VC10X - 24 Year Old Partner Sourcing Deals on Tiktok - Sydney Landau, Partner, Shakti VC

Sydney Landau joined SHAKTI as an intern with no background in venture. Two years later, she became a Partner, at 24.Sydney breaks down how she reads founders using the psychology training she picked up as a psych major, why her firm invests in what they call "reimagination of toothbrushes," and what SHAKTI's primary research with 42 next-gen members of wealthy families revealed about where the intergenerational wealth transfer is actually going.Plus: how she sourced an investment off a TikTok her friends were forwarding around, what running an AI native firm on its own portfolio companies actually looks like day-to-day, and the one part of the job AI has not changed at all.⭐ Sponsored by Podcast10x - Podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.comWhat we cover- Reading founder psychology, and why SHAKTI backs the founder and the problem rather than the solution- How next gen allocators break from their parents, and what the 42-person study found- The toothbrush test, and how SHAKTI sizes a market before anything else- Sourcing a deal off a TikTok, and where founders are actually showing up now- Running an AI native venture firm, and the one thing AI has not changedAbout the guestSydney Landau is a Partner at SHAKTI, an inception-stage venture firm investing across AI, robotics, and consumer. She leads the firm's next gen research and its AI native operations.Sydney on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sydney-landau-740644236Shakti VC on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/shakti-vcSydney on X - https://x.com/Sydney_landauBook she mentioned: The Venture Mindset - https://www.amazon.com/Venture-Mindset-Smarter-Achieve-Extraordinary/dp/0593714237About VC10XVC10X is a podcast on venture capital, fund management, and institutional allocation, hosted by Prashant Choubey. Conversations with the GPs, LPs, and allocators shaping how capital gets deployed.Connect with Prashant Choubey:LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/choubeysahabSubscribe to VC10X newsletter - https://vc10x.beehiiv.comSubscribe on YouTube - https://youtube.com/@VC10XVC10X website - https://vc10x.comTimestamps:(00:00) - Preview(01:01) - Introduction to the episode and guest, Sydney Landau.(02:18) - Sydney’s journey into venture capital without a tech background.(04:34) - Key learnings from intern to partner in two years.(05:07) - The importance of founder psychology in early-stage investing.(07:11) - Operator experience vs. starting a career directly in VC.(08:10) - How Shakti VC's Titan Platform supports founders.(10:07) - Understanding and investing in Gen Z founders.(12:00) - The rise of IRL (in-real-life) events and personal branding in venture.(14:05) - Study on next-gen wealth transfer and capital allocation.(15:40) - Why next-gen investors are active generalist learners.(18:16) - What drives the shift from specialist to generalist investing.(20:40) - Surprising findings from the next-gen wealth study.(23:04) - Motivation behind studying next-gen high-net-worth individuals.(24:42) - How Gen Z evaluates AI opportunities differently.(25:30) - The "toothbrush" investment thesis: investing in frequent and ubiquitous use cases.(28:03) - Combining generational perspectives within a venture firm.(31:45) - The story of sourcing and winning a deal from TikTok.(36:08) - Transforming Shakti into an AI-native venture firm.(40:17) - What the next-generation consumer wants.(42:50) - How AI will lead to a new generation of entrepreneurs.(43:55) - A trend obvious to Gen Z that isn't priced into markets yet: resale and autonomy.(46:25) - Advice for a 22-year-old wanting a career in venture capital.(48:51) - Rapid-fire round: Investment sectors, stage, and check size.