The Venture Podcast

Peter Kazanjy is the author of Founding Sales, the most recommended sales book for founders.Peter goes into:Founder-led salesHow AI is changing go-to-market What ambitious young people should optimize for in the age of AIWe also dive into two case studies: Claudeforce and who owns the customer when AI becomes the interface to software, and NVIDIA’s acquisition of Hugging Face and why owning critical layers of the AI stack matters.

At 23, James Flynn became one of the youngest partners in Sequoia Capital's history and has spent the last two years investing on the growth team. James goes into:What actually impresses top-tier VCsHow to decide between being an operator vs. an investorThe AI opportunities he believes are larger than most people think

Mike Fata co-founded Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods in 1998 and helped lead the company through its $419M sale to Tilray. Today he spends his time investing in, advising, and mentoring the next generation of entrepreneurs.We tend to interview a lot of people in tech, so it was refreshing to hear a different perspective from someone in the CPG space. Mike goes into:His mindset shift on the importance of personal brand buildingWhat success has looked like inside portfolio companies like Mid-Day SquaresHow to effectively test and bring a CPG product to marketWhy delayed gratification is still the ultimate advantage in businessWhat separates great founders from everyone else

After 15 years of running at full speed, Scott Barker recently sold everything he owns to travel the world. We’ve had a lot of founders on the show, but very few are willing to talk openly about the cost of chasing big goals for long periods of time.Scott is the co-founder of GTMfund, an early-stage venture firm backed by 350+ top GTM leaders. In this conversation, Scott talks candidly about:The mentality that made him successful - but also nearly destroyed himHow easy it is to lose yourself in constant achievementWhat finally made him walk away from the life he builtHis learnings from a career in tech and VCHow ambitious people can build a great career without burning themselves out

Elaine Dai is a Partner at Alt Capital, a new venture firm founded by Jack Altman that backs ambitious founders in AI and enterprise software. In this episode, we dive into Elaine’s journey from Harvard to Microsoft, Norwest, and now Alt, where she helps lead a $275M second fund focused on AI-native companies and category-defining startups.Elaine shares what it takes to recognize outlier founders, how she evaluates “slope over snapshot,” and why the best VCs act as invited guests rather than helicopter investors. She also reflects on risk-taking, the immigrant mindset, and why being in San Francisco compounds serendipity.We also cover:Why “AI-native” beats “AI-wrapper” startupsHow to find (and stress-test) the right co-founderPractical advice for breaking into VC without a traditional backgroundThe hardest parts of conviction, patience, and playing the long game