Planet Microcap Podcast | Microcap Investing Strategies

In this episode of the Planet MicroCap Podcast, I'm joined by Chris Marlett, Co-Founder and CEO of MDB Capital Holdings (NASDAQ: MDBH), to unpack the firm’s differentiated “public venture” model and why he believes the traditional venture capital and private equity ecosystem is breaking down. Chris explains how MDB operates as a hands-on merchant bank—building and taking early-stage, big-idea companies public as an alternative to VC—while addressing the shrinking U.S. microcap universe, the misperceptions around the cost of being public, and the opportunity created by a severe shortage of high-quality public companies. We also discuss MDB’s focus on category leaders with billion-dollar potential, its equity-aligned business model, and why public markets can offer founders a more attractive path to scale, liquidity, and long-term value creation. We mention a number of companies and sectors during this conversation, and I’m not a shareholder in any of them. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to MDB Capital Holdings