integrations serve content and requests through proxies. This may not let Facebook know what individual users are searching for, but may provide aggregate activity insights to Facebook over time.

Andreessen Horowitz backs the hottest new social app on the block

  • Listeners who don't spend lots of time on VC Twitter may not have heard of Clubhouse, a "spontaneous" voice-driven social networking application developed by successful founder Paul Davidson.
  • In April 2020, for TechCrunch, Josh Constine wrote about Clubhouse and a wash of related, new social networking apps that have recently sprung up. It's interesting that there's so much activity in the social networking space all of a sudden, and that the platforms are incredibly diverse in their interaction models.
  • Alex Konrad reported in Forbes that Andreessen Horowitz led a seed round in Clubhouse which valued the startup at $100 million. The deal involved $10 million in primary equity backing, plus $2 million in a secondary sale of company shares, presumably netting founder Paul Davidson a tidy little payday. The application had less than 5,000 users at the time of reporting.

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open source community,and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Pronounced G as in Gif Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley 01:06:24 After an update about 3,000 newly announced layoffs at Uber we discuss Facebook’s acquisition of GIPHY for $400M and Andreesen Horowitz’s investment in the hotly sought after Clubhouse round. After an update about 3,000 newly announced layoffs at Uber we discuss Facebook’s acquisition of GIPHY for $400M and Andreesen Horowitz’s investment in the hotly sought after Clubhouse round. no full 25 48a799e3-4f0d-46bd-b58f-3d71a2ac3e56 Yikes Indeed General

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Notes

Layoffs

According to Layoffs.fyi as of 2:18 PM on May 13th, 408 startups have laid off roughly 46,000 people since March 11.

Changing business models and climate

  • Uber is in the middle of some big-money moves. The company approached Chicago-based GrubHub in February about an acquisition offer, and Uber led a funding round in Lime. Uber laid off its staff in the JUMP Bikes and scooter division, but through the Lime deal, Uber retains the right to acquire Lime in the future.
  • Lyft meanwhile plans a $650 million debt offering, which can be convertible to cash or stock at the time of maturity in 2025.

Both Uber and Lyft are facing regulatory pressure around their classification of workers as independent contractors. In states with ABC-test based employee classification rules, Uber and Lyft may be compelled to provide benefits to their workers.

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer, volunteers with the Python Software Foundation as an organizer of Startup Row at PyCon US, and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Wed, 20 May 2020 12:00:17 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/024-yikes-indeed-uWOA6dZC General

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Notes

Layoffs

According to Layoffs.fyi as of 2:18 PM on May 13th, 408 startups have laid off roughly 46,000 people since March 11.

Changing business models and climate

  • Uber is in the middle of some big-money moves. The company approached Chicago-based GrubHub in February about an acquisition offer, and Uber led a funding round in Lime. Uber laid off its staff in the JUMP Bikes and scooter division, but through the Lime deal, Uber retains the right to acquire Lime in the future.
  • Lyft meanwhile plans a $650 million debt offering, which can be convertible to cash or stock at the time of maturity in 2025.

Both Uber and Lyft are facing regulatory pressure around their classification of workers as independent contractors. In states with ABC-test based employee classification rules, Uber and Lyft may be compelled to provide benefits to their workers.

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer, volunteers with the Python Software Foundation as an organizer of Startup Row at PyCon US, and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Yikes Indeed Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley 01:06:39 We discuss the ongoing situation related to COVID-19 especially as it relates to layoffs at Lyft, Uber and Airbnb including Uber’s contemplated acquisition of Lime and Grubhub and Airbnb hosts exploring options to book guests through other means. We discuss the ongoing situation related to COVID-19 especially as it relates to layoffs at Lyft, Uber and Airbnb including Uber’s contemplated acquisition of Lime and Grubhub and Airbnb hosts exploring options to book guests through other means. no full 24 f150d34d-eaf2-4717-bb10-1554ad7dfcd6 Denture Vet General

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Notes

A couple of books mentioned:

Articles we discussed:

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer, volunteers with the Python Software Foundation as an organizer of Startup Row at PyCon US, and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Wed, 13 May 2020 12:00:02 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/023-denture-vet-OkSzgI87 General

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Notes

A couple of books mentioned:

Articles we discussed:

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer, volunteers with the Python Software Foundation as an organizer of Startup Row at PyCon US, and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Denture Vet Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck 00:48:16 In this episode, we discuss the growing number of companies and funds that are offering venture debt as another funding strategy for high growth companies and startups. In this episode, we discuss the growing number of companies and funds that are offering venture debt as another funding strategy for high growth companies and startups. no full 23 5401cf31-28ea-47ee-9edf-7c948e65fa7c My Version of the Google General

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Notes

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open source community,and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Mon, 11 May 2020 12:00:04 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/022-my-version-of-the-google-0mnlJw7W General

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Notes

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer at Golden.com. He volunteers with startup outreach for the open source community,and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> My Version of the Google Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley 01:12:30 In this episode, we discuss Mary Meeker & Bond Capital’s Special COVID-19 Trends Report. In this episode, we discuss Mary Meeker & Bond Capital’s Special COVID-19 Trends Report. no full 22 425e956c-03be-461b-91cd-f4e0d8f04c84 Literally Hit the Fan General

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Links

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer, volunteers with the Python Software Foundation as an organizer of Startup Row at PyCon US, and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Mon, 4 May 2020 12:00:06 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/021-literally-hit-the-fan-8_lO45o2 General

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Links

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer, volunteers with the Python Software Foundation as an organizer of Startup Row at PyCon US, and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Literally Hit the Fan Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley 01:02:05 In this episode, we discuss the Coronavirus Trends report from BOND Capital, and other topics In this episode, we discuss the Coronavirus Trends report from BOND Capital, and other topics no full 21 1ec1347a-f453-4d42-99fd-6b5f49751d2d Blood Sacrifice to the Economy General

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Links

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer, volunteers with the Python Software Foundation as an organizer of Startup Row at PyCon US, and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Mon, 20 Apr 2020 12:00:09 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/020-blood-sacrifice-to-the-economy-2lMG_apK General

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Links

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer, volunteers with the Python Software Foundation as an organizer of Startup Row at PyCon US, and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Blood Sacrifice to the Economy Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley 01:07:46 We discuss the tools and technology of working from home or remotely before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic. We discuss the tools and technology of working from home or remotely before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic. no full 20 f1289d6a-1f73-467f-85bd-d5b9e5451d22 Internet Scavenger Hunt General

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Links

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer, volunteers with the Python Software Foundation as an organizer of Startup Row at PyCon US, and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Thu, 9 Apr 2020 12:00:02 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/019-internet-scavenger-hunt-2Oi6atwY General

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Links

About The Co-Hosts

  • Jason D. Rowley is a researcher and writer, volunteers with the Python Software Foundation as an organizer of Startup Row at PyCon US, and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.
  • Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.
]]> Internet Scavenger Hunt Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck 01:04:32 We discuss the economic stimulus plans around the Coronavirus known as the CARES Act. We discuss the economic stimulus plans around the Coronavirus known as the CARES Act. no full 19 135c1c39-1521-41ab-b99e-978bf1f90c2d The First One Where We Talk about Coronavirus General

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Links About COVID-19

About The Co-Hosts

]]> Tue, 31 Mar 2020 12:00:09 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/018-the-first-one-where-we-talk-about-coronavirus-e6SJpcSj General

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Links About COVID-19

About The Co-Hosts

]]> The First One Where We Talk about Coronavirus Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley 01:20:37 We discuss SARS-CoV2 and its impact on the economy and startup investing. We discuss SARS-CoV2 and its impact on the economy and startup investing. no full 18 335b08d3-f66a-4eb9-b135-b8d03d4e44f2 That's Just Hashtag Capitalism General

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Big Funds

SoftBank

About The Co-Hosts

]]> Wed, 4 Mar 2020 13:00:10 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/017-thats-just-hashtag-capitalism-1VBfZ5bO General

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Big Funds

SoftBank

About The Co-Hosts

]]> That's Just Hashtag Capitalism Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck 01:04:17 We discuss several new large funds which have recently filed Form Ds and SoftBank’s desire for several of their portfolio companies to stop competing directly and maybe head towards profitability. We discuss several new large funds which have recently filed Form Ds and SoftBank’s desire for several of their portfolio companies to stop competing directly and maybe head towards profitability. no full 17 89401056-814f-47df-8f18-9a7ff2ab5a4d Interesting and Insanely Complex General

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Summary

In which Jason and Graham discuss the ins and outs of liquidation preferences, one of the more complicated features of private company finance.

The Pleasures And Sorrows Of Liquidation Preferences

About The Co-Hosts

]]> Wed, 26 Feb 2020 13:00:07 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/016-interesting-and-insanely-complex-Y08Yd_iZ General

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Summary

In which Jason and Graham discuss the ins and outs of liquidation preferences, one of the more complicated features of private company finance.

The Pleasures And Sorrows Of Liquidation Preferences

About The Co-Hosts

]]> Interesting and Insanely Complex Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley 00:37:43 We discuss the complexities around liquidation preferences. We discuss the complexities around liquidation preferences. no full 16 e30c40e7-49e1-4338-b6fb-a2988e30b1d6 Switch Out Your Eyeballs General

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Surveillance Culture

About The Co-Hosts

]]> Tue, 11 Feb 2020 13:00:02 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/015-switch-out-your-eyeballs-YJLT79TN General

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Surveillance Culture

About The Co-Hosts

]]> Switch Out Your Eyeballs Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley 01:00:19 This week in what might be one of the most serious episodes of this otherwise lighthearted podcast, Jason and Graham discuss Clearview AI and, more generally, privacy and what a transparent future may or may not mean. This week in what might be one of the most serious episodes of this otherwise lighthearted podcast, Jason and Graham discuss Clearview AI and, more generally, privacy and what a transparent future may or may not mean. no full 15 914a7c66-8dcb-44d6-aba1-9e4d1d5d4694 Comfort Food Entertainment General

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Quarterly VC Data

About The Co-Hosts

]]> Mon, 3 Feb 2020 13:00:04 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/014-comfort-food-entertainment-o_y3C_e2 General

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Quarterly VC Data

About The Co-Hosts

]]> Comfort Food Entertainment Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley 00:59:58 We discuss the Q4/EOY 2019 Global VC Report from Crunchbase written by Jason and his team. We discuss the Q4/EOY 2019 Global VC Report from Crunchbase written by Jason and his team. no full 14 66545b32-8e7d-421a-8959-12a89db206c1 The Yada, Yada Side General

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Followup on Vice

  • Section starts at 4m10s
  • Cannabis is now legal for recreational use in Illinois
  • The Trump administration instituted a partial ban on flavored vaping products

Venture Returns

Past Decade (and a tiny bit the Next Decade)

Awesome Podcast Advertising (for fun!)

About The Co-Hosts

]]> Mon, 27 Jan 2020 13:00:13 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/013-the-yada-yada-side-ppzF2C_P General

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Followup on Vice

  • Section starts at 4m10s
  • Cannabis is now legal for recreational use in Illinois
  • The Trump administration instituted a partial ban on flavored vaping products

Venture Returns

Past Decade (and a tiny bit the Next Decade)

Awesome Podcast Advertising (for fun!)

About The Co-Hosts

]]> The Yada, Yada Side Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck 01:08:53 This week after brief updates about Marijuana becoming recreationally legal in Illinois and Vaping flavors becoming illegal in the US as it relates to our VICE episode we discuss Snap’s acquisition of Ukranian based AI Factory and we discuss our views on several of Fred Wilson’s top 9 trends from the decade of the 2010’s and a couple of the trends of his views on the new decade of the 2020’s. This week after brief updates about Marijuana becoming recreationally legal in Illinois and Vaping flavors becoming illegal in the US as it relates to our VICE episode we discuss Snap’s acquisition of Ukranian based AI Factory and we discuss our views on several of Fred Wilson’s top 9 trends from the decade of the 2010’s and a couple of the trends of his views on the new decade of the 2020’s. no full 13 0614355d-4db8-479a-a15b-9130dfeaba99 Big Potato Energy General

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Venture Debt

WeWork Debt Update

Venture Returns

About The Co-Hosts

]]> Mon, 20 Jan 2020 13:00:02 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/12-big-potato-energy-8fWOKF7N General

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Venture Debt

WeWork Debt Update

Venture Returns

About The Co-Hosts

]]> Big Potato Energy Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck 01:05:17 We explore venture debt funding as an alternative for startup funding and review AngelList’s data on diverse seed-stage investing being the best way to invest at the earliest stages. We explore venture debt funding as an alternative for startup funding and review AngelList’s data on diverse seed-stage investing being the best way to invest at the earliest stages. no full 12 c33de414-7be0-401e-a79e-be38584b5e5b Bad Outcome General

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IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Neither of us are lawyers, and we don't play them on the internet. We have not personally reviewed the evidence which led the DOJ to make its decision to file charges against Outcome Health. The following discussion is based on our reading and personal interpretation of news reports, press releases, and other publicly available documents.

In late October, Outcome Health paid out $70M to victims of its fraud scheme to settle charges. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/outcome-health-agrees-pay-70-million-resolve-fraud-investigation

In late November, the DoJ filed felony fraud charges against former executives and employees https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/former-executives-and-employees-health-technology-company-outcome-health-charged-1

It's important to note that these are two distinct incidents. - The first, settled, case involves the company selling advertising inventory that didn't actually exist. - The second involves the repercussions from those allegedly intentional misstatements... that Outcome had inflated its revenue numbers it reported to investors and banks it was negotiating a loan agreement with.

Really good reporting from John Pletz at Crain's Chicago Business:https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:JEosP5VJexwJ:https://www.chicagobusiness.com/technology/everything-about-outcome-saga-has-been-over-top-latest-twist-particularly-jarring+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Pletz, quoting Howard Tullman: "Regardless of the outcome or the accuracy of the allegations, it's such a black eye for the tech community and the city. It's like our version of Theranos. I think it's really sad and unfortunate."

Takeaway from the Pletz piece: "Failure is one thing, fraud another" - Startups fail all the time. - Failure does not necessarily mean a shutdown. It could simply be a failure to meet growth targets. - As much as failing sucks"

Big questions about Shah and Aggarwal's status in the Chicago startup ecosystem:

  • Shah, Aggarwal, Purdy, and Jim Demas (who, curiously, isn't named in any of the lawsuits) were founding partners of Jumpstart Ventures, which made dozens of startup investments. Some of those investments include Chicago unicorn SMS Assist, Built In, Base CRM, and YCharts.
  • Rishi Shah told Crain's Chicago Business, back in 2014, that JumpStart "It's more of a personal investment vehicle than anything else, We don't have (limited) partners or a particular mandate." That same article states that JumpStart made LP investments in funds including Avia, the Firestarter Fund angel group, and Chicago Ventures.
    • http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:eQCw3w8oHRwJ:https://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20140318/BLOGS11/140319735/contextmedia-founders-rishi-shah-shrada-agarwal-investing-in-more-startups&hl=en&gl=us&strip=1&vwsrc=0

Private company protection Legal is a necessary but insufficient standard

Additional Reading:

Outcome Health Lays Off More Employees (John Pletz for Crain's Chicago Business)

About The Co-Hosts

-Jason D. Rowley is a data journalist for Crunchbase News, volunteers with the Python Software Foundation as an organizer of Startup Row at PyCon US, and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.

-Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.

]]> Fri, 20 Dec 2019 14:04:21 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Jason D. Rowley & Graham C. Peck) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/011-bad-outcome-ZGBzaRvS General

Subscribe to Fully Vested on SimpleCast, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Neither of us are lawyers, and we don't play them on the internet. We have not personally reviewed the evidence which led the DOJ to make its decision to file charges against Outcome Health. The following discussion is based on our reading and personal interpretation of news reports, press releases, and other publicly available documents.

In late October, Outcome Health paid out $70M to victims of its fraud scheme to settle charges. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/outcome-health-agrees-pay-70-million-resolve-fraud-investigation

In late November, the DoJ filed felony fraud charges against former executives and employees https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/former-executives-and-employees-health-technology-company-outcome-health-charged-1

It's important to note that these are two distinct incidents. - The first, settled, case involves the company selling advertising inventory that didn't actually exist. - The second involves the repercussions from those allegedly intentional misstatements... that Outcome had inflated its revenue numbers it reported to investors and banks it was negotiating a loan agreement with.

Really good reporting from John Pletz at Crain's Chicago Business:https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:JEosP5VJexwJ:https://www.chicagobusiness.com/technology/everything-about-outcome-saga-has-been-over-top-latest-twist-particularly-jarring+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Pletz, quoting Howard Tullman: "Regardless of the outcome or the accuracy of the allegations, it's such a black eye for the tech community and the city. It's like our version of Theranos. I think it's really sad and unfortunate."

Takeaway from the Pletz piece: "Failure is one thing, fraud another" - Startups fail all the time. - Failure does not necessarily mean a shutdown. It could simply be a failure to meet growth targets. - As much as failing sucks"

Big questions about Shah and Aggarwal's status in the Chicago startup ecosystem:

  • Shah, Aggarwal, Purdy, and Jim Demas (who, curiously, isn't named in any of the lawsuits) were founding partners of Jumpstart Ventures, which made dozens of startup investments. Some of those investments include Chicago unicorn SMS Assist, Built In, Base CRM, and YCharts.
  • Rishi Shah told Crain's Chicago Business, back in 2014, that JumpStart "It's more of a personal investment vehicle than anything else, We don't have (limited) partners or a particular mandate." That same article states that JumpStart made LP investments in funds including Avia, the Firestarter Fund angel group, and Chicago Ventures.
    • http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:eQCw3w8oHRwJ:https://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20140318/BLOGS11/140319735/contextmedia-founders-rishi-shah-shrada-agarwal-investing-in-more-startups&hl=en&gl=us&strip=1&vwsrc=0

Private company protection Legal is a necessary but insufficient standard

Additional Reading:

Outcome Health Lays Off More Employees (John Pletz for Crain's Chicago Business)

About The Co-Hosts

-Jason D. Rowley is a data journalist for Crunchbase News, volunteers with the Python Software Foundation as an organizer of Startup Row at PyCon US, and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.

-Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.

]]> Bad Outcome Jason D. Rowley & Graham C. Peck 01:15:17 We discuss Chicago’s Outcome Health’s ongoing issues. We discuss Chicago’s Outcome Health’s ongoing issues. no full 11 9c85e0fb-cfc4-4d8a-af3b-88e65c7d8b60 Bulletproof Trapezoid General

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Front Matter

Tesla Cybertruck

Shrimp Boil

  • Section starts at 41m40s

Recipe

Credit goes to the Prune cookbook, by Gabrielle Hamilton

Shrimp Boil

  • 1 batch Homemade Old Bay (recipe to follow)
  • 5 quarts of water
  • 3-ish pounds of shrimp, shelled and deveined
  • 1.5 pounds small potatoes, blanched or microwaved to kickstart cooking process
  • 1.5 pounds sweet Italian sausage, parcooked (I usually brown them in a skillet until they're mostly cooked through, but you could also bake/roast them in the oven.)
  • 3 large red onions, peeled and cut into wedges
  • 3-4 ears of yellow corn, husked
  • 1 cup smoked paprika butter (recipe to follow)
  • 1 cup sweet butter, softened

Steps:

  • Boil water with the seasonings for at least 30 minutes before cooking
  • Potatoes and corn in first. 4-ish minutes
  • Sausage and onions. Let simmer for a minute or two
  • Shrimp in, cooking until just cooked through.
  • Remove to big bowl or serving platter using a slotted spoon or spider. You will get bits and pieces of whole spices in there, which lends to the rustic aesthetic of the dish
  • Slather everything in the softened butters (paprika and plain) and pour one ladle-full of the boiling liquid over the platter and its contents, accelerating the melting of the butter.
  • Serve at once. Serves 4-5 hungry dudes, with some leftovers.

Homemade Old Bay

  • 10 dry bay leaves
  • 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
  • 1 tablespoon allspice berries
  • 1 tablespoon celery seeds
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 tablespoon cardamom pods
  • 1 cup kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup sweet paprika (not smoked)
  • 6 branches fresh thyme (equivalent amount of dry thyme works fine in a pinch)
  • 1 head of garlic, cloves separated from each other but left unpeeled

Smoked Paprika Butter

  • Half a pound of sweet butter, softened
  • 1 tablespoon sweet Spanish paprika
  • 1 tablespoon smoked Spanish paprika
  • 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt

(Makes 2 cups of butter. Extra butter can be used to spread on rolls.)

About The Co-Hosts

]]> Wed, 18 Dec 2019 13:00:21 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/010-bulletproof-trapezoid-TA8KbR_o General

Subscribe to Fully Vested on SimpleCast, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Front Matter

Tesla Cybertruck

Shrimp Boil

  • Section starts at 41m40s

Recipe

Credit goes to the Prune cookbook, by Gabrielle Hamilton

Shrimp Boil

  • 1 batch Homemade Old Bay (recipe to follow)
  • 5 quarts of water
  • 3-ish pounds of shrimp, shelled and deveined
  • 1.5 pounds small potatoes, blanched or microwaved to kickstart cooking process
  • 1.5 pounds sweet Italian sausage, parcooked (I usually brown them in a skillet until they're mostly cooked through, but you could also bake/roast them in the oven.)
  • 3 large red onions, peeled and cut into wedges
  • 3-4 ears of yellow corn, husked
  • 1 cup smoked paprika butter (recipe to follow)
  • 1 cup sweet butter, softened

Steps:

  • Boil water with the seasonings for at least 30 minutes before cooking
  • Potatoes and corn in first. 4-ish minutes
  • Sausage and onions. Let simmer for a minute or two
  • Shrimp in, cooking until just cooked through.
  • Remove to big bowl or serving platter using a slotted spoon or spider. You will get bits and pieces of whole spices in there, which lends to the rustic aesthetic of the dish
  • Slather everything in the softened butters (paprika and plain) and pour one ladle-full of the boiling liquid over the platter and its contents, accelerating the melting of the butter.
  • Serve at once. Serves 4-5 hungry dudes, with some leftovers.

Homemade Old Bay

  • 10 dry bay leaves
  • 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
  • 1 tablespoon allspice berries
  • 1 tablespoon celery seeds
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 tablespoon cardamom pods
  • 1 cup kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup sweet paprika (not smoked)
  • 6 branches fresh thyme (equivalent amount of dry thyme works fine in a pinch)
  • 1 head of garlic, cloves separated from each other but left unpeeled

Smoked Paprika Butter

  • Half a pound of sweet butter, softened
  • 1 tablespoon sweet Spanish paprika
  • 1 tablespoon smoked Spanish paprika
  • 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt

(Makes 2 cups of butter. Extra butter can be used to spread on rolls.)

About The Co-Hosts

]]> Bulletproof Trapezoid Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley 00:53:29 We discuss the Tesla Cybertruck and our personal time-honored tradition of having shrimp boils with friends. We discuss the Tesla Cybertruck and our personal time-honored tradition of having shrimp boils with friends. no full 10 e7f6d986-1233-4216-8e00-ee67099790c2 Tip Top Tapping Typist General

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iOS 13 Keyboard

  • Section starts at 6m10s

Web Summit

WeWork Turnaround

About The Co-Hosts

]]> Tue, 3 Dec 2019 23:09:18 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/009-tip-top-tapping-typist-SmqeD4Je General

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iOS 13 Keyboard

  • Section starts at 6m10s

Web Summit

WeWork Turnaround

About The Co-Hosts

]]> Tip Top Tapping Typist Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley 01:06:44 After quickly discussing the issues Graham has with the iOS 13 keyboard we explore Graham’s visit to Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal and then discuss SoftBank’s recent updates about it plans for a turnaround at WeWork and their plans to raise SoftBank Vision Fund II. After quickly discussing the issues Graham has with the iOS 13 keyboard we explore Graham’s visit to Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal and then discuss SoftBank’s recent updates about it plans for a turnaround at WeWork and their plans to raise SoftBank Vision Fund II. no full 9 c728a097-e88f-4dfd-8fcb-31082feb6197 Lake in the Rake General

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Congratulations to Crunchbase on it's $30MM Series C

Google's Acquisition of Fitbit

Leafly Potentially Signals Issues with Cannabis Industry

About The Co-Hosts

]]> Tue, 26 Nov 2019 13:00:07 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/008-lake-in-the-rake-pq4vf_dv General

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Congratulations to Crunchbase on it's $30MM Series C

Google's Acquisition of Fitbit

Leafly Potentially Signals Issues with Cannabis Industry

About The Co-Hosts

]]> Lake in the Rake Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley 00:53:52 This week after quickly discussing the issues Graham has with the iOS 13 keyboard we explore Graham’s visit to Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal and then discuss SoftBank’s recent updates about it plans for a turnaround at WeWork and their plans to raise SoftBank Vision Fund II. This week after quickly discussing the issues Graham has with the iOS 13 keyboard we explore Graham’s visit to Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal and then discuss SoftBank’s recent updates about it plans for a turnaround at WeWork and their plans to raise SoftBank Vision Fund II. no full 8 edeefd69-a353-4a1b-bf02-8c14bd81a4f4 Juicy Shoe General

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WeWork & SoftBank (Update)

Zuckerberg Testimony

Blind Technology

About The Co-Hosts

]]> Mon, 11 Nov 2019 13:00:06 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/007-juicy-shoe-dOFMSxg_ General

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WeWork & SoftBank (Update)

Zuckerberg Testimony

Blind Technology

About The Co-Hosts

]]> Juicy Shoe Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck 01:09:52 After yet another update about WeWork and discussing SoftBank’s overall strategy struggles with other portfolio companies we explore Mark Zuckerberg’s Congressional testimony about Libra and how better design can be achieved while considering people with visual disabilities when designing technology especially as it relates to Domino's lack of compliance with ADA standards for online ordering of pizza through their app or website. After yet another update about WeWork and discussing SoftBank’s overall strategy struggles with other portfolio companies we explore Mark Zuckerberg’s Congressional testimony about Libra and how better design can be achieved while considering people with visual disabilities when designing technology especially as it relates to Domino's lack of compliance with ADA standards for online ordering of pizza through their app or website. no full 7 b5c6fec1-69b4-4f4d-b400-891926ba127d Impromptu Maraca General

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Silicon Valley Adopts Profitability Mindset

  • Section starts at 8m15s

Q3 Global Venture Capital Report

China Invests in Many Fewer Supergiant Venture Rounds

About The Co-Hosts

]]> Tue, 5 Nov 2019 13:00:06 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/006-impromptu-maraca-F1QOnBgw General

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Silicon Valley Adopts Profitability Mindset

  • Section starts at 8m15s

Q3 Global Venture Capital Report

China Invests in Many Fewer Supergiant Venture Rounds

About The Co-Hosts

]]> Impromptu Maraca Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley 01:12:53 We discuss Silicon Valley’s growing preference for investments with a path to pragmatic profitability, the Q3 2019 venture capital macro trends as reported by Crunchbase News and the reduction of Venture Capital deals in China, especially Supergiant Venture Capital deals. We discuss Silicon Valley’s growing preference for investments with a path to pragmatic profitability, the Q3 2019 venture capital macro trends as reported by Crunchbase News and the reduction of Venture Capital deals in China, especially Supergiant Venture Capital deals. no full 6 b509e0f3-c6ea-4205-b4b7-d77c3b858a6b Kooky Little Add-Ons Subscribe to Fully Vested on SimpleCast, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Open Source Software (OSS)

SaaS Benchmark Report

About The Co-Hosts

]]> Mon, 4 Nov 2019 13:00:17 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/005-kooky-little-add-ons-1A6nPPbg Subscribe to Fully Vested on SimpleCast, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Open Source Software (OSS)

SaaS Benchmark Report

About The Co-Hosts

]]> Kooky Little Add-Ons Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley 00:56:24 We discuss Open Source Software development and how it has changed the technology landscape and review the Annual SaaS Benchmarks report produced by Openview Partners. We discuss Open Source Software development and how it has changed the technology landscape and review the Annual SaaS Benchmarks report produced by Openview Partners. no full 5 8d11bf4f-c89f-4139-8d36-e70f54622227 The Midas Touch of CEO Firings General

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WeWork (Update) and JUUL (update)

Impeachment's Effect on Business

  • Section starts at 11m40s

Softbank Executive Departures Especially at Compass

About The Co-Hosts

]]> Mon, 4 Nov 2019 00:00:20 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/004-the-midas-touch-of-ceo-firings-UOyvlJe7 General

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WeWork (Update) and JUUL (update)

Impeachment's Effect on Business

  • Section starts at 11m40s

Softbank Executive Departures Especially at Compass

About The Co-Hosts

]]> The Midas Touch of CEO Firings Jason D. Rowley, Graham C. Peck 01:01:33 After updates on the resignations of the CEOs of WeWork and Juul we discussed the impact of Trump’s potential impeachment on business and public markets and further trouble for Softbank as many executives leave Compass. After updates on the resignations of the CEOs of WeWork and Juul we discussed the impact of Trump’s potential impeachment on business and public markets and further trouble for Softbank as many executives leave Compass. no full 4 aa2bc8ac-2f27-407b-bcca-7565b9fe16d4 The Mystery Meat Metric General

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WeWork (Update) and Airbnb (Update)

Vice Investing/JUUL

Venture Return J Curves

About The Co-Hosts

]]> Sat, 2 Nov 2019 23:04:15 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/003-the-mystery-meat-metric-H5yHN9R_ General

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WeWork (Update) and Airbnb (Update)

Vice Investing/JUUL

Venture Return J Curves

About The Co-Hosts

]]> The Mystery Meat Metric Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley 01:17:32 After another update on WeWork’s now delayed IPO and Airbnb announcing when they will likely IPO we discuss investing in VICE businesses and we explore the way that venture J curve returns work while reviewing information leaked from Adreesen Horowitz on their return results data across multiple funds. After another update on WeWork’s now delayed IPO and Airbnb announcing when they will likely IPO we discuss investing in VICE businesses and we explore the way that venture J curve returns work while reviewing information leaked from Adreesen Horowitz on their return results data across multiple funds. no full 3 2ac5b9c6-e8e4-45c2-9663-ed4daa56c6c1 Small Red Flag General

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WeWork (Update)

Airbnb/Atlas Obscura

Venture Returns

About The Co-Hosts

-Jason D. Rowley is a data journalist for Crunchbase News, volunteers with the Python Software Foundation as an organizer of Startup Row at PyCon US, and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.

-Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.

]]> Mon, 28 Oct 2019 16:22:54 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/002-small-red-flag-7P1DQYG4 General

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WeWork (Update)

Airbnb/Atlas Obscura

Venture Returns

About The Co-Hosts

-Jason D. Rowley is a data journalist for Crunchbase News, volunteers with the Python Software Foundation as an organizer of Startup Row at PyCon US, and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.

-Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.

]]> Small Red Flag Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley 01:03:23 After an update on the WeWork’s ongoing IPO saga we discuss Airbnb investing in other startups, specifically Atlas Obscura and we explore the average returns of the venture investing industry as reviewed by David Coats of Correlation Ventures. After an update on the WeWork’s ongoing IPO saga we discuss Airbnb investing in other startups, specifically Atlas Obscura and we explore the average returns of the venture investing industry as reviewed by David Coats of Correlation Ventures. no full 2 3654b28b-b20b-4748-848e-ae7948e901b2 The Stuff You Can Dab General

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Recorded on 9/8/2019

Fyllo

WeWork

About The Co-Hosts

-Jason D. Rowley is a data journalist for Crunchbase News, volunteers with the Python Software Foundation as an organizer of Startup Row at PyCon US, and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.

-Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.

]]> Sun, 20 Oct 2019 22:28:23 +0000 graham@fullyvested.co (Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley) https://fullyvested.co/episodes/001-the-stuff-you-can-dab-jZPVQGAK General

Subscribe to Fully Vested on SimpleCast, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Recorded on 9/8/2019

Fyllo

WeWork

About The Co-Hosts

-Jason D. Rowley is a data journalist for Crunchbase News, volunteers with the Python Software Foundation as an organizer of Startup Row at PyCon US, and sends occasional newsletters from Rowley.Report.

-Graham C. Peck is a Venture Partner with Cultivation Capital and additionally helps companies build technology development teams in partnership with Brightgrove and other technology development organizations.

]]> The Stuff You Can Dab Graham C. Peck, Jason D. Rowley 00:57:43 We explore Fyllo a Chicago based cannabis marketing platform and WeWork’s struggling IPO. We explore Fyllo a Chicago based cannabis marketing platform and WeWork’s struggling IPO. no full 1