Village Global Podcast

Dr. Cameron Sepah discusses founder psychology, abnormality for greatness, sleep and nutrition tips, dopamine fasts, meditation myths, Acceptance & Commitment Therapy vs. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

Erik is joined on this episode by Richard Craib (@richardcraib), founder of Numerai and Erasure, and Riva-Melissa Tez (@rivatez), part of strategy at Intel. They discuss:- What Richard is working on at Numerai, a hedge fund that gives away its (anonymized) data for free.- The Erasure protocol and the value of information marketplaces.- Whether prediction markets for stocks can work.- Whether the Numerai model could work with other types of data, for example, in healthcare.- Whether the quality of startups in San Francisco is going down or up.- The future of universities.- The lack of diversity of political views in San Francisco.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global and is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg.______Village Global’s Network Catalyst accelerator is a personalized program that features masterclasses from some of the best in Silicon Valley and a dedicated network leader focused on making the introductions you need to turbocharge your company. You can participate in-person in San Francisco or virtually from anywhere around the world. Find out more and apply at villageglobal.vc/networkcatalyst.

Remember: applications for the winter vintage of our network catalyst accelerator are due September 20 — make sure to apply before then. Check out more info below.Venkat Rao (@vgr), joins Erik on this episode. He writes at Ribbonfarm, Breaking Smart, and The Art of Gig.They talk about:- Why the ambient humour level fluctuates in a society and the “seriousness bubble” in Silicon Valley before 2016.- Mediocrity and its merits.- Hannah Arendt, humans as social creatures, and why “to be whole is to be a part.”- What he thinks libertarians get wrong, and why they “are wrong in an interesting way.”- How Silicon Valley has been evolving and how it can change to broaden the base of prosperity.- Why he stays away from utopian thinking.- The idea of shared reality tunnels and how they are similar to the evolution of television over the years.- Where humans will derive meaning in the future.- Why climate change will be the next big cultural battlefield.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global, is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg and is produced by Brett Bolkowy.______Village Global’s Network Catalyst accelerator is a personalized program that features masterclasses from some of the best in Silicon Valley and a dedicated network leader focused on making the introductions you need to turbocharge your company. You can participate in-person in San Francisco or virtually from anywhere around the world. Find out more and apply before September 20 at villageglobal.vc/networkcatalyst.

Erik is joined by David Gornoski on this episode. He is an entrepreneur, speaker, and writer.They talk about:- How David came to be interested in René Girard’s work.- The explanation for why human desires are usually borrowed from each other.- Mimesis and society’s role models.- How Christianity has influenced society.- The human fascination with conflict and drama.- What religion can teach us.- How Girardian philosophy applies to criminal justice, foreign policy, and government.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global, is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg and is produced by Brett Bolkowy.

Robert Cottrell (@robertcottrell), editor of The Browser, joins Erik on this episode.They talk about:- The two main errors that publications made in the shift to online after the advent of the web.- Why paywalls are not an effective model.- The bond that readers have with individual writers rather than publications, and how business models could change to accommodate that.- Why long form writing is the most under-appreciated form of art today.- Lessons to learn from his prolific reading habits.- The potential for curation by algorithm and what he’s working on in this area.- How to combat fake news.- The promise that effective machine translation holds for non-English publications.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global, is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg and is produced by Brett Bolkowy.

Jeff Morris Jr. (@jmj), Director of Product, Revenue at Tinder, and investor at Chapter One, joins Erik on this episode.We sincerely apologize for the audio quality of this episode. We had technical difficulties with the recording.They discuss:- Using tech to bridge online and offline experiences.- The idea of wellness as a status symbol. - What $10B companies may have emerged ten years from now.- The future of dating apps.- Why he’s excited about ISAs.- Why tech talent might need agents.- What he’s learned from the best product and monetization people.- Whether there’s a “Silicon Valley exodus” going on.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global, is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg and is produced by Brett Bolkowy.

Erik is joined on this episode by PJ Kershaw (@pjkershawnz), early stage investor and crypto thinker.They discuss:- Why PJ says that the current model of companies with shareholders has “reached its zenith.”- How DAOs will change the world.- How public goods can be better delivered using new models.- Lessons from Singapore.- The future of venture capital in the age of crypto.- How VC fund structure will change.- Who the LPs will be in new forms of funds.- The difference between investing in Asia and the US.- His investing thesis.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global, is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg and is produced by Brett Bolkowy.

Erik is joined on this episode by Lawson Baker (@lwsnbaker), head of special projects at TokenSoft. He’s also working on a new company.They talk about:* Bitcoin as the future not just of finance, but also of work.* What the internet and the future of work looks like ten years out.* The “de-evolution of the firm” and how corporations will become less important in business.* Where Lawson would be investing if he was running a venture fund.* Why prediction markets are so exciting to Lawson.* How identity will change over time.* The future of capitalism.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global and is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg. The show is produced by Brett Bolkowy.

Erik is joined on this episode by Brad Glisson (@GlissonBrad), co-founder and CEO of Quilt, formerly Thoughtblox.They discuss:- What social capital is, why it is important, and how it is distinctive from other forms of capital.- The studies around social capital and some of their insights.- How social capital impacts and intersects with reputation.- Whether a codified reputation system, like a “Yelp for people” would ever be feasible (or desirable).- What makes a great community.- What Brad is working on in this space.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global, is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg and is produced by Brett Bolkowy.

We are honored to have Anne Wojcicki (@annewoj23), co-founder and CEO of 23andMe, among our small group of luminary LPs whose financial capital and engagement power the next wave of Village Global founders.She joined us in Mountain View for an intimate fireside chat with the first Chief Data Scientist for the United States Office of Science and Technology Policy, DJ Patil (@dpatil).They discussed: - Why the US healthcare system is broken.- The state of direct-to-consumer healthcare.- Tailored medicine and the future of digital health.- 23andMe’s drug discovery efforts and how continuous data monitoring can change how drugs are developed.- The problem with clinical trials and how to fix them.- How Anne would change the US healthcare system if she could wave a magic wand.- The founding of 23andMe and the company’s philosophy.Thanks for listening — if you like what you hear, please review us on your favorite podcast platform. Check us out on the web at villageglobal.vc or get in touch with us on Twitter @villageglobal.Venture Stories is brought to you by Village Global, is hosted by co-founder and partner, Erik Torenberg and is produced by Brett Bolkowy.