VC Science - Will Quist & Dan Gray

In this episode of Deeply Intents I chat with Will Quist of Slow Ventures and Dan Gray from Odin. This episode pulls apart the current discourse on venture investing looking at an investor's and researcher's perspectives. In particular we grapple with existential questions like; - Do exits even matter? - Are Megafunds the future of venture? - Is the current venture environment limiting innovation? - Are seed-strapping startups more than a trend? - Are founder archetypes predictive of outcomes? - What's something in venture people don't see coming? This was a lively conversation with plenty of spice. You will surely enjoy. Timestamps (00:00) - Intros (03:01) - Exits don't matter (06:41) - Everyone eats their own BS (07:46) - Paper marks and management fees (10:25) - Now you can have your cake and eat it too (11:25) - The carry is not dependent on time value of money (13:18) - Megafunds do the easy thing (14:39) - Top of funnel is still limitless (15:16) - 90% of venture is professional asset management (16:03) - True venture doesn't scale (18:29) - Funny that VC and Software are tied together (21:00) - A machine for fake value (24:14) - In a perfect moment with AI (26:33) - Great investors are great editors of the future (29:25) - Seed-strapping trends (31:12) - Businesses and art projects (35:30) - How important and big is it? (39:12) - The assumptions are the important part (39:43) - It's all a DCF, everything in life is a DCF (41:54) - Are founder archetypes predictive of success? (45:39) - Founders should be the best allocator and investor in their own company (47:02) - What's something people in venture don't see coming? (54:45) - Founder opportunity cost is extremely scarce Disclaimer Nothing in this episode should be interpreted as financial, technical, or legal advice.