Best Ben Novak Podcasts (2024)

Guitarist and Musical Director Shonn Hinton - who has played with Mary J Blige, Jill Scott, John Legend, Lil Wayne - joins the guys for a chat about life and music. Support the Show.By Michael Shapiro & Kevin Sucher

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Encore: Secrets of Public Speaking and Oral Communication from Renowned Speaking Coach 42:20

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2M ago42:20

42:20

Michael Balaoing, founder of Candlelion, joins Village Global co-founder and partner Ben Casnocha on this episode to discuss: - The importance of the acronym WTF (what’s the feeling?) when you’re giving a presentation. - The four roles that you take on as a speaker: captain, pilot, guide, and game show host. - The five questions to ask when seeking…

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Episode 15 - Stephanie Calvert 31:20

1M ago31:20

31:20

World famous singer Stephanie Calvert joins the guys to talk about music, life, and cooking! Support the Show.By Michael Shapiro & Kevin Sucher

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Episode 14 - Neal Portnoy 32:39

2M ago32:39

32:39

World famous illustrator Neal Portnoy sits down with the guys today! Support the Show.By Michael Shapiro & Kevin Sucher

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Episode 13 - Stuart Watkins 45:22

2M ago45:22

45:22

Canadian royalty, and bassist of the stars - Stuart Watkins - sits down with the dudes for this titillating chat. Support the Show.By Michael Shapiro & Kevin Sucher

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Episode 12 - Kelly Clinton-Holmes 44:17

3M ago44:17

44:17

Legendary Las Vegas Headliner Kelly Clinton-Holmes sits down with the fellas. Support the Show.By Michael Shapiro & Kevin Sucher

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Encore: Brad Feld on What Nietzsche Can Teach Entrepreneurs 50:09

2M ago50:09

50:09

Brad Feld (@bfeld), VC at Foundry Group and co-author with Dave Jilk of The Entrepreneur’s Weekly Nietzsche, joined Village Global co-founder and partner Ben Casnocha to discuss: - Common misconceptions about Nietzsche and why being misunderstood makes him an especially interesting philosopher. - What Nietzsche can teach entrepreneurs deciding whet…

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Episode 11 - Philly Fly Boy 35:11

3M ago35:11

35:11

World famous music video director Philly Fly Boy joins us for today's chat. Support the Show.By Michael Shapiro & Kevin Sucher

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Episode 10 - Timothy Connolly 33:01

3M ago33:01

33:01

Timothy Connolly AKA Sonny Calzone AKA Ukulele Hero stops by to hang with the fellas. Support the Show.By Michael Shapiro & Kevin Sucher

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Episode 9 - Kelly Vohnn 30:19

3M ago30:19

30:19

Über talented Las Vegas headliner Kelly Vohnn joins the fellas for today's podcast. Support the Show.By Michael Shapiro & Kevin Sucher

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How to Nail Product-Market Fit and Scale a B2B Company with Thejo Kote of Airbase 57:45

3M ago57:45

57:45

Thejo Kote (@thejo) talks to Village partner Ben Casnocha. Thejo is a two-time founder and CEO. His current company, Airbase, is a spend management platform serving companies with 100 and 5,000 employees like Coda, 15Five, Front, Marqueta, CaptivateIQ, Abnormal, and more. Airbase has raised over $200 million, has tens of millions in ARR, and is con…

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Episode 8 - Bryan "Froggy" Cross 34:16

3M ago34:16

34:16

Join the guys as they shoot the shit with Production Manager of the STARS - Bryan "Froggy" Cross. Support the Show.By Michael Shapiro & Kevin Sucher

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Encore: Cloudflare Co-Founder Michelle Zatlyn’s Advice on Hiring, Fundraising, Scaling, and more 50:26

3M ago50:26

50:26

Michelle Zatlyn (@zatlyn), co-founder, president, and COO of Cloudflare, joined Village Global co-founder and partner Ben Casnocha for a masterclass with our founders in late 2020. They discussed: - The origin story of Cloudflare, including how the co-founders met, and how Michelle realized that she too could start a company. - Her advice on fundra…

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Episode 7 - Zowie Bowie/Chris Phillips 31:19

4M ago31:19

31:19

We have a legitimate Las Vegas superstar join the podcast today. Zowie Bowie is Las Vegas Entertainment Royalty. Check out this stuff he dishes with Michael & Kevin - on episode 7!! Support the Show.By Michael Shapiro & Kevin Sucher

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Episode 6 - Niki Scalera 31:28

4M ago31:28

31:28

We have a bonafide Broadway star joining us for Episode 6! Tune in! Support the Show.By Michael Shapiro & Kevin Sucher

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Lessons from the Early Days at Uber and Advice for Founders with Kevin Novak 46:37

3M ago46:37

46:37

We're excited to launch a new EIR program for data science founders in partnership with Rackhouse Ventures, founded by Kevin Novak. Learn more about the program: https://www.villageglobal.vc/rackhouse-village-global-eir-program Kevin Novak (@novakkm), an early Uber employee, was instrumental in developing their data science program and was the crea…

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Episode 5 - Vincent John 33:22

4M ago33:22

33:22

We have a Bronx Wanderer on the show. Join us as we hang with the über talented Vincent John. Support the Show.By Michael Shapiro & Kevin Sucher

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Episode 4 - Mark O'Toole 35:44

4M ago35:44

35:44

Michael and Kevin are joined by special guest, Las Vegas headliner - Mark O'Toole. Support the Show.By Michael Shapiro & Kevin Sucher

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Episode 3 - Bulges and discs. 41:02

4M ago41:02

41:02

Join Michael and Kevin as they discuss their bulges. Support the Show.By Michael Shapiro & Kevin Sucher

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Episode 108: Mysterious Cards from The Feast of Hemlock Vale 1:51:52

4M ago1:51:52

1:51:52

Join Ren, Dan, and Ben as they discuss some of the most interesting player cards from the new investigator expansion. And maybe also some other topics?By Dane Brophy, Dan Nichols, Ben Novak

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Encore Episode: John Donahoe’s Lessons on Leadership and Being a Better CEO 54:14

4M ago54:14

54:14

This encore episode is a recording of a special masterclass roundtable session for our founders with John Donahoe. John is CEO of Nike and was previously CEO of ServiceNow and eBay. He is known as one of the most inspirational leaders in Silicon Valley and is a highly sought-after mentor to CEOs including Brian Chesky at Airbnb, Drew Houston at Dro…

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Episode 2 - The Next Chapter 37:46

5M ago37:46

37:46

Michael & Kevin start painting! Recap on Kevin's weekend show, Michaels Colonoscopy Prep, and more! Support the Show.By Michael Shapiro & Kevin Sucher

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Episode 1 - The Debut Episode 29:53

5M ago29:53

29:53

Welcome to our debut Episode! Get to know Michael & Kevin and prepare to lear what's in store for this podcast! Support the Show.By Michael Shapiro & Kevin Sucher

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Identifying 275M Unreported Genetic Variations To Improve Healthcare with NIH All of Us Program CTO Chris Lunt 49:08

5M ago49:08

49:08

Chris Lunt is a technology executive with more than 25 years of experience building web services and data platforms. He is in his seventh year as the CTO for the NIH's All of Us Research Program. He joined the NIH from GetInsured, where he worked to improve health insurance shopping and enrollment systems. Previously Chris ran VC-backed internet st…

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Building Hardware Companies and Choosing Co-Founders with Michael Hochberg 57:04

5M ago57:04

57:04

Michael Hochberg (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hochberg/) is a physicist and a founder of four successful startup companies in semiconductors and telecommunications, including Luxtera, acquired by Cisco in 2019, and Elenion, acquired by Nokia in 2020. He won the highest awards for young scientists in Singapore (NRF Fellowship) and the United States …

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Secondaries with Matt Pellini of Hamilton Lane 40:19

5M ago40:19

40:19

Matt Pellini, Managing Director at Hamilton Lane, joins Olga Serhiyevich on this episode. Highlights: - Matt says the secondaries market has grown over 5x from 15 years ago to now. - Selling in the secondary market used to be a sign of distress but is no longer. There are many different reasons for doing so and it’s mostly a sign of a manager being…

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Lessons Learned From Running CalSTRS with Chris Ailman 52:38

6M ago52:38

52:38

Christopher Ailman (@CJAtheCIO), Chief Investment Officer at CalSTRS, joins Olga Serhiyevich on this episode. Highlights: - CalSTRS, the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, was created in 1913 and is actually older than Social Security. It has over 400 members who are over 100 years old who are still receiving their pension. - Chris says …

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Encore: Mark Pincus on Product Management, Raising Capital, and Building Zynga 1:10:17

6M ago1:10:17

1:10:17

This encore episode is a recording of a special event where Mark Pincus (@markpinc) was interviewed by Ben Casnocha in San Francisco in front of a live audience of portfolio founders, friends of the firm, and LPs. Mark is co-founder and Executive Chairman of Zynga, and is an angel investor in Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and other companies. He tal…

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Episode 107 - The Customizable Cards of The Scarlet Keys 1:30:00

6M ago1:30:00

1:30:00

Ren & Ben conclude the MUR player card dive in The Scarlet Keys by talking through the customizable cards.By Dane Brophy, Dan Nichols, Ben Novak

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Encore: Bill Gates on Advice For Founders, Mistakes, and Philanthropy 59:58

6M ago59:58

59:58

This encore episode is a recording of a special event where Bill Gates was interviewed in San Francisco by Julia Hartz, co-founder of Eventbrite. It originally took place in 2018 in front of a live audience of Village Global founders and friends of the firm. We are honored to count Bill Gates among our luminary LPs whose financial capital and engag…

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Encore: Jerry Yang on Yahoo!, Early-Stage Investing, and China 56:18

6M ago56:18

56:18

Jerry originally joined us on the podcast in 2019. He is co-founder of Yahoo! and founding partner of AME Cloud Ventures. He was interviewed in front of a live audience in San Francisco by Village Global co-founder and partner, Ben Casnocha. Jerry told stories from the early days of Yahoo! and explained his lessons learned from the experience. He a…

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How Superplastic Built a Social Media-Native Character Universe 44:00

7M ago44:00

44:00

Paul Budnitz, founder of Superplastic, and Jennifer van Dijk, CEO of Superplastic, join Christina Des Vaux, head of marketing and platform at Village Global, on this episode. Takeaways: Superplastic is a creatively-led company that has managed to maintain its unique identity and artistic integrity while nevertheless running a thriving business. The…

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Dan and Ben Campaign Report: TSK 2P Standard all scenarios 1:23:16

10M ago1:23:16

1:23:16

Listen to Dan and Ben share their takes on TSK scenario-by-scenario as they play through the entire campaign in one crazy New Jersey weekend.Transition music:Pardon Me Pretty Baby - music by Vincent Rose, lyrics by Ray Klages and Jack MeskillIkimiz Bir Fidaniz - Tülay ÖzerEl Toba - Abd El Halim HafezMilonga de mis amores - by Pedro Laurenz, perform…

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Episode 106 - The Scarlet Keys Campaign Discussion 1:29:33

10M ago1:29:33

1:29:33

Dan, Dana, and Ben return to the recording studio to share their thoughts on the new-ish campaign The Scarlet Keys.By Dane Brophy, Dan Nichols, Ben Novak

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Reference Checking and Personality Assessments with Investor Graham Duncan 51:26

11M ago51:26

51:26

Graham Duncan (@GrahamDuncanNYC) is a longtime investor and author of a legendary essay on reference checking: https://grahamduncan.blog/whats-going-on-here/ He was interviewed by Village Global co-founder and partner Ben Casnocha (@bencasnocha) during a special masterclass for Village Global founders and friends of the firm. Takeaways: - Be aware …

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Insights on Capital Power Brokers from Hedge Funds to Venture Capital with Sebastian Mallaby, author of The Power Law 51:29

11M ago51:29

51:29

Sebastian Mallaby (@scmallaby) is the Paul A. Volcker senior fellow for international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations and a contributing columnist for The Washington Post. He is the author of five books, including most recently The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future. He joined Olga Serhiyevich, head of investo…

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LatAm Digital Transformation Report from Atlantico 49:16

11M ago49:16

49:16

Julio Vasconcellos (@JulioV), managing partner at Atlantico, and Ana Martins (@martinsg_ana), partner at Atlantico, join Anne Dwane (@adwane), co-founder and partner at Village Global, to discuss Atlantico’s 2023 report on digital transformation in Latin America. Takeaways: - If Latin America was its own country it would be #3 in the world in terms…

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Opportunities in Public Health Investing with Gurdane Bhutani and Zeshan Muhammedi 52:43

12M ago52:43

52:43

Gurdane Bhutani and Zeshan Muhammedi are co-founders and GPs at MBX, a VC firm investing in early-stage bio/healthtech companies tackling major public health threats. Prior to that they co-founded healthcare and life-science venture capital firm FundRx, where they championed the firm's build-out of its community-driven investment infrastructure, mo…

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The Future of Retail with Lee Hnetinka 38:00

12M ago38:00

38:00

Lee Hnetinka, founder and CEO of Future and Darkstore, joins Olga Serhiyevich, Head of Investor Relations at Village Global, on this episode. Lee and his companies are building innovative solutions in retail and e-commerce and have worked with world’s most admired brands like Nike, Adidas and Disney where they enabled same-day and 1-hour delivery f…

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CIO Series: Wealth Management Platforms, Private Investment Strategies, and the Current (non-Twitter) Macro Outlook with Cameron Dawson 39:48

12M ago39:48

39:48

Cameron Dawson, Chief Investment Officer at NewEdge Wealth, joins Olga Serhiyevich, Head of Investor Relations, on this episode. Prior to joining NewEdge Wealth, Cameron was the Chief Market Strategist at Fieldpoint Private Securities and a Senior Equity Analyst at Bank of America. Takeaways: Cameron says that wealth management firms can provide th…

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Opportunities at the intersection of software and hardware in national development projects with Prescott Watson 56:03

1y ago56:03

56:03

Prescott Watson (@prescottwatson) joins Olga Serhiyevich (@olgaserhi), head of investor relations at Village Global, on this episode. Prescott is co-founder of Port Power, a software platform that aims to de-risk commercial fleets’ adoption of electric vehicles by ensuring their charging infrastructure functions flexibly and reliably. Takeaways: - …

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Mark Cuban on Disrupting Healthcare, Trends in AI, and Randomness 54:27

1y ago54:27

54:27

Mark Cuban (@mcuban) joins Olga Serhiyevich (@olgaserhi), head of investor relations at Village Global, on this episode. Takeaways: - In the US healthcare system the interests of patients, providers, and payers are not aligned. This drives many of the problems in the system today and is part of what inspired Mark to get involved in trying to disrup…

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Disrupting VC Benchmarking and Closing The LP-GP Information Gap with Eric Woo and Spencer Tyson 48:35

1y ago48:35

48:35

Eric Woo (@ericjwoo), co-founder and CEO of Revere, and Spencer Tyson (@SpencerGTyson), Head of Investment Ratings at Revere, join Olga Serhiyevich (@olgaserhi), Head of Investor Relations at Village Global. Revere has pioneered the world’s first rating system for venture capital funds. Takeaways: - Venture has changed a lot over the last couple de…