Something Ventured -- Silicon Valley Podcast

Welcome to Episode 100! Yep, we’ve made it to 100. And for this one…Pete Alcorn stops by the podcast as he bucket-lists his way around the world. He has run, among other things – ebooks at Amazon (just before they cared about it) and podcasting at Apple. Also at Apple, he oversaw iBooks in Europe and education content discovery everywhere. Pete was also Kent’s first partner in the startup world, building a company (that still exists today) called “NetRead”. Oh, and we also went to high school together in La Jolla California.   In this wide-ranging episode we cover: the future of edtech, the corporate path vs. the startup path, whether Pete agrees with Po Bronson, and the future of the planet. Thanks for making it to 100. Enjoy! www.somethingventured.us www.netread.com  

Eric Lagier co-founded and is a general partner of ByFounders, a 100 million Euro venture firm focused on Nordic and Baltic startups. As you grab your map to find where the Nordics and Baltics actually are, think about this: Since 2013, 41 startups built in Europe are now worth more than a billion dollars. (These are known as “Unicorns”, a term coined by Ailene Lee of Cowboy Ventures). Even more extraordinary is the fact that 10 of those 41 are from the Nordics. So an area comprising of 4% of Europe’s population has generated 25% of Europe’s Unicorns. This includes companies like Unity, Spotify, Just Eat, Sitecore, Klarna, Zendesk and Tradeshift among others.    Yes, a lot of numbers! Join us as Kent and Eric talk about why such huge outcomes occur in Nordic countries, and what cultural differences define the Nordics vs. the U.S.  Learn who is behind ByFounders, how the fund came together and more.    https://somethingventured.us    Links: ByFounders https://byfounders.vc 

Jay Adelson is the cofounder or CEO of Equinix, Revision3 and Digg. From a career that has taken him from building the first data centers to creating a wildly growing news aggregator, Jay has truly unique insight into Silicon Valley. In this conversation Jay traces his path from working at a temp agency to building the largest data center in the world. Nerd out with us as we discuss how you obtained a URL before the Internet even had a governing body – and before the web existed; the battle over whether the Internet should ever be commercial; and the kind of technologies you can only invent when you are the core of the Internet. Also discussed – should you be CEO of two companies? Why didn’t Revision3 become Youtube? Why was it called Revision3? Did Reddit replace Digg? What did Youtube get wrong, and Twitter get right? Oh, and play more pinball! https://somethingventured.us 

Best selling author Po Bronson has written deeply, often hilariously, about Silicon Valley and its effects on the world.  After founding San Francisco’s Writers Grotto, he wrote such books as The Nudist on the Late Shift, Bombardiers, and What Should I Do With My life?.  Today, he’s a venture capitalist at IndieBio – the Life Sciences accelerator.   In this episode, Po discusses why 2019 feels like 1994, and what happens when daytime and nighttime conversations converge in Silicon Valley.  We also cover income inequality – the idea of ‘Basic Universal Equity”, and the futures of sports, medicine and…libraries.  But that’s just the beginning – stay tuned to hear what happens when climate change, biotech and automation converge.  And the big finish: whether our species will survive. www.somethingventured.us  In the Something Ventured podcast Silicon Valley insider Kent Lindstrom explores the reality behind the Silicon Valley headlines as he sits down with the people who are shaping the way we view the world

Monique Woodard fell into venture capital.  Or...wait.  Actually, no.  Monique grew up in rural Florida.  Starting with an Atari game system and moving to a Commodore computer, she learned to write computer code This, in a place where coding was far from the norm, and computer class required a drive into town.  She eventually became a venture capitalist, investing in such companies as: Blavity, Court Buddy, Silvernest, and Mented Cosmetics. In this podcast we discuss Monique’s journey from the farms of rural Northern Florida to Miami’s music scene, to Silicon Valley.  We discuss how she established herself as an entrepreneur, and founded the organization Black Founders, eventually becoming a venture capitalist.  We cover a wide range of topics, including her demographic investment thesis, and why it should not be conflated with ‘diversity initiatives’. www.somethingventured.us In the Something Ventured podcast Silicon Valley insider Kent Lindstrom explores the reality behind the Silicon Valley headlines as he

Alan Eagle is Director of Executive Communications at Google.  He is the coauthor of Trillion Dollar Coach, a book he co-wrote with Google’s former CEO Eric Schmidt and Google’s former SVP Jonathan Rosenberg. Trillion Dollar Coach tells the story of Bill Campbell – a football coach who became an executive at Apple, and then one of the most beloved coaches to a “who’s who” of Silicon Valley. Among those coached by Bill Campbell are Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Eric Schmidt, Sundar Pichai at Google; Steve Jobs at Apple; Brad Smith at Intuit; John Donahoe at eBay; and Marissa Mayer at Yahoo. In this podcast, Alan discusses what made Bill Campbell so special. How did a football coach become beloved in Silicon Valley? Why is Bill Campbell called a ‘trillion dollar coach”? Finally, Alan discusses and what lessons we can take from Bill today: How to run a meeting, the meaning of leadership…and the power of love. ------ In the Something Ventured Podcast (https://somethingventured.us)  Silicon Valley insider Kent Lindstro

James Currier is a partner at NFX a venture firm he co-founded with partners Gigi Levy-Weiss and Pete Flint, and advisor Stan Chudnovsky. As an investor, he has funded companies before or alongside firms like Sequoia, Greylock, CRV, A16z, First Round, Mayfield, Shasta, and GGV. He's also a four-time serial entrepreneur with unique expertise in network effects businesses (his firm has identified 13 different network effects models https://www.nfx.com/post/network-effects-manual )   James is also deeply understands the ebbs and flows of Silicon Valley: Its technology, its trends, its tribes. In this episode James and Kent cover myriad topics – including James’ perspectives on why Silicon Valley works, who should (and shouldn’t) come to Silicon Valley, and whether or not Silicon Valley has lost its soul. -- In the Something Ventured Podcast (https://somethingventured.us) Silicon Valley insider Kent Lindstrom explores the reality behind the Silicon Valley headlines as he sits down with the people changing the way

Miyoko Schinner is the founder and CEO of Miyoko’s – a vegan creamery that is leading the way to a dairy-free future.  She an award-winning celebrity chef, restauranteur, cookbook author, and TV host. She brought all these experiences to bear as she founded and built Miyoko’s from a small storefront to over 100 employees distributing vegan cheese around the country. Miyoko’s has raised venture capital from firms like Obvious (Ev William’s venture firm) and Stray Dog capital. In this conversation Miyoko and Kent discuss her entrepreneurial journey from delivering bread in a backpack in Tokyo, to founding and building one of the fastest growing venture-backed food production companies in America.  

Whether you call it "Gen Z" or "Post Millenial" -- Carter Cohen is one of them, embedded and here to tell you about the world as he sees it. Carter is the kind of guy who makes you feel bad about what you were doing in college. He's a biochemistry major at Georgetown, speaks 3 languages, studies electrochemistry and...well he's a member of Gen Z, also called "post millennial". In this wide-ranging conversation, Kent and Carter discuss the myths and realities about how Gen Z uses technology, what they expect from the future of work and....much more.

Ryan Bethencourt is  the CEO of Wild Earth, a biotech startup developing meatless dog food.  Its investors include Peter Thiel, Founders Fund, and  Felicis Ventures.  He is a Partner at Babel Ventures and Investor/Advisor to over 80 biotech startups. He also co-founded the Biotech accelerator Indiebio. We discuss why meatless pet food isn't as crazy as it sounds, the idea that animal-free meat is coming way faster than you think, and the decision between being a VC or an entrepreneur.  We also discuss the path from legalizing marijuana to legalizing psychedelics. -- In the Something Ventured podcast, Silicon Valley insider Kent Lindstrom takes a look behind the scenes in Silicon Valley as he sits down with the people who are shaping the way we view the world online..and beyond.

You may think you know about diversity in Silicon Valley, but you may not have heard it this straight up and candid before. Michael Ellison is African American and grew up poor as far from Silicon Valley as possible. Here he discusses how he made his unlikely way to Silicon Valley to become CEO of Codepath.org.  Codepath is the the hugely influential engineering training organization working with Silicon Valley’s tech giants, and universities across the country. We discuss problems with diversity programs, income inequality and racism on the road to Silicon Valley. A bonus : what you should really think of the movie Black Panther.

In this replay episode, Kent Lindstrom and Michael White have a bit of fun at the expense of Burning Man.  Burning Man is the the, um, art fest in the desert to which half of Silicon Valley decamps each year. We discuss the history of Burning Man, what might make people go to Burning Man, and the myriad benefits of hanging out in San Francisco while everyone else is away.   --- In the Something Ventured podcast, Silicon Valley insider Kent Lindstrom goes behind the scenes as he sits down with the people who are shaping the way we view the world online....and beyond.

Rick Marini is the founder of Protocol Ventures -- a cryptocurrency fund-of-funds, which is rapidly becoming a dominant force in the emerging cryptocurrency space.  Previously, Rick has been an entrepreneur building and selling multiple companies, including early social network Tickle and professional networking site Branchout.  Along the way, he has been a prolific angel investor, investing early in companies like Snapchat.  For these efforts, Rick was recently named one of the Top 50 Angel Investors by Forbes. In our wide ranging conversation, we cover various trends in Silicon Valley, and dig in on cryptocurrency.  We discuss the value of a 'fund-of-funds" for an emerging asset class like cryptocurrency, the brief history of cryptocurrency, why crypto is such a huge deal and a lot more.  We also answer the question:  "Is Rick Marini Satoshi"?   -- In the Something Ventured podcast, Silicon Valley Insider Kent Lindstrom goes behind the scenes in Silicon Valley as he goes behind the scenes with the people wh

Rick Marini is the founder of Protocol Ventures -- a cryptocurrency fund-of-funds, which is rapidly becoming a dominant force in the emerging cryptocurrency space.  Previously, Rick has been an entrepreneur building and selling multiple companies, including early social network Tickle and professional networking site Branchout.  Along the way, he has been a prolific angel investor, investing early in companies like Snapchat.  For these efforts, Rick was recently named one of the Top 50 Angel Investors by Forbes. In our wide ranging conversation, we cover various trends in Silicon Valley, and dig in on cryptocurrency.  We discuss the value of a 'fund-of-funds" for an emerging asset class like cryptocurrency, the brief history of cryptocurrency, why crypto is such a huge deal and a lot more.  We also answer the question:  "Is Rick Marini Satoshi"?   -- In the Something Ventured podcast, Silicon Valley Insider Kent Lindstrom goes behind the scenes in Silicon Valley as he goes behind the scenes with the people wh

Nick Heyman was an early (like, #8) employee at Facebook. He is now a founder and Managing Partner of DynoVC, a venture firm focused on the transportation industry. Nick believes the transportation market is undergoing the most radical change since inception.  In this podcast we discuss a range of topics from self-driving cards, autonomous vehicles, the future of trucks, scooters and more!   -- In the Something Ventured podcast, Silicon Valley insider Kent Lindstrom goes behind the scenes in Silicon Valley as he sits down with the people who are shaping the way we view the world online, and beyond.    

Joe Garofoli is the Senior Political Writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, and host of their "It's All Political" podcast.  Joe gives us his take on all things, um, political in Silicon Valley, California and beyond.   -- In the Something Ventured podcast, Silicon Valley insider Kent Lindstrom takes a look behind the scenes as he sits down with the people who are shaping the way we view the world online....and beyond.

Jim Scheinman, founder of Maven Ventures, has built Maven and achieved successful exits and investments such as Chariot, Cruise and Zoom.us. Immediately prior to founding Maven Ventures, Jim was an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Charles River Ventures (CRV), a leading venture firm where he helped source, vet, and advise their consumer portfolio companies. Jim had an early seat at the emergence of social networking, first as an executive at Friendster, and then as an executive at Bebo (which was founded by Michael and Xochi Birch).   -- In the Something Ventured podcast, Silicon Valley Insider Kent Lindstrom goes behind the scenes, as he sits down with the people who are shaping the way we view the world online....and beyond.  

The second part of my conversation with Jim Scheinman ---   Jim has been an entrepreneur and startup executive.  He is also the founder of Maven Ventures, one of Silicon Valley's seed investment firms, which counts among its investments Cruise (acquired by GM for over $1 billion), Chariot (acquired by Ford) and Zoom (which has raised over $100 million from firms including Sequoia Capital). Jim discusses a variety of topics, including the state of entrepreneurship, the nearly billion dollar exit of Bebo to AOL, and the implications of self-driving technology (both as an investment and for society).   --- In the Something Ventured podcast, Silicon Valley insider Kent Lindstrom explores the reality behind the Silicon Valley headlines as he sits down with the people who are shaping the world online and beyond.

Jim Scheinman has been an entrepreneur and startup executive.  He is also the founder of Maven Ventures, one of Silicon Valley's seed investment firms, which counts among its investments Cruise (acquired by GM for over $1 billion), Chariot (acquired by Ford) and Zoom (which has raised over $100 million from firms including Sequoia Capital). Jim discusses a variety of topics, including the state of entrepreneurship, the nearly billion dollar exit of Bebo to AOL, and the implications of self-driving technology (both as an investment and for society).   --- In the Something Ventured podcast, Silicon Valley insider Kent Lindstrom explores the reality behind the Silicon Valley headlines as he sits down with the people who are shaping the world online and beyond.

2017 was quite a year when it came to the consequences of sexual harassment in Silicon Valley.  For the first time in memory, jobs were lost, careers were ended, and venture firms ceased to exist after women came forward and told their experiences of harassment. In this episode, Kent takes a look back to memorialize 8 stories in 2017 where the consequences of sexual harassment reverberated. We start with the earlier story of Ellen Pao and her lawsuit against Kleiner Perkins, and Susan Fowler's blog post about harassment at Uber.  The groundwork laid by these two may have contributed to the flood of revelations that made 2017 so extraordinary. Uber, 500 Startups, Ignition, Binary Capital and more -- they are all here.  Along with 2 stories to wind up the podcast of 2 of the most ridiculous public utterances we heard in 2017.   -- In the Something Ventured podcast, Silicon Valley Insider Kent Lindstrom explores the reality behind the Silicon Valley headlines as he sits down with the people who are shaping the w