The Venture Podcast
The Venture Podcast
Podcast Description
Sharing the stories of entrepreneurs who have dared to tread the road less travelled. Each episode uncovers the journey of founders with unconventional paths to success and purpose-driven careers. Join us as we explore these inspiring stories of resilience, innovation, and the relentless pursuit of dreams.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast covers themes of entrepreneurship, innovation, and resilience, exemplified through episodes showcasing topics such as space-based computing (Lumen Orbit), defect detection in robotics (Bucket Robotics), and personal journeys of significant figures like Claudette McGowan in cybersecurity.
Sharing the stories of entrepreneurs who have dared to tread the road less travelled. Each episode uncovers the journey of founders with unconventional paths to success and purpose-driven careers. Join us as we explore these inspiring stories of resilience, innovation, and the relentless pursuit of dreams.
Elaine Dai is a Partner at Alt Capital, a new venture firm founded by Jack Altman that backs ambitious founders in AI and enterprise software. In this episode, we dive into Elaine’s journey from Harvard to Microsoft, Norwest, and now Alt, where she helps lead a $275M second fund focused on AI-native companies and category-defining startups.
Elaine shares what it takes to recognize outlier founders, how she evaluates “slope over snapshot,” and why the best VCs act as invited guests rather than helicopter investors. She also reflects on risk-taking, the immigrant mindset, and why being in San Francisco compounds serendipity.
We also cover:
Why “AI-native” beats “AI-wrapper” startups
How to find (and stress-test) the right co-founder
Practical advice for breaking into VC without a traditional background
The hardest parts of conviction, patience, and playing the long game
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