On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:
- Kevin Jiang of Mangusta Capital
- Shamin Walsh of BAM Ventures
- Shashank Saxena of Sierra Ventures
We asked guests to share the best question they’ve ever been asked by an allocator.
The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area.
We’re proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform. Book a demo and get $150—no strings attached.
Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter.
Transcribed with AI:
0:18
Welcome back to TFR on today’s special segment, we ask guests to share the best question they’ve ever been asked by an allocator. Here’s the segment called Best LP question.
0:36
On today’s special segment, we have Kevin Jang of Mangusta capital. Kevin, what is the best question a founder or investor has asked you?
0:44
One of the things that I think every VC needs to be able to articulate really well is what to founders when they’re meeting with founders, right is, what value add can you actually provide and what in what way can you work with a specific founder or team to help them achieve their goals. And to be honest, it’s not really one size fits all right. It’s really, you’ve got to figure out what is it that this team needs or wants, and how does this founder work, and how do I fit into what they’re looking for? And you know, if it’s not a good fit, then it’s not a good fit. And I’m I’m one to be very transparent and honest and say, hey, you know, you know, maybe what you’re looking for is a little bit different for what I’m looking for. And you know, I want to make sure that we’re aligned there. But I do think one of the most important questions, and often difficult questions, because it’s quite nuanced and complex, is figuring out when an investor or when a founder asks, Hey, how, how do you? How do you envision us working together, or what, what value can you bring to the table? Really navigating that is, is, I think, a really important question to answer you. On
2:03
today’s special segment, we have shameen Walsh BAM ventures. Shameen, what is the best question a founder or investor has asked you?
2:11
I like when founders ask me where I think the holes are in their business, and I like when founders approach the conversation with curiosity. Because I think it can be a trap sometimes to feel like if you’re in a pitch dynamic, you’re only presenting the best of something. And I think really great founders know that there’s a good, a bad and ugly, there is risk. And so I think when it becomes conversational, and the founder it has strong conviction how they’re building something, or how they’re approaching it, but is willing to be vulnerable, to open up the conversation and say, Where do you think I’m getting this wrong, whether or not they agree, and not to change their approach, but to just gather data and expand their horizon to see, Have I already thought about this thing, or have I not thought about this thing? I always find that really interesting, because I think it makes a deeper conversation. That’s great. Do
3:24
on today’s special segment, we have Shashank Saxena of Sierra Shashank, I know you were a founder, and you probably got a lot of questions from VCs. Now that you’re a VC, what’s the best question you’ve received from a founder
3:36
in terms of founders, selecting board members and how they interview and start to narrow down on Okay, who from this partnership will be on the board, and then try to understand that person’s strengths and weaknesses and what they bring to the table. Because you’re not just optimizing for a term sheet or a brand name of a VC fund, you’re optimizing for the board member. And that is pretty critical. So that’s where I feel the savvy founders really know how to do that well.
4:15
That will conclude this installment of investor stories. If you’re enjoying the program and would like to see it continue, take a moment and leave a five star review in iTunes. Okay, that will wrap things up for today until next time over. Prepare, choose carefully and invest confidently. Thanks for joining me.
