My guest this week is Sheel Tyle, who at just 26 years old has already had a successful career in venture capital. His most recent stint was as the co-head of the seed investing business at NEA, the largest venture capital firm in the world, where Sheel was also a partner. Now, Sheel has set off on his own, setting up his own firm called Amplo and having recently raised a $100M venture fund where he is the sole general partner. He aims to invest with young, mission driven entrepreneurs with a global focus. As you can tell from this resume, which also includes a degree from Stanford and a law degree from Harvard, this is one ambitious guy.
There are several aspects of this conversation that will really stick with me, specifically his points on networking and the smartest decision that he’s seen entrepreneurs make. I also loved our discussion of some of the same trends we explored last week with Chris Dixon—topics like drones, automated cars, and blockchain, where Sheel often has a different take than the consensus.
Please enjoy my conversation on Africa, entrepreneurship, venture capital trends, technology, and more with Sheel Tyle.
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub.
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Books Referenced
Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World
Links Referenced
Andela
OneConcern
Andy Rachleff Podcast Episode
Mark43
TechCrunch
VentureBeat
Bill Draper (author)
Show Notes
2:20 - (First Question) Sheel’s upbringing and how it shaped his interest in Africa
4:43 – The outlook for Africa
6:10 – Primary differences in valuations and momentum in Africa vs opportunities in other places which Sheel conveys through the story of Andela
10:45 – The perspective returns of venture capital investments
15:16 – Does the hyperfroth in ICO’s serve as a threat to traditional venture capital
17:53 – Where Sheel falls on the importance of networking in terms of his venture capital interests
20:38 – The stronger impact of a smaller, more tight-knit network
22:46 – Sheel’s feelings on driverless cars and the timeline for this sector
27:17 – What are the positive side effects of driverless cars taking over
29:01 – What is the best way to invest in driverless cars from a venture capital standpoint
31:30 – Sheel’s overrated/underrated take on different technology spaces
31:30 – VR/AR
32:21 – Blockchain
32:54 – Machine learning/AI
33:41 – Drones
34:53 – Other categories that we should be thinking about
36:54 – OneConcern
38:21 – Should entrepreneurs be raising more money over future liquidity concerns of the venture capital markets
39:40 – What are the places that Sheel can help a founder in the early stage formation of the company
40:02 – Andy Rachleff Podcast Episode
42:53 – What does the breakdown of domestic vs international investments potentially look like in fund 1 for Sheel
44:53 – Sheel’s most memorable travel experience
47:34 – what is the best decision Sheel saw a founder make
48:10 – Mark43
50:31 – Resources for people interested in venture capital
51:06 – TechCrunch
51:07 – VentureBeat
51:17 – Bill Draper (author)
51:25 – Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World
Learn More
For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.
Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub
Follow Patrick on twitter at @patrick_oshag
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