James Currier of NFX joins Nick on a special Crisis Coverage installment to discuss Network Effects; 9 Days Until a Funding Decision; Software as the Foundation for the Modern VC firm; and the Future of Social Media. In this episode, we cover:

• Background and path to venture
• Thesis: Overview of the thesis and your specific focus at the firm
• Pandemic: Unique outcomes or behaviors you are observing as a result of the pandemic?
• Overview of Software: You're a huge inspiration to me...  I love that you're bringing innovation to venture -- building software and tools that help founders and allow them to access more investors. For those in the audience that don't know, can you give a brief over of the major software and tolls that you've built.
• FAST Program: You launched the FAST Seed Financing Program ($1M, $1.5M or $2M for 15% of their company) which ran April 16-May 22.... were you allowed startups to apply for funding and you committed to responding in 9 days. Why'd you launch the program?
• What did you learn that was surprising?
• Will you do it again and, if so, what will you change?
• All this software focus could run the risk of investing in startups that look great on paper but could underestimate or not fully assess the founding team's mindset.  How do you consider the qualitative?
• Creators vs. Opportunists: How do you insure that the founder's you are backing on true creators with the right motivation instead of just opportunists with (Read more...)