Spearhead

PODCAST · business

Spearhead

Naval on angel investing. David Sacks on scaling. On Twitter at @spearhead.

  1. 68

    Rapidly Growing Valuations Shouldn't Scare You Off

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/rapid

  2. 67

    Reading Social Proof Is an Art Form

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/art  

  3. 66

    Social Proof Is a Valid Signal

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/social-proof  

  4. 65

    Ask About the Metrics They're Not Showing You

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/metrics  

  5. 64

    It's Easy to Exaggerate Early Traction

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/exaggerate

  6. 63

    Everything Is a Proxy for Traction

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/traction  

  7. 62

    Early Winners Don't Always Make It to the Finish Line

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/finish  

  8. 61

    Invest in the First Credible Mover

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/credible  

  9. 60

    Monopolies Fall When Platforms Shift

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/platform  

  10. 59

    A Lot of Great Tech Businesses Are Natural Monopolies

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/monopolies  

  11. 58

    Great Companies Expand Their Markets

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/market  

  12. 57

    Invest in $0 Billion Companies

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/zero-billion  

  13. 56

    Invest in Pure Tech Companies

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/pure  

  14. 55

    Raising Money Without Any Product Is a Red Flag

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/pre-product  

  15. 54

    Product Is the Resume of the Team

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/product

  16. 53

    Expanding Fast vs. Dialing in the Model

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/expand  

  17. 52

    In PayPal's Early Days, We Lost Money on Every Transaction

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/PayPal  

  18. 51

    Get the Operation Working at a Small Scale

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/small-scale

  19. 50

    'Tech-Enabled' Often Means Thin Margins

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/margins  

  20. 49
  21. 48
  22. 47

    Negative Unit Economics Create the Illusion of Success

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/unit-economics  

  23. 46

    Startups Are Susceptible to 'Happy Talk'

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/happy-talk  

  24. 45

    Mature Your Culture as You Grow

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/culture  

  25. 44

    Nobody Wants to Give a Founder Tough Love

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/tough-love  

  26. 43

    Founder Psychology Is at the Heart of Most Blitzfails

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/crazy  

  27. 42

    Culture Is a Macrocosm of the Founder's Psychology

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/psychology

  28. 41

    Micro-Bubbles Are Constantly Building and Bursting

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/micro-bubble  

  29. 40

    'High-Burn Startup Meets Macro-Shock' Is a Recipe for Blitzfail

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/macro-shock  

  30. 39

    Moving Fast May Mean You're Not Really Moving at All

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/fast

  31. 38

    Startups Are a Race to Get to Scale

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/race  

  32. 37

    Blitzfail: Why Startups Go off the Rails

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/blitzfail  

  33. 36

    Repeat Founders Don't Really Want to Start Over From Scratch

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/repeat  

  34. 35
  35. 34

    Avoid Teams That Would Sell Early

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/early

  36. 33

    Founders Almost Can't Be Referenced

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/references

  37. 32
  38. 31

    Coachability Is Overrated

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/coachability

  39. 30

    You're Not Investing in Nice People

    Invest in people with high energy, intelligence and integrity.   Transcript: http://spearhead.co/nice

  40. 29

    Invest Only in Technical Teams

    If there's no technical team, you're not investing in technology. Transcript: http://spearhead.co/technical

  41. 28

    Invest in the Smartest Scientists in a New Field

    You're not going to become a great tech investor by reading TechCrunch. Transcript: http://spearhead.co/scientists

  42. 27

    Don't Fantasize About What You Would Do If You Were the Founder

    You're not running the company—you're betting on the founder. Transcript: http://spearhead.co/fantasize

  43. 26

    You'll Get Less Money in Your Winners

    Always try to get your standard bite-size. Transcript: http://spearhead.co/winners

  44. 25

    You Can Give Every Deal One Fatal Flaw

    A startup that breaks all the rules won't get anywhere. Transcript: http://spearhead.co/flaw

  45. 24

    The Best Deals Look Weird

    If nobody thinks it looks weird, you're making a consensus investment. Transcript: http://spearhead.co/weird

  46. 23

    Judgment Requires a Willingness to Be Unpopular

    Groupthink leads to poor judgment. Transcript: http://spearhead.co/unpopular

  47. 22

    Are Good Investors Piling in the Round with You?

    It's a sign of good judgment when proven investors pile into the round. Transcript: http://spearhead.co/pile

  48. 21

    Pivots Mean Your People Judgment Really Matters

    Bets on seed-stage startups are bets on founders. Transcript: http://spearhead.co/pivots

  49. 20

    Judgment Is the Work You Do Before a Deal Arrives

    Over time you'll need less data to assess a deal. Transcript: http://spearhead.co/preparation

  50. 19

    Judgment Gives You the Winning Lottery Numbers

    But you still need a portfolio effect to be successful. Transcript: http://spearhead.co/lottery

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ABOUT THIS SHOW

Naval on angel investing. David Sacks on scaling. On Twitter at @spearhead.

HOSTED BY

Naval

Produced by Naval Ravikant

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