VC Sunday School: first-tier investor behavior + Climate: Dangerous Ventures' Mike Lin | E1385
This Week in Startups
Jason Calacanis
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 13 February 2022
⏱️ 60 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Jason and Molly begin this double-header Sunday show with a VC Sunday School segment on top-tier VC behavior (01:38). You will learn:
1. How first-tier VCs compare to second-tier VCs
2. When VCs should intervene in a portfolio company
3. The difference between micromanaging and good governance
4. Jason's framework for ensuring alignment: Mission, Plan, Strategy, Tactics
5. Why good Board Members remain calm and positive
Then, Molly is joined by Mike Lin from Dangerous Ventures for a This Week in Climate Startups segment (22:00). You will learn:
1. What Mike learned from working at Makani Power (acquired by Google X)
2. The potential of "muscle-powered" energy and its limits
3. Lessons from the failed Potenco generator & One Laptop Per Child project
4. How Mike got himself fired from Apple for insubordination
5. Why Dangerous Ventures is backing "Dunkirk" climate solutions
Show Notes:
(00:00) Jason and Molly tee up the show, Top VC vs. Second-tier VCs, Mike Lin from Dangerous Ventures
(01:38) The behavior difference between a top tier VC and a second tier VC
(09:23) Where VCs should actually intervene in a portfolio company, micromanaging vs. good governance
(11:47) First Republic Bank - Discover what a long-term financial relationship can do for you. Visit https://firstrepublic.com/startup today to learn more.
(12:50) What needs to be in alignment Mission, Plan, Strategy, Tactics
(14:58) Why good Board Members are calm and positive
(19:30) Jason and Molly intro the This Week in Climate Startups segment
(20:40) Superside - Go to https://superside.com/twist to get $3000 or more in credits when you sign up for an annual subscription
(22:00) Mike Lin from Dangerous Ventures discusses his previous startup experience at Makani Power
(26:09) Can muscle-powered energy come back?
(27:57) Pulling Power from the Sky: The Story of Makani
(30:56) Notion - Go to https://Notion.so and use promo code TWIST to get $250 off its annual team plan
(32:28) Lessons from Mike's time as the founder of Fenix, which was bringing power to low income economies, and the lessons from the failed Potenco generator & One Laptop Per Child project
(36:35) How Fenix rose out of the ashes of his previous startup, Fenix's smart battery
(39:55) Why Mike Lin was fired as an Apple contractor for insubordination
(43:39) Who is going to actually solve the climate crisis?
(46:15) Mike's ambition at Dangerous Ventures and why they are backing "Dunkirk" climate solutions
(53:43) Managing a micro-fund and using SPVs to build initial momentum
Check out Dangerous Ventures: https://www.dangerous.co/
FOLLOW Mike: https://twitter.com/tweetmikelin
FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis
FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | All right, everybody. Welcome to another Pat Sunday edition of this week in startups. |
| 0:05.7 | First off, we do another edition of VC Sunday school. Molly is going to ask me about the |
| 0:10.9 | difference between a top tier VC and a second tier VC. And we double click on it and get into what |
| 0:15.8 | happens in a board meeting. If you discuss tactics, strategy, the plan, the mission, and what it |
| 0:21.6 | means to be a great board member and investor in a startup. Then I interviewed dangerous ventures, |
| 0:28.1 | general partner, Michael Lin, who's a climate founder and investor and has some pretty impressive |
| 0:32.8 | stories like the time you got the boot from Apple for being insubordinate it. |
| 0:37.9 | Oh, it sounds like my kind of guy. I like him already. All right, it's going to be a great show. |
| 0:42.2 | Stick with us. This week in startups is brought to you by First Republic Bank, where everybody gets |
| 0:49.5 | a personal banker who's reachable by phone, email, or text, and through First Republic's banking app. |
| 0:58.0 | Learn more at FirstRepublic.com, member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender, Superside. |
| 1:05.6 | Ambitious companies need the right design partner in their tech stack, one that doesn't sacrifice |
| 1:10.8 | quality for speed. Get $3,000 or more in credits when you sign up for an annual subscription |
| 1:17.2 | at superside.com slash twist. And notion is one place for notes, docs, projects, |
| 1:26.7 | and everyday work that goes way beyond a wiki. Go to notion.so and use promo code twist |
| 1:34.0 | to get $250 off an annual team plan. So I think this is a question that has started to come up |
| 1:42.3 | because I'm a new investor trying to make my name. Your name, however, is fantastic. And so we |
| 1:48.3 | have this sort of interesting dichotomy that was that was well stated on Twitter the other day, |
| 1:52.8 | which was, let's see, it was Ali Muhammad, right? I'm sorry, Ali Resnick is a CEO of Belong, |
| 2:00.0 | a startup that's innovating the model of long-term rentals and home ownership evidently. |
| 2:03.6 | On last about a week ago, he tweeted this and I want to ask you about it. The difference between |
| 2:08.7 | a top tier VC and a second tier VC is so massive that I'd go as far as saying that I'd choose to |
... |
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