The DPI Podcast

Sierra Ventures
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Monthly

We are Deconstructing Pre-seed Investing. We want to showcase the world's best pre-seed investors so they can talk about how they identify the best companies and the themes they're excited about. We also want to help founders find the best fits for their companies to help them build generational businesses.

Episodes

  1. Aug 26

    Ep 5: $1M ARR, 2x Faster, 1/5th the Capital: Pre-Seed in the AI Era | Gaurav Jain, Afore Capital

    Gaurav Jain co-founded Afore Capital, the world's largest dedicated pre-seed fund. In this episode, we break down how he builds conviction with no product, no traction, and no revenue — plus the Goldcast exit (70 nos, F1 visas, a ~$300M outcome that returned 35% of the fund), his contrarian bet that most AI value accrues to the app layer, and why raising too much too early can quietly kill a company. For founders who want to see how a top pre-seed investor really thinks — and investors sharpening their own craft. Chapters:(0:00) Intro (0:52) From BlackBerry and Android to founding Afore (3:08) Coining "pre-seed" when it was still a dirty word (10:13) Founder-in-Residence and funding college dropouts (17:39) The 3 things Afore screens for: growth mindset, speed, grit (20:41) The "10,000 coffee rule" and pattern recognition (28:08) Why he's more worried about the model layer than the app layer (31:44) Seedstrapping: getting off the fundraising treadmill (39:00) The Goldcast $300M exit — why capital efficiency is optionality (55:10) How too much money too early kills companies (1:04:17) The future of pre-seed in an AI world Where to find Gaurav Jain: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gjainvc/Firm: https://www.afore.vc

    Ep 5: $1M ARR, 2x Faster, 1/5th the Capital: Pre-Seed in the AI Era | Gaurav Jain, Afore Capital

  2. Jun 25

    Ep. 4: The Naive Optimist Thesis: Betting on Founders Who Don't Know the Box Exists | Charles Hudson, Precursor Ventures

    Charles Hudson has backed 500+ teams over 10 years at Precursor Ventures — one of the original pre-seed firms. In this episode, he explains why his biggest winners come from "naive optimist" founders who break industry rules, why he thinks AI software might have no real moats, and how his contrarian 75/25 reserve strategy is finally getting validated. (0:00) Introduction and Charles Hudson's career path(1:17) Why Charles left Uncork Capital to start Precursor Ventures(4:11) Going solo GP — the decision and the founding story(8:30) Portfolio construction: 75/25 reserves, 40-50 deals per year(12:19) How AI has changed entry price and valuation math(16:11) Entry price flexibility vs. ownership targets(19:00) Founder selection: naive optimists vs. industry insiders(25:55) AI's impact on growth expectations and durability(30:19) The moats debate — "AI software might be toothpaste"(33:44) Finding alpha in CPG, consumer, and non-AI bets(41:08) How Precursor uses AI agents for portfolio support(44:48) First meeting to term sheet — what gets Charles excited(49:38) Lessons from 10 years and 6 funds as a solo GP(53:08) The 1999 internet parallel — spiciest take on AI Where to find Charles Hudson: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chudsonFirm: https://precursorvc.com

    Ep. 4: The Naive Optimist Thesis: Betting on Founders Who Don't Know the Box Exists | Charles Hudson, Precursor Ventures

  3. May 28

    DPI Podcast Ep. 3: Don't Be Contrarian — Just Be Right: Sheel Mohnot, Better Tomorrow Ventures

    Sheel Mohnot, co-founder and GP of Better Tomorrow Ventures, has deployed $450M across three dedicated fintech funds and says the VC obsession with contrarianism is overrated — "you just have to be right." In this episode, Sheel breaks down BTV's accounting shortage thesis (3 bets from 3 different angles), how he competes with multi-stage funds at pre-seed, why he intentionally shrank Fund III, and what "no moats" means for AI-era fintech investing. Chapters:(0:00) Introduction and Sheel's background(2:06) How Sheel and Jake went from fintech operators to fund builders(4:39) The BTV journey: Fund I ($75M) to Fund III ($140M) through boom and bust(9:39) "Everything is fintech" — why 20% of GDP is up for grabs(14:36) How a sector-focused pre-seed fund beats multi-stage competitors(24:41) The accounting shortage thesis: 3 bets, 3 distribution models(28:29) "There are no moats anymore" — defensibility in the AI era(33:05) Why BTV hasn't backed a single college dropout in fintech(39:16) Building 200K followers on X by posting about Taco Bell(48:43) Hot take: "You don't have to be contrarian — just be right"(56:42) The Taco Bell wedding story Where to find Sheel Mohnot: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smohnot/https://www.btv.vc/Where to find Sierra Ventures: www.sierraventures.com

    DPI Podcast Ep. 3: Don't Be Contrarian — Just Be Right: Sheel Mohnot, Better Tomorrow Ventures

  4. Apr 22

    Ep 2: Software Beyond the Screen: 9 Years of Nerdy-and-Early Investing | Sunil Nagaraj, Ubiquity

    Sunil Nagaraj is the solo GP of Ubiquity Ventures and a 9-year pioneer of what he calls "software beyond the screen." He backed Rocket Lab at a $30M valuation, led Halter's seed after a 45-minute meeting at Il Fornaio (Halter just raised $220M at a $2B valuation from Founders Fund), and has one of the highest seed-to-Series-A graduation rates in the business. In this episode, he breaks down why "moonshot culture" is strangling deep tech, pushes back on Bessemer's new AI revenue benchmarks, and explains why every one of his top 45 investments was a yes within 24 hours. A must-listen for investors sharpening their pre-seed craft and founders trying to understand how the best early-stage investors actually build conviction. Chapters:(0:00) Intro and welcome (1:20) Origin story: the Rocket Lab Pelican case moment (5:30) Why solo GP + deep tech was non-consensus in 2017 (13:08) How Halter got a yes in 45 minutes at Il Fornaio (16:38) Moving at founder speed: the 24-hour clock (27:35) Moonshot culture is strangling deep tech discipline (40:06) Why Bessemer's "Supernova" benchmarks mislead founders (46:50) Mistakes founders make when capital floods a category (51:44) Ubiquity University and the DRY principle applied to VC (56:30) The future: data centers in space and life beyond Earth Where to find Sunil Nagaraj: LinkedInUbiquity.vcHosted by Vignesh Ravikumar and Brendon Schmidt at Sierra Ventures.

    Ep 2: Software Beyond the Screen: 9 Years of Nerdy-and-Early Investing | Sunil Nagaraj, Ubiquity

  5. Mar 25

    Ep. 1: Imagine Claude 14 — Why Do You Still Exist? | Nic Poulos, Euclid Ventures

    Nic Poulos asks every vertical AI founder the same question: "Imagine Claude 14 — it does everything seamlessly. Why do you still exist?" With $611B wiped from SaaS market caps in 2026, that's no longer a thought experiment. Nic is the Founder and GP at Euclid Ventures, a pre-seed fund focused on vertical AI, and has been writing first checks into vertical software for 15 years across Bowery Capital, Fifth Wall, and now Euclid. We break down his authoring layer thesis, why he thinks speed isn't a moat, the quiet death of founder-VC alignment, and where contrarian alpha actually lives at pre-seed. Chapters:(0:00) Introduction — welcome to the first DPI episode(1:02) Nic's journey from AOL Ventures to founding Euclid(3:06) Why vertical AI is the next evolution of vertical SaaS(5:18) Evaluating deals at inception stage with zero traction(8:25) How AI is reshaping founder profiles and geographic gravity(16:20) The authoring layer thesis — owning where the workflow begins(22:32) Will horizontal LLMs eat vertical AI?(29:03) Why speed is not a moat(50:56) Consensus investing and where contrarian alpha lives(1:00:22) Biggest founder mistakes in the first 12 months(1:07:22) The quiet death of founder-VC alignment(1:11:25) Is SaaS really dead? Where to find Nic: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/npoulos/Euclid Ventures: https://www.euclid.vc/ Where to find Vignesh/Brendon: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vravikumar1LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendonschmidt/Sierra Ventures: www.sierraventures.com

    Ep. 1: Imagine Claude 14 — Why Do You Still Exist? | Nic Poulos, Euclid Ventures
  • 5 Episodes

About

We are Deconstructing Pre-seed Investing. We want to showcase the world's best pre-seed investors so they can talk about how they identify the best companies and the themes they're excited about. We also want to help founders find the best fits for their companies to help them build generational businesses.

Information

  • Creator
    Sierra Ventures
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Sierra Ventures
  • Show Website
    The DPI Podcast

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