303. Reflections From 10 Years at NextView, Dogma vs Discipline, the Importance of Effective Post Money, and Market Sizing Pitfalls (Rob Go)

The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified

Rob Go of NextView Ventures joins Nick to discuss Reflections From 10 Years at NextView, Dogma vs Discipline, the Importance of Effective Post Money, and Market Sizing Pitfalls. In this episode we cover:

• Is VC fundamentally changing under our feet?
• What are other biggest industry shifts that have changed the way you operate at Next View?
• Most LPs are focused on their fund managers' ownership percentage at entry. Explain what effective post-money at exit is and why that has become a north star from next view?
• Takeaway #3: There is a Goldilocks zone between too much dogma and lack of discipline. Can you give us an example or two of strategies that were difficult to let go of or move on from?
• Your favorite saying internally is “anything worth doing is worth doing fast”. Yet this is a pretty long cycle business and it takes time for a portfolio to mature and drive returns. What were the key learnings with regards to returns and metrics?
• How do you know if you're winning if the metrics are a bit of a red herring? Are there any alternative metrics or signals you look for to quantitatively gauge performance?
• You cited the biggest observable misses for most VC's and it's related to market size -- what's been your observation here and where are investors missing?
• You suggest that founders and investors should make each other a bit uncomfortable. Why?
• Does this ever prevent you from winning deals?
• What's your opinion on competition after a decade of investing?
• How do you think about the competitive set of investors and how to maintain and edge in sourcing and winning the best deals?
• Do you have any advice for founders w/regards to fundraising?

Missed a recent episode? Go to The Full Ratchet blog and catch up! Also, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.