50 episodes

A place to talk about startups, venture capital and tech. For a full download, double-click on sandhillroad.io

Sand Hill Road Sand Hill Road

    • Technology
    • 4.2 • 6 Ratings

A place to talk about startups, venture capital and tech. For a full download, double-click on sandhillroad.io

    E51 Raising $1bn to bringing entrepreneurship to Japan with World Innovation Lab founder and CEO Gen Isayama

    E51 Raising $1bn to bringing entrepreneurship to Japan with World Innovation Lab founder and CEO Gen Isayama

    In this episode, Erasmus Elsner is talking to Gen Isayama, co-founder and CEO of World Innovation Lab, a Palo Alto and Tokyo based venture firm investing in growth-stage companies and serving as a bridge between startups and Japanese corporations.

    00:00​​ Intro

    01:30 World Innovation Lab

    04:10 From Japanese lawyer to Silicon Valley VC

    09:10 From DCM to WIL

    13:55 WIL investment thesis

    19:40 Japanese entrepreneurial culture

    26:57 Open innovation Models at WIL

    31:57 Raising Fund I

    37:00 Full spectrum of WIL Activities

    42:16 Investment strategy and portfolio construction

    48:06 Outlook for WIL III

    51:23 Call to action

    • 53 min
    E50 Establishing a growth equity firm with Left Lane Capital founding partner Dan Ahrens

    E50 Establishing a growth equity firm with Left Lane Capital founding partner Dan Ahrens

    In this episode, Erasmus Elsner is talking to Dan Ahrens, founding partner at Left Lane Capital, a New York based venture capital and early growth equity firm that invests in high-growth internet and consumer technology businesses. 

    00:00​​ Intro 

    02:43 Consumer vs. enterprise tech 

    05:09 Getting into venture 

    07:54 Raising Left Lane I 

    10:35 Investing while fundraising 

    13:09 The Left Lane Capital playbook 

    17:09 Due diligence in a hot market 

    18:52 Scaling Left Lane Capital 

    21:36 Deployment pace 

    23:28 Focus area 

    26:04 Hard conversations 

    28:10 Arc 

    32:53 Exo Freight 

    35:28 Supply Chain Tech 

    37:04 Call to action

    • 41 min
    E49 Cooking up the future of digital food halls with Byte Kitchen founder Divyang Arora

    E49 Cooking up the future of digital food halls with Byte Kitchen founder Divyang Arora

    In this episode, Erasmus Elsner is talking to Divyang Arora, founder and CEO of Byte Kitchen about cooking up the future of digital food halls with Byte Kitchen founder Divyang Arora.  

    0:00 Intro 

    1:24 2 minute elevator pitch 

    4:27 Going all in 

    8:07 Business Model 

    14:52 The Byte Kitchen playbook 

    18:52 Optimal Partner Restaurant Profile 

    25:39 End customer benefits 

    27:25 Raising the Seed Round  

    30:14 Early traction 

    31:54 Byte Kitchen's Use of Tech 

    34:50 Call to Action

    • 35 min
    E48 Protecting passwords through open-source software with Bitwarden CEO Michael Crandell

    E48 Protecting passwords through open-source software with Bitwarden CEO Michael Crandell

    In this episode, Erasmus Elsner is talking to Michael Crandell, CEO Bitwarden about scaling open-source password manager Bitwarden.  

    00:00​ Intro 

    00:50 What is Bitwarden 

    03:22 From side hustle to venture-backed 

    06:36 Joining a Bootstrapper at Series A 

    09:58 Open-source GTM 

    13:25 Open-source defensibility 

    15:35 Community vs. enterprise edition 

    17:37 Revenue traction 

    19:51 Competition 

    22:25 Fundraising journey 

    25:46 Use of funds 

    28:25 Go-to-market strategy 

    31:40 Building a remote-first company 

    35:11 Arbitrating talent 

    36:00 Next steps for Bitwarden 

    38:28 Not the first time at the rodeo

    • 39 min
    E47 Your fund size is your strategy with Kyle Harrison, GP at Contrary

    E47 Your fund size is your strategy with Kyle Harrison, GP at Contrary

    In this episode, Erasmus Elsner is talking to Kyle Harrison, general partner at Country about everything from the economics of whale hunting, the venture product offering to his recent joining of Contrary.  

    00:00​ Intro 

    01:11 Way into venture 

    04:58 Time of reflection 

    07:24 The under-innovated venture model 

    10:46 Your fund size is your strategy 

    16:16 The nature of the general partnership 

    20:38 Rethinking the org chart 

    25:13 VC product vs. VC service 

    28:31 VC product industry practice 

    31:13 From monolithic brands to solo capitalist 

    37:18 The future of venture tribes 

    39:52 Joining Contrary

    • 47 min
    E46 Uncovering tax credits (aka free money) for startups with MainStreet founder and CEO Doug Ludlow

    E46 Uncovering tax credits (aka free money) for startups with MainStreet founder and CEO Doug Ludlow

    In this episode, Erasmus Elsner is talking to Doug Ludlow, co-founder and CEO of MainStreet, which helps startups and small businesses uncover tax credits.   

    00:00​​ Intro 

    01:05 Hipster 

    05:09 Happy Home Company 

    07:10 Starting MainStreet 

    11:22 The nature of Tax credits 

    16:03 The Path Act 

    17:52 The MainStreet Product 

    19:14 Customer success stories 

    20:41 Customer profile 

    22:40 Audit protection / guarantee 

    24:13 Moats 

    25:37 Whitespace vs. Switching 

    26:30 MainStreet traction 

    27:47 Fundraising  

    28:17 Pre-empted Series A  

    30:22 MainStreet layoffs 

    32:42 Unit economics 

    33:42 Unit economics 

    34:50 Vision for MainStreet  

    37:42 Fast five 

    39:01 Call to action

    • 39 min

Customer Reviews

4.2 out of 5
6 Ratings

6 Ratings

LisaIsHereForIt ,

Incredible guests, BIG ideas 💥

Sand Hill Road has quickly become a favorite in my feed! Erasmus is a fantastic host. I'm consistently impressed by the engaging conversations, insightful content, and actionable ideas. I truly learn something every time I listen!

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