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Spearhead

by Naval

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

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Episodes

  1. Rapidly Growing Valuations Shouldn't Scare You Off

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/rapid

  2. Reading Social Proof Is an Art Form

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/art

  3. Social Proof Is a Valid Signal

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

  4. Ask About the Metrics They're Not Showing You

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/metrics

  5. It's Easy to Exaggerate Early Traction

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/exaggerate

  6. Everything Is a Proxy for Traction

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/traction

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

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/finish

  8. Invest in the First Credible Mover

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/credible

  9. Monopolies Fall When Platforms Shift

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/platform

  10. A Lot of Great Tech Businesses Are Natural Monopolies

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/monopolies

  11. Great Companies Expand Their Markets

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/market

  12. Invest in $0 Billion Companies

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

  13. Invest in Pure Tech Companies

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/pure

  14. Raising Money Without Any Product Is a Red Flag

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

  15. Product Is the Resume of the Team

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/product

  16. Expanding Fast vs. Dialing in the Model

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/expand

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

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/PayPal

  18. Get the Operation Working at a Small Scale

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

  19. 'Tech-Enabled' Often Means Thin Margins

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/margins

  20. Startups Didn't Have to be Good at Accounting Until Software Ate the World

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/accounting

  21. You Can't Optimize Profits If There Are No Profits to Optimize

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/scale

  22. Negative Unit Economics Create the Illusion of Success

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

  23. Startups Are Susceptible to 'Happy Talk'

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

  24. Mature Your Culture as You Grow

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/culture

  25. Nobody Wants to Give a Founder Tough Love

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

  26. Founder Psychology Is at the Heart of Most Blitzfails

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/crazy

  27. Culture Is a Macrocosm of the Founder's Psychology

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/psychology

  28. Micro-Bubbles Are Constantly Building and Bursting

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

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

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

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

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/fast

  31. Startups Are a Race to Get to Scale

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/race

  32. Blitzfail: Why Startups Go off the Rails

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/blitzfail

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

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/repeat

  34. 'First-Time Founders' Often Have Been Tinkering for Quite a While

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/repeat

  35. Avoid Teams That Would Sell Early

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/early

  36. Founders Almost Can't Be Referenced

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/references

  37. Your Reputation Is Built by the Companies That Are Doing Poorly

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/reputation

  38. Coachability Is Overrated

    Transcript: http://spearhead.co/coachability

  39. You're Not Investing in Nice People

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

  40. Invest Only in Technical Teams

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

  41. 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. 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. You'll Get Less Money in Your Winners

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

  44. 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. The Best Deals Look Weird

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

  46. Judgment Requires a Willingness to Be Unpopular

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

  47. 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. Pivots Mean Your People Judgment Really Matters

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

  49. 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. 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

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Spearhead have?

Spearhead currently has 68 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is Spearhead about?

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

How often does Spearhead release new episodes?

Spearhead has 68 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.

Where can I listen to Spearhead?

You can listen to Spearhead on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.

Who hosts Spearhead?

Spearhead is created and hosted by Naval.
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