VC Sunday School: startup investing in a down market + Emily Kirsch of Powerhouse Ventures | E1373

This Week in Startups

Jason Calacanis

Technology

4.4 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 30 January 2022

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Jason says, "fortunes are made in the down market and collected in the up market." In today's VC Sunday School Jason and Molly discuss how a down market impacts early-stage investors (01:45). You will learn:

1. Risks to VC fundraising when valuations are down

2. If your investing process should vary depending on market conditions

3. How a down market impacts future returns

4. Why founders should have 18 months of runway

5. How founders can turn a down market into an advantage

Then, Molly chats with Emily Kirsch, Managing Partner of Powerhouse Ventures for a This Week in Climate Startups segment (25:53). Emily is a climate investor and they discuss:

1. Why Powerhouse is focused on software

2. Climate change's potential impact on GDP

3. How financial tools enabled the solar revolution

4. Regulations impacting climate investing

5. How different climate tech investors work together

6. The imbalance between climate tech founders and companies

(00:00) Molly and Jason intro the show
(01:45) VC Sunday School: how a down market impacts the early-stage
(05:45) Risks to VC fundraising when valuations are down
(09:37) Should investors standards change depending on market conditions?
(12:24) Bubble. Get one month free of a no-code plan at https://bubble.io/twist
(13:53) How a down market impacts future returns
(18:55) Why founders should have 18 months of runway
(21:21) How founders can turn a down market into an advantage
(23:46) Jason and Molly intro Emily Kirsch
(24:34) Coda - The all-in-one doc for teams, get a $1,000 credit at https://coda.io/twist
(25:53) Emily Kirsch Managing Partner of Powerhouse Ventures
(29:11) Why Powerhouse is focused on software
(34:31) Fellow - Sign up and get $1000 in credits at https://fellow.app/twist
(36:16) Climate change's potential impact on GDP
(37:50) How financial tools enabled the solar revolution
(39:58) Regulations impacting climate investing
(44:17) How different climate tech investors work together
(55:24) The imbalance between climate tech founders and companies

Check out Powerhouse: https://www.powerhouse.fund/ventures

FOLLOW Emily: https://twitter.com/emilykirsch
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	Welcome everybody to the Sunday show. It is VC Sunday School and this week in Climate Startups.
0:06.1	Today I talk to Emily Kursh who is the managing director of powerhouse ventures and besting in
0:11.3	climate tech startups. Aren't we all? However, powerhouse ventures has actually been around
0:16.5	a very long time as far as these things are concerned. And it was, in fact, a twist guest
0:21.8	on episode 614 way back in 2016 and a panelist at a launch event. That same year, it's great interview.
0:29.2	And can't wait to get the catch up with Emily. She is a great get. So congratulations on that.
0:34.4	But first Molly has some questions about investing in private companies in a downturn when the stock market
0:39.9	crashes. What is it like for private market investors and companies? So we're going to go over that
0:44.4	in our first up VC Sunday School segment. It's going to be an amazing show. Sick with us.
0:49.8	This week in startups is brought to you by bubble empowers people to design and launch their own
0:56.0	apps, marketplaces or tools without needing coding seals or pricey engineers.
1:01.1	The first 500 listeners will get one month free on any of Bubbles paid plans from $29 a month
1:07.7	up to $529 a month at bubble.io slash twist. Coda is the all-in-one doc for teams.
1:17.4	If you've got a stack of niche workflow tools or if you're buried in docs and spreadsheets,
1:22.8	Coda is the doc that brings it all together. Startups can get a $1,000 credit at
1:28.4	coder.io slash twist. And fellow dot app is a game changer for all your one-on-ones and team
1:36.5	meetings. Eliminate time wasting meetings today. Go to fellow dot app slash twist to get $1,000
1:43.8	in credits. All right, everybody. Welcome to VC Sunday School. This is where I, as an 11-year
1:50.3	investor, give some advice and answer some questions and mentor. I take her to church. We go to
1:56.0	church. Molly and I, and we pray at the capital, at the altar of capitalism. Right now,
2:03.3	all of my own blaster. There's like, what happened to you, Molly? Your own friends are like,
2:08.0	oh, Molly, they really are. They're just like, who are you? And also, are you blessed for me to start
	...

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