The IO Podcast: Investor + Operator

With so many AI startups these days, how do you identify which will be home-runs and which will be flops?In this episode of the I/O Podcast, Tyler and Sterling sit down with Eric Vishria, a General Partner at the legendary Benchmark Capital, who uncovers their exact process for finding and funding some of the world's fastest-growing and most successful AI startups.Chapters:(00:07:28) Exponential Rise of AI Startups(00:10:21) Diverse Revenue Paths in AI Startups(00:14:10) LLM-enhanced Vertical AI Solutions for Industry(00:18:25) Tech Product Success through Market Awareness(00:20:05) Balancing Human Expertise with AI Automation(00:35:22) The Value of Venture Capital Partnerships(00:37:48) Founders' Partnerships in Early-Stage Investing(00:47:10) Key Questions: The Core of Investing Decisions(00:54:22) Supporting Founders in Venture Capital Industry———Learn more about Benchmark here: https://www.benchmark.com/This podcast was brought to you by Pelion Venture Partners. Have a great startup idea? Learn more about Pelion here: https://pelionvp.com/

In this episode of the IO Podcast, Nakul Mandan (founder of Audacious Ventures) shares his tips and tricks for recruiting top talent, the most critical assets for successful companies.He also shares his story of how he became a top investor and what every startup founder needs to know to successfully raise capital.Chapters:(00:05:12) Hustle and Networking in Venture Capital Growth(00:12:50) Mastering B2B Go-to-Market Expertise through Experience(00:15:22) Exceptional Individuals Driving Business Growth(00:18:06) Attracting Exceptional Talent for Startups(00:26:32) Tailored Hiring Approach for Role Success(00:30:24) Proactive Talent Sourcing for Startup Teams(00:41:40) Proactive Communication for Closing Top Candidates(00:45:29) Optimizing Recruitment Strategies for Successful Hiring(00:48:48) Founder-Centric Investment PlatformsAudacious Ventures: https://www.audacious.co/Check out PELION: https://pelionvp.com/

In this episode, Pete Kazanjy—author of Founding Sales and a veteran sales leader—joins hosts Tyler Hogge and Sterling Snow to share a crash course in founder-led sales, explaining why early-stage founders must take charge of selling before hiring sales reps. He breaks down the key mindset shifts for technical founders, how sales is like “weaponized product management,” and when it’s time to delegate lead generation.If you're a startup founder looking to master sales we highly recommend this episode. Pete's book which can be found online at foundingsales.comChapters: 06:11 Objection Handling and Sales Narrative Crafting12:48 Validation through Founder-Led Sales Approach16:55 Founder's hands-on role in scalable sales.22:09 Tailoring Outreach Strategies for Target Audiences29:49 LinkedIn Prospect Engagement for Founder Outreach Success35:15 Empathetic Approach to Sales Conversations42:10 Effective Sales Strategies for Closing Deals47:31 Hiring Early Stage Salespeople for Startups54:12 Product-Obsessed Pioneers in Organizations58:26 Packaging Tactical Solutions for Customer Pain Points

How do you become the best of the best—the top performer in your field? Dr. Julie Gurner, an acclaimed executive coach and once likened to Billions’ Wendy Rhoades by The Wall Street Journal, shares her insights on what it takes to excel at the highest level. In this episode, Dr. Gurner joins hosts Sterling Snow and Tyler Hogge to explore the mindsets, strategies, and leadership styles that empower people to perform at their peak.Episode Highlights:00:00 Meet Dr. Julie Gurner and her unique approach to executive performance05:47 The fine line between "good crazy" and "bad crazy" in high achievers08:44 Rule-bending: When it drives success and when it derails progress15:16 How confidence and aggression play into leadership styles18:56 Evolving roles: Adapting leadership from a startup’s early days to maturity24:18 The power of vulnerability: Why CEOs should own their weaknesses to build balanced teams27:43 Helping others lean into their unique strengths for maximum impact33:17 Identifying "great" talent vs. "good" talent: What sets true excellence apart40:23 The importance of positive self-talk and why leaders should never downplay themselves47:01 Reframing failure: How top performers see setbacks as learning, not defining momentsWhether you're a startup founder, entrepreneur, or aspiring leader, this episode is packed with actionable takeaways to help you break through personal and professional barriers. Dr. Gurner’s guidance is invaluable for anyone striving to reach the top in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment.Follow Dr. Gurner Here: X: https://x.com/drgurnerNewsletter: drgurner.substack.comWeb: drgurner.com

In this episode, Tyler Hogge & Sterling Snow sit down with David George, General Partner at a16z, where he leads the growth investing practice. Since joining in 2019, David has been at the forefront of investments in companies like Coinbase, Databricks, Figma, Robinhood and Instacart. Prior to a16z, David was at General Atlantic, where he invested in iconic brands like Airbnb, Opendoor, Slack, Crowdstrike, and Uber. David shares his unique insights into growth investing and his predictions for the future.Chapters: 01:15 David's Path to Venture 05:30 What Makes Andreessen Horowitz Different 10:30 What He Looks For When Making Growth Investments21:15 Focus On Inputs Not Outputs29:30 How They Source Investments35:10 "On TAM, Ignore the Research Reports". Here's What To Look For Instead44:30 What It Takes To Go Public: The Three Things A Company Needs48:56 Where AI Is Going And How He's Investing1:01:23 Episode Takeaways Connect With David & a16zhttps://x.com/DavidGeorge83https://a16z.com/growth/

How far would you travel for a good conversation? For hosts Tyler Hogge and Sterling Snow it was a no brainer to fly 2000 miles to talk with Kaz Nejatian, the COO of Shopify in their Toronto HQ. Kaz is a fascinating mind in tech and an unconventional thinker shaping the the product culture of Shopify. He shares his story of growing up in Iran, experiencing the Iran-Iraq war, and eventually immigrating to Canada at age 12. In Canada, Kaz gets even deeper into his fascination with computers and goes onto found a YC company, run a product line at Meta and now acts as the COO and Product Evangelist at multi-billion dollar company Shopify. Tyler and Sterling find out why Shopify employees have no meetings, how big tech companies are doing product wrong, and why Shopify's unique culture will create a 100 year company that just keeps getting bigger. Chapters: 01:50 - Kaz's Childhood in Iran and Fleeing to Canada06:49 - Hot Takes on Current Protests on College Campuses 07:55 - Early Exposure To Computers and Path To Tech11:17 - The Best Product Managers Are Weird People13:30 - "I Cannot Take An Average Person And Train Them To Be A PM" 21:25 - How Shopify Is Different Than Other Big Companies31:00 - How Kaz Killed Meetings At Shopify37:30 - Write Code And Talk To Users, Do That Over And Over Again43:39 - Why Getting Married Will Be Your Best Career Accelerant50:00 - Wrap Up questions57:25 - Tyler & Sterling's Recap_________________________Connect With Kazhttps://x.com/canadakazKaz@shopify.com Connect With Tyler & Sterlinghttps://x.com/thoggehttps://x.com/sterlingmsnowFollow The I/O Podcast (New Episodes Monthly) https://x.com/IO__podcasthttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCayuY0VO95kQTUXJvh9T0oQhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-investor-operator-io-podcast/id1678642609https://open.spotify.com/show/0J92LTLgpHe8C0CzEaCBDG

Scott Sandell, Executive Chairman and Chief Investment Officer at NEA is truly one of the great venture capitalists of our generation. With nearly three decades at NEA he leads the field with a track record of dozens of successful investments including unicorns like Salesforce, Plaid, Workday, Robinhood, Cloudflare and Tableau. How has he done it? Scott shares his investment philosophy influenced by other greats like Dick Kramlich and John Doerr: understand an individual's life story, decision-making process, and future goals as key in making successful investment choices. Chapters: 00:02:17 What Are The Characteristics Of Unicorn Founders? 00:10:16 "I Look For Passion-Driven Missionaries"00:16:05 Building Tableau's Success: Lessons in Slow, Purposeful Growth00:27:13 Make Your Investors Your Partners. Navigating Board Relationships00:40:55 The Era of Decreasing LP Commitments00:52:39 Tyler and Sterlings RecapConnect with Scott and NEATwitter: https://twitter.com/scottdsandellYT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTU3mQDqk3QyB4WeDQwZ1YQConnect with IO Pod Twitter: https://twitter.com/IO__podcastTiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@io_podcastYT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCayuY0VO95kQTUXJvh9T0oQWebsite: https://www.investoroperator.io/This episode of the IO Podcast is brought to you by Pelion Venture Partnershttps://pelionvp.com/

Immad Akhund had the idea for Mercury years before they started. In fact, he'd launched 3 other startups and been through YCombinator twice before even starting initial validation on what would become the beloved neobank of startups everywhere. And opinions were mixed. Immad himself recognized the need for a simpler and more efficient banking service while while operating Heyzap his previous company. But when he shared the concept with other startups, not everyone grasped its potential.Today, Mercury dominates in the neobank industry. Immad walks hosts Tyler Hogge and Sterling Snow through the early days of Mercury, shares advice on how to operate and his strategies on investing. Chapters: 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:56 Immad's Entrepreneurial Journey - Previous Companies & Learnings00:08:27 What Does Mercury Do? 00:11:24 How He Launched Mercury 00:14:35 The Neo Bank Industry and Launch Timing 00:21:50 The SVB Fallout & How That Led To Big Growth For Mercury 00:32:50 Operating Advice: The Six-Year Vesting Plan00:43:35 Immad's Hot Takes & Predictions: AI Is a Hype Cycle 00:57:17 Rapid Fire & Wrap-upThings to Check Out: Immad's Memo - How to Not Be A Bottleneck as a CEO Immad's Podcast - Curiosity PodcastImmad's Advice on Operating - @immad on X___________________This episode of the IO Podcast is brought to you by PelionConnect on XFollow on TiktokHear Other Episodes on Our Website