Fireside with a VC

In this episode of Fireside with a VC, I sit down with John Frankel, founder and partner at ff Venture Capital, to discuss: · The rise of AI Point Solutions (AIPS) · ff VC’s new fund driving innovation in energy and manufacturing · How VC fund size and strategy influence performance across different economic cycles John shares insights on how targeted AI solutions and sector-focused innovation can rejuvenate America’s competitiveness — and what it takes for a venture fund to thrive or fail under shifting market conditions. Upcoming Live Event Hear John present his fund strategy at 7BC’s Global VC Demo Day in New York City on September 17th, 2025, alongside 100+ VCs, family offices, institutional investors, HNWIs, startups, and more. Join us for a 2-hour networkingreception following 7 hand-selected VCs presenting their funds. 👉 Register here: https://lu.ma/f3qxubi5 [https://lu.ma/f3qxubi5] 📌NYC is the 4th stop of our global tour. Apply to attend our upcoming events: https://lu.ma/user/usr-8Y0b18KjVLZhAPm [https://lu.ma/user/usr-8Y0b18KjVLZhAPm] Global Tour Dates🍎 New York City – September 17, 2025 – Host: Brown Rudnick 🇺🇸 Washington DC – September 25, 2025 – Host: Foley (all-star VC panel + networking, not VC Demo Day) 🇨🇱 Austin – October 14, 2025 – Host: CBRE 🇺🇸 San Francisco – October 29, 2025 (Day after TechCrunch Disrupt) – Host: Greenberg Traurig ☀️ Los Angeles / Santa Monica – November 5, 2025 – Host: ExpertDOJO 🌴 Miami – December 4, 2025 (During Art Basel, Dec 3-7) 🇦🇪 Dubai – February 2026 🇨🇱 Austin – March 18, 2026 (SXSW VC-LP mixer – no VC Demo Day) – Host: CBRE 🍎 New York City – April 2026 – Host: Brown Rudnick 🇺🇸 San Francisco – April 2026 – Host: Greenberg Traurig 🇸🇬 Singapore – May 2026 – Host: Greenberg Traurig 🇩🇪 Berlin – June 11, 2026 (Day after SuperVenture)🇬🇧 London – June 16, 2026 – Host: Brown Rudnick

7BC’s Fund of Funds + Cherry-Pick Direct VC Strategy (and why now) + Invitation to 7BC VC-LP-Startup EventsLearn how 7BC combines a Fund of Funds (FoF) with a Cherry Pick Direct VC strategy to back top-decile managers and invest directly in their best companies—unlocking liquidity with secondaries so VCs can return cash to LPs faster.What you’ll learn• Why FoF + Direct VC now• The best VCs from the ’70s–’90s scaled 10x–30x and became mega funds doing late growth rounds near exit prices. Returns are more compressed and take longer to realize.• The Cambrian explosion of VC funds: Alumni from OpenAI, Palantir, Google and countless exited founders have launched funds. NYC went from 50 VCs fifteen years ago to 1,200+; Silicon Valley has thousands. It’s now impossible to track managers and deals without serious AI and dedicated resources.• How 7BC Capital (FoF) invests: We often join final closes of top emerging managers after TVPI is already up, making our commitment worth appromimately 1.2x–2.5x on day one. For established, top-decile sub-$250m funds, we work hard to access first or second closes when final closes are shut.• How 7BC Venture Capital (Direct VC) invests: We fund primaries and buy secondaries—typically preferred shares in the best five companies inside a VC’s portfolio—so that manager can deliver DPI to LPs ahead of their next raise. This directly addresses the VC–LP–startup liquidity crunch.• Our AI edge: 7BC uses AI to map and monitor thousands of VC funds and tens of thousands of startups, surfacing the right managers, the right companies, and the right secondary windows.Get in touch & apply for events• Contact us to attend our 10-20 person VIP dinners the day before or after our larger Global VC Demo Day events: https://www.7bc.vc/contact [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbGdRbGZFMmhLUl9QMWdVV3piZUlsYnVrc1pPUXxBQ3Jtc0tsWlFsdjZ2cFBMU3Nwb0YyWS1meE9zSDR2NWdIWnptc2N3T25ONjhQT1E4Y0FWdHRXYjV3WU1ZQWtNZEFPN2dBWXVRTUc0czFQbU9tOTNFTlRaUV9DXzZ4Y3lPX0VlWmIyQ0huRUJkUG53c251NTdQaw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.7bc.vc%2Fcontact&v=oOyj26K8rEc]• Apply to attend upcoming events: https://lu.ma/user/usr-8Y0b18KjVLZhAPm [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbVM0M1BxdVQ0UjZkQ3RLQi1td1pWY0dhQnN0QXxBQ3Jtc0ttNzNNMTRkS0MyOWRZTXJFd3hVOWE2bk5taS1uQTA2Y0sweXctSHdWeFlCUlhuNjF6b3JqWWtsLW9JLWNZcFl3MktwUWRUZ0J6NG5NNDhzMHlyNThQczFKaE1oVmJEb3daZEJaQzNwX2twczk4VXBubw&q=https%3A%2F%2Flu.ma%2Fuser%2Fusr-8Y0b18KjVLZhAPm&v=oOyj26K8rEc]Upcoming in-person events🍎 New York City — Sept 17, 2025 — Host: Brown Rudnick🇺🇸 Washington, DC — Sept 25, 2025 — Host: Foley🇨🇱 Austin — Oct 14, 2025 — Host: CBRE🇺🇸 San Francisco — Oct 29, 2025 (day after TechCrunch Disrupt) — Host: Greenberg Traurig☀️ Los Angeles / Santa Monica — Nov 5, 2025 — Host: ExpertDOJO🌴 Miami — Dec 4, 2025 (during Art Basel, Dec 3–7)🇦🇪 Dubai — Feb 2026🍎 New York City — Apr 2026 — Host: Brown Rudnick🇺🇸 San Francisco — Apr 2026 — Host: Greenberg Traurig🇸🇬 Singapore — May 2026 — Host: Greenberg Traurig🇩🇪 Berlin — June 11, 2026 (day after SuperVenture)🇬🇧 London — June 16, 2026 — Host: Brown Rudnick 👍 Like, comment & subscribe for more discussions on venture strategies, liquidity, and portfolio construction. Legal DisclaimerThis video and description (the “Content”) are provided by 7BC Venture Capital and 7BC Capital (together, “7BC”) for informational purposes only. The Content does not constitute investment, legal, tax, or accounting advice, and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security, interest in a fund, secondary position, or other transaction. Investing involves significant risk, including the possible loss of all or a substantial portion of invested capital. Venture investments and secondary transactions are speculative, illiquid, and subject to long holding periods and transfer restrictions. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Any targets, estimates, ranges, or examples (including TVPI/DPI figures or multiples) are illustrative only, reflect assumptions that may change, and are not guarantees of performance or liquidity.References to specific funds, managers, companies, or case studies are for illustration and discussion only and do not constitute recommendations, endorsements, or indications that any such investments were or will be profitable or are held by 7BC. Hashtags: #VentureCapital [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/venturecapital] #VC [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/vc] #FundOfFunds [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/fundoffunds] #Secondaries [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/secondaries] #Liquidity [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/liquidity] #LPs [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/lps] #Startups [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/startups] #AI [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/ai] #DPI [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/dpi] #TVPI [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/tvpi] #7BC [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/7bc]

E122 Fireside Chat at Global VC Demo Day London June 2025 with Neil Foster & Scott Smedresman on Fireside with a VC. Discussing the changes and market dynamics of the VC startup ecosystems in London, New York, and Silicon Valley. What has changed and how should strategies adjust? 🚀 VCs: Pitch your fund to LPs forfree at the Global VC Demo Day: https://www.7bc.vc/events [https://www.7bc.vc/events] 📺 Watch the full episode on YouTube:https://youtu.be/J1wcOGGqZOc🎙 Find all episodes of Fireside with a VC: https://www.7bc.vc/podcast [https://www.7bc.vc/podcast]💡 Learn more about Neil Foster & Scott Smedresman and BrownRudnickhere: ·       https://brownrudnick.com/ [https://brownrudnick.com/] ·       https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-foster-6b87405/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-foster-6b87405/] ·       https://linkedin.com/in/scottsmedresman 💰 Learn more about 7BC Venture Capital: https://7bc.vc [https://7bc.vc] 📩 Contact Andrew Romans: https://www.linkedin.com/in/romans/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/romans/] 📚 Find Andrew's 4 books on VC & tech here: http://rb.gy/x1jrr2  Join us at our in-person events where we host a VIP dinner for 20 individuals and Global VC Demo Day events for roughly 100 approved VCs, LPs, and select participants: Apply to attend our upcoming events: https://lu.ma/user/usr-8Y0b18KjVLZhAPm 🍎 New York City – September 17, 2025 –Host: Brown Rudnick 🇺🇸 Washington DC – September 25, 2025 – Host: Foley 🇨🇱 Austin – October 14, 2025 – Host: CBRE 🇺🇸 San Francisco – October 29, 2025 (Dayafter TechCrunch Disrupt) - Host: Greenberg Traurig  ☀️ Los Angeles / Santa Monica – November 5,2025 – Host: ExpertDOJO  🌴 Miami – December 4, 2025 (During ArtBasel, Dec 3-7)  🇦🇪 Dubai – February 2026  🍎 New York City – April, 2026 – Host: BrownRudnick 🇺🇸 San Francisco – April, 2026- Host: Greenberg Traurig  🇸🇬 Singapore – May,2026 – Host: Greenberg Traurig  🇩🇪 Berlin – June 11, 2026 – Day after SuperVenture 🇬🇧 London – June 16, 2026 – Host: BrownRudnick

E121 Mark Terbeek, Partner at Greycroft, talking about founder-investor-fit on Fireside with a VC. One of the keys to success is carefully selecting your investors, building a well-functioning board of directors and managing these long-term relationships. How to evaluate VCs and create founder-investor fit and maintain this over time even if the board member from the venture firm changes and you bring on new board members as you go through your venture funding journey. Best practices on how VCs should approach being a board member. 🚀 VCs: Pitch your fund to LPs for free at the Global VC Demo Day: https://www.7bc.vc/events [https://www.7bc.vc/events] 📺 Watch the full episode on YouTube:https://youtu.be/Wdb6DF1oYLc 🎙 Find all episodes of Fireside with a VC: https://www.7bc.vc/podcast [https://www.7bc.vc/podcast] 💡 Learn more about Mark Terbeek and Greycroft here: https://www.greycroft.com/ 💰 Learn more about 7BC Venture Capital: https://7bc.vc [https://7bc.vc] 📩 Contact Andrew Romans: https://www.linkedin.com/in/romans/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/romans/] 📚 Find Andrew's 4 books on VC & tech here: Amazonauthor page [http://rb.gy/x1jrr2]. Join us at our in-person events: 🍎 New York City – September 17, 2025 –Host: Brown Rudnick | Register [https://lu.ma/f3qxubi5] 🇺🇸 Washington DC – September 25, 2025 – Host:DLA Piper | Register [https://lu.ma/onvakhsi] 🇨🇱 Austin – October 14, 2025 – Host: CBRE | Register [https://lu.ma/rs2dbxhi] 🇺🇸 San Francisco – October 29, 2025 (Day after TechCrunch Disrupt) - Host: Greenberg Traurig | Register [https://lu.ma/6bc9rlg9] ☀️ Los Angeles / Santa Monica – November 5, 2025 – Host:ExpertDOJO | Register [https://lu.ma/imqp1b1d] 🌴 Miami – December 4, 2025 (During Art Basel, Dec 3-7) | Register [https://lu.ma/ulz95tfo] 🇦🇪 Dubai – February 2026  🍎 New York City – April, 2026 – Host: Brown Rudnick 🇸🇬 Singapore – May, 2026 – Host: Greenberg Traurig  🇬🇧 London – June 16, 2026 – Host: Brown

Greg Kidd on Fireside with a VC. Greg recently acquired VastBank | Fintech Pioneer | Early Investor: Twitter, Square, Coinbase, Solana | Ex-Ripple (#10) | Built & Scaled First Company to IPO | Co-Founder, GlobaliD | CEO, USBC | Ex Federal Reserve | Former roommate with Jack Dorsey. Greg and I get into a few topics, including all things related to the future of finance, banking, payments, USDC vs USBC, identity being added to crypto payments and transactions, open banking and fair access, democratizing money, 10,000% markups banks take on ACH and wire transfers over the Fed charges, banking without borders, who needs Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Google or Apple to take rent on payments and how to stop this, importance of securitization and tokenization of real assets, risk management in a world of crypto and digitized centralized and decentralized banking and finance.   📺 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Hpf1mdePa0g 🎙 Find all episodes of Fireside with a VC: https://www.7bc.vc/podcast [https://www.7bc.vc/podcast] 💡 Learn more about Greg and his private investment firm Hard Yaka Ventures: https://www.hardyaka.com/. 💰 Learn more about 7BC Venture Capital: https://7bc.vc [https://7bc.vc] 📩 Contact Andrew Romans: https://www.linkedin.com/in/romans/ 🚀 VCs: Pitch your fund to LPs for free at the Global VC Demo Day: https://www.7bc.vc/events [https://www.7bc.vc/events]🔹 Singapore – May 6, 2025: https://lu.ma/hgij4ynk [https://lu.ma/hgij4ynk]🔹 San Francisco – May 21, 2025: https://lu.ma/00xkzshf [https://lu.ma/00xkzshf]🔹 London – June 17, 2025: https://lu.ma/br2zb72h [https://lu.ma/br2zb72h] 🔹 New York City – September 17, 2025 📩 Subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive VC & startup insights: https://subscribe.7bcventurecapital.com [https://subscribe.7bcventurecapital.com] 📚 Get Andrew's latest books: * Masters of Raising Venture Capital: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DHH5M4TM/ [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DHH5M4TM/] * Masters of Corporate Venture Capital: http://rb.gy/u46e9r [http://rb.gy/u46e9r] 💬 Join the conversation! Leave your comments and let us know your thoughts on this episode.