Kevin Ryan is one of the leading entrepreneurs and investors in New York. Often called the “Godfather of NYC tech,” he is the founder and CEO of AlleyCorp, a New York based venture capital firm that incubates and invests across healthcare, AI and software, consumer tech, deep tech, and more. Kevin is also the co-founder of several notable companies including MongoDB, Business Insider, Zola, Gilt Groupe, and Transcend Therapeutics. Earlier in his career, Kevin was the CEO of DoubleClick, which he helped grow from a 20-person startup to a publicly-traded company with more than 1,500 employees. This episode is brought to you by: Eight Sleep Pod 6 which cools or heats each side of the bed, with custom elevation and snoring reduction, and wearable-free sleep tracking: EightSleep.com/timShopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business: Shopify.com/TimMomentous high-quality creatine for cognitive and muscular support: LiveMomentous.com/TimAG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: DrinkAG1.com/TimTimestamps: 00:00:00 Intro from Tim 00:01:25 Kevin Ryan’s entrepreneurial track record 00:03:40 Spotting long-term trends and turning them into businesses 00:06:33 Designing gatherings and trips for great conversations 00:11:42 Second-order thinking and the missed YouTube opportunity 00:17:47 Gilt’s rise, shrinking moat, and knowing when to sell 00:22:06 From Dilbert to DoubleClick: early lessons and fast decisions 00:27:52 AlleyCorp’s model: start narrow, then scale 00:32:26 Recruiting founders and building Business Insider 00:38:28 Recognizing a business crush and choosing what to build 00:41:44 Investing in nuclear energy 00:43:26 Taking money off the table and keeping funds small 00:47:15 Ping-pong and the value of coaching 00:49:05 Making time for family, fitness, and vacation 00:51:52 Psychedelics and the origins of Transcend Therapeutics 00:54:20 Methylone, PTSD trials, and navigating the FDA 00:59:57 Transcend’s public-benefit mission and giving back 01:05:46 Deep tech, robotics, and the next wave of opportunities 01:11:35 Failed startups, MongoDB, and knowing when to persist 01:15:06 A more caring society: inequality, taxes, and opportunity 01:17:26 Immigration and attracting the world’s best talent 01:20:04 Why Kevin is bullish on New York * For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast. For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday. For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts. Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books. Follow Tim: Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
