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Season 1

Feb. 20, 2024

E27: Compound’s Michael Dempsey on Thesis-Driven vs Founder-Driven In…

In this episode of Turpentine VC, Michael Dempsey, Managing Partner at Compound, joins Erik Torenberg to discuss thesis-driven vs founder-driven investing, Compound’s AI thesis, company building opportunities, ways to win at venture, advice for emerging managers, and much more.

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Feb. 13, 2024

E26: Insights from IVP: Inside One of Silicon Valley’s Best Growth Fi…

In this episode of Turpentine VC, Somesh Dash, General Partner at IVP, joins Erik Torenberg to discuss how IVP differentiates itself, winning late stage deals, team construction, why venture capital in 2024 looks like private equity in 2008, the future …

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Jan. 30, 2024

E24: Building a Multi-Billion-Dollar Asset Management Firm with CoVen…

In this episode of Turpentine VC, Ali Hamed, Partner at CoVenture, joins Erik Torenberg to discuss the advantages of investing across asset classes, CoVenture’s inflection points, the importance of being liked in venture, why LPs are willing to accept lower …

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Jan. 23, 2024

E23: Tomasz Tunguz on the Theory Behind Theory Ventures

In this episode of Turpentine VC, Tomasz Tunguz, General Partner at Theory Ventures, joins Erik Torenberg to discuss the Theory Ventures model, the coming contraction in investable VC dollars, Tom’s contrarian view on blockchain, the parallels between PE and VC, …

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Jan. 16, 2024

E22: Phin Barnes on Unbundling VC

In this episode of Turpentine VC, Phin Barnes, co-founder of The General Partnership, joins Erik Torenberg to discuss Phin’s idea of building a YC for emerging fund managers, the sweat equity model, building the General Partnership, incubation at The General …

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Jan. 9, 2024

E21: Reddit Founder Alexis Ohanian on Reinventing Venture with Seven …

In this episode of Turpentine VC, Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit and Seven Seven Six, joins Erik Torenberg to discuss how Seven Seven Six is a “tech company that deploys venture capital”, the lack of internal metrics in venture, how …

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Jan. 2, 2024

E20: Katherine Boyle on Building a16z’s American Dynamism Practice

In this episode of Turpentine VC, Erik Torenberg speaks to Katherine Boyle, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz leading the firm’s American Dynamism fund. They discuss why Katherine and a16z started the American Dynamism practice and what they hope to accomplish, …

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Dec. 26, 2023

E19: Union Square Venture’s Rebecca Kaden on How the Firm Develops Th…

In this episode of Turpentine VC, Erik Torenberg sits with Rebecca Kaden, Managing Partner at Union Square Ventures. They discuss USV's partnership-driven model, different venture strategies, whether automation in venture is imminent, and what USV looks for in investors.

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Dec. 19, 2023

E18: Sam Lessin on What's Going to Happen to VC in 2024

Today we’re back with Sam Lessin for a round 2 focused on the changing landscape of venture. We dig into the viability of M&A as a strategy for startups, “its always been crypto”, media businesses, and the role of reputation …

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Dec. 12, 2023

E17: Elad Gil on AI, Crypto, and What’s Next

Today we're joined by Elad Gil, an accomplished investor and founder, who shares his insights on the idea maze. He discusses the significance of market changes and shifts in technology in identifying viable business opportunities. In addition, Gil shares his …

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Dec. 6, 2023

E16: Lessons From Co-Founding First Round, Idea Lab, and B Capital wi…

Today we're joined by Howard Morgan to dive into his illustrious career in venture. He discusses the firms he helped start, Renaissance Technologies, Idealab, First Round Capital, and now at B Capital.

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Nov. 28, 2023

E15: Redpoint's Logan Bartlett on Carving Out a Spot in Venture

Today we're joined by Logan Bartlett of Redpoint to dive into shifts in venture's past, present and future - and break down the strategies and positioning of other prestigious VCs.

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Nov. 15, 2023

E14: A Deep Dive into Thrive Capital's Investment Strategy

Today we're joined by Kareem of Thrive Capital for one of the most extensive conversations we've had on the show—we cover the core insight that drove Thrive to invest in late-stage companies like Stripe and Slack, how they approach thinking …

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Nov. 7, 2023

E13: Do the Work — Benchmark on How VCs Can Actually Provide Value to…

This week's episode of Turpentine VC features Benchmark GPs Sarah Tavel and Eric Vishria. We discuss ideas that are central to Benchmark's beliefs in firm-building, including why platform teams exist to help the general partners more so than founders themselves.

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Oct. 31, 2023

E12: An Inside Look Into Sequoia's Strategy & Operations, with Alfred…

Erik is joined by Alfred Lin, partner at Sequoia Capital for over 13 years, and investor in Airbnb, Doordash, Houzz, and more legendary Silicon Valley companies.

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Oct. 24, 2023

E11: Ann Miura-Ko Breaks Down How to Build A Venture Firm in 2023

On episode eleven of Turpentine VC, Ann Miura-Ko—co-founding partner at Floodgate— sits down with Erik Torenberg to dive deep into the core fundamentals of VC partners talk about behind close doors, including how to identify inflection points to give you …

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Oct. 17, 2023

E10: No Process, High Conviction — The Iconoclastic Founders Fund DNA

Trae Stephens, General Partner at Founders Fund, joins Erik Torenberg to chat through how the firm's focus on independent thinking and debate culture, and counterintuitive lack of true process, has been key in helping them build an enduring fund.

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Oct. 3, 2023

E9: Sam Lessin and Seth Rosenberg Debate: Will AI Favor Incumbents or…

Sam Lessin, General Partner at Slow Ventures, and Seth Rosenberg, General Partner at Greylock, debate what the effects of AI on incumbents and the next wave of AI-first products will look like.

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Sept. 26, 2023

E8: How Roger Ehrenberg Nets 10x Fund Returns

Roger Ehrenberg of IA Ventures joins Erik on episode 8 of Turpentine VC to talk about his contrarian and opinionated view of how seed funds should operate, and how that's allowed him to generate 10x fund returns.

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Sept. 19, 2023

E7: How Floodgate Differentiated Again From Thousands of Seed Firms

This week, Erik is joined by Mike Maples, Jr, co-founder of Floodgate, a storied seed firm that's invested in Lyft, Okta, Twitch, and Twitter, to name a few unicorn portcos. In this episode, Mike and Erik dive into why it's …

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Sept. 12, 2023

E6: Chad Byers on Why Susa is Returning to Concentrated, Company-Buil…

In just under a decade, Susa has become one of the best seed firms in the industry: their $25M Fund I famously invested in Flexport and Robinhood. Now, ten years later, they’re taking all their learnings and relaunching the firm …

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Sept. 5, 2023

E5: General Catalyst CEO on the Case for Operational Rigor in VC

Hemant Taneja is the CEO of General Catalyst, and runs the firm like a true business: defining its mission and values, approaching the product from a problem-solving perspective, and more—all the things that apply to enduring businesses, Hemant applies to …

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Aug. 29, 2023

E4: Sam Lessin on Why Seed and the “Factory System” Era of Venture is…

This week Erik is joined by Sam Lessin, General Partner at the early-stage VC firm Slow Ventures, essayist, and former VP of Product at Facebook.

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Aug. 22, 2023

E3: Aydin Senkut on Why the Generalist Approach to VC Generates More …

Aydin Senkut and Erik Torenberg examine the generalist approach to VC that Felicis pioneered, and discuss why that approach allows you to generate more hits, why virtually all of Felicis’ investments are narrative-driven, and the secret ingredients that have steered …

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