Megatrends in tech and missed opportunities with Garry Tan of Initialized Capital

Published: Dec. 19, 2018, 5 a.m.

b"Today I'm visiting Garry Tan at Initialized HQ, a multi-stage fund that he started with Alexis Ohanian, one of the co-founders of reddit. The fund has grown tremendously over the past six years with nearly $1B under management, a team of more than 10, and investments in a few companies you might be a customer of, including Coinbase, Instacart, Algolia, GOAT, and a bunch of others. They were also investors in Product Hunt.\\n\\nIn this episode we talk about:\\n\\n* Garry's early years working as a software engineer in tech, including some major missed opportunities (in hindsight). He recounts the story of Peter Thiel trying to hire him away from Microsoft to join what became the multi-billion dollar company, Palantir.\\n\\n* Initialized's decision-making framework for figuring out which companies to pass on and which companies to invest in, as well as their honey badger mascot.\\n\\n* Why an often overlooked skill for founders is managing conflict, even when the team is still small. Garry explains why he backed a company that aims to help create harmonious startup teams founded by his former therapist.\\n\\nWe also discuss some of the Initialized portfolio companies that Garry is most excited about and the \\u201cmegatrends\\u201d that are creating opportunities for investors and founders in tech today.\\n\\nWe\\u2019ll be back next week so be sure to subscribe wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Also, big thanks to our sponsors, GE Ventures, Rally Rd, and AngelList for their support."