Episodi

  • YZ Yuanzhe Fu is thrilled to be joined by Ertan Can, founder at Multiple Capital, the proud backer of European MicroVCs.
    After screening 2k+ VC funds and investing 40+ of them, Ertan keeps learning from 1000+ portfolio companies, of which 20+ are unicorns.
    If you want to learn how to invest in European MicroVCs, Ertan is your go-to person. By the way, he's based in Luxembourg. It is a country, as well as a city.



    Powered by Firstory Hosting
  • YZ Yuanzhe Fu + YY Yuyan Wang, founders of YUVC are thrilled to be joined by Cyrus Yari, co-founder at Rational VC, the podcast-turned-VC fund charging 0 management fee and investing alongside Founders Fund, A16z, Sam Altman, among others.
    In 3 core values Cyrus believes: authenticity, truth-seeking, long-termism. He may have the best understanding of the positive black swans and asymmetric bets advocated by Nassim Taleb.

    Impressed by his words, life's meaning revolves around freedom, personal growth, and contributing positively to society.

    Chapters

    🏃00:00 Cyrus's Journey to Rational VC
    💪06:19 The Power of Positive Black Swans and Asymmetric Bets
    💡11:35 Rational VC: A Different Approach to Venture Capital
    🤔17:58 The Long Game: Building a Media Company Around Timeless Ideas
    🎲25:15 Investing in Deep Tech and Life Sciences: A Focus on Impact
    🧐33:26 The Meaning of Life: Freedom, Growth, and Impact



    Powered by Firstory Hosting
  • Episodi mancanti?

    Fai clic qui per aggiornare il feed.

  • YZ Yuanzhe Fu + YY Yuyan Wang, founders of YUVC are thrilled to be joined by Eugene Zhang, General Partner at TSVC, the 1st tech angel fund in silicon valley led by Chinese American.
    Eugene is a proud backer in Zoom, Carta, Iterable, among others. The current fund size of TSVC is $500M.

    Highlights

    YZ: As an angel and angel fund manager, how do you decide investment amounts for both the fund and personally in a promising startup?
    Eugene: Our consensus is fund first and personal participation is a sign of commitment to back the startup.

    YY: How long does it take to invest in a case?
    Eugene: Sometimes within a day. We have a talk in the morning and we invest in the afternoon. Otherwise, it takes longer. But we try to satisfy the founder’s needs.

    Chapters
    00:00 From Tsinghua to Silicon Valley 🚀
    06:01 Thriving through Early Startups🌱
    08:30 First Steps to TSVC 💰
    14:35 1st VC Investor of Zoom 🌟
    21:19 Founders & Market 🏢
    24:48 Secrets of Early Investing 🎯
    29:56 Early Valuations 📈
    31:04 Early Investing Lessons 🅿️
    32:42 AI Era Opportunities 🤖
    35:22 Silicon Valley's Future 🌐
    39:01 Meaning of Life 💭

    Links

    SubstackYouTubeLinkedInApple PodcastsSpotifyX小红书Bilibili36Kr

    Powered by Firstory Hosting
  • YZ Yuanzhe Fu + YY Yuyan Wang, founders of YUVC are thrilled to be joined by Peter Lasinger, General Partner at 3VC, largest series-A fund in Austria investing in Europe.

    Peter is a proud investor in PicsArt, DeepCodeAI, StoryBlok, Lokalise, Tatum, Kaia Health, among others. One of the earlierst VCs in Austria, Peter candidly shares his journey into venture capital, providing valuable insights into the evolution of the European VC market, the significance of data-driven strategies, and the pivotal role of market fit and team dynamics in investment decisions.

    Highlights:

    YZ: What do you think will be the most important fit in the era of AI?
    Peter: The product market fit + a tight alignment of infrastructure, hardware, GPUs, algorithms, and the data layer, which needs to work cohesively to create value.

    YZ: Do you still believe that the return is still parallel to the risk in early stage venture capital industry right now?
    Peter: Of course, I say yes, because I have my own money in the fund and I wouldn't do the job if I don't believe that there is a super high lever.

    YZ: What kind of advice would you give to the younger self?
    Peter: Not to be discouraged. Be a little bit more patient, trust your friends, your skills, your networks.

    Chapters:

    00:00 🚀 Peter's Journey to Venture Capital
    04:15 🌍 The Evolution of the European VC Market
    10:19 💼 3VC's Strategy: Quality Over Quantity
    14:57 📊 The Role of Data in Venture Capital
    21:22 🤝 The Importance of Market Fit and Shared Vision
    26:30 📚 Learning from Failures and the Importance of Team
    30:05 🧠 AI Market Fit: A Complex Equation
    36:05 🌐 The Importance of Localization and AI's Role
    38:55 🤖 3VC's AI Investing Thesis
    43:05 🚀 The Future of Venture Capital
    47:41 💡 Peter's Perspective on Life and Meaning

    Links:

    SubstackYouTubeLinkedInApple PodcastsSpotifyX小红书Bilibili36Kr

    Powered by Firstory Hosting
  • YZ Yuanzhe Fu + YY Yuyan Wang, founders of YUVC are thrilled to be joined by Jiang Xu, Executive Director at Vertex Ventures China, senior VC investor in tech and new energy.

    Jiang was previously a consultant and new business manager at 36Kr. This episode focuses on Ms. Jiang's investment journey, highlighting the transition from an employee's mindset to an investor's outlook. It touches on fundraising, valuation, and sector choice, showcasing the growth mindset and team's technical strengths essential for successful founders. The discussion also looks at the future of China's venture capital scene and personal development in the field, emphasizing rational investing and ongoing education.

    Highlights:

    YZ: What sets a successful seed fund apart?
    Christian: What sets a successful seed fund apart is that they can get into difficult deals.

    YZ: How do you evaluate founders who don't fit the traditional criteria?
    Christian: By conducting in-depth interviews with non-obvious unicorn founders and using AI to analyze the data, we are able to identify specific factors and questions that help predict the success of an immigrant founder without a network in the US.

    YZ: What's a perfect founder profile for you now?
    Christian: Founders who have experience building and are very cognizant of the mistakes they made in the past. They should have a new idea for a market where they can compete effectively. Hunger, technical capability, and experience are also important factors. Additionally, having a team and experience working together in the past is preferred, as it makes coordination and decision-making easier.

    Chapters:

    00:15 💼 Fundraising in China
    02:32 🔄 From Consulting to VC
    05:25 🤖 AI Investing: Learning and Contemplation
    08:31 🛠 Framework for Hardware Tech Investment
    12:25 📊 Valuation Logic in China
    20:27 🛣️ Doubling Down on Which Sector
    21:53 📉 From Quantity to Quality
    26:32 🕒 Portfolio Management
    31:46 🚀 Future of China's Venture Capital
    40:29 💬 The Biggest Bubble: AI
    42:23 🌈 Differentiation in Fundraising
    43:24 🌱 Meaning of Life
    49:12 📰 Value of VC Media
    52:37 🏋️ Secret to Staying Energized

    Links:

    SubstackYouTubeLinkedInApple PodcastsSpotifyX小红书Bilibili36Kr

    Powered by Firstory Hosting
  • YZ Yuanzhe Fu + YY Yuyan Wang, founders of YUVC are thrilled to be joined by Christian Dorffer, Founder at Defiance Capital, seed investor in B2B SaaS and AI in Europe and the US.

    Christian was previously the CEO of Sweet Capital, having backed 100+ early-stage deals. His publication Unicorn Founder DNA on 1000+ unicorns was cited by TechCrunch. He was also a founder backed by Index Ventures among others. Now, Christian is starting his new fund!

    Highlights:

    YZ: What sets a successful seed fund apart?
    Christian: What sets a successful seed fund apart is that they can get into difficult deals.

    YZ: How do you evaluate founders who don't fit the traditional criteria?
    Christian: By conducting in-depth interviews with non-obvious unicorn founders and using AI to analyze the data, we are able to identify specific factors and questions that help predict the success of an immigrant founder without a network in the US.

    YZ: What's a perfect founder profile for you now?
    Christian: Founders who have experience building and are very cognizant of the mistakes they made in the past. They should have a new idea for a market where they can compete effectively. Hunger, technical capability, and experience are also important factors. Additionally, having a team and experience working together in the past is preferred, as it makes coordination and decision-making easier.

    Chapters:

    00:00 🤝 Backing Right Founders
    04:04 🎓 PhD to VC Journey
    07:53 🌟 Immigrant Unicorns
    10:37 🔍 Non-Traditional Founders
    14:14 🤔 Non-Obvious Entrepreneurs
    18:01 💼 Challenges of Unicorns
    21:26 🧐 Mentors & Founder Profiles
    25:41 💼 Experience in Founder Selection
    28:52 🚀 Talent & Innovations
    32:44 📊 Sales & Seed Fund Value
    36:18 🔄 Support for Serial Founders
    40:17 🛠️ Skills & Startups
    43:28 💡 Flexibility in Investing
    48:12 🌱 Life's Curiosity & Progress
    51:51 🌐 Chinese Founders & Medicine
    56:37 📚 VC Podcasting Bridges

    Links:

    SubstackYouTubeLinkedInApple PodcastsSpotifyX小红书Bilibili36Kr

    Powered by Firstory Hosting
  • YZ Yuanzhe Fu + YY Yuyan Wang, founders of YUVC are thrilled to be joined by Reinder Lubbers, Founder at No Such Ventures, investing €2-8M deal by deal sector-agnostically.

    Reinder previously represented Netherlands at the Beijing Olympic Games in Rowing. He was the former COO of software scale-up 24i and investment banker and VC investor.

    Highlights:

    YZ: Is it necessary to like the founders you are investing in?
    Reinder: The truth is no, you don't have to like them. You must trust each other a little bit, ensuring you have the right intentions.

    YZ: How was your overall Olympic experience in Beijing back then?
    Reinder: My overall experience in Beijing was amazing; I appreciated how the Chinese people strived to do things right, which added to the uniqueness of the event.

    YZ: How do you manage to screen investment deals from a broad deal flow when approaches can vary among investors?
    Reinder: Having over a hundred individuals investing with us creates an extra sourcing channel we really like. We often try to involve a couple of these investors in our core meetings to help screen the companies because that helps enormously.

    Chapters:

    00:03 🚣 From Olympic Rower to Venture Capitalist
    04:41 📚 The Lessons Learned from Rowing
    09:34 🤝 Building Trust and Relationships
    12:18 🏅 Earning Respect and Proving Business Acumen
    14:16 💼 The Hustle and Challenges of Early Venture Capital
    19:37 🧐 Explaining Deal-by-deal Venture Capital to Traditional Investors
    22:34 🎯 Targeting Entrepreneurial Investors
    26:37 📈 Deal-by-Deal vs. Traditional VC
    32:57 💰 The Role of Carry and Entrepreneurial Spirit
    36:31 📊 Early Days and Building a Long-Term Track Record
    40:00 🔍 Leveraging Networks and Investor Involvement
    47:03 🇳🇱 The Dutch VC Culture
    52:35 🌏 Welcoming Global Opportunities
    54:12 💭 The Meaning of Life
    57:57 📝 Stay Focused and Seek Experience

    Links:

    SubstackYouTubeLinkedInApple PodcastsSpotifyX小红书Bilibili36Kr

    Powered by Firstory Hosting
  • YZ Yuanzhe Fu + YY Yuyan Wang, founders of YUVC are thrilled to be joined by Liang Zhu, Partner at China Prosperity Capital.
    Liang made his way into venture capital from a lawyer background.
    He started to invest in hardware and deeptech in China a decade ago.
    Previously, he worked with a Chinese public company and a top10 hardware tech VC in China.

    Highlights:

    YZ: How do approach early-stage hardware tech investing?
    Liang: Firstly, you should approach the scientists and professors with a mindset of making friends. Understand them and even read a few of their papers. This can trigger in-depth discussions and promote mutual understanding.

    YY: What is the carry advance system, and what makes it attractive?
    Liang: It's designed to provide incentives for investors and help them see returns early. The lifetime carry system, further developed on this basis, enhances the sense of belonging and motivation among employees.

    YZ: What is the meaning of life?
    Liang: The impact that doing these things has on the people around you and your industry determines its significance.

    Chapters:

    00:04 💼 Investment Essence
    03:01 🤝 Befriend Scientists
    05:04 👣 Three-Step Trust
    06:02 🚀 Entrepreneur Value
    08:52 🕒 Team & Timing
    10:08 🌟 Hope in Tech
    13:11 🎖️ Invest in Military
    15:59 🛠️ Non-Military Tech
    21:59 🙅‍♂️ Three Nos in Invest
    26:18 💰 Early Valuation
    29:56 🔋 Solid Batteries
    33:31 💡 Empower Startups
    38:10 💸 Funds Evolution
    40:21 🛤️ Exit Strategies
    42:40 🏆 Capital Highlights
    46:04 📈 Unique Systems
    48:46 🌱 Life's Meaning
    50:49 🛡️ Keep the Faith

    Links:

    SubstackYouTubeLinkedInApple PodcastsSpotifyX小红书Bilibili36Kr

    Powered by Firstory Hosting
  • YZ Yuanzhe Fu + YY Yuyan Wang, founders of YUVC are thrilled to be joined by Dan Siroker, founder and CEO of Limitless/Rewind AI.
    Dan made VCs crazy by releasing a public pitch that attracted over 1k preliminary investment offers, 170+ term sheets, 30+ offers valued over 1b+. More recently, he charged $100 for an investor meeting (luckily, we got the meeting for free).
    Rewind AI is a tool that many of the VC partners we talked to had regretted missing out.
    Previously, Dan served as the Director of Analytics for Obama's first campaign. He also co-founded Optimizely, the #1 workplace according to San Francisco Business Times.
    Dan has raised hundreds of millions in his career.

    Highlights:

    YZ: How do you select and filter investors, and what are the key traits you admire in them?
    Dan: The most important thing I look for when evaluating investors is alignment around our long-term goals. Usually, you get into hot water when your goals are not aligned with the investor's goals. You really want to make sure that both the person you're working with at the venture fund and the fund itself are aligned with your values. For me, it's long term.
    YY: Are there any fundraising advice you could give to other startup funders in 2024?
    Dan: The core of that success has come from building a great product and building something people want. Usually, that's the most important thing.
    YY: What's the biggest challenges for you in hardware?
    Dan: How much you need to plan ahead. I'm a big believer in valuing responding to change over following a plan. So if something new comes in, new information, I want to be very nimble and quick as a team at incorporating, at learning, iterating. And hardware, you have physical atoms. And those physical atoms need to be put together, shipped to a customer. And once they're shipped, it's quite hard to change those atoms. And so that's been the biggest challenge for me.

    Chapters:

    00:01 Introduction
    02:07 What's Dan's next fundraising move?
    12:14 Is 10x easier than 2x?
    23:47 The Limitless Pendant
    31:11 Meaning of Life

    Links:

    SubstackYouTubeLinkedInApple PodcastsSpotifyX小红书Bilibili36Kr


    留言告訴我你對這一集的想法: https://open.firstory.me/user/clu0vzxex0qat01vncefi0w1s/comments

    Powered by Firstory Hosting



    Powered by Firstory Hosting
  • YZ Yuanzhe Fu + YY Yuyan Wang, founders of YUVC are super excited to have a round-2 with Lewis Hong, Partner of FP Solutions VC, face-to-face at Westin Shenzhen.
    Previously, we had an online chat with Lewis uncovering his SpaceX life, investment rationale, and interesting stories.
    Since Lewis had a deep dive into the Shenzhen supply chains, we learned from him about these topics:

    00:50 Chinese Founders Going Global
    09:49 Where to Source Hardware Tech
    16:26 AI in 3 years
    17:30 AI workflow as a hardware tech VC
    20:47 Meaning of Life

    Highlights:

    YY: Are there any interesting companies that have made some fatal mistakes in localization?
    Lewis: From the bottom of your heart, how to overcome the resistance to you being a foreign enterprise. You do it by being more local than the local enterprises.
    YZ: What are some obvious traits of entrepreneurs?
    Lewis: Teamwork is crucial. We are not very keen on investing in entrepreneurs who work alone. We hope to find many Musks, but relatively speaking, they are rare.
    YZ: What kind of capabilities will AI have in 3 years?
    Lewis: For ourselves, we focus on AI-inspired hardware.

    Links:

    SubstackYouTubeLinkedInApple PodcastsSpotifyX小红书Bilibili36Kr


    Talk to YUVC:https://open.firstory.me/user/clu0vzxex0qat01vncefi0w1s/comments

    Powered by Firstory Hosting



    Powered by Firstory Hosting
  • https://open.firstory.me/user/clu0vzxex0qat01vncefi0w1s/comments

    We (YUVC) are thrilled to have a face-to-face chat with Song Chang, Partner of QF Capital, at their Shenzhen headquarters.
    QF Capital is a leading early-stage RMB fund in China since 2013, now managing nearly 10 billion RMB. QF endured the first 5 years with a DPI close to 0 and witnessed a soaring number of portfolios going public ever since.
    Song joined QF Capital as a fresh graduate and experienced the typical path of a VC investor from a newbie analyst to a senior partner, much like QF Capital itself.

    00:00 Introduction
    03:34 10 years at a Venture Capital firm
    05:16 Investment Methodology (Take eVTOL for Example)
    33:47 AI in the eyes of a Chinese VC Investor
    42:04 Future of Venture Capital in China
    50:43 Founders
    53:40 Meaning of Life



    Powered by Firstory Hosting
  • YZ Yuanzhe Fu + YY Yuyan Wang, founders of YUVC are joined by Sue Xu, Managing Partner at Amino Capital on the YUVC Podcast.

    Dr. Sue Xu joined the firm in 2012, with investment theme of data moat, network effect and domain agnostic. She has successful investments from inception to unicorn in Generative AI, Consumer, SaaS and Frontier tech.

    Highlights:

    YY: Your most hesitant investment so far?
    Sue: Most early-stage deals are controversial. No one is a winner for sure.
    YY: Advice for Younger Self?
    Sue: Find your position in the society. Then you can ignite endless inspiration.

    Chapters:

    04:34 Gift Moments
    15:29 Rationality in VC
    20:21 Silicon Valley Angle
    24:36 Founder Portrait
    28:13 Women in Tech
    31:46 Partners at Amino Capital

    Links:

    SubstackYouTubeLinkedInApple PodcastsSpotifyX小红书Bilibili36Kr


    Talk to YUVC: https://open.firstory.me/user/clu0vzxex0qat01vncefi0w1s/comments



    Powered by Firstory Hosting

    Powered by Firstory Hosting
  • YZ Yuanzhe Fu + YY Yuyan Wang, founders of YUVC are thrilled to have Andreas Munk Holm of eu.vc, since we've shared so many common traits and stories.

    Andreas, together with David Cruz e Silva, shaped eu.vc to be Europe's headline VC community, where 2 VCs are invited on the show every week. After chatting with 1,000+ VCs, they are also angel LPs of 10+ VC funds.

    Highlights:

    Do you agree with ‘there are two types of people who want to enter the VC industry, either very smart and capable, or super naive’?

    Yes and no. Let me tell you about how I think about venture (from the perspective of people raising funds, because that’s what I care about as an LP)Story about my own journey in venture + realizing how much of a networked industry it is and there being “the in-crowd” and those outside of it. And how this impacts the industry as a whole.Conclusion: There’s clearly an A and B team in venture. So I guess that statement goes even for people IN venture. Just look at the performance dispersion in venture. Even at the fund level, there’s a power law.

    What are some commonalities of promising European emerging VC funds?

    More solo-GPs, some very strongMore specialized firms, obv in deep tech, climate, and some in diversityStarting to see more later stage firms, which is great for Europe.Eastern Europe is incredibly interesting, great tech talent, starting to have breakout companies that feed great angels and founders back into the ecosystem, Romania being the posterboy for this with UI Path.

    Where do you see eu.vc in five years?

    We do everything with an eye to becoming the most well-respected VC centric platform for European venture. Be that in the form of podcasts, educational courses, dinners, survival trips or fund investments.


    Chapters:

    00:45 On 2 types of VCs: either extremely smart & capable, or naive?07:15 On the game of VC08:15 Andreas' path to VC15:08 Why VC and LP only?21:48 Flywheel effect of running EUVC27:57 EUVC in 5 years35:55 The right GP and the European trends


    Links:

    SubstackYouTubeLinkedInApple PodcastsSpotifyX小红书Bilibili36Kr


    Talk to YUVC: https://open.firstory.me/user/clu0vzxex0qat01vncefi0w1s/comments



    Powered by Firstory Hosting

    Powered by Firstory Hosting
  • YZ Yuanzhe Fu + YY Yuyan Wang, founders of YUVC are joined by Dr. Han Shen, Founding Partner at iFly.vc on the YUVC Podcast.

    YUVC had a brunch chat in Shanghai with Dr. Han Shen, founding partner of iFly.vc, a US-based early-stage consumer VC fund.

    Dr. Shen is an early investor of Oculus, Weee!, and beyond.

    A PhD in Chemistry from @UChicago and an MBA from @wharton , Dr. Shen broke into venture the hard way - visiting 100+ VCs at the Sand Hill Road, working for the series-C lead investor of @tesla (Vantage Point), joining Formation 8 and investing in Oculus (acquired by Facebook for $2b), and building his own fund iFly.vc and investing in @Weee_official the largest Asian fresh food e-commerce company in the U.S.

    Highlights:

    YZ: What’s the hardest part of building a venture capital fund?
    Han: Consistently investing in the next big things.

    YY: Your team setup and organizational culture?
    Han: I’m a solo GP. I have operations team and associates. I remind them slow is fast, especially in one’s early years of VC.

    YZ: Why was Weee!, your portfolio company and now the #1 Asian delivery app in the US, rejected by everyone?
    Han: Some simply said TAM wasn’t big. But it wasn’t true. Minorities, including Asian, Hispanic, spend $360b on groceries. This market is under-served.

    Chapters:

    02:05 Entering VC in 2009
    13:53 Investment Thesis of iFly.vc
    34:57 the Next Big Thing

    Links:

    SubstackYouTubeLinkedInApple PodcastsSpotifyX小红书Bilibili36Kr


    Talk to YUVC: https://open.firstory.me/user/clu0vzxex0qat01vncefi0w1s/comments



    Powered by Firstory Hosting

    Powered by Firstory Hosting
  • YZ Yuanzhe Fu + YY Yuyan Wang, founders of YUVC are joined by Guy Kawasaki, the Wise Guy, on the YUVC Podcast.

    Guy is on a mission to make people remarkable. He is the co-author of Think Remarkable, the definitive guide to murdering your mediocrity, and the host of the Remarkable People podcast. He's also the chief evangelist of Canva and the ex-chief evangelist of Apple.

    Guy’s new book, Think Remarkable, is out! Check it out!

    Highlights:

    YY: To become more remarkable people, which is better for me as a founder or VC to get an MBA?
    Guy: I will tell you that to be a tech entrepreneur, an MBA is not necessary nor it's sufficient. It's two years out of your life where you could be building your product or service.

    YY: Could you elaborate a bit more on how you would tailor content to the Remarkable guys?
    Guy: I probably prep four to five hours for every episode. Many times the guest is coming on with a new book, so I have to read the new book. And when I start an interview, typically I have a sheet of paper with 20 to 30 questions ready to go.

    YZ: Which stage of the three stages in your book, Growth, Great, and Grease, is more difficult for you in your personal development?
    Guy: Well, first, I think grace has been the easiest. When you get to be 60, 70 years old, all the crap has been beaten out of you. So it gets easier. I would say the grit phase was probably the hardest. It just takes dedication and it just takes not giving up.

    Chapters:

    04:21 UCLA, Berkeley Haas, or Stanford?
    06:36 Connect the Dots
    07:06 How Great is AI?
    10:52 Pain Points of VC
    14:31 Getting Remarkable People on Your Show
    16:21 What Do you Ask the Remarkable People
    21:55 Commonalities of the Remarkable People
    26:04 Writing a Book with AI
    30:47 Meaning of Life

    Links:

    SubstackYouTubeLinkedInApple PodcastsSpotifyX小红书Bilibili36Kr


    Talk to YUVC: https://open.firstory.me/user/clu0vzxex0qat01vncefi0w1s/comments



    Powered by Firstory Hosting

    Powered by Firstory Hosting
  • YZ Yuanzhe Fu, founder of YUVC is joined by Lawrence Lundy Bryan, Research Partner at Lunar Ventures on the YUVC Podcast.

    Lawrence proudly carries out the State of the Future where 150+ frontier technologies were studied. From LLM, eVTOL, nuclear fusion, bitcoin, to Assisted Reproductive Technologies. Check it out!

    Highlights:

    YZ: What would be the single most powerful and important pieces of advice that you would give to the UK government in terms of technology adoption?

    Lawrence: Ambition, it's a hard pitch and I don't imagine it to be successful. So in your framing of the question, would it be successful or not, unlikely. But what I would say is many of the challenges of Utilizing or getting the benefit of technology, especially AI, and we can think about synthetic biology, we can think about new forms of energy, is a lack of political will at a very senior level.

    YZ: What does a good content-driven VC look like going forward?

    Lawrence: I would strongly argue that maybe looking at it as content is the wrong way to do it. If it's part of your process, like it is with mine, then maybe publishing is a good way to share knowledge. But if it's specifically designed to build a brand or to hit a KPI, it's probably not worth the ROI.

    YZ: How would you iterate investment thesis?

    Lawrence: So first thing to do is to understand very broad landscape. This is often the hardest thing. What is the problem it is solving? Point to point transport. So instead of just doing a market analysis of vertical takeoff and landing, looking at the Kitty Hawk and looking at Lilliam and looking at the players within that market, say, what are the other ways to move from point to point? On the ground or in the air, whatever it might be, logistics or so moving things around or people around and to start at an extremely high level. What is the problem itself?

    Chapters:

    01:21 Consultant-turned-VC
    08:36 Anything to Unlearn from Consulting?
    11:45 Is Research a Must in VC?
    15:33 Forming an Investment Thesis
    24:59 State of the Future
    32:00 Most overrated and underrated technologies
    39:17 Meaning of Life

    Links:

    SubstackYouTubeLinkedInApple PodcastsSpotifyX小红书Bilibili36Kr



    Talk to YUVC: https://open.firstory.me/user/clu0vzxex0qat01vncefi0w1s/comments



    Powered by Firstory Hosting

    Powered by Firstory Hosting
  • YZ Yuanzhe Fu, founder of YUVC is joined by Aleks Shamis, Managing Partner at s16vc on the YUVC Podcast.

    Highlights:

    YZ: $5M and 10 Countries, what was really the old days of a capital efficient company like?
    Aleks: The best way to be capital efficient It's not to have a choice. Majority of companies starting 10 years ago outside of the United States didn't really have a choice but to be capital efficient.

    YZ: What is the vision of s16vc?
    Aleks: In five years, we just want to be one of the top five European founders funds. I think it's pretty boring, straightforward, very difficult, but straightforward.

    YZ: Any advice for me?
    Aleks: Say to yourself: today is the best day in your life.

    Chapters:

    02:19 Capital Efficiency
    06:26 Going Global
    09:17 Founder-turned-VC
    12:11 Founders Fund
    22:07 Digital Stack of s16vc
    34:53 Startup Advisor
    36:22 Advice to Younger Self
    38:09 Meaning of Life
    40:27 Advice for YUVC

    Links:

    SubstackYouTubeLinkedInApple PodcastsSpotifyX小红书Bilibili36Kr


    Talk to me: https://open.firstory.me/user/clu0vzxex0qat01vncefi0w1s/comments



    Powered by Firstory Hosting

    Powered by Firstory Hosting
  • YZ Yuanzhe Fu + YY Yuyan Wang, founders of YUVC are joined by Kaye Han, Founding Partner at Antler Dragon Fund on the YUVC Podcast.

    A Hospitality Management graduate from Cornell University, Kaye founded Woo Space, the WeWork of China and second largest of its kind in Beijing. There, Kaye witnessed a brief history of Chinese venture euphoria, as venture-backed startups move in and out the Woo Space.

    After exiting Woo Space to NASDAQ: UK, Kaye now invests in early-stage startups leveraging Chinese strengths and addressing global markets.

    Highlights:

    YY: How can founders in deep trouble thrive?
    Kaye: 1) Don't get loans to sustain your startup. 2) Stop loss in time. Be rational.
    YY: Can you describe an experience in which you gave up on something you had meticulously planned?
    Kaye: I was planning to build an Amazon Aggregator after exiting Woo Space. But since the interest rate hike, the key factor of this business, the cost of debt, wasn't sustainable anymore for us to carry on.
    YZ: What is Antler Dragon Fund like in 5 years?
    Kaye: We want to become the first choice of Chinese startups going global, especially for the founders who studied abroad.

    Chapters:

    00:00 Hospitality Management at Cornell
    04:01 WeWork of China
    07:39 Founders Playbook
    15:50 Think about exit!
    18:43 How to Thrive if you are in trouble
    23:24 Redflags in Hiring
    27:12 Team Setup of Global-minded Ones
    32:30 Antler Dragon Fund

    Links:

    YouTube
    Spotify
    RED
    Bilibili

    Talk to us here: https://open.firstory.me/user/clu0vzxex0qat01vncefi0w1s/comments



    Powered by Firstory Hosting

    Powered by Firstory Hosting
  • YZ Yuanzhe Fu + YY Yuyan Wang, founders of YUVC are excited to have Lewis Hong 洪力德, Founding Partner at FP Solutions on the YUVC Podcast.

    Previously:

    Sr. Operation Leader, Launch Vehicle at SpaceXDirector of Manufacturing and Operations at Romeo Power, which was later acquired by Nikola Motor


    Highlights:

    YZ: Did you go to Stanford because you wanted to start something?
    Lewis: It's not you who choose Stanford, but the other way around. Startup and VC weren't obvious when I went to Stanford.
    YZ: How to value an early-stage startup without metrics?
    Lewis: Like all the negotiations, it is case by case. It depends on how much bargaining power you have. Since it's that early, we care not that much about valuation. Whether it could win eventually matters more - then the difference is like 30x vs 25x.
    YY: When do first principles fail?
    Lewis: First principles give you a guideline. It takes execution. The gap persists.

    Chapters:

    00:19 Social Media
    00:57 Joining SpaceX in 2012
    03:21Work-life Balance at SpaceX?
    05:41 Inside Elon's Brain
    06:38 Leaving SpaceX
    09:05 FP Solutions VC
    09:44 Idiot Index
    12:02 Android for SpaceX
    13:07 Timing Issue Founding a VC
    14:43 Founders Lewis Love
    17:39 Founders Lewis Hate
    18:50 Founder-VC Dynamics
    23:10 Early-stage Startup Valuation
    24:33 Best Pitch
    25:18 Silicon Vallley
    26:38 Chinese VCs
    27:24 Stanford
    27:38 Garry Tan

    Links:

    YouTube
    Apple Podcast
    Spotify
    RED
    Bilibili

    Talk to YUVC: https://open.firstory.me/user/clu0vzxex0qat01vncefi0w1s/comments



    Powered by Firstory Hosting

    Powered by Firstory Hosting
  • YZ Yuanzhe Fu + YY Yuyan Wang, founders of YUVC are excited to have Alex Jiang 蒋亚萌, Founding Partner at Antler Dragon Fund on the YUVC Podcast.

    Alex is a lead early investor in 3 unicorns and 2 IPOs:

    Zhihu知乎 (NYSE ZH)每日互动 (China IPO)Mininglamp Technology 明略科技 (AI unicorn)Advance Intelligence Group 领创集团 (Fintech unicorn in SEA)Source 所思科技 (leading VR/metaverse company), etc.


    Alex was voted two times Forbes China Top100 Investors by Forbes and 2019 China Top50 VC Investors. Previously:

    Founding Partner, Alpha Startup FundCo-Managing Partner, Sinnovation Ventures (leading early stage VC with a AUM of $3B across 10 funds)Partner, WI Harper Group (San Francisco, Beijing and Taipei based cross-boarder fund)


    Highlights:

    YY: Are entry-level roles such as associates necessary at VC Firms?
    Alex: Not really if the stage is quite early. But Matrix Partners China had a different approach.

    YY: Any thoughts on follow-on investments & signaling?
    Alex: You have to respect the rules of making money in VC. You have to double down on the winners.

    YZ: How can YUVC thrive to be the next 20VC?
    Alex: I see Chinese founders have a great deal of storytelling to do when they go global. If you could bridge this gap and provide such value, you could naturally enter their cap tables.

    Chapters:

    00:00 Big Corp → VC
    04:11 Make a Partner at Sinovation Ventures
    06:29 Hiring at Early-stage VC Firms
    09:49 First Check: Confident yet Cautious
    12:18 VC’s value add?
    15:03 Macro, Macro, Macro
    17:08 Antler Dragon Fund: Chinese Strength, Global Market
    21:14 Tips for Founders Going Global
    24:54 Content Creators as VC-Wannabes

    Links:

    YouTube
    Apple Podcast
    Spotify
    RED
    Bilibili

    Talk to the YUVC Couple: https://open.firstory.me/user/clu0vzxex0qat01vncefi0w1s/comments



    Powered by Firstory Hosting

    Powered by Firstory Hosting