Something Ventured -- Silicon Valley Podcast

I sat down with David Tisch from BoxGroup. If you've looked at a seed firm's website and seen one famous logo, that's usually the whole list. David's list is Ramp, Plaid, ID.me, Stripe, Airtable, Warby Parker, Clay, Zipline — and Cursor, which just got acquired for $66 billion. Then he shrugs and says it probably just means he's been doing it awhile. We talk about the part of this job that doesn't show up on a website. Seed is messy. The feedback loop is five, ten, fifteen years. The founder is living inside the dream; we're a line item and a phone number. David's view is that most of us should end up as extras in the credits. If they need to listen to you, that's already a problem. Unsolicited VC advice is close to worthless. The few people worth listening to are obvious, and the third partner at the thirtieth-best firm is not one of them. What he actually underwrites is the why. Not the slide that says what they're building — the reason they're the person who can drag it through a decade of moving parts. Early tell: can they recruit? The smartest friends on campus. The band from Palantir or Anthropic or Ramp. Cursor started as a person Claire met in Dorm Room Fund, before there was a product. Two college friends, giants attacking from every side, and they still held the thing together. We get into the ugly middle of the companies everyone now treats as inevitable. Facebook, Uber, Airbnb all did down rounds. Fundraising is permission to make progress, not progress. A lot of AI "revenue" right now is companies trying not to miss something. Pets.com and Amazon were in the same business in the same moment. One of them was the company. David lives in New York because that's home, not because he's running a geography thesis. SF is the deep talent pool. Most other cities can build a few companies. Israel has a real early network — if a seed is leaving the country, he wonders why you're seeing it. Nobody is calling to do you a favor. Collaboration exists. Sharp elbows exist more. He won't pretend he's smart enough to tell you whether we blow up the data centers. He will say technology has been a force of good, this moment is early, and his job is still the same as it was sixteen years ago: wake up tomorrow and find someone who might actually change the world. If you want to reach him: [email protected].

As Burning Man rolls around once again, is it still relevant to Silicon Valley? Reports of lower attendance this year, as the newer arrivals to Silicon Valley say "pass". A deep dive into this crazy event in the desert. li>ol]:list-[lower-alpha] [&_ol>li>ol>li>ol]:list-[lower-roman] [&_ol>li>ol>li>ol>li>ol]:list-[list-decimal] [&_[data-user]]:text-primary [&_:is(pre)]:overflow-auto [&_:is(table)]:w-full [&_:is(table,th,td)]:border [&_:is(table,th,td)]:border-collapse [&_:is(table,th,td)]:border-gray-300 [&_:is(table,th,td)]:p-2 [&_:is(strong,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:font-semibold [&_:is(h1)]:text-2xl [&_:is(h2)]:text-lg [&_:is(h3)]:text-md [&_h1:not(:first-child)]:mt-8 [&_h1:not(:last-child)]:mb-6 [&_h2:not(:first-child)]:mt-6 [&_h2:not(:last-child)]:mb-4 [&_h3:not(:first-child)]:mt-4 [&_pre]:bg-palette-gray-200 [&_pre>code]:bg-transparent [&_pre>code]:px-0 [&_pre>code]:py-0 [&_pre]:px-[6px] [&_pre]:py-[2px] [&_pre]:m-0 [&_pre]:rounded-[4px] [&_code]:bg-palette-gray-200 [&_code]:px-[6px] [&_code]:py-[2px] [&_code]:m-0 [&_code]:rounded-[4px] [&_blockquote]:m-0 [&_blockquote]:px-[16px] [&_blockquote]:py-0 [&_blockquote]:text-subtle [&_blockquote]:border-l-[4px] [&_blockquote]:border-palette-gray-200 overflow-x-auto [&_ol]:pl-5 [&_li]:my-2 [&_:is(p,ul,ol):not(:first-child)]:mt-3 [&_:is(p,ul,ol):not(:last-child)]:mb-3" data-testid="render-markdown"> Kent and Michael discuss the evolution, culture, and commercialization of the Burning Man festival. Event History Kent and Michael trace the origins of Burning Man from its 1986 beginnings on a beach to its current location in the Nevada desert. They discuss the documentary Spark: A Burning Man Story, noting how the event transitioned from an anarchic, unorganized gathering of "counterculture weirdos" to a highly structured society. The early era was characterized by a lack of formal infrastructure and a sense of pure anarchy. A turning point occurred around 1996 following incidents involving safety and deaths, leading to increased organization. The modern event functions with significant infrastructure, including a dedicated Department of Public Works (DPW) and professional management teams that resemble military operations. Cultural Shifts The conversation focuses on the tension between the original "burner" ethos and the influx of wealth from Silicon Valley. Michael notes that while many claim the event is about escaping society, participants have actually built their own complex bureaucracy and meritocracy. Plug and Play camps allow wealthy participants to fly in and experience the desert without the traditional labor of building camps or art. The introduction of ticket lotteries and scarcity has changed the social dynamic, moving away from open access toward a curated experience. There is ongoing debate regarding whether the event has "sold out" due to the presence of high-net-worth individuals and luxury amenities. Silicon Valley Influence Michael and Kent explore why Silicon Valley has effectively "hijacked" the festival, treating it as a massive networking event for tech elites. They reference an article by Nick Bilton in the New York Times regarding how tech leaders often pretend to be indifferent to money while simultaneously dominating spaces like Burning Man. The event serves as a primal networking roadshow where executives can interact outside of traditional corporate settings. The transition toward a more organized, "curated" festival is seen as an inevitable result of managing large populations and scarce resources. How does the increasing corporatization affect the long-term survival of the original artistic mission?

Sheel Mohnot is co-founder of Better Tomorrow Ventures, a venture firm that leads rounds in pre-seed and seed-stage fintech companies. It is one of the most active fintech investors in the world. Sheel has spent the last decade in fintech — first as an operator and angel, then as a founder of his own firm. In this conversation, he walks me through the unconventional path that led him into venture, including time spent in India working in microfinance, and why he believes a focused fintech strategy makes sense. We dig into some of his biggest early misses, including passing on both Robinhood and Chime, and what those decisions taught him about recognizing real customer shifts. Sheel also gives a clear-eyed view of today's hypergrowth environment, the gap between flashy numbers and durable businesses, and how AI is actually showing up in the day-to-day work of venture capital. We also talk about the growing political involvement of tech leaders, the challenges facing San Francisco, and what he's most excited about looking ahead — from self-driving cars to the quieter, more practical uses of AI. A candid conversation with one of fintech's more thoughtful investors. Better Tomorrow Ventures Sheel on X

In this episode of Something Ventured, Kent Lindstrom sits down with Mark Suster, Managing Partner at Upfront Ventures and one of Los Angeles' most prominent venture capitalists. Mark shares his unconventional journey from early computer programming in the 1980s, building and selling software companies, to becoming a VC — including the surprising challenges of the transition and why he created Launch Pad LA to stay connected to founders. The conversation explores the fundamental differences between being a founder and a venture capitalist, particularly the emotional "amplitude" of highs and lows, crisis frequency, and the long-term nature of measuring success in VC. Mark also dives deep into why Los Angeles has become a major hub for hard tech, aerospace, space, national defense, maritime innovation, and next-generation energy solutions (including nuclear applications on ships and in space). He makes a compelling case for LA's strengths in manufacturing, trade, and deep tech versus Silicon Valley's dominance in software and AI. Additional highlights include Mark's thoughts on nonconformity in investing, returning capital to LPs, the importance of government relations for startups, and his optimistic view of LA's future despite recent challenges. A thoughtful, wide-ranging discussion full of historical context, contrarian insights, and forward-looking vision on American innovation and resilience. Books Mark mentions in this podcast: Miller, Chris. Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology. Scribner, 2022. Herman, Arthur. Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II. Random House, 2012. Mark Suster: Upfront Ventures. | LInkedIn | X Thoughts? Drop a comment.

Andy McLoughlin is Managing Partner at Uncork Capital (formerly SoftTech VC). We discuss Andy's journey from co-founding Huddle -- racking servers in the Docklands and building their own payment system before Stripe -- to Silicon Valley. He was an early angel investor in companies like Postmates, eventually joining Jeff Clavier's venture firm SoftTech, now Uncork Capital. We dive into the golden era of "super angels," collaborative seed rounds, and famous near-misses like Uber and Twilio. Other topics include how seed funds like Uncork stay relevant in a world dominated by mega-funds, why specialized early-stage investors often serve founders better than big brand names, and how to find those non-obvious deals before they become consensus. Andy also shares what it felt like to step away from operating a company, the power of "knowing thyself," and how he's helping build Uncork into a firm that stays sharp through founder empathy and relentless context-switching. We also cover: The story behind Founders Pledge and giving back The British "GBx" network in Silicon Valley San Francisco's turnaround, tech getting political, and why local government actually matters The AI revolution — why everything feels like an AI company right now, what's overhyped, and why we're still in the very earliest innings Uncork Capital Something Ventured