Episodes

UVC: Chandan Deep from B Capital Group on key areas of focus for B Capital's operating team, on how she measure success in her role & strategies startups can employ to thrive during tough times
June 6, 2023

UVC: Chandan Deep from B Capital Group on key areas of focus for B Ca…

In this episode of the Understanding VC, we delve into the career journey of Chandan Deep, the Vice President of Strategy and Operations on B Capital Group's Platform team for India and South East Asia. Chandan has a strong passion …

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UVC: Mikhail Taver from Taver Capital on why he chose AI as the technology to focus on, the value proposition of AI for traditional heavy industries like mining & what people often overvalue in venture capital
June 1, 2023

UVC: Mikhail Taver from Taver Capital on why he chose AI as the techn…

In this episode of Understanding VC podcast, I interview Mikhail Taver, the Founder and Managing Partner of Taver Capital, an international venture capital fund based in Delaware. With over 20 years of experience in executive roles within major financial and …

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UVC: Erik Huberman from Hawke Ventures on how Hawke Media's ecosystem and network drive their VC fund's success, emphasizes self-reflection & learning from missed opportunities, and exciting commerce enablement trends
May 23, 2023

UVC: Erik Huberman from Hawke Ventures on how Hawke Media's ecosystem…

In the latest episode of the Understanding VC, I talk to Erik Huberman, Founding Partner at Hawke Ventures. Erik shares the story of his entrepreneurial journey, starting with the launch of Hawke Media in 2014. Today, Hawke Media is the …

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UVC: Brian Frank from FTW Ventures on tech's impact on the food system, assessing the market potential & customer interest in a startup's product, the dual benefits of addressing climate change, and upcoming consumer food trends
May 17, 2023

UVC: Brian Frank from FTW Ventures on tech's impact on the food syste…

In this episode, I explore various aspects of the food and agriculture industry with Brian Frank, the Founder and General Partner of FTW Ventures. Throughout the episode, we learn about Brian's learnings from his internship at Intel and how they …

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UVC: Terry Chou from Alpha Intelligence Capital on the state of deep tech in Singapore, disruptive technology approach that AIC looks for in companies, the most important trait of a founder and impacts of generative AI
May 9, 2023

UVC: Terry Chou from Alpha Intelligence Capital on the state of deep …

In this episode of the Understanding VC podcast, Terry Chou, Partner at Alpha Intelligence Capital (AIC), talks about her background and interest in investment and finance. She shares why her team decided to move to Singapore from Hong Kong and …

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Deep Dive: The Power of Relationships - Connect the Dots, sales, recruitment, and beyond with Drew Sechrist
April 11, 2023

Deep Dive: The Power of Relationships - Connect the Dots, sales, recr…

In this episode of Understanding VC, we talk to Drew Sechrist, the founder of Connect the Dots, a powerful relationship intelligence platform designed to help professionals manage their networks. Drew shares his journey from his time at Salesforce to starting …

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UVC: Alex Felix from CoinFund on effective token distribution strategies, embracing non-consensus viewpoints, and his strong conviction in Crypto's future
April 5, 2023

UVC: Alex Felix from CoinFund on effective token distribution strateg…

In this insightful Understanding VC episode, I speak with Alex Felix, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Partner of CoinFund, as he shares his journey from being a national ski champion to a career in finance and venture capital. He discusses …

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UVC: Shwetank Verma from Leo Capital on how founders can obtain honest information about VCs, ways in which InsureTech can reduce costs & increase convenience and positive changes that are expected in the Indian startup ecosystem
March 28, 2023

UVC: Shwetank Verma from Leo Capital on how founders can obtain hones…

In the latest episode of the Understanding VC podcast, Rahul speaks with Shwetank Verma, Co-Founder, and General Partner at Leo Capital. Shwetank explains that he ended up in venture due to a natural progression of his experiences in building and …

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UVC: Valerie Van Vu from Ansible Ventures on overcoming doubters during her fund-raising journey, the three Cs she is bringing to the Vietnam startup ecosystem, and their strategy for bridging global networks & knowledge to Vietnam
March 20, 2023

UVC: Valerie Van Vu from Ansible Ventures on overcoming doubters duri…

In the latest episode of the Understanding VC podcast, Valerie Van Vu, Founding Partner at Ansible Ventures shares that they does not only invest in seasoned entrepreneurs, but also in first-time founders who have a strong passion and vision for …

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UVC: Anjali Sosale from WaterBridge Ventures on founder learnability and scalability, the importance of conducting background checks on VCs & why more women should found consumer startups
March 15, 2023

UVC: Anjali Sosale from WaterBridge Ventures on founder learnability …

In the latest episode of the Understanding VC podcast, Anjali Sosale, Partner at WaterBridge Ventures, discusses her focus on finding and supporting innovative startups that serve the Indian consumer demand. Key takeaways from the podcast include the purpose of Fast …

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UVC: Sheel Mohnot from Better Tomorrow Ventures on whether 1st & 2nd time founders are equally willing to accept their valuations, when they would stop supporting a portfolio startup, and the challenges neobanks face with customer trust
March 12, 2023

UVC: Sheel Mohnot from Better Tomorrow Ventures on whether 1st & 2nd …

In the latest episode of the Understanding VC podcast, Sheel Mohnot, Co-Founder & Partner at Better Tomorrow Ventures, discussed the impact of access to credit on low-income countries like India. He emphasized the importance of a minimum ownership of 10% …

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UVC: Dave Richards from Capria Ventures on their unique VC fund and fund of funds approach, challenges faced by global south founders, and unsustainability of 'spray and pray' investment strategy
March 1, 2023

UVC: Dave Richards from Capria Ventures on their unique VC fund and f…

In the latest episode of the Understanding VC podcast, Dave Richards, Managing Partner at Capria Ventures, provides insights on Capria's unique approach of functioning as both a VC fund and a fund of funds. He discusses the advantages of this …

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UVC: Sergey Gribov from Flint Capital on their investment strategy, mistakes to avoid when entering the US market, and the exciting future of tech
Feb. 21, 2023

UVC: Sergey Gribov from Flint Capital on their investment strategy, m…

In the latest episode of the UnderstandingVC podcast I talk to Sergey Gribov, General Partner at Flint Capital. Sergey talks about his transition from building startups to investing in them and shares the fund strategy at Flint Capital. He also …

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UVC: Karl Alomar from M13 on the significance of providing support to portfolio companies when there are indications of a crisis, preference for investing in infrastructure layer startups & why VCs should think like an entrepreneur
Feb. 15, 2023

UVC: Karl Alomar from M13 on the significance of providing support to…

Understanding VC is a deep dive on how venture capitalists work. In this episode, I talk to Karl Alomar, Managing Partner at M13 who shares his experiences of navigating success, challenges, and crises while building multiple startups. He believes that …

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Fundraise: Tim Flannery, CEO at Passthrough on their Series A fundraise
Feb. 7, 2023

Fundraise: Tim Flannery, CEO at Passthrough on their Series A fundrai…

In this Fundraise episode, I speak with Tim Flannery , CEO at Passthrough on their Series A fundraise. Tim shares the problem Passthrough is trying to solve, his larger vision for the company, the progress they’ve made so far...

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UVC: Elizabeth Yin from Hustle Fund on why speed of execution matters for startup success, processes at Hustle Fund to make investments & portfolio support more efficient and how founders can manager their risks
Jan. 31, 2023

UVC: Elizabeth Yin from Hustle Fund on why speed of execution matters…

Understanding VC is a deep dive on how venture capitalists work. In this episode of the podcast, Elizabeth shares her journey from being an entrepreneur to becoming a venture capitalist at Hustle Fund. She explains the fund's strategy of investing …

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UVC: James Wang from Creative Ventures on why they study the market they invest in deeply before looking at tech solutions for it, a sign of a really bad startup, and adoption challenges faced by healthcare tech startups
Jan. 24, 2023

UVC: James Wang from Creative Ventures on why they study the market t…

Understanding VC is a deep dive on how venture capitalists work. In this episode, I chat with James Wang, General Partner at Creative Ventures, an early-stage deep-tech VC investing in companies solving global crises. James starts the conversation by sharing …

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Deep Dive: VC Term Sheets with Siddharth Mody
Jan. 17, 2023

Deep Dive: VC Term Sheets with Siddharth Mody

Understanding VC is a deep dive on how venture capitalists work. In this episode, I have an insightful conversation with Siddharth Mody, a senior partner at Desai and Diwanji, a law firm based in Mumbai, India. This episode dives deep …

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UVC: Amra Naidoo from Accelerating Asia on why they invest in startups that are between the MVP stage and PMF stage, what type of businesses can create the most impact and why they are bullish on Bangladeshi startups
Jan. 10, 2023

UVC: Amra Naidoo from Accelerating Asia on why they invest in startup…

Understanding VC is a deep dive on how venture capitalists work. In this episode, I have a wonderful conversation with Amra Naidoo, Co-Founder and General Partner at Accelerating Asia, a VC fund based in Singapore. Amra shares her opinion on …

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UVC: Puiyan Leung from Vertex Ventures SE Asia & India on how they assess a founding team’s profile, what it takes to raise a series A & the opportunities in climate tech and creator economy
Jan. 3, 2023

UVC: Puiyan Leung from Vertex Ventures SE Asia & India on how they as…

Understanding VC is a deep dive on how venture capitalists work. In this episode, I talk to Puiyan Leung, Investment Partner at Vertex Ventures SE Asia and India. The episode begins with Puiyan talking about her journey of breaking into …

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UVC: Pavel Cherkashin from Mindrock Capital on how the fund operates, the prediction model they use to make investments and his mystical Hack Temple project
Nov. 1, 2022

UVC: Pavel Cherkashin from Mindrock Capital on how the fund operates,…

Understanding VC is a deep dive on how Venture Capitalists work. In this episode, I talk to Pavel Cherkashin, the Managing Partner at Mindrock Capital. The episode opens with Pavel talking about his life growing up in Russia, and his …

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UVC: Chirag Gupta from 8X Ventures on investing in deep-tech startups in India and beyond, what Industry 4.0 could mean for the developed and the developing world, and why a ‘Founder-CEO’ is not the best option for a deep-tech startup
Oct. 12, 2022

UVC: Chirag Gupta from 8X Ventures on investing in deep-tech startups…

Understanding VC is a deep dive on how venture capitalists work. In this episode, I speak to Chirag Gupta, managing partner at 8X Ventures, a VC fund based in Dubai and investing in deep-tech startups globally. The podcast begins with …

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UVC: Maryanna Saenko from Future Ventures on investing with an abundance mindset, 3 questions she asks while assessing a deep tech startup and future of food and energy
Oct. 10, 2022

UVC: Maryanna Saenko from Future Ventures on investing with an abunda…

Understanding VC is a deep dive into how venture capitalists work. In this episode, I speak to Maryanna Saenko, Co-Founder at Future Ventures. We started the conversation by discussing why Future Ventures invests in only technology risk startups, why it’s …

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UVC: Mark Ghermezian from m]x[v Capital on his operator focus approach in investing, the reasons for starting his newly launched fund, building Braze, leading it from ideation to IPO & signs of a great founder
Sept. 29, 2022

UVC: Mark Ghermezian from m]x[v Capital on his operator focus approac…

Understanding VC is a deep-dive on how venture capitalists work. In this episode, I speak to Mark Ghermezian, Founder and General Partner at m]x[v Capital. Mark is a serial entrepreneur and successful investor with 20+ years of experience in founding, …

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