Meet Vanessa Larco, co-founder of the new venture firm Premise and former NEA partner. In this episode, Vanessa joins Daniel to talk about why she left one of the world’s largest VC firms to start her own, how she and her co-founder built Premise from first principles, and what she looks for in truly magnetic founders. They also dive into why consumer tech is on the verge of a new boom, her belief that discomfort is a signal you’re on the right path, and the hard tradeoffs of building while raising a family.

Meet Alda Leu Dennis, managing partner at Hawktail VC.

From her start at Disney and Wilson Sosini to working alongside Peter Thiel at Founders Fund and Garry Tan at Initialized, Alda shares what she’s learned from two decades in venture.

From backing exceptional founders to why smaller funds often outperform to the power of clear expectations with LPs and founders alike, she also discusses what she's building, why she's building it, along with understanding resilience, and why her guiding philosophy is: “Be bold, and all the mighty forces will come to your aid.”

Meet General Stan McChrystal, former commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan and one of the most respected military leaders of our time. From a career that spanned 34 years in uniform to the Rolling Stone article that ended it overnight, his journey is a story of leadership, resilience, and character.

In this episode, he shares why credibility and long-term thinking matter more than winning at all costs, and how the toughest setbacks can become defining moments for growth.

We explore his path from a rocky start at West Point to leading elite forces, the lessons he’s carried into business and teaching at Yale, and why empathy, persistence, and values are the true markers of great leadership.

Meet Samara Hernandez, founder of Chingona Ventures. From growing up under the poverty line to breaking into Goldman Sachs and launching a fund named after the Spanish word for “badass woman,” her journey is nothing short of inspiring.

In this episode, she shares why resilience—what she calls the Chingona Factor—matters more than pedigree, and how underestimated founders often build the most transformative companies.

We explore her path from engineering to venture, the lessons she’s learned raising funds as a solo GP in the Midwest, and why betting on grit, creativity, and values-alignment is the future of venture capital.

Meet Nitish Maini, chief strategy officer at WorldQuant. From a small town in India to rising through the ranks of finance to help steer one of the world's most significant quantitative hedge funds, his journey is nothing short of amazing.

In this episode, he shares why the worst advice he ever got was "don't take the risk," and why he believes the wildest leaps often turn out to be the safest.

We explore WorldQuant's global footprint and how their initiatives, like WorldQuant BRAIN and the International Quant Championship, are democratizing opportunity by tapping into talent in every corner of the world.

It's a conversation about creativity and adaptability, and what it really takes to build at scale, told through the lens of someone who's lived it.

Meet Brad Feld, one of the investors and firm builders I look up to the most. From exited founder, to angel investor, to firm builder, to author, to marathon runner, Brad is truly prolific.

In this conversation, we touch a bit on all of that, and so much more. From going through the internet bubble, to starting over, to managing the third 1/3 of life, to his favorite type of characters, all the way to what a Brad Feld fiction book might look like. No matter what you are interested in, this conversation has something for you.

Meet Finn Meeks, partner at South Park Commons (SPC), one of the most unique communities and funds in VC. In this conversation, we dig into how SPC supports technologists so early, they call it the 'minus one' stage, and they mean it. From being surrounded by the best people, to putting bad ideas to rest, their approach is unlike any other early-stage ecosystem out there.

We also learn how Finn's journey from rowing at the highest level, to having to start over from nothing, helps paint his approach to supporting founders, and why empathy is something everyone can use a bit more of.

Founder of Drive Capital, Chris Olsen, left a dream job as a partner at Sequoia to prove that billion-dollar companies could be built outside Silicon Valley. In this candid conversation, he unpacks the founding of Drive Capital, why geography no longer limits great ideas, and how authentic leadership, disciplined fundraising, and building powerful local ecosystems can drive long-term success.

We also get personal, talking about failure, family, gym routines, and why comparing yourself to yesterday is the real competition.

A must-listen for founders, funders, and anyone who cares about building for the long game.