We're celebrating our 20th episode with a super cut of 17 contrarian takes on venture capital and startups. Our guests talked about AI, SF, false signals from coinvestors, why venture isn't an access game, network effects, emerging managers, portfolio construction, and more. Special thanks to the following guests for their contributions to this episode:

Niki Scevark, Blackbird Ventures

Martin Tobias, Incisive Ventures

Mike Cardamone, Forum Ventures

Nick Moran, New Stack Ventures

Mac Conwell, RareBreed Ventures

Rajiv Bala, Clutch VC

Peter Walker, Carta

Eric Golden, Canopy Capital

Colin Gardiner, Yonder Ventures

Zach Coelius, Coelius Capital

Jerry Neumann, Neu Ventures

Investing in Startups is hosted by Joe Magyer and produced by Seaplane Ventures.

Investing in Startups: https://www.investinginstartups.com/

Joe Magyer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemagyer/

Seaplane Ventures: https://www.seaplaneventures.com/

Amber Illig is the Founding General Partner of The Council, an early stage venture firm focused on essential industries like supply chain and healthcare. Amber has a deep operating background having worked at Apple, Cruise, Snap, and Eli Lilly. We talked about why Amber loves essential industries, how she built a proprietary network of operator angel investors, how she and that network help support founders, and her nuanced take on AI. Please enjoy.

Investing in Startups is hosted by Joe Magyer and produced by Seaplane Ventures.

Investing in Startups: https://www.investinginstartups.com/

Joe Magyer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemagyer/

Seaplane Ventures: https://www.seaplaneventures.com/

Winter Mead is the Founder and CEO of Coolwater Capital. Coolwater is an accelerator for emerging venture capital fund managers aimed at helping them to launch, build, and scale their firms. We talked about what investors should look for in emerging VCs, how VCs can build durable platforms, and how VCs are using AI to do their jobs better. Winter is one of the most thoughtful LPs in the venture space so it was great to have him on the show.

Investing in Startups is hosted by Joe Magyer and produced by Seaplane Ventures.

Investing in Startups: https://www.investinginstartups.com/

Joe Magyer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemagyer/

Seaplane Ventures: https://www.seaplaneventures.com/

Zach Coelius is the Managing Partner of Coelius Capital. Zach is a 4-time entrepreneur and now solo GP who invests in early stage technology companies. We talked about why ideas are meaningless, demo day investing, platform risk, sniffing out product/market fit, B2B2C business models, and why Zach thinks ownership is overrated. This was a really fun, candid conversation.

Investing in Startups is hosted by Joe Magyer and produced by Seaplane Ventures.

Investing in Startups: https://www.investinginstartups.com/

Joe Magyer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemagyer/

Seaplane Ventures: https://www.seaplaneventures.com/

Alex Pattis is the General Partner of Riverside Ventures. Riverside is an early stage firm that operates both a traditional venture fund but also a syndicate with more than 6,000 LPs. Alex and I talked about the rise of syndicates, how they work, why he thinks most VCs oversell the value they add to founders, and what he’s excited to invest in today. Please enjoy.

Investing in Startups is hosted by Joe Magyer and produced by Seaplane Ventures.

Investing in Startups: https://www.investinginstartups.com/

Joe Magyer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemagyer/

Seaplane Ventures: https://www.seaplaneventures.com/

Colin Gardiner is the Founder and General Partner of Yonder Ventures. Colin is a marketplace geek with a fascinating career that began at the Federal Reserve, veered into startups, and now he runs his own venture firm focused on pre-seed marketplaces. We talked about the qualities that set winning marketplaces apart at the early stage, why network effects are so hard to kill, and the future of marketplaces. Please enjoy.

Investing in Startups is hosted by Joe Magyer and produced by Seaplane Ventures.

Investing in Startups: https://www.investinginstartups.com/

Joe Magyer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemagyer/

Seaplane Ventures: https://www.seaplaneventures.com/

Peter Walker is the Head of Insights at Carta. Peter is a self-professed data geek who publishes some of the most interesting insights and research on venture and startups today. We talked about which pockets of the venture market are going strong, why San Francisco is still the leader in venture, and why speed matters in venture capital.

Investing in Startups is hosted by Joe Magyer and produced by Seaplane Ventures.

Investing in Startups: https://www.investinginstartups.com/

Joe Magyer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemagyer/

Seaplane Ventures: https://www.seaplaneventures.com/

Eric Golden is the Founder of Canopy Capital and host of the Making Markets podcast. Eric was a portfolio manager and intrapreneur at Fidelity prior to setting up Canopy so he has great perspective on both markets and life as a venture-backed founder. We talked about those experiences, his current views on the Fed, markets, and crypto, and how Eric's view of venture capital has evolved over time.

Investing in Startups is hosted by Joe Magyer and produced by Seaplane Ventures.

Investing in Startups: https://www.investinginstartups.com/

Joe Magyer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemagyer/

Seaplane Ventures: https://www.seaplaneventures.com/