On this special segment of The Full Ratchet, the following Investors are featured:
- Jacob Effron of Redpoint
- Ethan Austin of Outside VC
- Arianna Simpson of Andreessen Horowitz
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 Jacob Efron of red point. What’s the best question a founder or an LP has asked you?
0:42
Yeah, I think one that comes to mind is, you know, an LP asked me about things that we’ve changed in our processes over the years. And I love that question, because I feel like part of what we focus on at red point is just always getting better. We’re in, like, a super competitive industry. It’s, there’s a lot of great folks that do what we do. And so I think being really internally focused on, how do we do this job, the best way we can. And, you know, rather on the benefit of, you know, so many amazing investments and culture building that the red point team before me has done. And you know, me and the team get to inherit that, and I think it’s kind of our then responsibility to kind of continue to push that forward, right? And so I loved, I love that question, because I think it gets to the heart of, you know, being an always improving organization.
1:31
And what’s the answer? What’s the biggest process shift?
1:35
I mean, I think related to a conversation we’re having earlier, is just, I think we’ve been much more focused on building networks in these talent pockets. And basically, like, how do we, you know, how do we build an architect, a firm, even the folks we hire, the way we spend our time, such that when we see a really interesting AI opportunity that’s early, we can immediately make five calls. And, you know, know, with a lot more fidelity, how exciting that opportunity
2:10
is. On today’s special segment, we have Ethan Austin of outside VC, what’s the best question a founder or an LP has asked you, I think
2:19
one of our LPs, he was also a VC. He once asked me, and I never thought about it at the time he he said, Do you want to be? Do you like to be the first investor and or the last investor in? And I hadn’t, hadn’t really thought about it much at that point. And we do both kind of end up sometimes as the last investor in, and things are a bit more de risk, but I tend to love being that first investor and and, you know, really being that first believer, and feeling like you have the ability to affect the trajectory of the company a bit more.
2:58
On today’s special segment, we have Ariana Simpson of Andreessen Horowitz, what’s the best question a founder or an LP has asked you?
3:07
Funny one was, how do how do I know whether you’ll be, you know, available or what have you meaning, the firm is big like, how do we know that you’ll, kind of take our calls? And this was a question that somebody asked me on a pitch, literally, three days after I’d given birth. And so the answer was kind of spoke for itself, which was, well, I’m on a call three days after giving birth, so I think you will find me more reachable than this at most other times. And so I think, I think the reality is, you know, the firm is extremely online, and we also just really care about helping our companies be successful. Like, that’s kind of the like, that’s what we’re here for. And so, yeah, I think, I think the the founder acknowledged that was a legit answer
4:11
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.
