Thanks to @MollySOShea for being the first artist to record in my studio!
NEW: Brian Singerman, fmr Founders Fund, now GPx, on why he only invests in *people*
SpaceX is the reason he joined Founders Fund in 2008
"If SpaceX didn't work, Founders Fund would not exist."
From Elon & SpaceX to Karp & Palantir, to Anduril, Airbnb, Stripe, & Stemcentrx, @briansin's whole framework is one question:
Is this the best founder in the world at their particular thing?
We get into:
- What makes Founders Fund unique: a team of strong-willed, genuinely authentic individuals
- Why a 3x fund loses to the S&P
- How a lifetime of strategy gaming shapes how he reads founders & now GPs
- Why he bets against the end of the world every time
- Why he's bullish on N-of-1 human cultural artifacts in an AI world
- Why Cyan Banister & Palmer Luckey are genuinely N-of-1 people
Thank you to @mlevchin, @traestephens & @ScottNolan for great questions
𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒
(00:00) Brian Singerman, Co-Founder of GPx, Former Partner at Founders Fund
(00:42) Founders Fund
(02:09) Max Levchin's unfiltered questions
(05:25) How gaming shaped his investing
(06:11) Joining Founders Fund in 2008
(07:34) Silicon Valley's most fascinating characters
(09:29) Lessons from Peter Thiel
(11:26) Building a culture of conviction
(11:59) The art of spotting A+ founders
(13:55) Trae's biggest lesson from Peter Thiel
(14:41) Is socialism a threat to America?
(15:58) Why capital is leaving California
(17:03) The obsession with Hawaii
(20:59) The Founders Fund playbook
(24:51) "If SpaceX didn't work, Founders Fund would not exist"
(26:03) Why Elon is one of one
(27:30) Why everyone knew Starlink would win
(28:42) Inside Founders Fund's biggest bets
(31:06) The Founders Fund founder archetype
(33:25) Backing fund managers instead of startups
(35:22) The new generation of GPs
(36:34) The most authentic people in tech
(41:38) Why other VCs aren't the audience
(44:05) Music, Memorabilia & N-of-1 Artifacts
(46:25) The story behind Brian's music studio
(49:22) What's next for Brian?
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My video from the Hawthorne office of the final Falcon 1 launch (first ever success with deployment). This is one of those startup moments you never forget, and why you get into tech in the first place. 7/13/09.
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Sharing a message I just sent to our LPs:
Great to host Anduril's first investor @briansin at HQ today to celebrate yesterday's CCA win!
I've always said the best founders are nice/polished on the outside, but 100% ruthless on the inside. Nice work on the raise @eglyman, now let's crush.
Bloomberg: “People say you’re so nice, but don’t you need to be more ruthless?”
Ramp employees: 😳
Great thread on why @solugen is such an important company.
.@Anduril is hands down one of the most important companies I’ve ever invested in. I enjoyed talking to @harrystebbings about how the team is ensuring the U.S. military continues to lead.
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Shopify has signed a deal that will allow merchants to offer fintech startup Affirm’s installment payment service starting later this year, the two companies announced Wednesday.
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Great article by @mrabkin, one of the most rational, no bullshit people I know. He also understands the combination of exponential growth, fake news, and mass market appeal better than almost all people on the planet.
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I’m not sure about the Google one, but @OscarHealth has put this flow together to help you assess risk and get tested if needed.
Great piece from @tsimonite on how @vicariousai is developing industrial robots that get smarter as they work:
Peter is a critical part of FF, but investing is a team sport and our team has never been stronger.
If you, like me, prefer the freedom of actual cash over “points,” @tryramp is the card for you:
Honored to have been confirmed by the Senate today as the U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Sweden. An ambassadorship is a position of honor and trust, and I will strive to do credit to the office. I look forward to being sworn in soon and beginning my work at @USEmbassySweden.
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The things one needs to do to to get an upgraded an office at Founders Fund.
Service on the Affirm Board is quite dangerous, apparently.
This game from the creator of 'Rick and Morty' is the best video game of 2019 so far, and it only costs $30
“We’ve seen that the strongest founders in our portfolio perform best when they’re planning for the next five to 10 years, not just the next quarter,” @briansin tells @aosipovich
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Long Term Stock Exchange is now approved by the SEC!
🦄 Let startups go public earlier
🙅🏻♂️ Prevent short-term corporate raiders from strip-mining small-to-mid-cap IPOs
👼🏻 Let the public participate in tech gains
🤲🏻 Add transparency/liquidity to startups
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Excited to announce our Series B! Welcome @ycombinator continuity, @foundersfund, @ROWGHANI, @briansin and thanks to our team, users and early investors for getting us this far!
