The Boost VC Podcast

Join Boost VC’s Adam Draper as he chats with Jordan Kutzer, founder of Throwback Studios, about how Jordan correlates the competitive nature of starting a company to baseball, especially regarding his mission to become the biggest VR brand and media company in the world. During this high velocity discussion, Jordan details the overcoming of multiple rejections, "coaching" customers, building visceral relationships in VR, and his inherent instinct to win. Tune in for key insights into the world of VR!

Jordan holds a Stanford University B.A. in Science, Technology & Society with a concentration in Information Technology, Media and Society (2015). Former Stanford Student-Athlete and Pitcher. Working to empower the next generation of game creators.

Connect with Jordan Kutzer

Throwback Studios https://throwback.studio/

Throwback Studios on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/throwbackvr/

Throwback Studios on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/throwback.vr/

Throwback Studios on X https://x.com/throwbackvr

Throwback Studios on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@throwbackvr 

Jordan on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordankutzer/

Jordan on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jordankutzer/?hl=en

Jordan on X  https://x.com/jordankutzer 

Jordan on TikTok  https://www.tiktok.com/@jordankutzer 

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC LinkTree https://linktr.ee/boostvc

Join Boost VC’s Adam Draper as he chats with Sampriti Bhattacharyya, founder of Navier. She shares her journey from a small city in India to building a next-gen maritime company in the U.S. From sun-tracking solar panels to dodging marriage and surviving a landslide, Sampriti’s story is one of overcoming challenges. She highlights the value of exceptional people, persistence through failures, and her mission to transform the future of waterways. Tune in for an inspiring episode!

Sampriti is a 3x founder and the CEO of Navier, a pioneering company at the forefront of innovation in sustainable, maritime transportation. Sampriti's journey began with a PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) after completing projects with NASA.  Her academic pursuits span diverse fields including Electrical Engineering, High Energy Physics, Aerospace Engineering, MechE/Robotics/Control & AI. Driven by a passion for tackling fundamental technological challenges with global implications, Sampriti thrives on creating products that push the boundaries of exploration and discovery. Her work reflects a deep-seated commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology to address pressing societal needs and unlock new frontiers of possibility.

Connect with Sampriti Bhattacharyya

Navier https://www.navierboat.com/

Navier on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/navierboat/

Navier on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/navierboat/?hl=en

Navier on X https://x.com/navierboat

Sampriti on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/sampriti-bhattacharyya-40368a3/

Sampriti on Instagram  https://www.instagram.com/sampriti_bh/?hl=en

Sampriti on X  https://x.com/sampritibh?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor 

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC LinkTree https://linktr.ee/boostvc

Join Boost VC’s Adam Draper as he chats with AJ Forsythe, founder of Coop, about his not-so-illustrious journey as a founder, and the rewarding yet challenging components of building companies. Discover how AJ’s journey evolved from his first steps building iCracked to his ambitious mission of putting chickens on Mars. Adam and AJ reflect on the nature of entrepreneurship and the importance of seizing life's fleeting moments. Tune in for another fun episode filled with shark diving, fossils, and more!

AJ is going to put chickens on mars. He’s a serial entrepreneur and absolutely loves the startup life (mainly because he’s probably unemployable 😂). In college he founded YC-backed iCracked which was a multinational on-demand phone repair and insurance company that grew to 6 countries and a few thousand technicians. They were acquired by Allstate in 2019 and now he’s running Boost VC backed company, Coop, which builds AI powered chicken coops for anyone’s backyard. AJ has been recognized on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list , was #23 on INC 5000, and continues to innovate at the intersection of agriculture and tech – and wakes up with a smile everyday because he’s building his dream company.

Connect with AJ Forsythe

Coop https://smart.coop.farm/

Coop on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/coop-inc/

Coop on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesmartcoop/

Coop on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@thesmartcoop

Coop on X https://x.com/thesmartcoop

AJ on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajforsythe/

AJ on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/aj__forsythe/

AJ on X https://x.com/spudzeee

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC LinkTree https://linktr.ee/boostvc

Join Boost VC’s Adam Draper as he chats with Collin West, founder of Ensemble VC, about his incredible journey rowing across the Arctic Ocean and how it changed his approach to decision-making and team management. Learn how this experience influences Ensemble’s data-driven approach to assessing startups. Adam and Collin dive into the evolution of venture capital and reflect on their near-death experiences. Tune in for laughs, insights, and a fresh perspective on adventure and opportunity in VC!

Collin is the Founder and Managing Partner of Ensemble VC, which focuses on using data to identify top teams building companies that can impact a billion people. Collin is also a Guinness World Record holder for leading the first-ever crossing of the Arctic Ocean. His team of four rowed non-stop and unsupported for 41 days through the biggest storm season in Arctic history - this is where he learned just how important a great team is pursuing a mission that's never been done before. Collin's prior investments include Zoom Video (NASDAQ: ZM), Carta, Groww, ICON, Saronic, Sidecar Health, and many others. Previously, Collin was a founder of the Kauffman Fellows VC fund and on the founding fund team at the pioneering data-driven VC firm Correlation Ventures. An avid competitor, Collin spends his free time training Brazilian jiu-jitsu, mountain biking, and climbing mountains.

Connect with Collin West

Ensemble VC https://www.ensemble.vc/home/#ensemble 

Ensemble VC on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/ensemblevc/

Collin on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/collinwest/

Collin on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/collinrwest/?hl=en

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC LinkTree https://linktr.ee/boostvc

According to a BCG report, only 19% of VCs have some kind of scientific or technological competence. And that creates a translation problem between deep tech founders and investors. 

To close that gap, Arkady Kulik and his cofounder, Tamaz Khunjua, built RPV, a venture fund that brings scientific expertise to the market and helps scientists become strong entrepreneurs.

On this episode of The Boost VC Podcast, Arkady joins us to explain how the RPV team’s extensive background in science and entrepreneurship serves deep tech startups.

Arkady describes how starting a venture fund differs from founding other companies and shares his excitement around ‘being at the edge of science’ as a frontier tech VC.

Listen in for Arkady’s unique take on what it means to be useful to others and learn how RPV is working to make talented scientists billionaires!

Topics Covered

The idea behind RPV

• Help scientists become strong entrepreneurs
• ‘Commercialization of science’

How Arkady got into venture capital

• Moved to US to be part of scientific exploration of humanity
• Lack of funding in prototyping stage of deep tech startups

Arkady’s biggest accomplishment before age 20

• Launched first company at 18 without external investment
• Scaled to annual revenue of $5M in third year

How starting a venture fund differs from starting other companies

• More competitive, thousands of similar funds raising money
• Harer to differentiate and properly tell story of niche

What part of being a VC Arkady enjoys the most

• Being at edge of science and meeting interesting people
• Finding processes that make things work

The secret skills Arkady is most proud of

• Developed extreme level of discipline
• Extremely organized in managing time and data

How Arkady thinks about being useful to others

• Provide with relevant information or connections
• Put smile on someone’s face, make life better

The most valuable thing RPV provides for deep tech startups

• External proof point for science and technology
• Entrepreneurial experience and change management

Arkady’s ‘deathbed test’ to measure success

• Nothing ‘could have but didn’t achieve’
• Self-actualization (happy, complex person)

Connect with Arkady Kulik

RPV https://rpv.global/

RPV on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/rpvglobal/

Arkady on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arkady-kulik/

Arkady on X https://twitter.com/arkadykulik 

Resources

Starburst Aerospace https://starburst.aero/

Cantos VC https://cantos.vc/

Countdown https://countdown.capital/

Fifty Years https://fiftyyears.com/

Productivity Planner https://www.intelligentchange.com/products/productivity-planner

Terraforming Mars https://www.fryxgames.se/games/terraforming-mars/

Breakfast with Pops: A Venture Capital Handbook by Adam Draper and William H. Draper III https://www.amazon.com/Breakfast-Pops-Venture-Capital-Handbook/dp/B0C1JHXTQF

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/

Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/

Boost VC on X https://twitter.com/BoostVC

Boost VC on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/boost_vc/

If a VC is excited about a deep tech company upfront, what can we do to temper our enthusiasm and make a rational decision on whether to invest?

Maryanna Saenko is Cofounder and Partner at Future Ventures, an early-stage VC firm that focuses on mission-driven companies at the cutting edge of disruptive technology.

Future Ventures looks to back visionaries who push the boundaries of possibility. Some of their recent investments include Beeflow, Deep Genomics and Earthshot Labs.

On this episode of Boost VC, Maryanna joins us to share her definition of deep tech, describing how Future Ventures looks for opportunities ‘unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.’

Maryanna offers her take on why the two-person structure of a venture firm is ideal and discusses some of the deep tech deals she wishes she’d been closer to.

Listen in for Maryanna’s insight on building organizations around big shifts in science or technology and learn her process for dialing down the excitement after a pitch to decide whether her YES will hold.

Topics Covered

Maryanna’s biggest accomplishments before age 20

• Recognized she wouldn’t survive public high school
• Got into Hopkins prep school on scholarship

How Maryanna got into venture capital

• Worked for early-stage company out of college
• Job offer from Daimler to figure out driverless cars
• Introduced to head of innovation lab at Airbus

The most important lessons Maryanna has learned as a VC

• Trust your intuition
• Don’t waste time justifying a startup’s relevance

How Maryanna defines deep tech

• ‘Unlike anything we’ve ever seen before’
• Index on novelty at Future Ventures

What Maryanna does when she’s all-in on a company right away

• Asks what she must believe about reality for YES to hold
• Discussion with partner to temper her excitement

Why Maryanna prefers the two-person structure in venture

• Ideal for its efficiency and intellectual honesty
• Never puts someone in tie-breaker position

Maryanna’s superpowers as a venture investor

• Confident in ability to assess tech on first principles
• Know how to build orgs around shifts in science or tech 

What deals Maryanna wishes she had been closer to

• Structure of open AI
• Deep seabed mining, recycling battery technology

Maryanna’s definition of success

• Feel landscape of possibility was totally exhausted
• ‘Everything I could give to this, I did’

Connect with Maryanna Saenko

Future Ventures https://future.ventures/ 

Future on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FutureVenturesVC

Future on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/future.ventures/

Future on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/futureventures/

Maryanna on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryannasaenko/

Maryanna on Twitter https://twitter.com/FutureSaenko

Resources

Lux Research https://www.luxresearchinc.com/

DARPA Grand Challenge https://www.darpa.mil/about-us/timeline/-grand-challenge-for-autonomous-vehicles

Airbus BizLab https://www.airbus.com/en/innovation/innovation-ecosystem/airbus-bizlab

Beeflow  https://www.beeflow.com/

Decoding the World by Po Bronson and Arvind Gupta https://www.amazon.com/Decoding-World-Questioner-Po-Bronson/dp/1538734311

Redwood Materials https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/

American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin https://www.amazon.com/American-Prometheus-audiobook/dp/B000OZ0J0W/

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/

Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/

Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVC

Boost VC on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/boost_vc/

Deep tech founders are either technically gifted or great at building a business. But it's seldom both, at least in the beginning.

So, what should venture investors pay attention to when we’re choosing founders in these disruptive technologies?

Greg Castle is Founder and Managing Director at Anorak Ventures, a firm that invests in early-stage deep tech startups.

An entrepreneur and corporate marketer turned VC, Greg has invested in 120 companies, including Oculus, Flexport and Mux.

On this episode of Boost VC, Greg joins us to explore how his view of venture investing has changed since he wrote his first check, explaining what he looks for in a founder and how he evaluates deep tech startups differently.

Greg shares his mixed feelings about the VR market right now and how he benefits from having a partner to engage in conviction-based decision-making.

Listen in for Greg’s advice on where to deploy capital in deep tech and learn how Anorak chooses founders who apply disruptive technologies to business problems in any industry.

Topics Covered

How Greg got into venture capital

• Curious person who advocates for people he believes in
• Got lucky in first few personal investments, e.g.: Oculus

The most important lessons Greg has learned as a VC

• What high-functioning teams and companies look like
• Not to take it personally when things don’t go as planned

What Greg pays attention to when he’s choosing founders

• How they interact with cofounders, react to feedback
• Punctuality at meetings, preparedness and responsiveness

The questions Greg asks himself before he invests in a startup

• Do I believe in the founder?
• Do I believe in the market?

How Greg evaluates deep tech companies differently

• Move forward with presumption that anything’s possible
• Consider if technically gifted person can build business

Greg’s mixed feelings about the VR market right now

• Viable platform where developers make real money
• Frustrated by lack of competition, Meta fumbling the ball

Greg’s thoughts on Apple entering the VR/AR market

• ‘Nobody can make a product cool like Apple can’
• Not well-positioned in immersive gaming (primary use case)

The Anorak investment thesis

• Handful of technologies will have outsized impact on future
• Find teams leveraging those technologies, industry agnostic

Greg’s advice on where to deploy capital in deep tech

• Always comes down to people
• Build out ecosystem of investors, founders

How Greg thinks about scale in venture investing

• Find great people in areas that are not your strengths
• Scale of funds = $15M to $25M per partner

How Greg benefits from taking on a partner

• Need to explain yourself to thought partner
• Can still move quickly when he needs to

Greg’s biggest accomplishments before age 20

• Building group of friends in college
• Still works with many of them

Greg’s definition of success

• Confident and comfortable in your own skin
• Content with what you have

Connect with Greg Castle

Anorak Ventures https://www.anorak.vc/

Anorak on Medium https://anorakvc.medium.com/

Anorak on Twitter https://twitter.com/AnorakVentures

Anorak on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/anorak-ventures/

Greg on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorycastle/

Greg on Twitter https://twitter.com/gpcastle12

Resources

Greg Castle on Boost VC EP001 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PyO3LpZD9Q

Greg Castle on Boost VC EP089 https://open.spotify.com/episode/6qYRcDMoemjrMHDxKONu4A

Oculus https://www.meta.com/quest/

GOLF+ https://www.golfplusvr.com/

FitXR https://fitxr.com/

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman https://www.amazon.com/Neverwhere-Novel-Neil-Gaiman-ebook/dp/B000FC130E

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson https://www.amazon.com/Snow-Crash-Novel-Neal-Stephenson-ebook/dp/B000FBJCJE/

Hyperion by Dan Simmons https://www.amazon.com/Hyperion-Cantos-Book-1-ebook/dp/B004G60EHS/

Neuromancer by William Gibson https://www.amazon.com/Neuromancer-Sprawl-Trilogy-William-Gibson-ebook/dp/B000O76ON6/ 

Breakfast with Pops: A Venture Capital Handbook by Adam Draper & William Henry Draper, III https://www.amazon.com/Breakfast-Pops-Venture-Capital-Handbook/dp/B0C1JHXTQF

‘Perception Is Reality’ Presentation https://www.anorak.vc/post/perception-is-reality-8-startup-marketing-principles

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/

Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/

Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVC

Boost VC on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/boost_vc/

How does a venture firm approach investments in deep technology?

Seth Winterroth is Partner at Eclipse Ventures, a VC firm that partners with exceptional entrepreneurs to build companies that redefine physical industries.

Seth has nine years of experience in venture capital, serving as Associate at GE Ventures before he joined the team at Eclipse. 

On this episode of Boost VC, Seth joins us to explore how Eclipse thinks about investing in emerging technologies, explaining how the team engages with customers and leverages internal expertise to identify high-magnitude market opportunities. 

Seth shares his interest in robotics, discussing why the acquisition of Kiva Systems sparked his interest in this particular deep tech field and how he identified the opportunity to invest in 6 River Systems—the first deal he led at Eclipse. 

Listen in for Seth’s advice to young VCs on cultivating patience and responding to chaos with calm, engaging with founders in a way that’s rational and devoid of fear.

Topics Covered

The thesis at Eclipse Ventures

• Small teams of engineers solving hard development problems
• Industries that operate in physical world (80% of global GDP)

How Seth thinks about investing in emerging technology

• Start with markets, customer pain points
• Find specialist to develop n-of-1 solution
• Add traditional engineers with experience scaling technology

What gets Seth excited about robotics

• Kiva Systems acquisition by Amazon sparked interest
• Saw market trends driving adoption of autonomous systems

The success of Seth’s first investment at Eclipse, 6 River Systems

• Robotics company in supply chain logistics
• Acquired for $500M by Shopify in 2019

How Seth identified the opportunity to invest in 6 River Systems

• Ideal team profile and product differentiation
• Gap in market to replace Kiva Systems

Eclipse’s institutional process of thesis development

• Engage with customers, purchasing decision-makers
• Internal engineering expertise to identify gaps

Eclipse’s internal venture equity program

• Cases where did research but didn’t find right opportunity 
• Engineer storm vs. wait for lightning to strike

What Eclipse does to win deals

• Build relationships with founders
• Provide evidence of value-added capital

The part of a deal Seth is most excited about

• Find high-magnitude market opportunity to match worldview
• Go to partners with conviction and say THIS ONE

What Seth would tell his 25-year-old self

• Be patient, don’t rush to have track record in venture
• Respond to chaos with calm, be rational and devoid of fear

What differentiates Eclipse from other venture firms

• Tackle category of economy traditional VCs shy away from
• Deep involvement with companies to improve odds

Seth’s biggest accomplishments before age 20

• Live on own and travel world
• Spend meaningful time with and learn from grandfather

Connect with Seth Winterroth

Eclipse Ventures https://eclipse.vc/

Eclipse on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/eclipse-vc/

Eclipse on Twitter https://twitter.com/eclipseventures 

Seth on Twitter https://twitter.com/Sethwinterroth

Seth on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethwinterroth/

Resources

Kiva Systems Acquisition https://techcrunch.com/2012/03/19/amazon-acquires-online-fulfillment-company-kiva-systems-for-775-million-in-cash/

Willow Garage https://www.businessinsider.com/a-look-back-at-willow-garage-2016-2

DARPA Grand Challenge https://www.darpa.mil/about-us/timeline/-grand-challenge-for-autonomous-vehicles

6 River Systems https://6river.com/

Bright Machines https://www.brightmachines.com/

BrightInsight https://brightinsight.com/

Foxglove Studio https://foxglove.dev/

Kevin Kelly’s Blog ‘You Are Not Late’ https://medium.com/message/you-are-not-late-b3d76f963142

Richard Hamming’s Talk ‘You and Your Research’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1zDuOPkMSw

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin https://www.amazon.com/Team-Rivals-Political-Abraham-Lincoln/dp/0743270754

Lincoln https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443272/

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/

Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/

Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVC

Boost VC on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/boost_vc/

What inspires a venture firm to focus on deep tech?

Ian Rountree is Founder and General Partner at Cantos, a venture fund that invests in potentially world-changing deep tech startups. 

Cantos focuses on hardware and bio investing at the intersection of climate and industrials, life sciences and AI, aerospace and defense, and next-generation computing.

On this episode of Boost VC, Ian joins us to share his definition of deep tech and explain why he underwrites technical risk rather than market risk.

Ian discusses the value of founder empathy, challenging VCs to see the entrepreneur as their customer and LPs as shareholders in the portfolio.

Listen in to understand what drives Ian to make a global-scale impact, backing founders who tackle climate change, disease, armed conflict, poverty and existential risk.

Topics Covered

Ian’s biggest accomplishment before age 20

• Getting Vanderbilt to accept him off waitlist 
• Refused to take NO as answer

Ian’s take on who is the customer in venture capital

• Founder = customer
• LP = shareholder

What inspired Ian to focus on deep tech

• Tackle big problems, e.g.: climate change, poverty
• Deep tech startups outperformed rest of portfolio

How losing his father early informs Ian’s work

• Feels hard deadline to career and life
• Wants to play small role in changing world

The criteria Ian uses to decide if a startup is ‘important’

• Nonzero chance of global-scale impact
• Tackles climate, disease, armed conflict or poverty

How Ian defines deep tech

• Taking technical risk rather than market risk
• Cantos specializes in hardware and bio investing

How Ian thinks about growing the Cantos organization

• From solo GP to 4 equal partners
• ‘Fire’ himself by age 55

What’s behind Benchmark’s equal partnership structure

• Set up for generational turnover from jump
• May also be consequence of early success

Why a deep tech VC doesn’t need to be technical

• Ask expert if violation of physics involved
• Startups that change world challenge status quo

What differentiates software investing from deep tech

• Software involves market risk, easy to pivot
• Deep tech involves technical risk, hard to pivot

Ian’s diligence criteria

• Size of market, potential margins at scale
• Founder who understands their WHY

Connect with Ian Rountree

Cantos https://cantos.vc/

Cantos on Twitter https://twitter.com/cantos

Ian on Twitter https://twitter.com/ianrountree

Ian on LinkedIn    https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianrountree/

Near Frontier Podcast https://nearfrontier.castos.com/

Resources

Fred Wilson’s Blog ‘The VC’s Customer’ https://avc.com/2005/11/the_vcs_custome/

Fred Wilson’s Blog ‘The VC’s Customer (Continued)’ https://avc.com/2009/07/the-vcs-customer-continued/

Radiant https://www.radiantnuclear.com/

Tim Urban’s TED Talk on Procrastination https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_urban_inside_the_mind_of_a_master_procrastinator/c

Benchmark https://www.benchmark.com/

eBoys: The First Inside Account of Venture Capitalists at Work by Randall E. Stross https://www.amazon.com/eBoys-Inside-Account-Venture-Capitalists/dp/0812930959

Benchmark Part I on the Acquired Podcast https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/benchmark-capital

Benchmark Part II on the Acquired Podcast https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/benchmark-part-ii-the-dinner

Union Square Ventures https://www.usv.com/

Cerebras https://www.cerebras.net/

Eric Vishria on Twitter https://twitter.com/ericvishria

Connect with Boost VC

Boost VC Website https://www.boost.vc/

Boost VC on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boostvc/

Boost VC on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoostVC

Boost VC on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/boost_vc/