You’re probably underutilizing your GPUs
Ryan is joined by Jared Quincy Davis, CEO and co-founder of Mithril, to explore the importance of efficient resource allocation and GPU utilization in AI, the myth and misconceptions of the GPU shortage, and how the economics of GPU will change with new scheduling and utilization strategies.
Episode notes:
Mithril’s omnicloud platform aggregates and orchestrates multi-cloud GPUs, CPUs, and storage so you can access your infrastructure through a single platform.
Connect with Jared on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Shoutout to user Razzi Abuissa for winning a Populist badge on their answer to How to find last merge in git?.
TRANSCRIPT
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Infrastructure Scaling and Compound AI Systems with Jared Quincy Davis - #740
In this episode, Jared Quincy Davis, founder and CEO at Foundry, introduces the concept of "compound AI systems," which allows users to create powerful, efficient applications by composing multiple, often diverse, AI models and services. We discuss how these "networks of networks" can push the Pareto frontier, delivering results that are simultaneously faster, more accurate, and even cheaper than single-model approaches. Using examples like "laconic decoding," Jared explains the practical techniques for building these systems and the underlying principles of inference-time scaling. The conversation also delves into the critical role of co-design, where the evolution of AI algorithms and the underlying cloud infrastructure are deeply intertwined, shaping the future of agentic AI and the compute landscape.
The complete show notes for this episode can be found at https://twimlai.com/go/740.
The marketplace for AI compute with Jared Quincy Davis from Foundry
In this episode of No Priors, hosts Sarah and Elad are joined by Jared Quincy Davis, former DeepMind researcher and the Founder and CEO of Foundry, a new AI cloud computing service provider. They discuss the research problems that led him to starting Foundry, the current state of GPU cloud utilization, and Foundry's approach to improving cloud economics for AI workloads. Jared also touches on his predictions for the GPU market and the thinking behind his recent paper on designing compound AI systems.
Sign up for new podcasts every week. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com
Follow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil | @jaredq_
Show Notes:
(00:00) Introduction
(02:42) Foundry background
(03:57) GPU utilization for large models
(07:29) Systems to run a large model
(09:54) Historical value proposition of the cloud
(14:45) Sharing cloud compute to increase efficiency
(19:17) Foundry’s new releases
(23:54) The current state of GPU capacity
(29:50) GPU market dynamics
(36:28) Compound systems design
(40:27) Improving open-ended tasks
ANGEL: Brad Feld on investing through 3 economic cycles, CEO/investor dynamics, and more | E1660
(0:00) Jason Kicks off the show
(2:49) Brad Feld, Co-founder of Foundry, talks about starting out in investing
(13:30) LinkedIn Jobs - Post your first job for free at https://linkedin.com/angel
(14:56) Brad’s thesis for whom he’ll get in the “trenches” with
(20:48) MasterClass - Get 15% off an annual membership at https://masterclass.com/startups
(22:22) Fighting to the end + Investing through the dot-com bubble
(38:13) Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub - Apply in 5 minutes, no funding required, sign up at http://aka.ms/thisweekinstartups
(39:43) Surviving the GFC
(44:23) Brad’s perspective on the investor/CEO dynamic + being a leader in a down market
(1:00:02) Reflecting on the speculative asset bubble
(1:16:44) Looking forward into 2023
FOLLOW Brad: https://linktr.ee/bfeld
FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis
FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood
Bitcoin Miner Capitulation | Cassie Clifton & Kevin Zhang
In this episode of Empire, Jason is joined by two experts in the Bitcoin mining industry, Cassie Clifton (Galaxy Digital) and Kevin Zhang (Foundry). Since the start of the bear market in November 2021, we've seen prices crash and contagion run through DeFi. But it wasn't until May 2022 that rumors started to spread of pain in the Bitcoin mining industry.
Profit margins are collapsing, debt obligations are coming due, and miners are fighting to stay solvent. Tune in for a complete breakdown of the state of bitcoin mining!
Highlights include:
- Miner economics
- Understanding the ASICs market
- How debt-fueled insane growth
- What China's ban meant for the industry
- Why Miners hodl their Bitcoin
- What led to today's pain
- Consolidation and M&A
- Bitcoin Mining pools
- What to expect next
- -
Follow Cassie: https://twitter.com/bitcoincass
Follow Kevin: https://twitter.com/SinoCrypto
Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/JasonYanowitz
Follow Empire: https://twitter.com/theempirepod
Subscribe on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/4fdhhb2j
Subscribe on Apple: https://tinyurl.com/mv4frfv7
Subscribe on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/wbaypprw
--
Core, from Ava Labs, is more than just a wallet. It’s a free, non-custodial browser extension that gives Avalanche users a more seamless and secure Web3 experience. Download Core today at https://www.core.app/
- -
Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/
--
(00:00) Introduction
(01:45) Starting in March 2020
(07:10) The inputs to miner profitability
(10:42) How miners procure ASICs
(17:34) Miners prefer to HODL
(21:58) How miners reacted to macro volatility
(24:26) Avalanche Core Ad
(25:54) Second Order Effects of the China ban
(36:30) The State of Bitcoin Miners Today
(45:40) Are manufactures in trouble?
(47:08) Will miners flood the market with BTC?
(48:25) The end of ASIC backed loans?
(51:30) Consolidation and M&A
(54:30) Will Miners form an OPEC like committee?
(57:03) Renewable energy
(59:36) Changes in the energy market
(1:03:54) Bitcoin mining pools
(1:08:10) When will we hit rock bottom?
--
Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.
The Bitcoin Hash Rate Has Dropped. How Long Will It Take to Return? - Ep.252
Kevin Zhang, vice president of business development at Foundry, breaks down the latest developments surrounding China and bitcoin mining. Show highlights:
how he came across crypto and which Bitcoin OG he joined at Bitcoin.com to help start its mining operations arm
what Foundry does and its relationship with Digital Currency Group (DCG)
why DCG wanted to build out a mining infrastructure business
what news from China in early March kickstarted the process of the mining ban
how China’s Central Television broadcasting company might have brought extra scrutiny to cryptocurrencies
what the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party has to do with its Bitcoin mining ban
why the Inner Mongolia and Sichuan Bitcoin mining bans were especially disruptive for Chinese miners
how much of China’s hash rate Kevin estimates has been shut down since May
where are miners relocating to
why Chinese mining equipment will not be allowed to turn on in the US
whether or not China’s Bitcoin mining ban will stick
why China banning bitcoin mining will be good for the network in the long run
what significant risk to Bitcoin’s network is solved by China banning bitcoin mining
how much Bitcoin’s hash rate will drop and what effect this will have on miner revenue
why Kevin thinks that Bitcoin is good for renewable energy
how immersion cooling technology works
what tangible benefits miners could find by moving to North America
if El Salvador’s volcanic bitcoin mining plan is feasible
what Kevin predicts will happen in the Bitcoin mining industry for the latter half of 2021
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com: https://crypto.onelink.me/J9Lg/unchainedcardearnfeb2
Tezos: https://tezos.com/discover?utm_source=laura-shin&utm_medium=podcast-sponsorship-unconfirmed&utm_campaign=tezos-campaign&utm_content=hero
Conjure: https://conjure.finance
Episode Links
Kevin Zhang
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SinoCrypto
Mining tweet storms:
https://twitter.com/SinoCrypto/status/1407524150885994497
https://twitter.com/SinoCrypto/status/1409227438262046723
Content from previous work experience:
Greenridge Generation
https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/57943/a-power-plant-in-new-york-is-reportedly-mining-roughly-50000-in-bitcoin-each-day
Project Spokane
https://medium.com/@derekbrouwer/the-bitcoin-barons-how-a-marketer-and-a-money-launderer-sold-montana-on-digital-gold-2a255c96c981
Foundry, Subsidiary of DCG
Twitter: https://twitter.com/foundryservices
Website: https://foundrydigital.com/
Foundry USA Pool
Bit Digital: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bit-digital-joins-foundry-usa-pool-with-5-679-machines-adding-up-to-280-phs-of-compute-power-to-the-pool-301283792.html
Bitfarms partnership: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/04/23/2215897/0/en/Bitfarms-Partners-with-Foundry-to-Expand-Bitcoin-Mining-Fleet-and-Join-Foundry-USA-Pool-Instantly-Boosts-Operating-Hashrate-By-15.html
China’s Bitcoin Mining Ban
Travis Kling noted 25 different announcements from China in June alone:
https://twitter.com/Travis_Kling/status/1410630499748388865
Glassnode: mining difficulty to face its largest decrease ever
https://insights.glassnode.com/the-week-on-chain-week-26-2021/
The Block: hash rate dropped 50%, Foundry up while everyone else is hurting
https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/109315/bitcoin-hashrate-declines-50-percent-china-mining-crackdown
Nic Carter: breaking down the hashrate migration
https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-unpacking-hashrate-nic-cart-migration
Secondhand mining equipment prices are spiking
https://www.coindesk.com/chinese-logistics-firm-airlifting-bitcoin-mining-machines-to-maryland-report
https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/109301/secondhand-bitcoin-miner-supply-spiking-bitmain
Bitcoin miners shut down, 26 farms affected after Sichuan bans BTC mining
https://www.coindesk.com/sichuan-becomes-latest-chinese-province-to-order-bitcoin-miner-shutdown
https://decrypt.co/74075/bitcoin-hashrate-falls-17-overnight-after-china-mining-crackdown
China’s Inner Mongolia announced eight measures in its crypto ban
https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/105973/china-inner-mongolia-crypto-bitcoin-mining-ban-measures
Hash rate hits yearly low
https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-mining-hashrate-drops-low
Miners are moving to Kazakhstan
https://www.coindesk.com/chinese-bitcoin-mining-company-delivers-first-machines-to-kazakhstan
Tweet thread on how bitcoin miners reacted to the PRC’s May crackdown
https://twitter.com/MustafaYilham/status/1396574185598590979
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
E1149: Brad Feld on building startup communities, reconciling anxiety as an early-stage investor & remembering Tony Hsieh
Check out The Startup Community Way: https://rb.gy/onxkwm
FOLLOW Brad: https://twitter.com/bfeld
FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis
20VC: Brad Feld, Jerry Colonna and Tracy Lawrence on Depression and Mental Health, The Dangers of Tying Happiness To Milestones & Why Fear, Anxiety and Guilt Are Useless Emotions
Brad Feld is a Co-Founder and Managing Director @ Foundry Group, one of the most successful venture firms of the last decade with a portfolio including the likes of Zynga, Fitbit and Sendgrid to name a few. Brad is also a co-founder @ Techstars and prior to Foundry, he co-founded Mobius Venture Capital.
Tracy Lawrence spent the last 8 years as Founder & CEO @ Chewse, the startup that it effortless for office managers to order delicious food for their teams. Tracy grew the team to 300 people across 4 markets, raised millions in venture capital, and ultimately sold the business to Foodee.
Jerry Colonna is the CEO of Reboot.io where he is now the professional coach to some of the world's leading founders. Prior to his work with Reboot, Jerry was an early-stage VC co-founding Flatiron alongside Fred Wilson in 1996.
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
1.) How did Brad, Jerry and Tracy all experience their first forms of depression? At what stage did it become a more prominent part of their life? Why do they think then was the catalyst?
2.) Why does Jerry believe that despite what people say, no one is crushing it? How can founders present their vulnerability as a strength? At what point did Tracy realise this? How did she convey her vulnerability to her team? Who is to blame for the lack of vulnerability and fear of opening up?
3.) How does Brad think about tying happiness to milestones? What are the biggest dangers of doing so? Does this mean one does not have goals? How does one balance between ambition and appreciating the present? How did Brad learn this when Amy asked for a divorce? How did he respond?
4.) Why does Brad believe fear, guilt and anxiety are useless emotions? What was the result of Tracy tying her mental state to her revenue line? How does Tracy think about the loneliness of being a founder? What does Brad believe is some of the biggest BS in the industry?
As always you can follow Harry and The Twenty Minute VC on Twitter here!
Likewise, you can follow Harry on Instagram here for mojito madness and all things 20VC.
#448: Brad Feld — The Art of Unplugging, Carving Your Own Path, and Riding the Entrepreneurial Rollercoaster
Brad Feld — The Art of Unplugging, Carving Your Own Path, and Riding the Entrepreneurial Rollercoaster | Brought to you by Laird Superfood, Theragun, and Thrive Market.
"Brad, they can’t kill you and they can’t eat you. Suit up." — Len Fassler
Brad Feld (@bfeld) is the author of two new books: The Startup Community Way and the second edition of Startup Communities. He has been an early-stage investor and entrepreneur since 1987. Prior to co-founding Foundry Group, he co-founded Mobius Venture Capital and, prior to that, founded Intensity Ventures. Brad is also a co-founder of Techstars. Brad is a writer and speaker on the topics of venture capital investing and entrepreneurship. He’s written a number of books as part of the Startup Revolution series and writes the blogs Feld Thoughts and Venture Deals.
Brad holds bachelor of science and master of science degrees in management science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Brad is also an art collector and long-distance runner. He has completed 25 marathons as part of his mission to finish a marathon in each of the 50 states.
Please enjoy!
This episode is brought to you by Laird Superfood. Founded by big-wave surfer Laird Hamilton and volleyball champion Gabby Reece, Laird Superfood promises to deliver high-impact fuel to help you get through your busiest days. Laird Superfood offers a line of plant-based products designed to optimize your daily rituals, from sunrise to sunset.
My favorite two products are their Turmeric Superfood Creamer and Unsweetened Superfood Creamer. I put one of them in practically everything. Both can really optimize your daily coffee or tea ritual, and a $10 bag will last you a long time. For a limited time, Laird Superfood is offering you guys 20% off your order when you use code TIM at checkout. Check out lairdsuperfood.com/tim to see my favorite products and learn more.
*
This episode is also brought to you by Theragun! Theragun is my go-to solution for recovery and restoration. It’s a famous, handheld percussive therapy device that releases your deepest muscle tension. I own two Theraguns, and my girlfriend and I use them every day after workouts and before bed. The all-new Gen 4 Theragun has a proprietary brushless motor that’s surprisingly quiet. It’s easy to use and about as quiet as an electric toothbrush.
Go to Theragun.com/TIM right now and get your Gen 4 Theragun today, starting at only $199.
*
This episode is also brought to you by Thrive Market, which saves me a ton of money and is perfect for these crazy times. Thrive Market is a membership-based site on a mission to make healthy living easy and affordable for everyone. You can find all types of food, supplements, nontoxic home products, clean wine, dog food—just about anything. Members earn wholesale prices every day and save an average of $30 on each order. I personally saved $39 on my most recent order.
Go to ThriveMarket.com/tim to give Thrive Market a try! You can choose the membership model that best fits your lifestyle.
They have affordable one-month and 12-month options. When you go to ThriveMarket.com/tim, you can receive up to $20 in shopping credit. Start a risk-free membership today, as you can cancel for any reason within your first 30 days for a full refund.
***
If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests.
For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.
Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”) at tim.blog/friday.
For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.
Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Please fill out the form at tim.blog/sponsor.
Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.
Follow Tim:
Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss
Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss
Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss
YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss
Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, and many more.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
20VC: Brad Feld on Why Market Size At Early Stage Is Not Helpful, His Biggest Learnings From The Boom & Bust of The Dot Com and How The Best VCs Work For Their CEOs
Brad Feld is Managing Director @ Foundry Group, one of the most successful venture firms of the last decade with a portfolio that includes the likes of Zynga, Fitbit, SendGrid and many more incredible companies. Prior to co-founding Foundry Group, he co-founded Mobius Venture Capital and, prior to that, founded Intensity Ventures. Brad is also a co-founder of Techstars, the worldwide network of entrepreneurs in 150 countries and 300,000 alumni. Brad is also the co-author of the incredible, Venture Deals, for your chance to win a signed copy email venturedeals@foundrygroup.com with the code "First Episode".
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
1.) How Brad made his way into the world of venture following 40 angel checks and how that led to his co-founding Foundry Group? Why did Brad find the transition from angel to VC in the early days such a challenge? What 2 core things did he focus on when writing angel checks? How has that changed now as a VC?
2.) How did seeing the boom and bust of the dot com impact Brad's investing mindset today? How does Brad think about investing through market cycles and the right way to think about investment cadence? Why does Brad believe that to be successful as a VC you have to be fundamentally optimistic?
3.) Where does Brad believe we are today in the cycle? Does he agree with Bill Gurley on the biggest challenge being the "oversupply of capital"? What must entrepreneurs understand with regards to market cycle dynamics and how they can and need to future-proof their business?
4.) From analysing his best investments, why has Brad come to the conclusion that TAM in the early days is really not helpful? What are the commonalities in how Brad's most successful companies approach experimentation?
5.) What does Brad mean when he says, "don't have fake CEO or fake VC days"? What does he mean when he often says, "run your fucking business"? What in Brad's mind would constitute a "fake day" vs moving the needle for your business? What does Brad think is the best way for VCs to truly get to know one another? Why is, "hey let's do a deal together one of the most hollow and fake statements in venture?"
6.) Brad has sat on some of the most meaningful boards of the last 2 decades, what have been Brad's biggest learnings on what it takes to be a great board member? How does that change with the progression of your career? What advice would Brad give to me, having just gained my first board seat? If the VC does not support the CEO, what is the right process? Why does Brad believe the VC should work for the CEO?
7.) What is Brad's biggest advice when it comes to learning how to say no? What advice does Brad hear most often that he commonly disagrees with? Why does Brad feel we are in a moment of peak noise in the ecosystem today? To be a great leader, what 2 skills does Brad believe you need to have?
Items Mentioned In Today's Show:
Brad's Fave Book: Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up by Jerry Colonna, The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World by Melinda Gates
Brad's Most Recent Investment: Boundless
As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Brad on Twitter here!
Likewise, you can follow Harry on Instagram here for mojito madness and all things 20VC.
Reinventing Upfront and building LA (with Upfront partner Kevin Zhang)
We’re joined by Upfront Ventures partner Kevin Zhang to discuss the evolution of both Upfront as a venture firm and the LA tech ecosystem more broadly. We cover the journey from Upfront’s founding as “Global Retail Partners” in 1996 to its place today as the premier and largest tech investor in Southern California. We talk about rebranding the firm and choosing Upfront as a name, launching the Upfront Summit, what LA is "good and not good at", and Kevin’s thesis around gaming as a great place for venture investing.
Sponsors:
Sierra: https://bit.ly/acquiredsierra
SaaStr 161: Brad Feld on Structuring Your SaaS Startup For Scalability, How The Role Of CEO Should Adjust To The Growth Of The Organisation & What Makes The Most Effective Board Members
Brad Feld is one of the world's leading VCs having Co-Founded Foundry Group, Brad has made investments in the likes of Zynga, Makerbot and Fitbit, just to name a few. Brad is also Co-Founder of Techstars, one of the world's most prominent startup accelerators, whose portfolio companies have raised over $1.3bn in funding. If that wasn't enough Brad is also a best selling author having co-authoured Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and VC and Startup Communities: Building An Entrepreneurial Ecosystem In Your Community.
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
How Brad made his way into the world of VC and came to found Foundry Group?
Brad has previously stated that companies can be segmented into 3 different core components? What does he mean by this? How can startups be structured internally for scalability?
Why does Brad hate the word culture? How should culture be viewed and approach internally within startups?
How has Brad seen his personal development with regards to being a board member? What has he got better at? What does he believe makes a great board member?
Why is CAC the easiest metric to game in SaaS? How should the CAC/LTV ratio be approached? How can entrepreneurs use this to attract VC investment?
If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented, you can follow us on Twitter here:
Jason Lemkin
Harry Stebbings
SaaStr
Brad Feld
If you have a digital product, whether it's mobile or web, Amplitude's product analytics helps you understand what your users are doing, iterate and ship product faster, and drive metrics like engagement and retention. To learn how you can use analytics to build a sticky product that grows your business, get your free copy of the Product Analytics Playbook from Amplitude. This 155-page book (with worksheets) will help you develop a comprehensive retention strategy for your product — just click here to download.
User education is one of the most powerful ways to increase engagement and retention at scale, yet is often put in the too hard basket. Elevio is the platform that removes this burden, empowering your users to self-serve contextually relevant help via their support widget and embeddable elements, increasing retention and engagement, while reducing support load. Elevio even tells you what content to add or fix and why based on usage trends from your users. Preventing content rot, and increasing coverage, which we all know is an ongoing challenge. You can also integrate with your existing support stack for content, access to live-chat, support tickets and more. Use elevio for continuous user education with 20% off your first year at (elev dot I O / saastr) using coupon code GOHARRY
SaaStr 112: Brad Feld on Structuring Your SaaS Startup For Scalability, How The Role Of CEO Should Adjust To The Growth Of The Organisation & What Makes The Most Effective Board Members
Brad Feld is one of the world's leading VCs having Co-Founded Foundry Group, Brad has made investments in the likes of Zynga, Makerbot and Fitbit, just to name a few. Brad is also Co-Founder of Techstars, one of the world's most prominent startup accelerators, whose portfolio companies have raised over $1.3bn in funding. If that wasn't enough Brad is also a best selling author having co-authoured Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and VC and Startup Communities: Building An Entrepreneurial Ecosystem In Your Community.
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
How Brad made his way into the world of VC and came to found Foundry Group?
Brad has previously stated that companies can be segmented into 3 different core components? What does he mean by this? How can startups be structured internally for scalability?
Why does Brad hate the word culture? How should culture be viewed and approach internally within startups?
How has Brad seen his personal development with regards to being a board member? What has he got better at? What does he believe makes a great board member?
Why is CAC the easiest metric to game in SaaS? How should the CAC/LTV ratio be approached? How can entrepreneurs use this to attract VC investment?
If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented, you can follow us on Twitter here:
Jason Lemkin
Harry Stebbings
SaaStr
Brad Feld
Episode 84: Brad Feld
Brad is an incredibly successful investor, having founded the Techstars accelerator and Foundry group, and he's also also known as one of the kindest guys in the business. In this episode, we talk about how Brad rejects the term career, his principles of time management, why he doesn’t have kids, mental health and startups, romantic relationships, ego management, and much more. As one listener remarked, this episode is basically a how-to on life. Edited by @alexkontis
20 VC 065: FOUNDRY GROUP WEEK 1: Brad Feld: Founders Should Be Obsessed, Passion Belongs In The Bedroom
Brad Feld is one of the world's leading VCs having Co-Founded Foundry Group, Brad has made investments in the likes of Zynga, Makerbot and Fitbit, just to name a few. Brad is also Co-Founder of Techstars, one of the world's most prominent startup accelerators, whose portfolio companies have raised over $1.3bn in funding.
If that wasn't enough Brad is also a best selling author having co-athoured Venture Deals: Be Smarter Than Your Lawyer and VC, alongside Dick Costolo and Startup Communities: Building An Entrepreneurial Ecosystem In Your Community. In addition to his investing and writing, Brad has been active with several non-profit organizations and currently is chair of the National Center for Women & Information Technology and co-chair of Startup Colorado. Brad is a nationally recognized speaker on the topics of venture capital investing and entrepreneurship and writes the widely read blogs Feld Thoughts, Startup Revolution, and Ask the VC.
In Today's Episode You Will Learn:
1.) How Brad made his move from entrepreneurship to VC and later co-founding, The Foundry Group.
2.) Does Brad agree with the view that it is important for entrepreneurs to fail?
3.) Why did Brad turn Fitbit down on 1st opportunity and what changed the 2nd time?
4.) What gets Brad excited in a startup? What areas are Brad most interested in?
5.) What is the main characteristic that makes the Foundry Group the huge success it is?
Items Mentioned In Today's Episode:
Brad's Fave Business Books:
1.) Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig
2.) Hot Seat by Dan Shapiro
Brad's Fave Blog or Newsletter: Fred Wilson's Blog, Dan Primack: TermSheet, MatterMark Daily
Brad's Most Recent Investments: GlowForge: The 3D Laser Printer, Sphero
As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC, Brad and Foundry Group on Twitter here!
a16z Podcast: How Innovation Ecosystems Grow Around the Globe
Why do so many-government led efforts to build the next "Silicon Valley" in one geography or another fail? Is it misguided to even try? But then what does make such innovation clusters work?
In this segment of the pod a trio of expert guests -- AnnaLee Saxenian, Dean of the UC Berkeley School of Information and a longtime researcher/observer of regional competitive advantage; VC Brad Feld and writer on startup communities; and entrepreneur and investor Christopher Schroeder, who covers startups rising in the Middle East and most recently wrote about the tech phenomenon in Iran -- tackle the question of how innovation ecosystems grow. The discussion delves into how innovation is being spurred differently (or stifled) in places like China and Iran; whether there are cultural differences in attitudes for failure or about entrepreneurship; and if regulatory arbitrage is one way for regions to get ahead.
Stay Updated:
Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube
Find a16z on X
Find a16z on LinkedIn
Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify
Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
