The hottest Venture Capital Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Everything Looks Like A Nail

Where's Your Ed At • 25075 implied HN points • 19 Oct 23
💼 Business Technology Venture Capital Inequality Economics
  1. Marc Andreessen wants to portray himself as a victim despite his immense success and wealth.
  2. Andreessen promotes a vision of continuous technological advancement, but his actions and investments often prioritize maintaining the status quo.
  3. Andreessen's manifesto is filled with contradictions and hypocrisy, advocating libertarian economic thinking while benefiting from government intervention.

Monkey Laundering

Where's Your Ed At • 20772 implied HN points • 26 Sep 23
💼 Business Cryptocurrency Venture Capital Investing Market Analysis
  1. Investing in NFTs as a way to own unique digital assets may not guarantee value or ownership of intellectual property.
  2. Many NFT projects overpromise benefits like voting power and ownership in the company, leading to unfulfilled expectations.
  3. The NFT industry is often characterized by scams, fake transactions, and inflated values, preying on the desperation of people seeking investment opportunities.

You Are Not The Man In The Arena

Where's Your Ed At • 24184 implied HN points • 30 Aug 23
🕹 Technology Startup Culture Tech industry Venture Capital Cryptocurrency Artificial Intelligence
  1. The man in the arena speech by Theodore Roosevelt emphasizes the importance of taking action over criticism.
  2. Chamath Palihapitiya symbolizes a detrimental mindset in Silicon Valley of valuing image over actual value creation.
  3. The tech industry's obsession with funding specific kinds of founders and companies has created a harmful monoculture that prioritizes profit over societal impact.

A Midas Winning VC Playbook

The Generalist • 1401 implied HN points • 07 Mar 24
💼 Business Investing Venture Capital Startup Strategy Operations
  1. Primary Venture Partners focuses on being the best seed fund by sticking to their core ethos of 'Startups are hard, founders deserve better.'
  2. They prioritize selective investing, focusing on high-risk, high-reward opportunities in the early stages of startup funding.
  3. Using a substantial impact team and unique operational approach, Primary Venture Partners aims to differentiate themselves in the competitive venture capital landscape.

Silicon Valley's Slaughterhouse

Where's Your Ed At • 15430 implied HN points • 08 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Tech industry Venture Capital Startups
  1. Elon Musk is involved in a legal battle over accusations of anti-semitism and his actions have had significant impacts on advertising revenue and Twitter's valuation.
  2. Silicon Valley culture has devolved into a profit-driven, empty innovation environment fueled by venture capital, lacking real societal impact.
  3. The tech industry, led by venture capital, has created a culture of labor exploitation, hollow promises, and superficial startup culture, with the focus on profitability rather than meaningful innovation.
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Letters to a Young Investor: Reid Hoffman on Signals and Mirages

The Generalist • 1941 implied HN points • 16 Jan 24
💼 Business Investing Technology Venture Capital AI Startups
  1. Investors need to differentiate between signals and mirages in venture capital to find potential winners.
  2. The process of identifying successful investments involves filtering out flawed ideas and making bets on plausible opportunities.
  3. Successful investments are like oases in the technology landscape that investors strategically seek out.

Whatever, do the secondary sale

benn.substack • 559 implied HN points • 01 Mar 24
💼 Business Venture Capital Startup Growth
  1. If you're a visionary founder who raises a lot of money and then sells shares for personal gain before mismanagement leads to the company's downfall, VCs will prioritize your ability to grow and persuade over your financial choices.
  2. In the world of venture capital, making money often trumps moral values, with investors backing those who are monetizable rather than necessarily 'nice.'
  3. While secondary sales by founders may raise concerns about focus and fairness to employees, making them transparent to the entire company could help ensure accountability and address potential disillusionment.

Long on shovels, short on gold

benn.substack • 432 implied HN points • 08 Mar 24
💼 Business Tech Investing Entrepreneurship Venture Capital Startups
  1. In the tech world, many companies are heavily investing in AI, with billions of dollars being raised for AI startups and established companies shifting focus towards AI.
  2. Liquidation preferences in startup funding can lead to conflicts of interest between investors and founders, affecting decisions around company sale and financial outcomes.
  3. Despite the hype around AI, success stories of companies profiting from AI technology are not yet as abundant, raising questions about the actual impact and returns of AI investments.

OpenAI in Davos…Looking Back on 10 Years of Unicorns With Aileen Lee...Stripe and SpaceX’s Secondary Pricing

Newcomer • 1238 implied HN points • 19 Jan 24
🕹 Technology AI Startups Cybersecurity Venture Capital Space Exploration
  1. OpenAI has faced challenges as a 'big tech' company early in its life, including raising significant funds and experiencing executive drama.
  2. OpenAI removed its 'Don't Be Evil' slogan and is now collaborating with the Department of Defense on cybersecurity projects.
  3. Aileen Lee's research on unicorns reveals that strong unicorns are more involved in enterprise tech than consumer tech, with many 'papercorns' yet to prove their value.

Consumer Investing Struggled Even in the Boom Times. 2023 Was Worse. Can AI Save It?

Newcomer • 1316 implied HN points • 09 Jan 24
💼 Business Investing Startups AI Consumer Tech Venture Capital
  1. Consumer investing in 2023 struggled, especially in sectors like e-commerce and social media.
  2. Investors are looking towards AI-powered consumer startups for a potential resurgence in 2024.
  3. The focus is shifting towards AI tools that benefit hobbyists, workers, and small businesses, rather than consumer-facing AI apps.

It wasn’t Vice’s business model that sank it

Simon Owens's Media Newsletter • 449 implied HN points • 28 Feb 24
💼 Business Media industry Advertising Venture Capital Revenue streams Startups
  1. High overhead costs and failure to control expenses can lead to the downfall of media companies, not just their business models.
  2. Diversifying revenue streams beyond advertising can be beneficial for media companies to sustain themselves.
  3. Establishing reasonable burn rates and controlling expenses are crucial for the long-term success of media companies.

Apple’s Virtual Reality Headset Arrives Amid CES Buzz...Khosla Ventures in the Spotlight...Fewer Startups Landing Seed Funding

Newcomer • 1061 implied HN points • 12 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Startups Venture Capital Artificial Intelligence Virtual reality Consumer Tech
  1. Apple is releasing a new virtual reality headset, but there are doubts about its success compared to AI tech.
  2. Microsoft offers resources and funding to startups interested in AI through its Founder Hub program.
  3. There has been a significant decline in the number of new startups receiving seed funding in recent years.

It's Logical

Points And Figures • 346 implied HN points • 29 Feb 24
💼 Business Startup Investing Product-Market Fit Venture Capital Market Analysis
  1. The main reason for business failure often boils down to individuals not being able to achieve product-market fit.
  2. Businesses that may seem logical on the surface can actually struggle to succeed in the startup world.
  3. Investing in startups involves understanding that success may not always follow a straightforward, logical path, and accepting the inherent risks involved in the process.

How BigTech Invested in AI Companies in 2023

AI Supremacy • 1022 implied HN points • 11 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Investments Venture Capital Big Tech Emerging Tech
  1. BigTech, including companies like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, made significant investments in AI companies in 2023.
  2. Nvidia emerged as a leading investor in Generative AI in 2023, making diversified bets in the space and establishing a dedicated venture capital arm.
  3. Foundation models and development platforms were major beneficiaries of Big Tech's investment funding, with companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Salesforce deeply involved.

“Sniper investor” Allen Zhu is slowing his investment pace, focusing on in-depth project research

Ginger River Review • 707 implied HN points • 10 Jan 24
💼 Business Venture Capital Investment Global expansion Entrepreneurship
  1. Investor Allen Zhu is reducing his investment speed to focus on thorough project research, showing a change in Chinese investors' priorities.
  2. Investors who rushed into Large Language Models (LLMs) in 2023 faced losses, signaling a shift in focus to vertical market segments.
  3. Zhu emphasizes the importance of discipline in investment decisions, with a focus on profitability and slower, more thoughtful investment strategies in 2023.

Guide to A.I. Supremacy: I'm analyzing & tracking a more exponential future 🔮

AI Supremacy • 432 implied HN points • 05 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Startups Robotics Healthcare Venture Capital
  1. The author is analyzing and tracking emerging and exponential technology, particularly artificial intelligence.
  2. The newsletters cover various topics such as startups, AI, robotics, quantum computing, and innovation.
  3. There are special offers available for full access to the newsletters with discounts for subscription.

‘American Dynamism’: How VCs Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Defense Tech...Hot Startup Funding Rounds...Byju's Leads EdTech Rout

Newcomer • 432 implied HN points • 02 Feb 24
💼 Business Venture Capital Startups Technology Government Innovation
  1. Defense tech has become popular among venture capitalists due to global tensions and the U.S. government's increased investments.
  2. Success stories like SpaceX and Palantir have boosted investor confidence in companies focused on government contracts.
  3. Selling to the government, while lucrative, can be a slow and complex process due to procurement challenges.

My Definition of Data Modeling (for today)

Joe Reis • 530 implied HN points • 20 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Data Modeling AI Venture Capital Data Management
  1. Data modeling has various definitions by different experts and serves to improve communication, provide utility, and solve problems.
  2. A data model is a structured representation that organizes data for both humans and machines to inform decision-making and facilitate actions.
  3. Data modeling is evolving to consider the needs of machines, different use cases, and a wider range of modeling approaches for various situations.

JPM, Stifel, & Lead Bank Join As Speakers at Newcomer Banking Summit

Newcomer • 353 implied HN points • 09 Feb 24
💼 Business Banking Startups Venture Capital Financial Technology
  1. JPM, Stifel, and Lead Bank will be speaking at the Newcomer Banking Summit on March 14 in San Francisco.
  2. The event will feature speakers like Jackie Reses, Melissa Smith, and Matt Trotter.
  3. The summit will delve into the impact of the Silicon Valley Bank crisis, the changing landscape of banking for startups, and the future of financial technology companies and banks.

Resetting expectations for VC investing in health tech

Second Opinion • 1729 implied HN points • 19 Oct 23
💼 Business Venture Capital Health tech Investing Entrepreneurship Funding
  1. Not every startup in health tech needs to be backed by venture capital.
  2. Health tech industry may not yield many billion-dollar exits, but there are numerous smaller exits ranging from $40 to $500 million.
  3. Venture capitalists should consider alternative sources of capital like private equity, government grants, family offices, and angel investors for health tech startups.

Why we need more startups and venture capital in cybersecurity, and what needs to change for the industry to mature

Venture in Security • 511 implied HN points • 16 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Cybersecurity Startups Venture Capital Innovation
  1. The cybersecurity industry benefits from a large number of startups that lead to innovation and competition.
  2. Venture capital is crucial for cybersecurity startups to innovate, educate the market, and speed up the adoption of best practices.
  3. Investors need to better evaluate security startups, and the industry needs a reset of expectations to address real problems like navigating undifferentiated tools and poor go-to-market approaches.

The Sequence Chat: Yohei Nakajima on Creating BabyAGI, Autonomous Agents and Investing in Generative AI

TheSequence • 140 implied HN points • 06 Mar 24
🕹 Technology AI Generative AI Venture Capital Autonomous Agents Open Source
  1. BabyAGI project focuses on autonomous agents and AI enhancements for task execution, planning, and reasoning over time.
  2. Challenges in adopting autonomous agents include human behavior changes and enabling AI access to tools for task execution.
  3. Future generative AI trends include AI integration across various industries, increased passive AI usage, and automation of workflows with AI workers.

Your startup idea probably isn’t venture-scale

Lenny's Newsletter • 3537 implied HN points • 16 May 23
💼 Business Startups Venture Capital Entrepreneurship Market Analysis Investment Strategies
  1. Having a venture-scale startup idea involves aiming for $100 million annual revenue and $1 billion+ valuation in 10 years.
  2. Venture-scale investors look for a large market, a scalable business model, high growth potential, the ability to turn capital into growth, and a path to going public.
  3. Not all startup ideas need to be venture-scale; many ideas can still build a great revenue-generating business without the pressure and expectations of venture capital.