1 00:00:02,240 --> 00:00:06,840 Speaker 1: This is Masters in Business with Barry Ridholts on Bloomberg Radio. 2 00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:12,640 Speaker 1: This week on the podcast, I have an extra special guest. 3 00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:15,480 Speaker 1: His name is David Hall and he is a partner 4 00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:20,400 Speaker 1: at Rise of the Rest UH seed funds. A little background, 5 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:25,319 Speaker 1: I previously had interviewed both Gene Case, who runs the 6 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:30,360 Speaker 1: Case Foundation and is a former early executive at A 7 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:33,120 Speaker 1: O l and coincidentally married to Steve Case, the co 8 00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:36,440 Speaker 1: founder of A O l um And she introduced me 9 00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:42,000 Speaker 1: to Steve Murray, who works at Revolution Partners Fund, which 10 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:46,559 Speaker 1: is run by Steve Case. And in my research with 11 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:50,760 Speaker 1: Steve Murray, I came across Rise of the Rest and 12 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 1: afterwards he said, Oh you're interested in this, I got 13 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:55,880 Speaker 1: a guy you have to speak to UH and his 14 00:00:55,960 --> 00:01:00,160 Speaker 1: name is David Hall. If you are remotely interested in Oh, 15 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:03,040 Speaker 1: my goodness, so much stuff. The state of venture capital 16 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:07,160 Speaker 1: in America today, Why it doesn't have to just be 17 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:11,479 Speaker 1: focused on three areas, namely San Francisco, Boston in New York. 18 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:17,800 Speaker 1: How much entrepreneurship, technology, startup energy is in the rest 19 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:20,640 Speaker 1: of the country. Well, you're going to find this conversation 20 00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:25,640 Speaker 1: absolutely fascinating. With no further ado, my chat with David Hall. 21 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:32,760 Speaker 1: My special guest today is David Hall. He is a 22 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:36,960 Speaker 1: partner at the venture capital fund Rise of the Rest 23 00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 1: Seed Funds, part of Revolution Partners VC. He comes to 24 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:45,200 Speaker 1: us with a b a. In Economics from Morehouse College 25 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:49,640 Speaker 1: and an NBA from Harvard. Prior to joining Revolution, he 26 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:52,760 Speaker 1: worked at The Washington Post as the director of Planning 27 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:56,400 Speaker 1: and Developing, managing corporate M and A and investments, and 28 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: helping to launch a number of new print and dig 29 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 1: dual publications. David Hall, Welcome to Bloomberg. Thank you, Barry. 30 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:06,440 Speaker 1: It's a pleasure to be here. So I've been speaking 31 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:09,440 Speaker 1: to a number of vcs over the past couple of years, 32 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 1: and I'm always fascinated by their backgrounds. Your background is 33 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:17,400 Speaker 1: a little unusual. How do you get from the Washington 34 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:19,799 Speaker 1: Post to the world of venture Let's let's start with 35 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:22,919 Speaker 1: what were you doing at the Washington Post. Yeah, so 36 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:26,440 Speaker 1: I went to the Washington Post. Actually interned at the 37 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:29,640 Speaker 1: Washington Post company between my first and second years at 38 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:32,639 Speaker 1: Harvard Business School, and it was for me, it was 39 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:35,680 Speaker 1: a perfect big place because where do newly minted MBAs 40 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:37,799 Speaker 1: want to go. They want to go to industries that 41 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:40,720 Speaker 1: are in crisis, And there was no greater crisis in 42 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 1: the two thousand early two thousand's than the print newspaper 43 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:48,120 Speaker 1: let me interrupt. You newly minted MBAs want to go 44 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:50,960 Speaker 1: to industries in crisis. I always thought they either wanted 45 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:53,440 Speaker 1: to go to high paying Wall Street jobs or high 46 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 1: paying Silicon Valley jobs. You're suggesting other Well, I figured 47 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 1: I could always end up in one of those high 48 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:04,200 Speaker 1: paying coastal jobs. But but for cutting my teeth, I 49 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:07,600 Speaker 1: needed to manage a business through disruption, and and that, 50 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:09,560 Speaker 1: to me was going to be such an interesting you know, 51 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 1: how how could I be the savior of of the 52 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:15,360 Speaker 1: great gray Lady of of of Washington at least? And 53 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:18,960 Speaker 1: managing a business through disruption sounds a lot like what 54 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:22,720 Speaker 1: vcs look for in startups. It's, you know, I was 55 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:26,839 Speaker 1: reflecting on the train up here from from Washington, how 56 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:29,440 Speaker 1: much of what I've been working on has been kind 57 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 1: of accumulative. It's it's looking for these these How do 58 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:35,400 Speaker 1: you recognize disruption before it hits? And then how do 59 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:38,000 Speaker 1: you manage through the disruption? And how do you and 60 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: now from a from an investor's perspective, how do you 61 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:43,520 Speaker 1: manage that process? Sort of indirectly because we're not in 62 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:46,320 Speaker 1: the company every day, but we're advising these companies about 63 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:49,400 Speaker 1: disruption that's either coming or disruption that hopefully they're creating 64 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:53,280 Speaker 1: with their products and services that they're launching. Quite quite interesting. 65 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:56,760 Speaker 1: So that was your first experience in the workforce. How 66 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 1: did you tack from that or to venture. It's easy 67 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:02,720 Speaker 1: to talk about, but but it's actually more visual. You know. 68 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:05,240 Speaker 1: I was sitting there one day at the Washington Post, 69 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:08,120 Speaker 1: and it's the only place I've ever worked where sitting 70 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 1: at your desk reading the newspaper was called product research, right, 71 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:13,119 Speaker 1: And so I was reading an article. I was reading 72 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:15,880 Speaker 1: an article about Steve Case and the firm that he 73 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:18,799 Speaker 1: just launched after leaving a well time warner, called Revolution, 74 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:22,000 Speaker 1: and it was gonna build these big iconic businesses that 75 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:25,680 Speaker 1: we're gonna tackle really tough problems around healthcare and and 76 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:28,320 Speaker 1: financial services. And it just was so exciting to me. 77 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:30,159 Speaker 1: I said, I've got to I've got to plot my 78 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 1: way there. I you know, I did a little cyber 79 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 1: stocking at the time, finding out where the Revolution offices were. 80 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:38,280 Speaker 1: I did some LinkedIn searches to find who I knew there, 81 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:40,240 Speaker 1: and ended up finding a woman that I went to 82 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: a business school with who was there a couple of 83 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:46,240 Speaker 1: free coffees for her and and a glass of chardonnay, 84 00:04:46,279 --> 00:04:49,680 Speaker 1: And I found myself with with an email introduction to 85 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:52,480 Speaker 1: one of the one of the founders. And that's that's 86 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:55,480 Speaker 1: how it started. And and not I have to point out, 87 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:59,159 Speaker 1: unlike most of the big vcs, Revolution didn't set up 88 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:02,159 Speaker 1: shop in New Yorker, Boston or anywhere in the Bay area. 89 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:05,560 Speaker 1: In Silicon Valley. They're pretty close to where the Washington 90 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:07,560 Speaker 1: Post is headquarters. It's it was three blocks. It was 91 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:10,800 Speaker 1: the easiest commute for an interview I've ever had. Yeah, 92 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 1: I mean, you know, the Revolution story and and and 93 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:17,359 Speaker 1: what Steve has built and others have built with Revolution 94 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:20,920 Speaker 1: is really phenomenal in in the Washington, D C. Area. 95 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:22,440 Speaker 1: It's you know, it's been his home. A O. L. 96 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:26,480 Speaker 1: Grew up in the in the Dullest Corridor. Has been 97 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:30,520 Speaker 1: a phenomenal explosion of just capital ingenuity in that area 98 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:34,600 Speaker 1: and has helped spawn, you know, the grandchildren of A. O. L. 99 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:37,680 Speaker 1: Or now companies like Vox Media, which is you know, 100 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:39,520 Speaker 1: run by Jim Bangkoff, who was at A O L. 101 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:42,400 Speaker 1: Or even living Social which was a huge company that 102 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:45,280 Speaker 1: was run by a former product manager at Revolution Health. 103 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:48,560 Speaker 1: So you're still seeing these spillover effects of of that 104 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:51,760 Speaker 1: that sort of huge entrepreneurial flashpoint with A O L. 105 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:55,480 Speaker 1: Now I think of that area as very heavily um 106 00:05:55,560 --> 00:06:00,320 Speaker 1: laden with telecoms and other networking firms. Uh, is there 107 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:04,040 Speaker 1: any cross pollination with Revolution or you have a very 108 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:07,680 Speaker 1: specific set of things you focus on and telecom may 109 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:10,320 Speaker 1: not be it. Well, I mean, given given sort of 110 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:14,760 Speaker 1: the A O L uh DNA of our place, there's 111 00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:17,839 Speaker 1: a lot of a lot of focus on on on 112 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:22,560 Speaker 1: social networking, social media, and and general consumerism, like how 113 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:24,919 Speaker 1: how do we how do we make the lives of 114 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:29,359 Speaker 1: consumers better, easier, faster, cheaper by by investing in a 115 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:31,400 Speaker 1: lot of products that that's sort of where the consumer 116 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:33,920 Speaker 1: is the end user. So a lot of our investments 117 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:36,440 Speaker 1: throughout time have been either B to C directly or 118 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:39,000 Speaker 1: B two B two C, where where the end user 119 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:43,200 Speaker 1: the business might not necessarily be generated from the consumer, 120 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:46,240 Speaker 1: but the end user was a consumer. Because just you know, 121 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:48,120 Speaker 1: the A O L D N A is really pervasive 122 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:49,720 Speaker 1: about how do you make it how do you make 123 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:52,160 Speaker 1: it easy for the average Joe to get online. That's 124 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:54,680 Speaker 1: exactly what the on ramp to the internet. That's how 125 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:58,800 Speaker 1: we described A O L for forever um. So does 126 00:06:58,839 --> 00:07:04,520 Speaker 1: that background own change what you look at how you 127 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:08,080 Speaker 1: look at it, or what you put company capital in. 128 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:12,120 Speaker 1: What's the impact of the A O L background is it? 129 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:14,880 Speaker 1: Is it just so obvious, is hey, we're used to 130 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:18,360 Speaker 1: doing U B two C sort of investments, business to 131 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:21,320 Speaker 1: consumer sort of investments, or is there a change in 132 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:24,880 Speaker 1: the entire process of what comes your way and the 133 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:28,360 Speaker 1: way you consider it. Well, I guess the way that 134 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:32,120 Speaker 1: I'd most likely consider it think about it is we 135 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:35,120 Speaker 1: really approach things from a brand building perspective. How do 136 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:39,320 Speaker 1: you build the brand so that it helps the consumer 137 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:42,840 Speaker 1: recognize that there's there's trust behind the brand, there's a simplicity, 138 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:46,080 Speaker 1: there's a real value add that's coming through through the 139 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:49,000 Speaker 1: products that we're backing. I would also say that you know, 140 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:52,200 Speaker 1: we're also as we deploy capital and a lot of 141 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:54,160 Speaker 1: the deals that come to us are deals that that 142 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:58,200 Speaker 1: are are pretty focused on consumer stuff. We we have 143 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:00,920 Speaker 1: a lot of B two B this to business and 144 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:03,440 Speaker 1: investments as well, but but you know, a lot of 145 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:05,440 Speaker 1: the deals that we see just end up being really 146 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:09,960 Speaker 1: strong consumer brands. I previously had one of the partners 147 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:14,600 Speaker 1: in your firm, Steve murray on an. I discussed ever 148 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:19,400 Speaker 1: so briefly Rise of the Rest with him, and he said, Hey, 149 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:21,040 Speaker 1: I got a guy you should speak to about this. 150 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:25,000 Speaker 1: Name is David. I love this concept, and I have 151 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:29,840 Speaker 1: to just give a really brief explanation and then let 152 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:34,240 Speaker 1: you dive into this. So most of the venture capital 153 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:38,200 Speaker 1: money spent in the United States, it's San Francisco, it's Boston, 154 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:40,840 Speaker 1: it's New York. They're a handful of other places, but 155 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:45,400 Speaker 1: there are these huge stretches of entrepreneurs and innovators and 156 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:50,320 Speaker 1: technologists that it's a venture capital desert. What led to 157 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:53,960 Speaker 1: the development of Rise of the Rest side funds and 158 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:58,040 Speaker 1: tell us how it came about and how it actually operates. Yeah, sure, it's. 159 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:01,000 Speaker 1: It's It's actually stems from a very very simple premise. 160 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:04,560 Speaker 1: We believe that great entrepreneurs can start great businesses anywhere, 161 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:07,760 Speaker 1: and for so long in our country's history, or at 162 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:09,559 Speaker 1: least in the current and in the recent history and 163 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 1: the digital history digital era, that that that belief was 164 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:17,880 Speaker 1: epicentric to the coastal hubs of As you said, San Francisco, 165 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:20,560 Speaker 1: New York, in Boston, and one of the things that 166 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:23,480 Speaker 1: we've been doing at Revolution when working with Steve, we 167 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:26,600 Speaker 1: started in twenty fourteen these these bus tours, which became 168 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:29,320 Speaker 1: themed Rise of the Rest bus tours. And let's put 169 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:31,640 Speaker 1: a little flesh on that. Half a million dollars, a 170 00:09:31,679 --> 00:09:34,040 Speaker 1: bunch of people pile into a bus, you go to 171 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:38,240 Speaker 1: a specific city. What happens there, it's it's it's we started. 172 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:40,040 Speaker 1: We kicked it off in Detroit, and we start in 173 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:43,080 Speaker 1: the morning. We we convene the leadership, I like to 174 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:45,240 Speaker 1: call it the suits and the T shirts getting together 175 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:48,920 Speaker 1: for the first time. Will bring the politicians, the mayors, 176 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:52,280 Speaker 1: the governors, the state and federal officers. Will bring the 177 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:57,040 Speaker 1: heads of economic development, the university presidents or business school deans. 178 00:09:57,320 --> 00:09:59,960 Speaker 1: Will bring the heads of the tent pole companies, those 179 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:02,600 Speaker 1: big success companies that have kind of broken out and 180 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:05,680 Speaker 1: made a name for themselves. But we'll also bring the startups, 181 00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:08,120 Speaker 1: the T shirts, the guys who are guys and girls, 182 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:11,920 Speaker 1: guys and ladies who are cranking every day on building 183 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:14,559 Speaker 1: the next app or the next B two B sas 184 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:17,719 Speaker 1: business and bring them together to say what's going on 185 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:21,600 Speaker 1: in Detroit, in Nashville, in Pittsburgh, what's happening in this city? 186 00:10:21,640 --> 00:10:24,160 Speaker 1: What industries are flaring up? What are you what are 187 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:27,480 Speaker 1: you noticing about the flow of talent, the flow of capital, 188 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:31,080 Speaker 1: the flow of ideas into and even out of your city. 189 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:35,040 Speaker 1: We follow that with visiting, going out and seeing that, 190 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:37,960 Speaker 1: talking to these companies, and and going and being in 191 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:41,160 Speaker 1: their physical spaces and meeting as many companies as possible 192 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:43,720 Speaker 1: in that venue. And then and then we in the 193 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:46,280 Speaker 1: day with a celebration. We do a pitch competition where 194 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:49,320 Speaker 1: the winner has historically received a hundred thousand dollar investment, 195 00:10:49,360 --> 00:10:51,640 Speaker 1: but it's a way for the community to show the 196 00:10:51,679 --> 00:10:54,480 Speaker 1: best of the future and you know, a handful of ideas. 197 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:57,360 Speaker 1: How that's evolved over time. We've done it now in 198 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:00,760 Speaker 1: thirty eight different cities on silly seven different wars, so 199 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:06,440 Speaker 1: we've we've literally been you know, from from places like York, Pennsylvania, 200 00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:09,600 Speaker 1: down to New Orleans, which is near my hometown, uh 201 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:13,120 Speaker 1: and seen seen this play out in so many different cities. 202 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:17,120 Speaker 1: And it's what you walk away from is both like 203 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:22,280 Speaker 1: the how different cities take entrepreneurship differently and how they've 204 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:24,640 Speaker 1: had to deal with it differently, which is not not 205 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:27,360 Speaker 1: undifferent from how or indifferent from how they've had to 206 00:11:27,559 --> 00:11:31,520 Speaker 1: to historically deal with economic ebbs and flows. I mean, 207 00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:33,319 Speaker 1: one of the things that's really interesting to me is 208 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:36,360 Speaker 1: we see a lot of robotics in Pittsburgh, for example, 209 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:39,400 Speaker 1: because of the focus of Carnegie Mellon, but also the 210 00:11:39,559 --> 00:11:42,480 Speaker 1: history of steel there, which kind of makes sense if 211 00:11:42,480 --> 00:11:45,400 Speaker 1: you draw a narrow line between steel to robotics. Right. 212 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:48,240 Speaker 1: You see a lot of advanced manufacturing in Detroit, which 213 00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:50,600 Speaker 1: obviously makes a lot of sense, but interesting. You'll see 214 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:52,760 Speaker 1: some interest, some really interesting things like ed tech in 215 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:57,600 Speaker 1: New Orleans. Why because Katrina forced New Orleans to rethink 216 00:11:57,640 --> 00:12:00,960 Speaker 1: their entire education system, and you saw a lot of 217 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:04,000 Speaker 1: Teach for America alums coming there to be helpful, but 218 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:06,679 Speaker 1: then being entrepreneurial about how do they how do they 219 00:12:06,679 --> 00:12:09,720 Speaker 1: solve these problems and these these these Teach for America 220 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:14,280 Speaker 1: alums mostly started businesses in New Orleans focusing on education 221 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:17,840 Speaker 1: and education reform. So you see this, this the legacy 222 00:12:17,880 --> 00:12:21,000 Speaker 1: of the great industries of America and steel and manufacturing 223 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:23,840 Speaker 1: take place. But also you see the resurgence because of 224 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:27,320 Speaker 1: current situations in places like New Orleans that that that 225 00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:31,640 Speaker 1: launched these burgeoning industries and things like education technology. So 226 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:34,800 Speaker 1: what are some of the advantages of not being in 227 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:37,800 Speaker 1: these coastal urban centers. When you roll into a Detroit 228 00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:41,120 Speaker 1: or a Pittsburgh, I have to imagine the costs of 229 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:44,600 Speaker 1: everything are are a fraction of what San Francisco is. 230 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:46,680 Speaker 1: It's so funny. I was on a call just the 231 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:50,559 Speaker 1: other day with a company that relocated from Boston to Wisconsin, 232 00:12:51,120 --> 00:12:53,440 Speaker 1: and they were able to extend their burn by over 233 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:56,960 Speaker 1: six months just by redomiciling the company. Right, So I 234 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:58,760 Speaker 1: think that I think that there are a couple of things. 235 00:12:58,800 --> 00:13:01,640 Speaker 1: I think that obviously, the call of living differences are 236 00:13:01,679 --> 00:13:04,760 Speaker 1: really different, and and and and you can grow a 237 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:08,000 Speaker 1: company a lot farther on on the same amount of funding. 238 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:10,319 Speaker 1: But I think you're also seeing the flow of talent. 239 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:14,599 Speaker 1: I think you're seeing people graduate from, you know, the 240 00:13:14,679 --> 00:13:19,000 Speaker 1: University of Michigan, or graduate from Georgia State or Georgia Tech. 241 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:20,680 Speaker 1: And say, you know what, I don't I don't necessarily 242 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:22,960 Speaker 1: feel like I want to go to these these these 243 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:24,959 Speaker 1: coastal hubs. I want to I want to stay here. 244 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:27,760 Speaker 1: I want to become an entrepreneur. And it's easier because 245 00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:30,920 Speaker 1: my network is here. It's it's it's it's a more livable, 246 00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:35,800 Speaker 1: more affordable, definitely more affordable environment. But but the jobs 247 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:37,720 Speaker 1: are now starting to happen. It's it's part of the 248 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:41,760 Speaker 1: flywheel that we're seeing this flow of talent boomerang back 249 00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:44,319 Speaker 1: home because that's where they want to be. And and 250 00:13:44,559 --> 00:13:46,679 Speaker 1: I think that you know, the combination of those two 251 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:50,080 Speaker 1: factors with the flattening of of the you know, it's 252 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:52,720 Speaker 1: never been cheaper to start a business because of you know, 253 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:56,720 Speaker 1: things like a laptop and an internet connection in Amazon Cloud, 254 00:13:56,720 --> 00:13:58,400 Speaker 1: and you're pretty much ready to get ready to go, 255 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:00,920 Speaker 1: and and and that wasn't always the case, you know, 256 00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:03,080 Speaker 1: a decade twenty years ago. Just to say the least, 257 00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:08,520 Speaker 1: there is a giant um demand for STEM jobs even 258 00:14:08,559 --> 00:14:12,960 Speaker 1: in the highest paying silicon valley and and biotech in 259 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:15,560 Speaker 1: in Boston and a little bit of everything in New York. 260 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:18,720 Speaker 1: Do you run into an issue of shortage of of 261 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:23,240 Speaker 1: skilled cat labor in in those towns that may not 262 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:26,720 Speaker 1: be known for their their tech workers. So I would 263 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:30,080 Speaker 1: you know that that's a that's a common issue. We 264 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:32,320 Speaker 1: hear a lot and I think that the real, the 265 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:36,240 Speaker 1: real focus is for a lot of the early stage jobs. 266 00:14:36,240 --> 00:14:38,560 Speaker 1: A lot of the you know junior folks, the entry 267 00:14:38,640 --> 00:14:41,240 Speaker 1: level jobs. They're coming right out of the university. So 268 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:45,200 Speaker 1: it's it's no different from leaving Morgan's Morehouse and coming 269 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:47,080 Speaker 1: up to New York to work at Morgan Stanley. These 270 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:51,120 Speaker 1: folks graduate from you know, Vanderbilt and then go work 271 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:56,280 Speaker 1: directly into one of the Nashville startup Nashville startups, I think, 272 00:14:56,400 --> 00:15:00,600 Speaker 1: what about koders and and statistical analysts is I guess 273 00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:02,920 Speaker 1: designers you could pretty much find it. You can find 274 00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:04,720 Speaker 1: a lot of these folks anywhere, and I think you're 275 00:15:04,720 --> 00:15:07,480 Speaker 1: you're starting to see the recruiting of them away from 276 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:11,040 Speaker 1: the hubs. One of the big challenges for for for developers, 277 00:15:11,080 --> 00:15:14,360 Speaker 1: particularly in in the coastal hubs, is there's such a 278 00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:17,240 Speaker 1: high opportunity cost on their talent. Right if if you 279 00:15:17,280 --> 00:15:19,240 Speaker 1: have a bad quarter as a startup or miss a 280 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:22,280 Speaker 1: couple of year milestones, half of your development staff is 281 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:24,960 Speaker 1: looking for another job because they recognize that, you know, 282 00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:28,320 Speaker 1: unless they work for Google, Yeah and and so. But 283 00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:31,720 Speaker 1: but but in Madison or in Detroit, like, you've got 284 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:34,600 Speaker 1: a stickier employee, and we're seeing that those folks end 285 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:37,800 Speaker 1: up staying around longer, being more productive. You know, they're 286 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:39,920 Speaker 1: able to get a backyard and start a family. I mean, 287 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:44,360 Speaker 1: I I saw a deck one time. We're a we. 288 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:46,800 Speaker 1: The question was asked, what about recruiting, How hard is 289 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:50,080 Speaker 1: it to recruit? And the the entrepreneurs showed a slide 290 00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:52,080 Speaker 1: of a birthday party. He says, it's easy for me 291 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:54,640 Speaker 1: to recruit because I can promise this. I can't promise 292 00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:57,760 Speaker 1: a backyard birthday party in San Francisco, New York. And 293 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:00,760 Speaker 1: and I have to point out and ask you about 294 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:05,400 Speaker 1: the board of advisors for um Rise of the Rest. 295 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:10,400 Speaker 1: This is just an astonishing list. Jim's Barksdale of of Netscape, 296 00:16:10,440 --> 00:16:14,600 Speaker 1: Jeff Bezos, Tory Birch, Ray Dalio, Steve Case, John Dor. 297 00:16:14,880 --> 00:16:17,880 Speaker 1: I'm just I'm gonna stop there. But that's just an 298 00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:20,720 Speaker 1: unbelievable list of investors. It goes on and on and on. 299 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:26,000 Speaker 1: What's it like working with a group that August and esteem. 300 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:31,200 Speaker 1: We are beyond privilege that that that those those notable entrepreneurs, investors, 301 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:34,560 Speaker 1: business leaders, among the best of our era, have decided 302 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:36,360 Speaker 1: to join us on this mission. And you know, we 303 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:39,480 Speaker 1: think that the things that they saw in us, and 304 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:41,640 Speaker 1: and and sort of the implicit mission of what we 305 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:45,560 Speaker 1: were doing, of democratizing this flow of capital was really important. 306 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:47,920 Speaker 1: But we also think that they're they're you know, they're investors. 307 00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:51,400 Speaker 1: These folks understand business and they understand that there's something 308 00:16:51,440 --> 00:16:53,720 Speaker 1: going on in the heartland, there's something going on in 309 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:56,760 Speaker 1: the middle of America that you know, either their personal 310 00:16:56,800 --> 00:17:01,800 Speaker 1: portfolio didn't necessarily have have a enough allocation, but also, 311 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:03,560 Speaker 1: you know, a lot of these folks are from you know, 312 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:06,440 Speaker 1: David Rubinstein, one of our LPs is from Baltimore. You know, 313 00:17:06,520 --> 00:17:09,680 Speaker 1: Basis is from New Mexico. Their their hometowns are these 314 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:11,879 Speaker 1: cities that have been left behind a lot of times. 315 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:14,480 Speaker 1: And of course everybody wants to see their hometown flourish, 316 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:17,080 Speaker 1: and they want to see the return of jobs to 317 00:17:17,080 --> 00:17:19,680 Speaker 1: to a lot of these places where where they they 318 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:23,600 Speaker 1: have they haven't seen the economic growth and vitality that 319 00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:26,720 Speaker 1: that that we've seen a lot on the coasts. Fascinating. 320 00:17:27,080 --> 00:17:29,560 Speaker 1: So let's talk a little bit about private markets and 321 00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:34,400 Speaker 1: and venture investing. Why is it that when we look 322 00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:40,560 Speaker 1: at private pre public companies, there's an expectation that the 323 00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:43,879 Speaker 1: performance is going to be so much better than the 324 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:46,560 Speaker 1: public markets. You know, why shouldn't people just buy an 325 00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:49,720 Speaker 1: index fund and forget about it? Is? Is how someone 326 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:51,920 Speaker 1: put it the question to me, So I'm gonna pass 327 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:55,639 Speaker 1: it to you. What are the potential upsides of a 328 00:17:55,720 --> 00:17:58,879 Speaker 1: venture investment? Well, well, I I think you know. The 329 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:03,720 Speaker 1: first thing is the appetite and ability to allocate risk. 330 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:09,000 Speaker 1: Whereas because of regulation, because of just the the the 331 00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:12,160 Speaker 1: cost and visibility of being public, it's harder for companies 332 00:18:12,160 --> 00:18:13,840 Speaker 1: in the public markets to do that. But on the 333 00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:17,520 Speaker 1: private side, we're able to see things before they're before 334 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:20,359 Speaker 1: they're ready for prime time, where they're still very risky 335 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:23,760 Speaker 1: and can completely flame out. Right. The risk of every 336 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:25,920 Speaker 1: round of investment that we do a revolution and the 337 00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:28,000 Speaker 1: rise of the rest we we we run the risk 338 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:29,879 Speaker 1: of the company calling us up one day saying it 339 00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:33,280 Speaker 1: didn't work. And you know, as as as as painful 340 00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:36,760 Speaker 1: as that is, they're luckily for us, there's so many 341 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:39,200 Speaker 1: more calls that say, hey, it's working really well, or 342 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:41,280 Speaker 1: it's what we think. We've got eighty percent of it 343 00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:45,240 Speaker 1: figured out, and and then the risk has been greatly reduced. 344 00:18:45,520 --> 00:18:48,000 Speaker 1: But the opportunity is still huge to come up with, 345 00:18:48,359 --> 00:18:51,280 Speaker 1: you know, the next social network. You know, it's it's 346 00:18:51,280 --> 00:18:54,080 Speaker 1: really risky when it's a little a little face app 347 00:18:54,200 --> 00:18:57,480 Speaker 1: for Harvard University students. It's a lot less risky when 348 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:00,240 Speaker 1: Facebook is going from the United States into the world world. 349 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:03,320 Speaker 1: And I think that that's that's where the public markets 350 00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:06,080 Speaker 1: do really really well at assessing risk. I think the 351 00:19:06,119 --> 00:19:09,240 Speaker 1: private markets do really really well at sort of evaluating 352 00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:12,560 Speaker 1: and managing risk before the drug is cleared FDA approval. 353 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:15,320 Speaker 1: So let's let's talk about those numbers. And I'm not 354 00:19:15,359 --> 00:19:18,879 Speaker 1: going to hold you to a specific number, but my 355 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:23,520 Speaker 1: general understanding of the way venture investing works is your 356 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:28,840 Speaker 1: expectation is that the vast majority of investments are going 357 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:31,680 Speaker 1: to be that phone call, hey it didn't work out. 358 00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:35,400 Speaker 1: How many break even or better? And how many are 359 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:39,200 Speaker 1: just outsize giant winners. I mean, look, I think every 360 00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:42,960 Speaker 1: every venture capitalist underwrites a little bit differently. Um, you know, 361 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:45,000 Speaker 1: we don't really talk about sort of how we think 362 00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:46,960 Speaker 1: the the ebbs and flows of the market will will 363 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:50,080 Speaker 1: affect us. The goal obviously for us is to have 364 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:54,080 Speaker 1: as few, uh as few zero returners as possible, and 365 00:19:54,119 --> 00:19:56,720 Speaker 1: we think one of the benefits of of our geographic 366 00:19:57,119 --> 00:20:00,320 Speaker 1: focus outside of the coast actually benefits us be because 367 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:03,520 Speaker 1: again the dollar goes longer, and a little bit of 368 00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:08,239 Speaker 1: this sort of Midwestern and southeastern and and and just 369 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:10,520 Speaker 1: the the ethos of the people is I'm not gonna 370 00:20:10,600 --> 00:20:13,520 Speaker 1: let this fail. And and and you know, we typically 371 00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:16,480 Speaker 1: find companies that are farther along in their revenue cycles. 372 00:20:16,520 --> 00:20:18,960 Speaker 1: So they're there, there have been, They've been a lot 373 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:21,879 Speaker 1: more de risked than than the proverbial napkin on a 374 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:24,640 Speaker 1: in a Silicon Valley coffee shop. Right, And so we 375 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:27,440 Speaker 1: we we see that really interesting. We also think look 376 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:30,960 Speaker 1: on the upside and then the hockey stick side. We 377 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:34,440 Speaker 1: think that there's lots of opportunity outside of the traditional 378 00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:38,400 Speaker 1: the judicial coast to see those those companies really accelerate 379 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:42,440 Speaker 1: and have this explosive growth because because of the flows 380 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:45,400 Speaker 1: of capital are so or so have been so flattened. Um. 381 00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:47,960 Speaker 1: But I'm really you know, to answer your question, I 382 00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:51,320 Speaker 1: think that there are a handful of companies that are 383 00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:53,399 Speaker 1: are going to go go to zero. That's just the 384 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:56,280 Speaker 1: nature of the beast. Um. For for me, it's all 385 00:20:56,320 --> 00:20:58,920 Speaker 1: about protecting the middle and the upside and making sure 386 00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:01,320 Speaker 1: that those companies that have a ants are introduced to 387 00:21:01,359 --> 00:21:04,640 Speaker 1: the right customers and partners and and and executives from 388 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:07,800 Speaker 1: recruiting so that they can actually skyrocket on onto some 389 00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:11,679 Speaker 1: real successes. Are you finding the valuations are better away 390 00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:16,200 Speaker 1: from the coasts and that the ability to um pick 391 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:19,719 Speaker 1: and choose your spots is a little easier than perhaps 392 00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:22,640 Speaker 1: what people are dealing with in the Bay area. Yeah, 393 00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:24,239 Speaker 1: I think so. I mean, I think we're seeing a 394 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:29,440 Speaker 1: lot of um less competitive valuations. I think there's still 395 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:31,320 Speaker 1: I think they're still froth in the market, and and 396 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:35,119 Speaker 1: and in every market. But we were we are finding, 397 00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:37,920 Speaker 1: by and large, our buying prices are a lot better 398 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:41,800 Speaker 1: than than some of our our our value competitors and 399 00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:46,400 Speaker 1: New York competitors are seeing in in the standard Series 400 00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:49,280 Speaker 1: A or series seed round that we would invest in. 401 00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:52,639 Speaker 1: And and since you brought up froth in the market, um, 402 00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:55,400 Speaker 1: we've seen a number of unicorns over a billion dollars 403 00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:58,040 Speaker 1: in the private market, although a few of them seem 404 00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:03,240 Speaker 1: to have gotten their wings clipped uh recently. Um, how 405 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:06,840 Speaker 1: do you view this sort of cycle? How frothy is it? 406 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:11,560 Speaker 1: It doesn't feel to me like this is situation because 407 00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:14,480 Speaker 1: so many of these companies seem to be either generating 408 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:18,439 Speaker 1: revenue or heaven forbid actually making profits. How do you 409 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:22,879 Speaker 1: look at that froth and the overall cycle. So I 410 00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:27,480 Speaker 1: was literally cutting my teeth in during the first big, 411 00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:30,680 Speaker 1: big sort of tech correction UM and then was working 412 00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:33,840 Speaker 1: at Revolution during the big economic recession of oh eight 413 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:37,480 Speaker 1: oh nine. This, this, as you said, seems different to me. 414 00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:40,920 Speaker 1: And I think it's because we're seeing these companies stay 415 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:44,560 Speaker 1: private longer and not rush for a public market exit. 416 00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:47,359 Speaker 1: And I think that that that helps them figure it 417 00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:50,520 Speaker 1: out right. Like you know, folks were financing on S 418 00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:54,360 Speaker 1: one one threats and eight o nine and and that 419 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:56,560 Speaker 1: didn't play out very well for them. And I think 420 00:22:56,600 --> 00:22:59,679 Speaker 1: you're seeing the companies take the time and and build 421 00:22:59,680 --> 00:23:03,520 Speaker 1: the gale necessary to get it right when when the 422 00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:07,280 Speaker 1: I p O actually ends up happening. Quite interesting. Let's 423 00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:09,879 Speaker 1: let's talk a little bit about the sort of venture 424 00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:14,520 Speaker 1: investing you guys do at UM Revolution. What sort of 425 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:19,320 Speaker 1: returns are you looking for on any specific funds or 426 00:23:19,359 --> 00:23:23,400 Speaker 1: any specific investment. Yeah, you know, we're we're a traditional VC. 427 00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:24,760 Speaker 1: You know, we want to put a dollar in the 428 00:23:24,960 --> 00:23:27,919 Speaker 1: machine and get more than a dollar, hopefully hopefully a 429 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:30,679 Speaker 1: five or a ten coming back on out of the machine. 430 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:32,879 Speaker 1: But but but but to me, the goal is also 431 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:36,639 Speaker 1: about building these great iconic companies that are tackling some 432 00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:39,359 Speaker 1: of the toughest problems that we as a society are 433 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:44,640 Speaker 1: facing around healthcare and education, transportation, food security, and things 434 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:46,560 Speaker 1: like that, because I think that those are those are 435 00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:52,280 Speaker 1: gonna be big winners for investors over security, having great 436 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:56,840 Speaker 1: and and and open access to healthy, clean food options 437 00:23:56,920 --> 00:23:59,640 Speaker 1: because we're you know, we're still trying to make sure 438 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:02,320 Speaker 1: that we have a healthy population, and and there are 439 00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:04,560 Speaker 1: lots of businesses that are working really hard to get 440 00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:10,160 Speaker 1: Farm to table is sort of the yeah, the rule 441 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:11,919 Speaker 1: of the day, but but just trying to figure out 442 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:13,479 Speaker 1: how do we make how do we do that at 443 00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:17,040 Speaker 1: a sustainable, scalable level. Right farm to table in Brooklyn 444 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:20,399 Speaker 1: or or the city or even the suburbs are small 445 00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:23,960 Speaker 1: restaurants and local farmers and it's very high end and 446 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:27,359 Speaker 1: very chicy. You're talking about a much broader approach, And 447 00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:30,920 Speaker 1: I want to mention industries that you're looking to disrupt 448 00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:37,400 Speaker 1: include food, healthcare, transportation, agriculture. These are like basic foundations 449 00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:40,639 Speaker 1: of society. How can you disrupt those? Yeah, So the 450 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:43,160 Speaker 1: way that we think about that and and we largely 451 00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:46,879 Speaker 1: see opportunity through the lens of geography, and that we 452 00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:50,879 Speaker 1: think that, you know, the then if you're going to 453 00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:55,040 Speaker 1: come out with the newest farm tech business, kind of 454 00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:56,440 Speaker 1: hard to see how that's going to be a guy 455 00:24:56,480 --> 00:24:59,680 Speaker 1: from midtown Manhattan coming up with that or a lady 456 00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:01,760 Speaker 1: from Silicon Valley who's gonna be able to come come 457 00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:04,000 Speaker 1: up with those ideas who's never spent time on the farm. 458 00:25:04,280 --> 00:25:06,439 Speaker 1: And we think that there are, you know, lots of 459 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:08,840 Speaker 1: experts in places like Des Moines or St. Louis who 460 00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:11,280 Speaker 1: know a bit about farming and agriculture. We think there 461 00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:14,399 Speaker 1: are lots of manufacturing experts who who come out of 462 00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:17,480 Speaker 1: places like like Detroit and and and an Arbor who 463 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:19,479 Speaker 1: can help us build things as a as a country. 464 00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:22,400 Speaker 1: And so we we think that those types of opportunities 465 00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:25,320 Speaker 1: are gonna come perhaps outside of the Valley and outside 466 00:25:25,359 --> 00:25:27,080 Speaker 1: of New York. And let let me be clear, because 467 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:29,679 Speaker 1: it was one of the criticisms. We get it. Our 468 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:32,680 Speaker 1: fund a lot is about about bashing the valley, and 469 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:36,200 Speaker 1: and we are definitely not not bachelors of the valley. 470 00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:39,520 Speaker 1: We appreciates looking valley. They are the cathedral that every 471 00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:42,280 Speaker 1: other city aims to be as it relates to sort 472 00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:46,199 Speaker 1: of allocating capital and assessing risk for for early stage entrepreneurs. 473 00:25:46,280 --> 00:25:47,960 Speaker 1: And and I tell you know, a lot of the 474 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:50,320 Speaker 1: cities when we go and tour always ask us what's 475 00:25:50,359 --> 00:25:52,119 Speaker 1: one thing that they do in the valley better than 476 00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:54,639 Speaker 1: what we do, you know in pick a city. And 477 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:58,359 Speaker 1: the answers always they accept failure and they accept risk 478 00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:03,240 Speaker 1: so differently then you know of the cities in the 479 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:06,399 Speaker 1: country because because it's it's it's just woven into the 480 00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:09,480 Speaker 1: ethos of Silicon Valley. Things fail, but out of that, 481 00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:13,560 Speaker 1: like like Phoenix's, you know, these great companies can emerge 482 00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:17,960 Speaker 1: from entrepreneurs we've had massive failures, and so we go ahead. 483 00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:21,360 Speaker 1: We just we love to to highlight you know, we're 484 00:26:21,359 --> 00:26:24,240 Speaker 1: not We're not looking to steal share from New York 485 00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:26,800 Speaker 1: or Boston to the valley. We're looking to grow the denominator. 486 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:30,280 Speaker 1: And say, you know, if of all venture capital went 487 00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:34,479 Speaker 1: to three states last year, Massachusetts, New York, and California. 488 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:37,280 Speaker 1: One percent of venture capital goes to a place like Michigan, 489 00:26:37,359 --> 00:26:39,600 Speaker 1: one percent goes to Georgia. There's a lot of smart 490 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:42,400 Speaker 1: people in those states. And if we can just not 491 00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:47,520 Speaker 1: not move California from to lift Georgia from one to 492 00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:51,399 Speaker 1: two percent, but just grow the denominator. So it really 493 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:54,400 Speaker 1: because the beauty of what we do is, you know, 494 00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:59,120 Speaker 1: as an asset class venture largely creates jobs. Right when 495 00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:01,480 Speaker 1: when we write a when I'm investing in a company, 496 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:03,240 Speaker 1: the first thing I always ask is what are you 497 00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:06,080 Speaker 1: gonna do with the money, And almost always the first 498 00:27:06,119 --> 00:27:08,680 Speaker 1: answer is We're gonna hire you know, It's not it's 499 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:11,160 Speaker 1: not we're going to close the factory to generate profitability, 500 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:13,159 Speaker 1: or we're gonna close the trade at a you know 501 00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:16,840 Speaker 1: three A or a I R R. It's I'm gonna 502 00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:21,399 Speaker 1: go hire fifteen developers and to community managers and and 503 00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:25,080 Speaker 1: a CMO because we're trying to build something great. And 504 00:27:25,119 --> 00:27:27,560 Speaker 1: that to me, you know that we all know in 505 00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:29,960 Speaker 1: cities and politicians are well aware of things like the 506 00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:34,520 Speaker 1: tech multiplier, where every technology job generates you know, five 507 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:37,760 Speaker 1: to six general economy jobs. So when they go out 508 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:40,800 Speaker 1: and hire five people, that's you know, another dentist that 509 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:44,399 Speaker 1: gets hired, or another restaurant that needs to open, or 510 00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:46,320 Speaker 1: a coffee place that needs to open on the corner 511 00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:49,239 Speaker 1: to help sort of accommodate all of that growth in 512 00:27:49,359 --> 00:27:52,080 Speaker 1: some of these heartland areas that have been losing for 513 00:27:52,119 --> 00:27:55,760 Speaker 1: the last couple of years. I love your take on 514 00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:59,359 Speaker 1: on failure in Silicon Valley. My favorite thing on some 515 00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:03,360 Speaker 1: of their VC Bay area websites is their list of 516 00:28:03,840 --> 00:28:06,000 Speaker 1: here's yeah, we we said no to Ober, we said 517 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:08,200 Speaker 1: no to Apple, we said no to Amazon, like their 518 00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:11,560 Speaker 1: list of failures, and it's a badge of honor. You're 519 00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:14,600 Speaker 1: you're dead right on that. It's quite it's quite fascinating. 520 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:20,800 Speaker 1: So when you're putting together a portfolio of companies, when 521 00:28:20,840 --> 00:28:22,920 Speaker 1: when I look at a portfolio of stocks, I want 522 00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:26,640 Speaker 1: to see some US companies, some emerging market companies, some 523 00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:32,440 Speaker 1: European and Asia, Japanese companies. How do you approach creating 524 00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:35,960 Speaker 1: a portfolio? Do you think in terms of different sectors 525 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:39,360 Speaker 1: and a distribution of risk? Tell us about how you 526 00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:43,840 Speaker 1: go about doing that. Yeah, so we were we're obviously 527 00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:46,560 Speaker 1: a geographically diverse because that's part of part of our 528 00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:49,040 Speaker 1: our mandate. But but in that we we we have 529 00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:53,520 Speaker 1: lots of different industries, We have lots of different business models, 530 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:55,480 Speaker 1: and you know, some are like like we've talked about 531 00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:58,040 Speaker 1: a little earlier, some are directed consumers, some are business 532 00:28:58,040 --> 00:29:01,560 Speaker 1: to business and and you know, summer like will likely 533 00:29:01,640 --> 00:29:04,560 Speaker 1: end up being pro cyclical, some will likely be countercyclical. 534 00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:07,000 Speaker 1: And so I feel like as we you know, as 535 00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:10,200 Speaker 1: we take a step up and look broadly at our portfolio, 536 00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:13,400 Speaker 1: we do have a range of of of really interesting 537 00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:18,120 Speaker 1: business models in in in targets of the economy that 538 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:20,800 Speaker 1: are different. You know, we've got some healthcare companies, We've 539 00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:24,000 Speaker 1: got some retail or e commerce companies. We've got a 540 00:29:24,040 --> 00:29:27,800 Speaker 1: handful of food opportunities that we're pursuing. And so uh, 541 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:31,600 Speaker 1: food different from agriculture or one and the same we 542 00:29:31,600 --> 00:29:34,600 Speaker 1: we see food in agriculture is perfectly commingled. And we've 543 00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:37,920 Speaker 1: got some some some longer plays and in the actech business. 544 00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:40,520 Speaker 1: And we also have a couple of of of food 545 00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:43,280 Speaker 1: brands that were also really excited about. I remember reading 546 00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:45,400 Speaker 1: and it's a couple of years ago already. I think 547 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:48,760 Speaker 1: it was Wired magazine. You talk about ag tech, there 548 00:29:48,760 --> 00:29:53,240 Speaker 1: are these big commercial like John Dear tractors, and people 549 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:57,200 Speaker 1: pretty much created a using an iPhone and a satellite 550 00:29:57,240 --> 00:30:01,800 Speaker 1: receiver a way to self pro him these tractors to 551 00:30:02,320 --> 00:30:04,880 Speaker 1: do a whole field with nobody sitting in the cab. 552 00:30:05,320 --> 00:30:09,000 Speaker 1: Long before they were self driving cars and trucks. It 553 00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:12,200 Speaker 1: seems that tractors were pretty much the first to do that. 554 00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:15,160 Speaker 1: When you talk about ad tech, is that the sort 555 00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:18,080 Speaker 1: of stuff you're referring to, or is it more specific 556 00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:22,479 Speaker 1: um soil chemistry and material science and things along that 557 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:24,120 Speaker 1: or a little bit of everything. It's a little bit 558 00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:26,480 Speaker 1: of everything. I'll give you an example. We're investors in 559 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:30,880 Speaker 1: a business called app Harvest. App Harvest is based in Pikeville, Kentucky. 560 00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:34,479 Speaker 1: And what this business does, and it's so fascinating. The 561 00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:37,840 Speaker 1: founder and entrepreneurs is just this really dynamic guy and 562 00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:44,360 Speaker 1: he's found he's basically turning abandoned coal mines into hydroponic farms, 563 00:30:44,920 --> 00:30:48,760 Speaker 1: hydroponic greenhouses, and he's hiring former coal workers to come 564 00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:52,000 Speaker 1: work these new farms on on what used to be 565 00:30:52,280 --> 00:30:55,120 Speaker 1: a coal mine. And so to me, that's that's the 566 00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:58,360 Speaker 1: the essence of ingenuity, Like how do you take abandoned 567 00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:03,480 Speaker 1: awful coal mines and tournament to really high, high quality 568 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:07,200 Speaker 1: produce that by by virtual Being in Pikeville, Kentucky is 569 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:10,120 Speaker 1: like less than a day from of the United States, Right, 570 00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:14,440 Speaker 1: That's that's how you deliver a better, higher quality product 571 00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:18,880 Speaker 1: to a greater degree of people than than while doing 572 00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:21,240 Speaker 1: it in a way that lifts up a community that's 573 00:31:21,280 --> 00:31:25,080 Speaker 1: been you know, by almost by definition sort of impacted 574 00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:28,240 Speaker 1: by the change in one sort of the the economy. 575 00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:30,600 Speaker 1: How do you respond when someone comes along and pitches 576 00:31:30,600 --> 00:31:34,840 Speaker 1: you something like that. My immediate reaction is growing food 577 00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:37,160 Speaker 1: in coal mines? That sounds horrible. How do you get 578 00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:40,360 Speaker 1: by that initial wow, that's pretty wacky and out there, 579 00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:44,200 Speaker 1: or have you trained yourself to sort of say, huh, well, 580 00:31:44,240 --> 00:31:48,320 Speaker 1: that's interesting. The hardest thing about being a venture capitalist 581 00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:53,400 Speaker 1: is to always avoid that initial gut reaction of that 582 00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:56,680 Speaker 1: will never work, because you'll that will never work yourself 583 00:31:56,720 --> 00:31:59,120 Speaker 1: to death less business and and and for me, the 584 00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:01,960 Speaker 1: question always in that being well, how can that work? 585 00:32:02,280 --> 00:32:05,560 Speaker 1: Imagine the possibilities and imagine how like, like, how can 586 00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:09,160 Speaker 1: these ingredients be put together? You know, flour, sugar, eggs, 587 00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:12,280 Speaker 1: milk independently would all taste gross, but you put them 588 00:32:12,280 --> 00:32:14,160 Speaker 1: together and you come out as a cake. How can 589 00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:17,000 Speaker 1: you assemble these ingredients to to be a cake as 590 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:19,880 Speaker 1: opposed to you know, a mudpie? Right? And I think 591 00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:23,720 Speaker 1: that's that's one of the challenges we face every day 592 00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:26,720 Speaker 1: is is because nothing's ever gonna work, and and we're 593 00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:29,560 Speaker 1: we're looking at ideas and a power point deck, talking 594 00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:33,440 Speaker 1: to founders with with hopefully some high degree of domain expertise, 595 00:32:33,480 --> 00:32:36,320 Speaker 1: because it gives them the authority to talk about, you know, 596 00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:41,600 Speaker 1: hydroponic farming and abandoned coal mines. But but but you've 597 00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:43,440 Speaker 1: got to start looking through and saying, all right, well 598 00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:45,520 Speaker 1: if if, if this guy is able to get you know, 599 00:32:46,800 --> 00:32:50,480 Speaker 1: this technology, and and maybe find this scientist and maybe 600 00:32:50,480 --> 00:32:54,520 Speaker 1: pull together this other expert, like he's got a very 601 00:32:54,600 --> 00:32:58,040 Speaker 1: credible shot and making this all work. And I love 602 00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:00,440 Speaker 1: doing this at at the Seed stay Age, right. And 603 00:33:00,560 --> 00:33:02,640 Speaker 1: one of the other benefits of our job is we 604 00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:05,200 Speaker 1: get to see this stuff before it's really ready for 605 00:33:05,680 --> 00:33:10,520 Speaker 1: mass consumption. We typically like to invest post product market fit. 606 00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:14,080 Speaker 1: But but but but before before sort of mass adoption 607 00:33:14,160 --> 00:33:16,080 Speaker 1: and and so it's really interesting to see sort of 608 00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:19,200 Speaker 1: the reaction of the first handful of consumers and and 609 00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:21,520 Speaker 1: and and customers of some of these products. How do 610 00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:24,840 Speaker 1: they react, how how how resonant is the product as 611 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:27,520 Speaker 1: as it's starting to hit the market. You know, the 612 00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:30,880 Speaker 1: parallel in the public markets is simply when someone tells 613 00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:34,600 Speaker 1: me an idea about a stock, and my immediate reaction is, oh, 614 00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:37,920 Speaker 1: that's a dog. Probably means the worst of it is 615 00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:41,480 Speaker 1: already priced, and I've taught myself to recognize that over 616 00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:44,680 Speaker 1: the years. But you're talking about stuff that's so high 617 00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:49,000 Speaker 1: concept and so interesting. I find that fascinating your responses. 618 00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:52,680 Speaker 1: How can we make that work? We have been speaking 619 00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:55,640 Speaker 1: with David Hall. He is a partner at Rise of 620 00:33:55,680 --> 00:33:59,520 Speaker 1: the Rest seed Fund, part of Revolution Partners. If you 621 00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:02,120 Speaker 1: enjoy this conversation, be sure and come back for the 622 00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:05,239 Speaker 1: podcast extras, where we keep the digital tape rolling and 623 00:34:05,240 --> 00:34:09,880 Speaker 1: continue to discuss all things venture capital. We love your comments, 624 00:34:09,920 --> 00:34:13,160 Speaker 1: feedback and suggestions. You can write to us at m 625 00:34:13,200 --> 00:34:16,920 Speaker 1: IB podcast at Bloomberg dot net. Follow me on Twitter 626 00:34:17,040 --> 00:34:19,120 Speaker 1: at Rich Halts. You can check out my Deli column 627 00:34:19,160 --> 00:34:22,600 Speaker 1: on Bloomberg dot com. I'm Barry Hults. You're listening to 628 00:34:22,719 --> 00:34:40,760 Speaker 1: Masters and Business on Bloomberg Radio. Welcome to the podcast, David, 629 00:34:40,760 --> 00:34:42,880 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for doing this. This is really 630 00:34:42,960 --> 00:34:48,920 Speaker 1: fascinating stuff. I am endlessly in treged by the ideas 631 00:34:49,719 --> 00:34:54,520 Speaker 1: um within the venture community, and you guys are actually 632 00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:59,799 Speaker 1: disrupting the way traditional venture capital is done. It's amazing. 633 00:35:00,040 --> 00:35:04,120 Speaker 1: At the vast majority of the states in America don't 634 00:35:04,160 --> 00:35:07,800 Speaker 1: have a whole lot of venture investing, and I really, 635 00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:11,400 Speaker 1: I really am fascinated by that. So I didn't mention 636 00:35:11,560 --> 00:35:14,560 Speaker 1: Steve Case, who is the founder of a O L. 637 00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:18,279 Speaker 1: Really this seems to be his brainchild. Is that a 638 00:35:18,320 --> 00:35:22,400 Speaker 1: fair assessment? So? So, how did this come about? And 639 00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:25,799 Speaker 1: how was this announced? Was it supposed to be a 640 00:35:25,840 --> 00:35:31,319 Speaker 1: one off when Steve first um did this? Or give 641 00:35:31,400 --> 00:35:34,080 Speaker 1: us a little little background on that. Yeah, So I 642 00:35:34,120 --> 00:35:36,000 Speaker 1: think that the notion of the Rise of the Rest 643 00:35:36,040 --> 00:35:39,879 Speaker 1: started as as just an interesting slogan for how how 644 00:35:39,920 --> 00:35:43,400 Speaker 1: can we engage some of these communities and and find 645 00:35:43,640 --> 00:35:47,400 Speaker 1: find great entrepreneurs, find great deal flow for our funds. 646 00:35:47,640 --> 00:35:50,040 Speaker 1: But as we started to uncover what's going on in 647 00:35:50,080 --> 00:35:54,759 Speaker 1: these communities, it grew to its own, It spawned its 648 00:35:54,760 --> 00:35:57,480 Speaker 1: own sort of life and its own own being, and 649 00:35:57,520 --> 00:36:00,480 Speaker 1: it was really interesting to become part of these communities. 650 00:36:00,480 --> 00:36:02,640 Speaker 1: And what it ended up being for us was a 651 00:36:02,680 --> 00:36:05,400 Speaker 1: great way to meet and have authentic relationships with the 652 00:36:05,400 --> 00:36:07,440 Speaker 1: people on the ground and a lot of these cities 653 00:36:07,760 --> 00:36:11,520 Speaker 1: that we're building the businesses and supporting the entrepreneurs. It's 654 00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:14,920 Speaker 1: it's interesting, it's so great to meet the the entrepreneurs 655 00:36:15,320 --> 00:36:20,120 Speaker 1: support organizations, the ecosystem building organizations like the accelerators and 656 00:36:20,120 --> 00:36:23,280 Speaker 1: the incubators, which have really exploded over the last couple 657 00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:27,960 Speaker 1: of years, and and and understand how they are supporting 658 00:36:28,040 --> 00:36:32,000 Speaker 1: and having to do it differently and often very grassroots 659 00:36:32,040 --> 00:36:34,560 Speaker 1: and a lot of these communities where it isn't sort 660 00:36:34,600 --> 00:36:37,080 Speaker 1: of the thing that you do, and and and and 661 00:36:37,160 --> 00:36:40,120 Speaker 1: having that that drive to keep going and saying, you 662 00:36:40,120 --> 00:36:42,359 Speaker 1: know what we're gonna We're gonna bring our We had 663 00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:45,760 Speaker 1: eight companies in our last accelerator class, We're gonna expand 664 00:36:45,760 --> 00:36:48,359 Speaker 1: it to ten companies in this next cycle. Like that's 665 00:36:48,400 --> 00:36:50,279 Speaker 1: really interesting. And so what we were doing and what 666 00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:54,320 Speaker 1: Steve lad and you know, Steve's I've come to respect 667 00:36:54,440 --> 00:36:56,040 Speaker 1: him more and more the longer I've worked with him. 668 00:36:56,040 --> 00:36:57,879 Speaker 1: I've been working with him for over a decade now. 669 00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:00,680 Speaker 1: And you know this is there a lot of people 670 00:37:00,719 --> 00:37:03,520 Speaker 1: of Steve's caliber that spend their time doing lots of 671 00:37:03,560 --> 00:37:07,480 Speaker 1: other things. Steve Steve invests in entrepreneurs. That's his passion 672 00:37:07,480 --> 00:37:09,479 Speaker 1: and that's what he does. And and it's been great 673 00:37:09,520 --> 00:37:12,799 Speaker 1: to learn from him on on having that be part 674 00:37:12,800 --> 00:37:15,800 Speaker 1: of not only his legacy but his passion to invest 675 00:37:15,840 --> 00:37:19,680 Speaker 1: in entrepreneurs and and traffic in these great ideas and 676 00:37:19,719 --> 00:37:22,360 Speaker 1: great future. I mean, he's he's one of the most 677 00:37:22,680 --> 00:37:25,799 Speaker 1: accomplished futurists I know about thinking about where the where 678 00:37:25,800 --> 00:37:28,080 Speaker 1: the ball is going and trying to sort of marshal 679 00:37:28,080 --> 00:37:32,319 Speaker 1: the resources to be there and in in revolution as. 680 00:37:32,320 --> 00:37:35,360 Speaker 1: I think the symphony that he's been able to create 681 00:37:35,600 --> 00:37:38,680 Speaker 1: by bringing the right people together to help execute on 682 00:37:38,719 --> 00:37:41,799 Speaker 1: that that vision of of of really thinking about the 683 00:37:41,840 --> 00:37:44,640 Speaker 1: future and thinking about how entrepreneurs can drive and be 684 00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:48,120 Speaker 1: changing change agents in the future and again some of 685 00:37:48,120 --> 00:37:51,200 Speaker 1: the bigger problems that we're going to be facing, which 686 00:37:51,239 --> 00:37:55,600 Speaker 1: which is why I would guess that list of notables 687 00:37:55,600 --> 00:37:58,960 Speaker 1: who were on the who are investors in and board 688 00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:01,080 Speaker 1: members of Rise of the Rest, I'm not going to 689 00:38:01,200 --> 00:38:04,920 Speaker 1: read the names. Go to their website and look at it. 690 00:38:04,920 --> 00:38:08,160 Speaker 1: It's the most mind blowing list of investors I've ever 691 00:38:08,200 --> 00:38:12,439 Speaker 1: seen associated with one organization in my entire life. It's 692 00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:17,000 Speaker 1: it's astounding, and I don't even want to build up 693 00:38:17,040 --> 00:38:19,360 Speaker 1: the hype too much. Just go go to the website 694 00:38:19,400 --> 00:38:21,600 Speaker 1: and check it out Google Rise of the Rest funds 695 00:38:22,040 --> 00:38:26,920 Speaker 1: um investors or advisors, and it's it's really astonishing. You 696 00:38:27,120 --> 00:38:33,080 Speaker 1: mentioned um incubators and other types of accelerators. You know, 697 00:38:33,160 --> 00:38:35,719 Speaker 1: we know about those in cities like Boston and New 698 00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:38,719 Speaker 1: York and San Francisco, and there were a number of 699 00:38:39,040 --> 00:38:41,160 Speaker 1: some of which one actually went public. There were a 700 00:38:41,239 --> 00:38:44,480 Speaker 1: number of of incubators that had been around for a while. 701 00:38:45,440 --> 00:38:49,319 Speaker 1: Where are you finding incubators outside of the coasts and 702 00:38:49,440 --> 00:38:52,280 Speaker 1: are they private? Are they public? Are they private public 703 00:38:52,400 --> 00:38:54,840 Speaker 1: joint ventures? Tell us a little bit about yes. Simply 704 00:38:56,560 --> 00:38:59,560 Speaker 1: you find it takes different different types of organizations to 705 00:38:59,600 --> 00:39:02,399 Speaker 1: help the war, the the the ecosystems, right. I mean, 706 00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:05,480 Speaker 1: there are quite a few, and most, the majority, overwhelming majority, 707 00:39:05,480 --> 00:39:08,680 Speaker 1: i'd say, are private enterprises that people are running and 708 00:39:08,680 --> 00:39:12,319 Speaker 1: hopefully running for profit. Some include coworking, so that there's 709 00:39:12,400 --> 00:39:17,560 Speaker 1: like a real business model there. Others are you say coworking, Um, 710 00:39:17,640 --> 00:39:20,000 Speaker 1: I immediately think of we works, But that's not what 711 00:39:20,040 --> 00:39:24,000 Speaker 1: you're necessarily referring. Very similarly, you you the entrepreneur rents 712 00:39:24,080 --> 00:39:27,480 Speaker 1: desk space, and so that becomes the revenue model, the 713 00:39:27,520 --> 00:39:30,560 Speaker 1: business model for the coworking space and helps to feed 714 00:39:30,719 --> 00:39:34,480 Speaker 1: the incubator or accelerator. But but we we've seen dozens 715 00:39:34,480 --> 00:39:37,200 Speaker 1: of models of how this can work and you know, 716 00:39:37,400 --> 00:39:39,560 Speaker 1: and I think a lot of them are specific for 717 00:39:39,600 --> 00:39:43,760 Speaker 1: the company, specific for the city of geography, but the 718 00:39:43,840 --> 00:39:48,480 Speaker 1: goal is unlocking entrepreneurship. It's taking the man or woman 719 00:39:48,719 --> 00:39:51,560 Speaker 1: who's working for one of the big companies in the 720 00:39:51,560 --> 00:39:55,200 Speaker 1: city saying, you know what I can. I've been working 721 00:39:55,239 --> 00:39:57,719 Speaker 1: at Procter and Gamble forever in Cincinnati, and I love 722 00:39:57,719 --> 00:39:59,279 Speaker 1: what I do. But boy, I have a great e 723 00:39:59,320 --> 00:40:02,279 Speaker 1: commerce opper community that'd love to go and start. And 724 00:40:02,320 --> 00:40:05,520 Speaker 1: now there's a vehicle for them to extract themselves from 725 00:40:05,560 --> 00:40:08,960 Speaker 1: that big corporation and like, go start a startup somewhere. 726 00:40:09,280 --> 00:40:11,399 Speaker 1: So let's let's talk about some of the cities you've 727 00:40:11,440 --> 00:40:16,440 Speaker 1: been to. You mentioned Detroit, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, um, New Orleans. 728 00:40:16,960 --> 00:40:21,440 Speaker 1: What other cities have have you guys invested in and 729 00:40:21,480 --> 00:40:27,200 Speaker 1: how do they vary um from location location geography to geography. Yeah, 730 00:40:27,200 --> 00:40:30,399 Speaker 1: so we've you know, we've been You've named a few 731 00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:32,239 Speaker 1: of the cities, but cities from as small as a 732 00:40:32,239 --> 00:40:35,040 Speaker 1: couple hundred thousand people to as large as you know, 733 00:40:35,080 --> 00:40:38,040 Speaker 1: three or four million people. We are most recent seventh 734 00:40:38,200 --> 00:40:40,399 Speaker 1: Rise of the rest tour three or four million. That's 735 00:40:40,440 --> 00:40:42,560 Speaker 1: like Chicago. Is that what we're talking about. You know, 736 00:40:42,640 --> 00:40:47,000 Speaker 1: we we went to Dallas, Chattanooga, Birmingham, Memphis, and Louisville, 737 00:40:47,080 --> 00:40:49,720 Speaker 1: Kentucky on our last tour. That's a great cross section 738 00:40:49,719 --> 00:40:52,160 Speaker 1: of the types of cities that we go to. Some big, 739 00:40:52,200 --> 00:40:54,960 Speaker 1: you know, big major cities that that everybody has heard of. 740 00:40:55,320 --> 00:40:57,840 Speaker 1: Others all these cities are people cities people have heard of, 741 00:40:57,880 --> 00:41:01,120 Speaker 1: but but others less well known for being tech hubs. 742 00:41:01,160 --> 00:41:03,279 Speaker 1: Like I don't think of Chattanooga as a tech hub, 743 00:41:03,440 --> 00:41:06,280 Speaker 1: and you'd be surprised to find out that Chattanooga has 744 00:41:06,640 --> 00:41:11,160 Speaker 1: such a strong logistics tech industry that well, I think 745 00:41:11,239 --> 00:41:15,440 Speaker 1: it's there the proximity of Chattanooga to both obviously Atlanta, 746 00:41:15,480 --> 00:41:19,200 Speaker 1: which is a huge because you have, um who, you 747 00:41:19,239 --> 00:41:24,160 Speaker 1: have a couple of airlines there, a couple of transportation companies, 748 00:41:24,200 --> 00:41:26,320 Speaker 1: but then you go up to Chattanooga and it's it's close, 749 00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:29,600 Speaker 1: it's it's it's close to lots of that transportation tech hub, 750 00:41:29,760 --> 00:41:33,239 Speaker 1: but also a lot of freight travels through Atlanta through Chattanooga. 751 00:41:33,480 --> 00:41:35,319 Speaker 1: And even the winner of our Rise of the Rest 752 00:41:35,360 --> 00:41:37,880 Speaker 1: tour in in Chattanooga this year. It was a company 753 00:41:37,920 --> 00:41:41,360 Speaker 1: called Freight Waves that is waves, not freight wave freight 754 00:41:41,360 --> 00:41:44,920 Speaker 1: WA waves yea. And what that company is doing is 755 00:41:44,960 --> 00:41:50,240 Speaker 1: building the technology platform to help shippers properly assess and 756 00:41:50,239 --> 00:41:53,400 Speaker 1: and and and UH book freight. So it's a data 757 00:41:53,440 --> 00:41:57,120 Speaker 1: platform that helps them determine the freight cost because of 758 00:41:57,160 --> 00:41:59,759 Speaker 1: all sorts of things like fuel and temperature and load 759 00:41:59,800 --> 00:42:03,879 Speaker 1: it's being being transported between any two end points. Hard 760 00:42:03,920 --> 00:42:07,560 Speaker 1: industry that was basically done analog up until these guys 761 00:42:07,600 --> 00:42:09,960 Speaker 1: have come along and help them, help them digitize this 762 00:42:10,239 --> 00:42:14,920 Speaker 1: and create a fulsome platform for for the transmission of freight. 763 00:42:15,560 --> 00:42:18,759 Speaker 1: That that's quite fascinating. What what cities have surprised you? 764 00:42:18,840 --> 00:42:21,680 Speaker 1: That seems like an interesting surprise. What else has really 765 00:42:21,719 --> 00:42:25,959 Speaker 1: surprised you, either in their focus or any other way. Yeah, 766 00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:28,920 Speaker 1: so I'd say one of the big surprises to me 767 00:42:29,040 --> 00:42:33,600 Speaker 1: was Indianapolis. Um, Indianapolis is obviously a great city, has 768 00:42:33,680 --> 00:42:37,160 Speaker 1: storied American city. And what one of the things and 769 00:42:37,239 --> 00:42:39,200 Speaker 1: one of the big highlights is there was a business 770 00:42:39,239 --> 00:42:42,960 Speaker 1: they're called Exact Target that sold a salesforce for multiple 771 00:42:42,960 --> 00:42:46,000 Speaker 1: billions of dollars. The founders of Exact Target after they 772 00:42:46,040 --> 00:42:50,600 Speaker 1: sort of spun out of the salesforce, UH world, double down, 773 00:42:50,680 --> 00:42:54,960 Speaker 1: triple down in Indianapolis and and created an ecosystem. They're 774 00:42:55,000 --> 00:42:58,440 Speaker 1: focused on B two B business to business softwares of 775 00:42:58,520 --> 00:43:03,600 Speaker 1: services companies, and so they've really like anchored themselves around 776 00:43:03,640 --> 00:43:05,759 Speaker 1: this notion of B two B sas is going to 777 00:43:05,840 --> 00:43:08,080 Speaker 1: be what Indianapolis is known for, at least from a 778 00:43:08,080 --> 00:43:12,440 Speaker 1: technology a startup perspective, and it's become a hub. They've got, uh, 779 00:43:12,760 --> 00:43:15,239 Speaker 1: the founders that have created a company called the High 780 00:43:15,239 --> 00:43:17,680 Speaker 1: Alpha Studio. They've got a fund there they invest in 781 00:43:18,080 --> 00:43:20,759 Speaker 1: and handfuls of companies that are coming out of Indianapolis 782 00:43:20,760 --> 00:43:23,319 Speaker 1: and who would have thought right, And it was so 783 00:43:23,400 --> 00:43:26,480 Speaker 1: it was such a sort of great ecosystem that Salesforce, 784 00:43:26,600 --> 00:43:30,080 Speaker 1: after their acquisition of this company, Exact Target, moved it's 785 00:43:30,360 --> 00:43:33,040 Speaker 1: HQ two to Indianapolis and now has one of the 786 00:43:33,120 --> 00:43:36,399 Speaker 1: largest buildings UH in the city of Indianapolis is by 787 00:43:36,400 --> 00:43:39,840 Speaker 1: Sales is owned and operated by Salesforce and has a 788 00:43:39,880 --> 00:43:42,759 Speaker 1: couple of thousand employees in Indianapolis. And so it's it's 789 00:43:42,800 --> 00:43:45,960 Speaker 1: amazing to see how that city has kind of really, 790 00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:50,640 Speaker 1: you know, really exploded in growth around a couple of 791 00:43:50,640 --> 00:43:52,560 Speaker 1: founders who said, we're gonna double down in our in 792 00:43:52,600 --> 00:43:55,400 Speaker 1: our hometown. That's what give me one more city. That 793 00:43:55,560 --> 00:43:57,640 Speaker 1: kind of was like, wow, I didn't expect to see 794 00:43:57,680 --> 00:44:01,520 Speaker 1: that an overwhelming set at voices or you know, well, 795 00:44:01,719 --> 00:44:03,839 Speaker 1: I'm trying to come up with a really good, good 796 00:44:03,880 --> 00:44:07,640 Speaker 1: example for you. I mean, I'll go back to to 797 00:44:07,800 --> 00:44:11,080 Speaker 1: to Chattanooga. I was really surprised. I mean, they you know, 798 00:44:11,120 --> 00:44:14,440 Speaker 1: they're they're a handful of just really great companies. There's 799 00:44:14,480 --> 00:44:17,080 Speaker 1: a company we were not investors in, but but it's 800 00:44:17,080 --> 00:44:20,000 Speaker 1: it's a logistics and a moving company called Bellhops based 801 00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:22,879 Speaker 1: in Chattanooga. That's a really strong company. And seeing how 802 00:44:22,880 --> 00:44:25,600 Speaker 1: a city that that's not the largest city by by 803 00:44:25,600 --> 00:44:29,040 Speaker 1: any stretch of the word, has really focused on building 804 00:44:29,080 --> 00:44:32,840 Speaker 1: this really dense community. We have this this this phrase 805 00:44:32,880 --> 00:44:35,560 Speaker 1: that we use a lot called network density, which you 806 00:44:35,600 --> 00:44:39,239 Speaker 1: know network density, network density, which means how how can 807 00:44:39,280 --> 00:44:42,640 Speaker 1: you how can you create this this tight network of 808 00:44:42,719 --> 00:44:48,520 Speaker 1: people of entrepreneurs of of of of uh fans of entrepreneurship, 809 00:44:48,840 --> 00:44:51,400 Speaker 1: bring them together and have your little city play a 810 00:44:51,400 --> 00:44:53,799 Speaker 1: lot bigger or at least have the startup part of 811 00:44:53,840 --> 00:44:56,640 Speaker 1: your little city play a lot bigger, right, And what 812 00:44:56,680 --> 00:44:58,600 Speaker 1: they've been able to do and by bringing you know, 813 00:44:59,560 --> 00:45:03,640 Speaker 1: fun and startup accelerators in the Chattanooga area. Together, they've 814 00:45:03,680 --> 00:45:07,160 Speaker 1: created this strong network where everybody knows each other and 815 00:45:07,200 --> 00:45:11,000 Speaker 1: all the entrepreneurs are are are talking about, you know, 816 00:45:11,280 --> 00:45:14,600 Speaker 1: best practice, sharing and and recruiting new people. When new 817 00:45:14,600 --> 00:45:17,160 Speaker 1: people come in, they meet a handful of the executives 818 00:45:17,160 --> 00:45:19,920 Speaker 1: at other companies that say, you know, come move from 819 00:45:20,040 --> 00:45:22,960 Speaker 1: Chicago to Chattanooga. We'll we'll show you around, We'll we'll 820 00:45:23,000 --> 00:45:24,720 Speaker 1: take you out on the on a on a boat, 821 00:45:24,760 --> 00:45:26,960 Speaker 1: and you know, really wine and dine you as a 822 00:45:26,960 --> 00:45:30,280 Speaker 1: community to say that you're joining our community, not necessarily 823 00:45:30,280 --> 00:45:33,279 Speaker 1: just joining this company. Interesting you mentioned Chicago. Have you 824 00:45:33,360 --> 00:45:35,560 Speaker 1: spent any time in the West Loop that that's a 825 00:45:35,600 --> 00:45:38,480 Speaker 1: little bit of a tech hub that seems to be exploding. 826 00:45:38,640 --> 00:45:40,719 Speaker 1: We're really excited to have one of my one of 827 00:45:40,760 --> 00:45:43,600 Speaker 1: my UH portfolio companies that we invested in earlier this 828 00:45:43,680 --> 00:45:46,840 Speaker 1: year is a Chicago based company called Foxtrot that's on 829 00:45:46,880 --> 00:45:49,120 Speaker 1: a trend that I love on the future of retail. 830 00:45:49,160 --> 00:45:53,239 Speaker 1: Foxtrot is reimagining the convenience store. We we all know 831 00:45:53,320 --> 00:45:55,799 Speaker 1: lots of convenience stores and and and obviously we're sitting 832 00:45:55,800 --> 00:45:59,280 Speaker 1: in New York City where where the corner bodega is people. 833 00:45:59,440 --> 00:46:02,160 Speaker 1: People love their their corner bodegas, but in a lot 834 00:46:02,200 --> 00:46:05,160 Speaker 1: of America there there isn't that that sort of deep 835 00:46:05,160 --> 00:46:08,840 Speaker 1: passion around around your convenience store. Foxtrot does half of 836 00:46:08,880 --> 00:46:12,160 Speaker 1: its business through mobile app orders that get delivered to 837 00:46:12,200 --> 00:46:15,239 Speaker 1: your door in and you know, in less than an hour. 838 00:46:15,520 --> 00:46:19,080 Speaker 1: And it's a great business, perfect for launching in a 839 00:46:19,080 --> 00:46:22,600 Speaker 1: city like Chicago. And and we're really excited about that 840 00:46:22,640 --> 00:46:25,400 Speaker 1: opportunity because we think that you know, there hasn't been 841 00:46:25,400 --> 00:46:27,480 Speaker 1: a lot of disruption in the convenience store market and 842 00:46:27,520 --> 00:46:30,920 Speaker 1: over a generation. And being able to have really cool 843 00:46:30,960 --> 00:46:33,759 Speaker 1: products ordering ordered at the tap of a phone, but 844 00:46:33,880 --> 00:46:36,399 Speaker 1: also be be your corner store that you walk past 845 00:46:36,440 --> 00:46:38,120 Speaker 1: and get a bagel and a coffee on your way 846 00:46:38,160 --> 00:46:39,960 Speaker 1: to work in the morning. Is is actually pretty cool 847 00:46:40,120 --> 00:46:43,360 Speaker 1: that that's interesting? So I wanted to I was gonna 848 00:46:43,400 --> 00:46:45,880 Speaker 1: ask you how you source companies, But I'm going to 849 00:46:46,040 --> 00:46:49,439 Speaker 1: change that question a little bit. When you announce, hey, 850 00:46:49,480 --> 00:46:52,000 Speaker 1: here's our new tour and we'll go into these five cities, 851 00:46:52,440 --> 00:46:55,319 Speaker 1: does that open a floodgate of inquiries or are you 852 00:46:55,440 --> 00:46:59,360 Speaker 1: still flipping over rocks to find where the next great 853 00:46:59,440 --> 00:47:02,560 Speaker 1: entrepreneur is? When we go to a city and we 854 00:47:02,600 --> 00:47:04,400 Speaker 1: announced that we're gonna come to the city, we we 855 00:47:04,520 --> 00:47:10,120 Speaker 1: get scores of applications to participate. Even in our pitch competition, 856 00:47:10,440 --> 00:47:12,640 Speaker 1: we're able to put those companies in our database and 857 00:47:12,680 --> 00:47:16,200 Speaker 1: start to track them. Um. We we we really have, 858 00:47:17,120 --> 00:47:19,840 Speaker 1: I think, have taken a more data driven approach to 859 00:47:19,920 --> 00:47:22,560 Speaker 1: looking at and lots of different companies across the country 860 00:47:22,560 --> 00:47:23,920 Speaker 1: because it's the only way that we're gonna be able 861 00:47:23,960 --> 00:47:26,760 Speaker 1: to do it with a relatively small team at scale, 862 00:47:26,920 --> 00:47:29,800 Speaker 1: and and we also rely heavily on our network partners. 863 00:47:29,840 --> 00:47:31,719 Speaker 1: So when we go to these cities, we meet the 864 00:47:31,760 --> 00:47:34,480 Speaker 1: local vcs and the regional vcs and we asked them, hey, 865 00:47:34,520 --> 00:47:36,680 Speaker 1: you know, are there what are the two or three 866 00:47:36,680 --> 00:47:39,520 Speaker 1: companies that you guys are most excited about in Raleigh, Durham. 867 00:47:39,600 --> 00:47:41,200 Speaker 1: And they're happy to tell us the two or three 868 00:47:41,200 --> 00:47:43,080 Speaker 1: companies that they're most excited And you do that to 869 00:47:43,200 --> 00:47:45,799 Speaker 1: two or three local funds and you've got to you know, 870 00:47:46,080 --> 00:47:48,160 Speaker 1: a dozen companies at the end of the day that 871 00:47:48,160 --> 00:47:50,720 Speaker 1: that are you know, ones that that tend to bubble 872 00:47:50,760 --> 00:47:53,359 Speaker 1: above the some of the rest. But but it's also 873 00:47:53,400 --> 00:47:55,919 Speaker 1: a temporal thing, right you come back six months later 874 00:47:56,160 --> 00:47:58,720 Speaker 1: and it's a new batch of companies. So we we 875 00:47:58,719 --> 00:48:02,560 Speaker 1: we love to maintain these really authentic relationships with with 876 00:48:02,640 --> 00:48:05,960 Speaker 1: the partners and investors in the community, and then that 877 00:48:06,000 --> 00:48:08,799 Speaker 1: helps introduce us to the entrepreneurs that are really making 878 00:48:08,800 --> 00:48:12,359 Speaker 1: a difference. Huh, what what about competition? You mentioned other 879 00:48:12,440 --> 00:48:15,759 Speaker 1: vcas and areas. Are you at all concerned that you're 880 00:48:15,760 --> 00:48:18,759 Speaker 1: going to start running into competition in some of these 881 00:48:18,800 --> 00:48:23,080 Speaker 1: places or is it still a sort of cooperative, friendly 882 00:48:23,880 --> 00:48:26,839 Speaker 1: um group of other players in the same space who 883 00:48:26,920 --> 00:48:29,760 Speaker 1: might be co investors in the same companies. Yeah, I 884 00:48:29,760 --> 00:48:33,000 Speaker 1: I see them more as as collaborators and competition. We 885 00:48:33,000 --> 00:48:35,640 Speaker 1: we we need people were We're not going to write 886 00:48:35,680 --> 00:48:37,960 Speaker 1: a full investment round. If a company is doing a 887 00:48:38,000 --> 00:48:40,920 Speaker 1: five million dollar series seed round, we're not going to 888 00:48:41,040 --> 00:48:43,120 Speaker 1: do that entire round. So if we do some of it, 889 00:48:43,120 --> 00:48:45,399 Speaker 1: we're gonna need other people to help participate. And it's 890 00:48:45,440 --> 00:48:48,360 Speaker 1: always helpful to have you know, local eyes and ears 891 00:48:48,360 --> 00:48:50,440 Speaker 1: on the ground who know the company, or know the founder, 892 00:48:50,480 --> 00:48:53,480 Speaker 1: or know the have domain expertise in in the business 893 00:48:53,719 --> 00:48:55,880 Speaker 1: and so being able to bring all of those folks 894 00:48:55,960 --> 00:48:59,040 Speaker 1: into the round is one of the reasons why we're 895 00:48:59,080 --> 00:49:02,000 Speaker 1: doing this we were able to be massive connectors of 896 00:49:02,000 --> 00:49:05,160 Speaker 1: of You know, if you might be a healthcare expert 897 00:49:05,239 --> 00:49:08,080 Speaker 1: fund based in Nashville and if we found a healthcare 898 00:49:08,120 --> 00:49:10,560 Speaker 1: deal in in St. Louis, we'd love to bring you 899 00:49:10,560 --> 00:49:12,879 Speaker 1: guys into that deal because it just only helps make 900 00:49:12,920 --> 00:49:15,520 Speaker 1: that deal, helps de risk the deal to our limited 901 00:49:15,520 --> 00:49:18,320 Speaker 1: partners in our and our fund, but also helps potentially 902 00:49:18,360 --> 00:49:21,719 Speaker 1: expand that the access for that company. So it's not 903 00:49:21,840 --> 00:49:25,760 Speaker 1: just network density, but then it's the network effect cross 904 00:49:25,800 --> 00:49:29,719 Speaker 1: pollinating from city to city. You got it quite interesting. Um, 905 00:49:29,880 --> 00:49:32,040 Speaker 1: do you have a target for number of investments you're 906 00:49:32,040 --> 00:49:35,160 Speaker 1: gonna make each year or is it really you just 907 00:49:35,239 --> 00:49:37,799 Speaker 1: kind of take it as it comes. Yeah, I think 908 00:49:37,800 --> 00:49:40,239 Speaker 1: we'll do about a hundred hundred fifty investments out of 909 00:49:40,239 --> 00:49:42,200 Speaker 1: this fund over the next couple of years. But we're 910 00:49:42,520 --> 00:49:45,560 Speaker 1: we don't have a specific target. We we again are 911 00:49:45,600 --> 00:49:50,080 Speaker 1: being super opportunistic about about finding great companies in in 912 00:49:50,080 --> 00:49:53,040 Speaker 1: in in these regions. And you mentioned this fund. My 913 00:49:53,120 --> 00:49:56,799 Speaker 1: assumption is this is set up as a traditional VCG 914 00:49:57,800 --> 00:50:01,880 Speaker 1: general partners and limited partner. There's any thoughts on is 915 00:50:01,920 --> 00:50:03,160 Speaker 1: there going to be a rise of the rest to 916 00:50:03,360 --> 00:50:06,280 Speaker 1: rise the rest? Three you're gonna stack that down down 917 00:50:06,320 --> 00:50:10,040 Speaker 1: the years. What happens when you basically say, okay, we're 918 00:50:10,080 --> 00:50:13,960 Speaker 1: filled up. You know, I'm focused on deploying the hundred 919 00:50:13,960 --> 00:50:16,319 Speaker 1: and fifty million that our limited partners have invested in 920 00:50:16,320 --> 00:50:19,239 Speaker 1: and in us in this fund and and and hope 921 00:50:19,280 --> 00:50:22,480 Speaker 1: to really make a difference and obviously create a lot 922 00:50:22,480 --> 00:50:24,640 Speaker 1: of value and and and and in the fund that 923 00:50:24,640 --> 00:50:26,640 Speaker 1: we're in. You know, who knows what the future is 924 00:50:26,640 --> 00:50:31,000 Speaker 1: gonna hold, But we're super excited about about the limited 925 00:50:31,040 --> 00:50:33,840 Speaker 1: partners trusting us in the capital that we're deploying into 926 00:50:33,880 --> 00:50:37,439 Speaker 1: what I think are a fantastic array of companies that 927 00:50:37,440 --> 00:50:40,120 Speaker 1: that showcase the best of of what's going on in 928 00:50:40,400 --> 00:50:43,200 Speaker 1: you know, at least forty seven of the fifty states, 929 00:50:43,200 --> 00:50:46,080 Speaker 1: although we do have investments in California and in in 930 00:50:46,400 --> 00:50:49,080 Speaker 1: uh in in New York, but but not necessarily in 931 00:50:49,280 --> 00:50:53,400 Speaker 1: Silicon Valley or City. And you know, I've danced around 932 00:50:53,440 --> 00:50:56,520 Speaker 1: this question, and you you came close to answering it, 933 00:50:56,560 --> 00:50:59,160 Speaker 1: but I haven't asked it, So let me just blurt 934 00:50:59,200 --> 00:51:02,640 Speaker 1: it out. Um. I have to imagine there are a 935 00:51:02,680 --> 00:51:07,000 Speaker 1: lot of misconceptions about venture investing in general. You reference 936 00:51:07,080 --> 00:51:11,879 Speaker 1: the misconception about your relationship with Silicon Valley, But just 937 00:51:11,920 --> 00:51:14,960 Speaker 1: speaking broadly, what do you think is is some of 938 00:51:15,000 --> 00:51:19,719 Speaker 1: the biggest misconceptions about how venture capitalists operate what they 939 00:51:19,800 --> 00:51:25,560 Speaker 1: invest in, just generally speaking, So I think from the 940 00:51:25,600 --> 00:51:29,400 Speaker 1: from the capital deployment side, the biggest misconception is that 941 00:51:29,440 --> 00:51:32,400 Speaker 1: it's easy. Is that you just you sit around listening 942 00:51:32,400 --> 00:51:34,920 Speaker 1: to a couple of pitches and whenever something rang out, 943 00:51:35,400 --> 00:51:37,400 Speaker 1: you're right a check. And I mean, and you know, 944 00:51:37,560 --> 00:51:40,360 Speaker 1: we we apply science, we apply data to to to 945 00:51:40,480 --> 00:51:44,439 Speaker 1: our decision making, and you know, and and we we 946 00:51:45,280 --> 00:51:47,239 Speaker 1: do a lot of work. I mean, we're it's not 947 00:51:47,360 --> 00:51:49,800 Speaker 1: just come in for a pitch and come out thirty 948 00:51:49,800 --> 00:51:52,680 Speaker 1: minutes later with with the check, right, I mean the 949 00:51:52,920 --> 00:51:55,399 Speaker 1: closest we get to that or in our pitch competitions. 950 00:51:55,400 --> 00:51:58,200 Speaker 1: But but but for our our our our normal investments, 951 00:51:58,200 --> 00:52:01,160 Speaker 1: we're doing due diligence and we're asking big questions about 952 00:52:01,200 --> 00:52:04,640 Speaker 1: the market opportunity and about the founder's domain expertise, and 953 00:52:04,680 --> 00:52:08,040 Speaker 1: about all sorts of ebbs and flows of the real 954 00:52:08,080 --> 00:52:10,799 Speaker 1: market opportunity in the business model. I think from the 955 00:52:10,920 --> 00:52:15,759 Speaker 1: capital receiving perspective, I think the biggest misconception is that 956 00:52:17,320 --> 00:52:20,400 Speaker 1: a lot of entrepreneurs have great companies, but they're not 957 00:52:20,440 --> 00:52:23,839 Speaker 1: necessarily venture backable. And I think that there's this this 958 00:52:23,920 --> 00:52:29,120 Speaker 1: misconception that that venture is is the the financing source 959 00:52:29,280 --> 00:52:32,719 Speaker 1: of of of kings. And and you know, I was 960 00:52:32,760 --> 00:52:36,120 Speaker 1: tell whenever I start having conversations and talk to particularly 961 00:52:36,160 --> 00:52:39,720 Speaker 1: large audiences of of entrepreneurs, I say, the first best 962 00:52:39,760 --> 00:52:43,279 Speaker 1: source of financing is revenue. Right, revenue doesn't take any 963 00:52:43,320 --> 00:52:44,759 Speaker 1: of your company, you don't have to pay any of 964 00:52:44,800 --> 00:52:47,320 Speaker 1: it back. And if you can scale your company through revenue, 965 00:52:47,360 --> 00:52:49,400 Speaker 1: that's best. But a lot of a lot of folks 966 00:52:49,480 --> 00:52:53,520 Speaker 1: have really good businesses that just aren't necessarily venture capital 967 00:52:53,760 --> 00:52:58,319 Speaker 1: are VC backable businesses because they're either not growing at 968 00:52:58,320 --> 00:53:02,200 Speaker 1: a scale or have a broaden off large enough market opportunity. 969 00:53:02,239 --> 00:53:05,160 Speaker 1: I mean, typically venture capitalists are looking for billion dollar, 970 00:53:05,440 --> 00:53:09,280 Speaker 1: billion dollar businesses and and we have a specific model 971 00:53:09,400 --> 00:53:12,680 Speaker 1: to help help help de find what that means. And 972 00:53:13,160 --> 00:53:16,600 Speaker 1: you look at companies like Uber, it's totally reimagining the 973 00:53:16,640 --> 00:53:20,479 Speaker 1: taxi dispatch industry. Period. That's a billion that's it's easy 974 00:53:20,520 --> 00:53:25,839 Speaker 1: to see the global unstoppable. But there are there are 975 00:53:25,840 --> 00:53:28,799 Speaker 1: lots of there's lots of really good, really small, really 976 00:53:28,800 --> 00:53:32,160 Speaker 1: great small businesses where the proprietors are going to be millionaires, 977 00:53:32,160 --> 00:53:35,719 Speaker 1: but those aren't necessarily always great venture backable businesses makes 978 00:53:35,760 --> 00:53:38,560 Speaker 1: a lot of sense. The one question I before I 979 00:53:38,560 --> 00:53:41,080 Speaker 1: get to my favorite questions, the one question that has 980 00:53:41,120 --> 00:53:44,200 Speaker 1: been um annoying at me has been this, what cities 981 00:53:44,239 --> 00:53:47,560 Speaker 1: have you not gotten to that you're looking forward to 982 00:53:47,640 --> 00:53:52,560 Speaker 1: going and doing a rise of the Rest tour through. So, 983 00:53:52,760 --> 00:53:54,920 Speaker 1: like I said, we've been the thirty eight cities. You 984 00:53:55,200 --> 00:53:56,759 Speaker 1: can do the math and know that there are lots 985 00:53:56,760 --> 00:54:00,120 Speaker 1: of cities that we haven't been to. You know, we 986 00:53:59,840 --> 00:54:02,680 Speaker 1: we we are in the process of thinking through and 987 00:54:02,680 --> 00:54:05,839 Speaker 1: and plotting out our our next tour. But we I'll 988 00:54:05,880 --> 00:54:07,960 Speaker 1: leave as a nugget and we'll we'll make sure that 989 00:54:08,080 --> 00:54:09,719 Speaker 1: very you're on the list of people that we tell 990 00:54:09,760 --> 00:54:12,640 Speaker 1: when we we decide where we're headed the bus to next. 991 00:54:12,680 --> 00:54:14,879 Speaker 1: But it's it's you know, we we look to find 992 00:54:14,960 --> 00:54:18,920 Speaker 1: cities where there's been some some entrepreneurial some startup activity, 993 00:54:18,920 --> 00:54:21,879 Speaker 1: where there's been a few successes and their their their 994 00:54:21,920 --> 00:54:25,439 Speaker 1: companies to point to where there's a willingness by all 995 00:54:25,440 --> 00:54:29,240 Speaker 1: of the stakeholders, from the local university to the politicians 996 00:54:29,440 --> 00:54:32,840 Speaker 1: who are leaning in on saying, yeah, we we support startups. 997 00:54:32,880 --> 00:54:35,719 Speaker 1: We we want that type of ecosystem to be in 998 00:54:35,760 --> 00:54:38,760 Speaker 1: our town, and we want to try to have those 999 00:54:39,200 --> 00:54:41,680 Speaker 1: those cities flare up on our map and get in 1000 00:54:41,680 --> 00:54:43,560 Speaker 1: front of us. And we have we've got to we've 1001 00:54:43,600 --> 00:54:45,680 Speaker 1: perfected the way of getting it done now and and 1002 00:54:45,719 --> 00:54:47,759 Speaker 1: we'll we'll we'll let you be among the first to 1003 00:54:47,760 --> 00:54:49,640 Speaker 1: know where we're headed ups. I'm looking forward to it, 1004 00:54:49,680 --> 00:54:51,840 Speaker 1: all right. So let's jump to some of my favorite 1005 00:54:51,920 --> 00:54:55,680 Speaker 1: questions we ask all of our guests. Tell us the 1006 00:54:55,719 --> 00:55:01,160 Speaker 1: most important thing people don't know about your background. So 1007 00:55:01,200 --> 00:55:03,160 Speaker 1: that's a pretty easy one for me, and and it's 1008 00:55:03,320 --> 00:55:05,160 Speaker 1: it always surprises you want. I want to see the 1009 00:55:05,160 --> 00:55:06,919 Speaker 1: look on your face. I'm sorry you guys can't see 1010 00:55:06,920 --> 00:55:10,680 Speaker 1: it who are listening, But I am a former competitive swimmer. 1011 00:55:10,920 --> 00:55:12,320 Speaker 1: I was going to say that, you know, I was 1012 00:55:12,320 --> 00:55:15,200 Speaker 1: going to guess, yeah, hard, hard, hard for those of 1013 00:55:15,239 --> 00:55:17,759 Speaker 1: you guys listening. I am six ft tall, two d 1014 00:55:17,960 --> 00:55:20,799 Speaker 1: and fifty something. He's a solid. I thought you're gonna 1015 00:55:20,800 --> 00:55:24,360 Speaker 1: tell me you were like a middle linebacker, not competitive swimmer. 1016 00:55:24,480 --> 00:55:28,759 Speaker 1: What you swim? I I swim. Uh started at age 1017 00:55:28,800 --> 00:55:31,360 Speaker 1: six and swam through college, actually through first couple of 1018 00:55:31,400 --> 00:55:35,320 Speaker 1: years of college, but I did a lot of medley 1019 00:55:35,360 --> 00:55:38,080 Speaker 1: and sprint freestyle because I just obviously I'm not gonna 1020 00:55:38,080 --> 00:55:40,120 Speaker 1: do distance. I definitely don't have a body for distance 1021 00:55:40,480 --> 00:55:44,279 Speaker 1: um recreationally, and you know, I have to take the 1022 00:55:44,360 --> 00:55:46,320 Speaker 1: kids out. But for me it was such an important 1023 00:55:46,360 --> 00:55:50,799 Speaker 1: thing because number one, it's it's the perfect both individual 1024 00:55:50,920 --> 00:55:53,719 Speaker 1: and team sport. And so he really teaches you how 1025 00:55:53,760 --> 00:55:55,799 Speaker 1: to how to be a member of the team, but 1026 00:55:55,880 --> 00:55:57,960 Speaker 1: also how to really focus. And then the second thing 1027 00:55:58,000 --> 00:56:00,759 Speaker 1: for me that it really taught was how to It 1028 00:56:00,880 --> 00:56:04,600 Speaker 1: showed the direct link between preparation and execution. Right, you 1029 00:56:04,920 --> 00:56:07,240 Speaker 1: go to practice, you work hard, and practice, your times 1030 00:56:07,280 --> 00:56:09,480 Speaker 1: get lower, you win, and and and this the side 1031 00:56:09,480 --> 00:56:11,600 Speaker 1: benefit was it also taught me to deal a little 1032 00:56:11,640 --> 00:56:14,359 Speaker 1: bit with with defeat and losing, because it's just it's 1033 00:56:14,400 --> 00:56:16,680 Speaker 1: important for six and seven and twelve year old to 1034 00:56:16,760 --> 00:56:19,960 Speaker 1: learn that also important for forty somethings to learn. That. 1035 00:56:20,080 --> 00:56:23,240 Speaker 1: Tell us about some of your early mentors who affected 1036 00:56:23,280 --> 00:56:27,439 Speaker 1: the way you look at the world of investment. So 1037 00:56:27,719 --> 00:56:29,560 Speaker 1: the first, obviously, and I'm sure this is something you 1038 00:56:29,560 --> 00:56:31,160 Speaker 1: hear a lot, is it was my dad. I mean, 1039 00:56:31,280 --> 00:56:37,120 Speaker 1: he's a dentist, just retired dentist, but an entrepreneur, a 1040 00:56:37,239 --> 00:56:40,319 Speaker 1: small business owner. And my first job was working in 1041 00:56:40,360 --> 00:56:43,520 Speaker 1: this office and seeing seeing how it's it's a daily 1042 00:56:45,040 --> 00:56:48,239 Speaker 1: seven opportunity, thinking about you know, the practice and the 1043 00:56:48,320 --> 00:56:50,960 Speaker 1: building and the employees that you've got working for you, 1044 00:56:51,280 --> 00:56:54,480 Speaker 1: but also seeing the benefits that come from working really hard. 1045 00:56:54,520 --> 00:56:58,120 Speaker 1: And so he you know, we we we working and 1046 00:56:58,200 --> 00:57:00,800 Speaker 1: work was always important in stress to our in our 1047 00:57:00,920 --> 00:57:03,960 Speaker 1: in our home, and and being thoughtful and being really 1048 00:57:04,000 --> 00:57:06,000 Speaker 1: good to to the people that worked for you was 1049 00:57:06,040 --> 00:57:10,399 Speaker 1: also a really important character uh uh. Character building that 1050 00:57:10,400 --> 00:57:13,279 Speaker 1: that I saw through my dad every day. UM My 1051 00:57:13,400 --> 00:57:17,520 Speaker 1: uncle Eugene Flood is a was was was working on 1052 00:57:17,560 --> 00:57:19,720 Speaker 1: Wall Street. Kind of opened my eyes. I worked for 1053 00:57:19,760 --> 00:57:24,000 Speaker 1: several years after college at Morgan Stanley. UM huge mentor 1054 00:57:24,040 --> 00:57:27,520 Speaker 1: to bring me, take a little southern boy from Louisiana 1055 00:57:28,160 --> 00:57:31,240 Speaker 1: and expose them to sort of the the machinations of 1056 00:57:31,280 --> 00:57:34,160 Speaker 1: Wall Street. Was really a big eye opener and career 1057 00:57:34,240 --> 00:57:37,439 Speaker 1: changer for me. So let's talk about venture investors who 1058 00:57:37,520 --> 00:57:42,360 Speaker 1: affected the way you approach um deploying capital as a 1059 00:57:42,360 --> 00:57:44,560 Speaker 1: as a venture capitalist. So this is gonna sound a 1060 00:57:44,560 --> 00:57:48,400 Speaker 1: little contrarian, but um, the again, having worked at the 1061 00:57:48,400 --> 00:57:52,200 Speaker 1: Washington Post company under Don Graham and the Graham family, 1062 00:57:52,440 --> 00:57:55,320 Speaker 1: who were heavily influenced by Buffett. You know, it was 1063 00:57:55,360 --> 00:57:58,280 Speaker 1: a board member and a shareholder for a very long time. Yeah, 1064 00:57:58,360 --> 00:58:00,640 Speaker 1: and and but the essence of that for gilosophy is 1065 00:58:00,720 --> 00:58:04,240 Speaker 1: kind of invest in what you know and and and don't. 1066 00:58:04,360 --> 00:58:10,280 Speaker 1: Don't don't try to to to force fit an idea 1067 00:58:10,440 --> 00:58:13,280 Speaker 1: or a company in a certain in a certain milieu 1068 00:58:13,400 --> 00:58:16,280 Speaker 1: where where it's gonna it's gonna it's gonna go where 1069 00:58:16,320 --> 00:58:18,760 Speaker 1: the company needs to go. And and and and I 1070 00:58:18,800 --> 00:58:23,360 Speaker 1: really appreciate particularly the notion that that you know, if 1071 00:58:23,480 --> 00:58:26,720 Speaker 1: if if you don't understand it, you can't invest in it. 1072 00:58:26,800 --> 00:58:29,600 Speaker 1: And so you've got to be smart about figuring out, 1073 00:58:29,640 --> 00:58:31,760 Speaker 1: like what what makes sense? How do you follow the 1074 00:58:31,800 --> 00:58:34,560 Speaker 1: money from the customer's wallet to the cash register? And 1075 00:58:34,560 --> 00:58:36,760 Speaker 1: if it takes too many hops and starts to get 1076 00:58:36,800 --> 00:58:39,240 Speaker 1: a little blood blurry, then that's it's hard for me 1077 00:58:39,280 --> 00:58:42,920 Speaker 1: to want to back that type of company. Everybody's favorite question. 1078 00:58:43,160 --> 00:58:46,600 Speaker 1: Tell us about some of your favorite books, be the fiction, nonfiction, 1079 00:58:47,160 --> 00:58:52,600 Speaker 1: venture investing, or otherwise. So the book that I really 1080 00:58:52,600 --> 00:58:54,760 Speaker 1: like and have gone back to, it's a little tiny, 1081 00:58:54,840 --> 00:58:57,320 Speaker 1: thin book, but it's called The Inner Game of Tennis, 1082 00:58:57,680 --> 00:58:59,120 Speaker 1: and it's by a guy by by the name of 1083 00:58:59,120 --> 00:59:02,840 Speaker 1: Timothy Galway and basically talks about how do you how 1084 00:59:02,880 --> 00:59:07,040 Speaker 1: do you maintain high levels of performance while still being 1085 00:59:07,080 --> 00:59:10,400 Speaker 1: relaxed and and sort of allow your your inner game 1086 00:59:10,480 --> 00:59:13,960 Speaker 1: the game that you know, not the game that you 1087 00:59:14,040 --> 00:59:16,480 Speaker 1: necessarily practice for, but what happens when you're on the 1088 00:59:16,520 --> 00:59:19,760 Speaker 1: court playing how do you how do you perfect that 1089 00:59:19,840 --> 00:59:22,520 Speaker 1: game as opposed to the very mechanical of throw the 1090 00:59:22,520 --> 00:59:24,640 Speaker 1: ball up, hit the serve and and make sure the 1091 00:59:24,680 --> 00:59:27,760 Speaker 1: ball goes in to like you're playing against an opponent, 1092 00:59:28,000 --> 00:59:30,720 Speaker 1: how do you make that? How do you allow yourself 1093 00:59:30,760 --> 00:59:34,120 Speaker 1: to relax and and practice that? And it's it's so 1094 00:59:34,240 --> 00:59:37,040 Speaker 1: the implications of the book will beyond the tennis court 1095 00:59:37,200 --> 00:59:39,720 Speaker 1: have been huge for me from from a business perspective one. 1096 00:59:40,000 --> 00:59:43,120 Speaker 1: How do you maintain intensity while still being relaxed and 1097 00:59:43,160 --> 00:59:46,680 Speaker 1: thoughtful about about how you can approach the game from 1098 00:59:46,680 --> 00:59:49,600 Speaker 1: a different angle that that's fascinating. Any of the books 1099 00:59:49,600 --> 00:59:52,640 Speaker 1: you want to mention um I just finished reading recently 1100 00:59:52,640 --> 00:59:56,120 Speaker 1: a book called Disintegration by Eugene Robinson who at the 1101 00:59:56,240 --> 01:00:00,160 Speaker 1: Washington Post. It's a fascinating take for me on on 1102 01:00:00,480 --> 01:00:05,760 Speaker 1: the subsegmentation of Black America. Basically, African Americans for for 1103 01:00:05,800 --> 01:00:09,800 Speaker 1: so long have been considered by politicians, by by marketers 1104 01:00:10,040 --> 01:00:13,200 Speaker 1: to be relatively monolithic but uniform block. They're all going 1105 01:00:13,240 --> 01:00:14,720 Speaker 1: to vote this way, they're all going to do, They're 1106 01:00:14,720 --> 01:00:17,000 Speaker 1: gonna buy this kind of product. But but in reality, 1107 01:00:18,200 --> 01:00:20,440 Speaker 1: Robinson points out that there are four different types of 1108 01:00:20,480 --> 01:00:24,280 Speaker 1: real subgroups. The elite, so the Obama's and the Oprah's 1109 01:00:24,280 --> 01:00:28,240 Speaker 1: of the world. The middle class, which is the broad 1110 01:00:28,320 --> 01:00:30,480 Speaker 1: sort of group of us that are African American and 1111 01:00:30,480 --> 01:00:33,480 Speaker 1: college educated and who are who are working and living 1112 01:00:33,560 --> 01:00:36,120 Speaker 1: parts of the American dream. But then the two that 1113 01:00:36,120 --> 01:00:38,400 Speaker 1: are really interesting to me were the emergent class. So 1114 01:00:38,520 --> 01:00:42,400 Speaker 1: this is the group of folks that are are biracial 1115 01:00:43,000 --> 01:00:46,440 Speaker 1: or biracial with with African American being part of that 1116 01:00:46,440 --> 01:00:50,920 Speaker 1: that that composition, but also the African diasporan immigrants who 1117 01:00:50,920 --> 01:00:54,240 Speaker 1: are first, second, third generation immigrants who have a totally 1118 01:00:54,280 --> 01:00:56,840 Speaker 1: different view of themselves because some of them aren't necessarily 1119 01:00:56,880 --> 01:00:59,680 Speaker 1: African Americans, they might be Nigerian Americans. But but but 1120 01:01:00,040 --> 01:01:02,840 Speaker 1: the the notion that that they see the world and 1121 01:01:02,920 --> 01:01:05,840 Speaker 1: they they act and and interact with the world differently. 1122 01:01:06,040 --> 01:01:09,240 Speaker 1: And then the final group was the what he calls 1123 01:01:09,280 --> 01:01:12,040 Speaker 1: the abandoned, which are the folks that just have really 1124 01:01:12,080 --> 01:01:14,600 Speaker 1: been left behind and are are the folks that that 1125 01:01:14,680 --> 01:01:16,720 Speaker 1: we hear about and read about frequently in the news. 1126 01:01:16,720 --> 01:01:20,520 Speaker 1: And it just understanding that that that that black America 1127 01:01:20,600 --> 01:01:23,800 Speaker 1: is is really sub segmented into these different groups that 1128 01:01:23,880 --> 01:01:27,080 Speaker 1: have you know, obvious similarities but but some pretty stark 1129 01:01:27,080 --> 01:01:29,800 Speaker 1: differences was a really fascinating reason. Some of the data 1130 01:01:29,840 --> 01:01:33,360 Speaker 1: on that fourth group is really very discouraging in terms 1131 01:01:33,400 --> 01:01:37,360 Speaker 1: of employment gains, wage gains. It's just the numbers have 1132 01:01:37,520 --> 01:01:41,440 Speaker 1: been pretty, uh, pretty intimidating. I'm going to definitely take 1133 01:01:41,480 --> 01:01:43,680 Speaker 1: a look at that book. I have to ask you 1134 01:01:43,880 --> 01:01:47,080 Speaker 1: if you play tennis um and and if the book 1135 01:01:47,120 --> 01:01:51,600 Speaker 1: was at all helpful, it you know, my results not 1136 01:01:51,680 --> 01:01:54,439 Speaker 1: necessarily worthstanding, But to me, yeah, it was absolutely That's 1137 01:01:54,440 --> 01:01:56,560 Speaker 1: that's it's it's one of my passions. I you know, 1138 01:01:56,920 --> 01:01:58,440 Speaker 1: I try to get out as frequently as I can. 1139 01:01:58,480 --> 01:02:01,560 Speaker 1: I just registered for a new flex league, so I'm 1140 01:02:01,560 --> 01:02:03,480 Speaker 1: excited to get out on the court and and and 1141 01:02:03,520 --> 01:02:06,720 Speaker 1: work out some of the cobwebs. But yeah, the the 1142 01:02:06,840 --> 01:02:12,720 Speaker 1: ability to to relax on the court and focus not 1143 01:02:12,840 --> 01:02:15,320 Speaker 1: focus on the mechanics of getting in the right position, 1144 01:02:15,520 --> 01:02:19,280 Speaker 1: but just play and breathe and and and then control 1145 01:02:19,360 --> 01:02:22,400 Speaker 1: that that you can't that you can't that you can control, 1146 01:02:22,520 --> 01:02:24,280 Speaker 1: right like, so you can control how many times you 1147 01:02:24,320 --> 01:02:26,440 Speaker 1: bounced the ball, and you and and it really teaches 1148 01:02:26,440 --> 01:02:28,120 Speaker 1: you to focus on the things that you can control, 1149 01:02:28,240 --> 01:02:30,120 Speaker 1: because there's so much that you can't control. So in 1150 01:02:30,120 --> 01:02:33,280 Speaker 1: that moment, focus on breathing and focus on where you 1151 01:02:33,320 --> 01:02:35,640 Speaker 1: want to hit the ball as opposed to the exact 1152 01:02:35,680 --> 01:02:37,919 Speaker 1: mechanics of how you're gonna stand and how you're gonna 1153 01:02:37,960 --> 01:02:40,160 Speaker 1: position your racket and your feet to hit the ball. 1154 01:02:40,200 --> 01:02:42,000 Speaker 1: So it's a it's a great reads. The book is 1155 01:02:42,120 --> 01:02:44,960 Speaker 1: was published in the seventies and has been used. I mean, 1156 01:02:45,000 --> 01:02:48,000 Speaker 1: like folks like Billy jing King swear by it, and 1157 01:02:48,120 --> 01:02:51,200 Speaker 1: it's The author has now written several other books about like, 1158 01:02:51,240 --> 01:02:52,840 Speaker 1: you know, the inner game of golf and the inner 1159 01:02:52,840 --> 01:02:55,920 Speaker 1: game of business and things like that. But but for me, 1160 01:02:56,000 --> 01:02:58,680 Speaker 1: the application as somebody who loves tennis and loves playing 1161 01:02:58,720 --> 01:03:01,720 Speaker 1: tennis into business this into my personal life has been 1162 01:03:01,760 --> 01:03:04,800 Speaker 1: a really helpful. Guy. That's fascinating. I am late to 1163 01:03:04,840 --> 01:03:06,920 Speaker 1: the game of tennis. I only started playing with in 1164 01:03:06,960 --> 01:03:11,320 Speaker 1: the past few years. Um and my one of my 1165 01:03:11,400 --> 01:03:15,360 Speaker 1: biggest issues. I do these drills on Monday nights and 1166 01:03:15,840 --> 01:03:19,280 Speaker 1: most of the I shouldn't say most, about two thirds 1167 01:03:19,360 --> 01:03:22,640 Speaker 1: of the it's men's drills. Two thirds of the guys 1168 01:03:23,160 --> 01:03:26,520 Speaker 1: are considerably younger than me. And then there's a group 1169 01:03:26,560 --> 01:03:29,840 Speaker 1: of guys in their fifties and sixties, most of whom 1170 01:03:29,880 --> 01:03:32,960 Speaker 1: are are either good or very good. And the problem 1171 01:03:33,000 --> 01:03:36,560 Speaker 1: with playing with the young studs are that they want 1172 01:03:36,560 --> 01:03:40,200 Speaker 1: to crush the ball. It's baseball. And as much as 1173 01:03:40,280 --> 01:03:43,360 Speaker 1: I laugh at them, it's like unforecedra unforced era. When 1174 01:03:43,400 --> 01:03:47,120 Speaker 1: you're playing with big hitters, you can help. The crowd 1175 01:03:47,720 --> 01:03:50,920 Speaker 1: sucks you along and suddenly I'm trying to smash the 1176 01:03:50,960 --> 01:03:54,120 Speaker 1: ball and it's a constant effort. I love that idea 1177 01:03:54,240 --> 01:03:58,160 Speaker 1: of relaxed intensity, don't try and kill the ball, play 1178 01:03:58,240 --> 01:04:01,160 Speaker 1: within yourself. And but you you mentioned that, and I 1179 01:04:01,160 --> 01:04:04,640 Speaker 1: immediately went to that, I'm going to crush this ball 1180 01:04:04,800 --> 01:04:08,000 Speaker 1: Roger Federer style. But you're not retro Federer. You don't 1181 01:04:08,000 --> 01:04:10,720 Speaker 1: have that swing. Just get get the ball across the 1182 01:04:10,760 --> 01:04:12,240 Speaker 1: net the place that you wanted to go. If you 1183 01:04:12,240 --> 01:04:13,960 Speaker 1: can hit the ball where you want it to go, 1184 01:04:14,720 --> 01:04:17,120 Speaker 1: you will nine times out of ten win the point. Right, 1185 01:04:17,160 --> 01:04:19,040 Speaker 1: And if you if you can focus on just that, 1186 01:04:19,480 --> 01:04:21,720 Speaker 1: hitting the ball where you want it to go. Well, 1187 01:04:21,760 --> 01:04:24,480 Speaker 1: before I learned the proper mechanics, I could literally put 1188 01:04:24,480 --> 01:04:27,640 Speaker 1: the ball anywhere on the court, not with power and 1189 01:04:27,680 --> 01:04:30,840 Speaker 1: not with speed, but I I could kiss any line 1190 01:04:30,880 --> 01:04:33,040 Speaker 1: I wanted to. Once I learned the proper way to 1191 01:04:33,040 --> 01:04:36,600 Speaker 1: stroke a ball, that skill set took a step back 1192 01:04:37,200 --> 01:04:41,200 Speaker 1: as you start learning the mechanics and becoming more comfortable 1193 01:04:41,240 --> 01:04:43,920 Speaker 1: with it. But um, it's like Mike Tyson says, though 1194 01:04:44,240 --> 01:04:45,960 Speaker 1: all of that preparation goes out when you get hit 1195 01:04:46,000 --> 01:04:49,800 Speaker 1: in the fits exactly That's exactly right. And and that 1196 01:04:49,920 --> 01:04:54,520 Speaker 1: testosterone poisoning, that competitive spirit. These are drills. It doesn't 1197 01:04:54,600 --> 01:04:57,440 Speaker 1: there's no winning and losing. Who cares? You get sucked 1198 01:04:57,520 --> 01:05:00,520 Speaker 1: right into it. It's the most amazing it of of 1199 01:05:00,640 --> 01:05:04,360 Speaker 1: crowd psychology. Yeah, it's I'm gonna look into that book 1200 01:05:04,360 --> 01:05:07,720 Speaker 1: because it's definitely uh appealing. And and and once again 1201 01:05:07,760 --> 01:05:10,640 Speaker 1: we digress about tennis instead of talking about what we 1202 01:05:10,640 --> 01:05:14,040 Speaker 1: should be talking about. Um, so let's talk about the 1203 01:05:14,120 --> 01:05:18,040 Speaker 1: venture capital industry. What's changed since you've joined the industry, 1204 01:05:18,200 --> 01:05:21,640 Speaker 1: and is this for the better or the worst? Yeah, 1205 01:05:21,720 --> 01:05:24,480 Speaker 1: I'd say the biggest thing has just been the the 1206 01:05:24,560 --> 01:05:27,920 Speaker 1: influx of data into the industry. You know. It's it's 1207 01:05:27,920 --> 01:05:31,960 Speaker 1: funny we we require and and suggest and advise our 1208 01:05:31,960 --> 01:05:34,520 Speaker 1: companies to leverage data and your decision making. And I 1209 01:05:34,560 --> 01:05:36,840 Speaker 1: think for the for the first time now we've got 1210 01:05:37,400 --> 01:05:40,680 Speaker 1: huge sets of big data that help us understand and 1211 01:05:40,800 --> 01:05:44,800 Speaker 1: rank and and and target entrepreneurs. And so it's it's 1212 01:05:44,800 --> 01:05:47,280 Speaker 1: important for us to to leverage this data because it 1213 01:05:47,520 --> 01:05:50,000 Speaker 1: helps us. It helps us make better decisions and helps 1214 01:05:50,080 --> 01:05:52,520 Speaker 1: us be more algorithmic about our decision making. But it 1215 01:05:52,560 --> 01:05:56,000 Speaker 1: also really helps us recognize that we can bring in 1216 01:05:56,040 --> 01:05:59,200 Speaker 1: more entrepreneurs of color and women entrepreneurs into the fold 1217 01:05:59,440 --> 01:06:02,880 Speaker 1: because we're not necessarily relying on just network pattern matching 1218 01:06:03,000 --> 01:06:05,040 Speaker 1: from from guys who went to Harvard or guys who 1219 01:06:05,080 --> 01:06:07,480 Speaker 1: went to Stanford who all look alike. And so it's 1220 01:06:07,600 --> 01:06:10,080 Speaker 1: it's I'm happy that that that's the case because it's 1221 01:06:10,120 --> 01:06:12,880 Speaker 1: making the table bigger and adding allowing us to add 1222 01:06:12,880 --> 01:06:15,840 Speaker 1: more seats to the table of of entrepreneurs and broaden 1223 01:06:15,880 --> 01:06:18,720 Speaker 1: that scope of entrepreneurs. Particularly for as we were talking 1224 01:06:18,720 --> 01:06:21,000 Speaker 1: about earlier some of the people who who have been 1225 01:06:21,120 --> 01:06:26,680 Speaker 1: left behind. Even further so, when we look at um 1226 01:06:26,720 --> 01:06:30,280 Speaker 1: the sort of demographics of of who venture investing is 1227 01:06:30,640 --> 01:06:35,760 Speaker 1: giving money to. Specifically, do you think Revolution is more diverse, 1228 01:06:35,960 --> 01:06:39,000 Speaker 1: more gender friendly, more people of color friendly than the 1229 01:06:39,080 --> 01:06:43,920 Speaker 1: typical let's call it Stanford based or Stanford located vcs. 1230 01:06:45,640 --> 01:06:50,360 Speaker 1: I don't know what what other other vcs UH entrepreneurs 1231 01:06:50,400 --> 01:06:52,920 Speaker 1: look like. I'm very proud. Data is not broadly shared, 1232 01:06:53,000 --> 01:06:55,560 Speaker 1: to say the least, but I'm very proud that that 1233 01:06:55,640 --> 01:06:58,600 Speaker 1: we we've got quite a few entrepreneurs of color, women 1234 01:06:58,720 --> 01:07:03,200 Speaker 1: entrepreneurs um in in our portfolio, and and they've performed 1235 01:07:03,400 --> 01:07:05,520 Speaker 1: thus far really well. We we One of our exits 1236 01:07:05,640 --> 01:07:08,920 Speaker 1: was by an African American female entrepreneur who had this 1237 01:07:09,000 --> 01:07:11,960 Speaker 1: business part Pick that was sold to Amazon and part 1238 01:07:12,000 --> 01:07:16,920 Speaker 1: part Pick. It's it's it's like Shazam for visual search. 1239 01:07:17,000 --> 01:07:19,720 Speaker 1: So take a picture of something and it will run 1240 01:07:19,720 --> 01:07:22,320 Speaker 1: its algorithm and say this is most likely a screw 1241 01:07:22,640 --> 01:07:24,800 Speaker 1: and you can you know, and and Amazon acquired the 1242 01:07:24,840 --> 01:07:27,560 Speaker 1: business a couple of years ago, and you know, and 1243 01:07:27,840 --> 01:07:29,960 Speaker 1: so when I use the Amazon app and say I 1244 01:07:30,000 --> 01:07:32,200 Speaker 1: want to see this, well, you can take a photo 1245 01:07:32,200 --> 01:07:34,600 Speaker 1: of something. There are parts of the Amazon app. I 1246 01:07:34,640 --> 01:07:37,120 Speaker 1: don't know exactly how how it's been filtered into the 1247 01:07:37,160 --> 01:07:41,240 Speaker 1: Amazon application and basically algorithm, but yeah, that basic concept 1248 01:07:41,600 --> 01:07:43,600 Speaker 1: is part of that part of that part of the 1249 01:07:43,640 --> 01:07:48,120 Speaker 1: Amazon DNA now and you know, and I'm just very 1250 01:07:48,120 --> 01:07:50,040 Speaker 1: proud of that. I'm very proud that we you know, 1251 01:07:50,160 --> 01:07:54,120 Speaker 1: we we look at a broader we have a broader 1252 01:07:54,160 --> 01:07:57,880 Speaker 1: aperture for for who is an entrepreneur and and and 1253 01:07:57,920 --> 01:08:00,000 Speaker 1: what types of investments were willing to make. Tell us 1254 01:08:00,120 --> 01:08:03,120 Speaker 1: what else you're really excited about these days? Oh, my 1255 01:08:03,200 --> 01:08:05,720 Speaker 1: tea is a little bit earlier, But I'm really excited 1256 01:08:05,720 --> 01:08:07,600 Speaker 1: about thinking about the future of retail. You know, we 1257 01:08:08,080 --> 01:08:10,720 Speaker 1: every every e commerce is eating the world, yet eighty 1258 01:08:10,760 --> 01:08:12,280 Speaker 1: five or some of the things that we buy are 1259 01:08:12,320 --> 01:08:15,440 Speaker 1: still things that you buy sort of in person. And 1260 01:08:15,480 --> 01:08:18,400 Speaker 1: we were investors and I mentioned this company, Foxtrot, which 1261 01:08:18,400 --> 01:08:21,439 Speaker 1: is redoing the convenience store. We're also investors in a 1262 01:08:21,479 --> 01:08:25,120 Speaker 1: in a company called Neighborhood Goods. It's a Dallas based 1263 01:08:25,160 --> 01:08:28,759 Speaker 1: company that's looking to sort of reinvigorate the department store model. 1264 01:08:29,040 --> 01:08:31,160 Speaker 1: You walk into a department store today, you see more 1265 01:08:31,240 --> 01:08:34,719 Speaker 1: employees than you do customers walking around. And that's because 1266 01:08:34,720 --> 01:08:38,479 Speaker 1: it's it's become so transactional. Uh, you want a white shirt, 1267 01:08:38,800 --> 01:08:40,599 Speaker 1: you go to the department store, you buy a white shirt. 1268 01:08:40,800 --> 01:08:43,200 Speaker 1: But if you wanted to go and see what's there, 1269 01:08:43,680 --> 01:08:45,919 Speaker 1: you don't naturally think to go walk through a department 1270 01:08:45,960 --> 01:08:48,960 Speaker 1: store and and sort of browse and be, be and 1271 01:08:48,960 --> 01:08:52,080 Speaker 1: and have have an experience. And and what what Neighborhood 1272 01:08:52,080 --> 01:08:53,800 Speaker 1: Goods is looking to do is is sort of bring 1273 01:08:53,800 --> 01:08:56,720 Speaker 1: back some of that experience. It's almost really a throwback 1274 01:08:56,760 --> 01:08:58,720 Speaker 1: to the way that the department stores used to be 1275 01:08:58,760 --> 01:09:01,000 Speaker 1: where you'd get you know, you can go and brows 1276 01:09:01,040 --> 01:09:04,240 Speaker 1: and look at at something that's seasonally appropriate, but also 1277 01:09:04,400 --> 01:09:07,000 Speaker 1: have a bite to eat at the lunch counter, and 1278 01:09:07,360 --> 01:09:11,240 Speaker 1: you know, you have a broader array of things to buy. 1279 01:09:11,320 --> 01:09:14,120 Speaker 1: And and so these guys are curating lots of digitally 1280 01:09:14,240 --> 01:09:17,679 Speaker 1: native brands that are looking for retail points of presence 1281 01:09:17,720 --> 01:09:21,120 Speaker 1: because it's become obvious with businesses like Warby Parker, like 1282 01:09:21,200 --> 01:09:25,320 Speaker 1: having stores actually matters because people want to touch and 1283 01:09:25,360 --> 01:09:27,680 Speaker 1: feel and experience your product. But then there are other 1284 01:09:28,240 --> 01:09:30,439 Speaker 1: larger and more mainstream brands that are looking for new 1285 01:09:30,439 --> 01:09:33,800 Speaker 1: ways to activate and and show off their products to 1286 01:09:33,840 --> 01:09:36,640 Speaker 1: their their existing consumers as well as new consumers. And 1287 01:09:36,680 --> 01:09:40,160 Speaker 1: then you see lots of like um makers, local folks, 1288 01:09:40,160 --> 01:09:43,040 Speaker 1: local craftsmen that have cool products that they want to share. 1289 01:09:43,080 --> 01:09:46,240 Speaker 1: They don't have a big showcase arena to do that. 1290 01:09:46,520 --> 01:09:48,920 Speaker 1: And then obviously wrap that all around with food and 1291 01:09:48,960 --> 01:09:53,479 Speaker 1: community music, art, and it's a really cool installation in 1292 01:09:53,479 --> 01:09:56,000 Speaker 1: in sort of how how we think, or at least 1293 01:09:56,040 --> 01:09:58,599 Speaker 1: the company thinks consumers want to shop in the next 1294 01:09:58,720 --> 01:10:01,840 Speaker 1: next generation. Tell us about a time you failed and 1295 01:10:01,880 --> 01:10:05,600 Speaker 1: what you learned from the experience. So I was a 1296 01:10:05,640 --> 01:10:08,880 Speaker 1: banker and and you know there there there are no 1297 01:10:08,880 --> 01:10:12,560 Speaker 1: no limit to the failure stories there. But one particular 1298 01:10:12,560 --> 01:10:17,639 Speaker 1: moment where I I I consistently said yeah, I understood 1299 01:10:17,680 --> 01:10:20,240 Speaker 1: what I was doing and had no idea what I 1300 01:10:20,280 --> 01:10:22,080 Speaker 1: was doing, and I got it wrong. The the end 1301 01:10:22,160 --> 01:10:26,040 Speaker 1: result of the analysis was completely wrong. And for that, 1302 01:10:26,160 --> 01:10:28,760 Speaker 1: for me, was was a hard failure to take because 1303 01:10:28,760 --> 01:10:31,040 Speaker 1: I never wanted to be the guy that got it 1304 01:10:31,280 --> 01:10:34,479 Speaker 1: completely wrong. But what it led me to understand and 1305 01:10:34,520 --> 01:10:37,479 Speaker 1: recognize is that I'm not going to walk away if 1306 01:10:37,479 --> 01:10:39,640 Speaker 1: I don't understand what's going on. Like I asked that, 1307 01:10:40,080 --> 01:10:43,960 Speaker 1: don't assume that I asked the dumb questions. You know, 1308 01:10:44,000 --> 01:10:46,120 Speaker 1: in a world like like banking, you get caught up 1309 01:10:46,120 --> 01:10:48,519 Speaker 1: in the jargon, and folks were dropping all sorts of terms. 1310 01:10:48,560 --> 01:10:50,919 Speaker 1: I had no idea what they meant, and instead of asking, 1311 01:10:51,400 --> 01:10:54,040 Speaker 1: I just tried to figure it out. And two o'clock 1312 01:10:54,080 --> 01:10:56,920 Speaker 1: became four o'clock became six o'clock in the morning, and 1313 01:10:56,960 --> 01:10:58,960 Speaker 1: I'm still looking at the blank screen. And it was 1314 01:10:59,280 --> 01:11:03,080 Speaker 1: it was an embarrassing, awful failure. But it was the 1315 01:11:03,160 --> 01:11:06,559 Speaker 1: last time I ever had that failure. Interesting, Um, what 1316 01:11:06,600 --> 01:11:08,679 Speaker 1: do you do for fun? We know you played tennis, 1317 01:11:08,720 --> 01:11:11,160 Speaker 1: but outside of that, tell us what you do to 1318 01:11:11,320 --> 01:11:15,280 Speaker 1: keep either mentally sharp or fit outside of the office. So, ye, 1319 01:11:15,400 --> 01:11:17,840 Speaker 1: tennis is the main thing. I've got two young kids 1320 01:11:17,880 --> 01:11:19,920 Speaker 1: and try to spend as much time with those folks, 1321 01:11:19,960 --> 01:11:22,920 Speaker 1: and and you know, they're they're they're young boys, and 1322 01:11:22,960 --> 01:11:25,320 Speaker 1: all they love to do is run around and and 1323 01:11:25,360 --> 01:11:27,280 Speaker 1: so I I get a good work out with with 1324 01:11:27,320 --> 01:11:31,280 Speaker 1: those folks. But uh, it's it's it's it's harder these 1325 01:11:31,360 --> 01:11:33,960 Speaker 1: days to find that time to to get sharp and 1326 01:11:33,960 --> 01:11:36,120 Speaker 1: and I really I struggle with it. It's one of 1327 01:11:36,320 --> 01:11:38,519 Speaker 1: the things that I really work on. But but I'm 1328 01:11:38,560 --> 01:11:40,719 Speaker 1: recognizing more and more now that I've got to take 1329 01:11:41,080 --> 01:11:43,880 Speaker 1: the hour or two hours for myself and either go 1330 01:11:43,960 --> 01:11:46,519 Speaker 1: play tennis or go right on the peloton or whatever, 1331 01:11:46,600 --> 01:11:48,559 Speaker 1: and and and try to try to sweat it out 1332 01:11:48,600 --> 01:11:52,320 Speaker 1: a little bit. If a millennial or recent college grad 1333 01:11:52,360 --> 01:11:54,080 Speaker 1: came up to you and said they were interested in 1334 01:11:54,120 --> 01:11:57,680 Speaker 1: a career in venture investing, what sort of advice might 1335 01:11:57,680 --> 01:12:01,320 Speaker 1: you give them? I would say, start a business, become 1336 01:12:01,360 --> 01:12:05,240 Speaker 1: an entrepreneur. I I the I don't think that this 1337 01:12:06,080 --> 01:12:09,760 Speaker 1: was given much to my generation of of of college graduates. 1338 01:12:10,040 --> 01:12:11,760 Speaker 1: And I think again, as we talked about the cost 1339 01:12:11,800 --> 01:12:14,320 Speaker 1: of starting a business or nothing, and the opportunity cost 1340 01:12:14,360 --> 01:12:17,599 Speaker 1: of doing it when you're twenty two, you know, if 1341 01:12:17,640 --> 01:12:20,280 Speaker 1: you fail, you dust yourself off and onto the next 1342 01:12:20,320 --> 01:12:22,320 Speaker 1: go on to you know, go get a regular job there. 1343 01:12:22,360 --> 01:12:24,880 Speaker 1: But but you have so few opportunities to start a 1344 01:12:24,920 --> 01:12:28,160 Speaker 1: business and live off of Ramen noodles for for a 1345 01:12:28,280 --> 01:12:31,800 Speaker 1: year with your three three best mates in in a 1346 01:12:31,920 --> 01:12:35,960 Speaker 1: in a in a tiny either coworking co living facility 1347 01:12:36,120 --> 01:12:39,120 Speaker 1: or or small cheap apartment. Starting a business, all you 1348 01:12:39,160 --> 01:12:42,080 Speaker 1: need is good WiFi. Like you said, good WiFi, and 1349 01:12:42,080 --> 01:12:44,560 Speaker 1: and and and Amazon Web Services account you've got a 1350 01:12:44,560 --> 01:12:47,520 Speaker 1: business going, so I think that they should start businesses. 1351 01:12:47,560 --> 01:12:50,639 Speaker 1: That's the best way to learn this job by being 1352 01:12:50,640 --> 01:12:53,960 Speaker 1: an entrepreneur. And and my final question, what is it 1353 01:12:54,000 --> 01:12:57,040 Speaker 1: that you know about venture capital investing today that you 1354 01:12:57,080 --> 01:12:59,560 Speaker 1: wish you knew fifteen years ago or so when you 1355 01:12:59,640 --> 01:13:03,240 Speaker 1: again started. I wish I appreciated more how much this 1356 01:13:03,320 --> 01:13:06,240 Speaker 1: was an apprenticeship business, right, how much you've got to 1357 01:13:06,360 --> 01:13:08,920 Speaker 1: learn from people, And you've got to You've got to 1358 01:13:08,960 --> 01:13:12,679 Speaker 1: sit there and and sort of really it's it's hard 1359 01:13:12,760 --> 01:13:15,720 Speaker 1: to do this unless you've been an entrepreneur and have 1360 01:13:15,760 --> 01:13:20,400 Speaker 1: lots of domain expertise. But by going through the typical channels, 1361 01:13:20,479 --> 01:13:22,800 Speaker 1: you've got to learn from somebody else. You can't read 1362 01:13:22,840 --> 01:13:26,200 Speaker 1: books about this, you can't watch Shark Tank and and 1363 01:13:26,240 --> 01:13:28,800 Speaker 1: come away as as a VC. You've got to learn 1364 01:13:28,920 --> 01:13:32,960 Speaker 1: from other people. And then by asking questions, you know, so, 1365 01:13:32,960 --> 01:13:34,559 Speaker 1: so was that a good or a bad company? And 1366 01:13:34,600 --> 01:13:37,439 Speaker 1: having those questions asked to you and developed that that 1367 01:13:37,560 --> 01:13:41,320 Speaker 1: gut and that that that that insight and intuition around 1368 01:13:41,800 --> 01:13:44,200 Speaker 1: around what makes a good founder and what what's what's 1369 01:13:44,200 --> 01:13:47,040 Speaker 1: the right business opportunity? A lot of that's got to 1370 01:13:47,040 --> 01:13:48,920 Speaker 1: be shown. You've got to be shown the way or 1371 01:13:48,960 --> 01:13:51,000 Speaker 1: shown a handful of examples on how to do it, 1372 01:13:51,000 --> 01:13:53,160 Speaker 1: because every VC is a little different. But I think 1373 01:13:53,200 --> 01:13:55,519 Speaker 1: that that most of us, as you talked about, from 1374 01:13:55,560 --> 01:13:58,400 Speaker 1: sort of business mentors. We learned how we approached these 1375 01:13:58,439 --> 01:14:02,080 Speaker 1: from from other people, from books or or from classes. 1376 01:14:02,520 --> 01:14:06,080 Speaker 1: Quite fascinating. We have been speaking with David Hall. He 1377 01:14:06,280 --> 01:14:09,280 Speaker 1: is a partner at the Rise of the Rest seed Fund, 1378 01:14:09,360 --> 01:14:14,200 Speaker 1: part of Revolution UH Partners. If you enjoy this conversation, 1379 01:14:14,240 --> 01:14:16,080 Speaker 1: well be sure and look up an Inch or down 1380 01:14:16,120 --> 01:14:20,880 Speaker 1: an Inch on Apple, iTunes, Stitcher, Overcast, Bloomberg dot com, 1381 01:14:20,920 --> 01:14:23,639 Speaker 1: wherever your final podcasts are sold, and you can see 1382 01:14:23,680 --> 01:14:28,520 Speaker 1: any of our other two hundred or so UH previous conversations. 1383 01:14:28,880 --> 01:14:32,800 Speaker 1: We love your comments, feedback and suggestions right to us 1384 01:14:32,880 --> 01:14:37,240 Speaker 1: at m IB podcast at Bloomberg dot net. I would 1385 01:14:37,320 --> 01:14:40,280 Speaker 1: be remiss if I did not think the crack staff 1386 01:14:40,360 --> 01:14:44,960 Speaker 1: that helps put together UH these weekly conversations. Attica val 1387 01:14:45,000 --> 01:14:49,760 Speaker 1: Bron is our project manager. Modina Parwana is our producer 1388 01:14:50,080 --> 01:14:53,919 Speaker 1: slash audio engineer. Taylor Riggs is our booker slash producer. 1389 01:14:54,320 --> 01:14:58,679 Speaker 1: Michael bat Nick is our head of research. I'm Barry Rehults. 1390 01:14:58,880 --> 01:15:01,920 Speaker 1: You've been listening to mat astors in business on Bloomberg 1391 01:15:02,040 --> 01:15:08,880 Speaker 1: radioh