BTS: How Does Venture Capital REALLY Work?

For decades, a small group of people decided which companies would shape the future.

A pitch deck. A 30-minute meeting. A partner nodding across the table. And somewhere behind closed doors, a decision that could turn a scrappy founder into a billionaire, or end the company before it ever began.

That system is venture capital.

An industry built on outliers, where 1 in 10 bets drives all the returns. Where firms raise billions, deploy capital into companies that may not exist in 10 years, and yet somehow outperform every other asset class in the world.

From Sand Hill Road to Sequoia, Accel, and a16z – venture capital has funded everything from Google and Amazon to Stripe, SpaceX, and OpenAI. But behind the headlines, the mechanics are far less understood.

So how does venture capital actually work? Where does the money come from? How do VCs decide what to invest in? Why do most startups fail, and why do VCs still make money anyway?

Today, we break down the business model, incentives, power dynamics, and hidden math behind venture capital – the engine that funds innovation, shapes markets, and quietly decides the future of technology.

The Desi VC Podcast presents BTS, a new research-driven, documentary-style audio series that pulls back the curtain on the businesses, personalities, newsmakers, trends, and ideas that shape the world we live in.