Brick by Brick

Brom Rector is the founder of XEIA Venture Partners (formerly Empath Ventures), a venture capital firm focused on the intersection of neuroscience, mental health, and emerging technologies. In this episode we discuss:- The evolution from Empath's psychedelics focus to XEIA's broader "Human 3.0" vision- The current state of psychedelic medicine after recent FDA setbacks- Revolutionary brain-computer interfaces like Motif Neurotech and their potential to treat depression- Genetic medicine innovations including RNA therapeutics- The fertility crisis and hearing damage epidemic as underexplored health frontiers- How VCs evaluate founders and what makes a compelling pitch- AI's role in investment decision-making and its future impact on various industriesRecorded in San Francisco in early 2025, this conversation explores the cutting edge of human health technology and the venture capital ecosystem supporting it.#venturecapital #Biotech #Neuroscience #HumanHealth #Psychedelics #BrainComputerInterfaces #GeneMedicine #AI

Ollie Allen Fox speaks to Hugo Lu, founder of Orchestra, about his journey from investment banking to revolutionizing data engineering. Hugo offers valuable insights on data stack architecture, the importance of clean and modular systems, and how Orchestra is helping data engineers streamline their workflows. Whether you're a data professional or a tech entrepreneur, this podcast provides a wealth of knowledge on building and scaling a successful SaaS startup in the data space. In this conversation, Ollie & Hugo discuss: 00:00:00 - Hugo's background and experience at Juul 00:04:00 - The skills needed to start a tech company 00:08:00 - The power of curiosity and learning in entrepreneurship 00:13:00 - What Orchestra does and the data problems it solves 00:23:00 - Building a founding team and the importance of incentives 00:29:00 - The future of SaaS and AI in enterprise software 00:37:00 - Orchestra's marketing strategies and programmatic SEO 00:47:00 - Early customers and the value Orchestra provides 00:54:00- The challenges of data engineering and work-life balance Ollie Allen Fox is the founder of Weboaf, a creative agency specialising in designing brands for companies in the deep tech industry. Hugo Lu is the CEO and Founder of Orchestra, a SaaS startup offering best in class data orchestration for data teams.

Molly O’Shea is an investor & founder of Sourcery.vc. A weekly newsletter on top weekly VC deals & tech signals. After posting top quality content for 4 years, whilst working at a variety of VC firms, Molly has built an audience of 6,000 people from the industry.In this conversation we talked about: 00:59 Sourcery.vc 03:29 Consistency and discipline in content creation05:41 Networking and building connections through content 12:16 Molly's personal background and journey into venture capital 18:18 Taking a multi-disciplinary to life20:06 Whats the difference between those who are active in online communities and those who aren't?23:24 Being a pirate 27:31 The hidden challenges of a 9-529:56 Alcohol 31:17 Go outside35:42 Standing out in the age of AI 45:43 Content Advertising 55:56 Where does Molly get her information?57:08 Morgan Housel Same As EverSubscribe to Sourcery.vcMolly’s Twitter Ollie’s Twitter This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theoafproject.substack.com

Cyrus is General Partner at rational.fund. He podcasts and writes at rationalvc.com. He is currently working as a Software Engineer at Tesla. He has co-invested alongside Founders Fund, Jim O'Shaughnessy, YC, a16z, Sam Altman et al. The podcast has reached the top 25 charts on several occasions, and the essays have 3,000+ subscribers.Previously, Cyrus operated my own indie startups (some failed, 2 sold) or worked in VC-backed startups (and advised several). Prior to that he was part of a founding team for Silicon Valley Bank in London after university where he managed a $200MM portfolio in his early 20s. Interests: reading (preferably Lindy), podcasting, writing, polymathy, learning new skills, indie hacking, asymmetric bets, lifestyle design, sovereignty, mentoring ambitious immigrants, barbell training, martial arts, flâneuring the oldest inhabited cities, architecture, hiking, meditating, and Achaemenid history.Timestamps:00:29 Cyrus's Background08:08 Cyrus's Values12:11 Escaping corporate13:28 Leveraging code, media & capital18:35 Self teaching software then joining Tesla21:03 Making Small Bets27:51 What is Lindy knowledge and why will it change your life34:07 Is code or media a better form of leverage?46:57 The Mayfair music scene48:59 Should you optimise for work rate or exploration?01:01:27 Why people should be bored more01:04:29 Will AI eat software devs?01:14:04 What it takes to be a top performing CEO / Founder01:18:03 The problem with 30 under 30 & other status games01:21:07 Don't build SaaS01:24:03 How to get people more interested in quality content01:35:50 The story of David Senra & Chris Williamson01:40:48 Starting your life's work before having financial runway01:46:22 Lifestyle design01:49:40 Do people have a tendency to over prepare?01:54:06 Is Charlie Munger right to be anti-crypto?Cyrus Yari: https://cyrusyari.com/Ollie Allen Fox: https://www.weboaf.com/https://twitter.com/ollieallenfox This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theoafproject.substack.com

Alex Leiman is the Co-Founder of Plug AI. An AI dating app that got 1.5M downloads in 4.5 months thanks to a genius TikTok campaign. It's now making $190k / month and the business is for sale for $3.5M. Alex is 23. His last business (SexyCakes - a college delivery service) did $700k in revenue whilst he was at college. My goal with this podcast is to meet a billionaire to find out how they operate. I believe I have just met one, 15 years before his bank account catches up. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro01:36 How Wingman grew from 0 to 1.2M Downloads in less than 3 months06:15 Experimenting to find viral content ideas08:15 How to find content creators to collab with on TikTok10:21 Does TikTok marketing work for any business? 11:51 Using Superwall to test paywall strategy15:55 Teaching the art of Rizz18:13 How to build an iOS app that integrates with AI20:25 Using custom instructions on ChatGPT23:20 What will successful entrepreneurs look like in 15 years?25:53 Why the name change from rizz gpt to wingman29:14 AGI coming in 5 years?36:22 Selling $700k worth of pancakes in college44:47 How hard it is applying for jobs47:30 Living in america49:20 What will be a safe career when AI takes over?56:16 How to find a viral tik tok idea}Ollie ( https://linktr.ee/ollieallenfox )Alex ( https://twitter.com/old_man_alex ) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theoafproject.substack.com

Mike Annunziata is the Founding Partner of Also Capital, the Co-Founder of ⁠Farther Farms & a board member of Varda Space⁠⁠.In this episode, Ollie & Mike talk about: Mike's fund, Also Capital Deep tech industry trends How to find great deep tech founders The founding story of Varda Space The founding story of Farther Farms How to master deep tech brandingTimestamps: 00:34 Mike's Background04:16 Varda Space Founding Story07:14 Storytelling for Founders09:47 How do VC's find investment opportunities in Deep Tech?13:56 How to launch a startup?17:42 Farther Farms origin story20:04 The steps to grow Farther Farms from Seed to Series B22:17 Mike's lessons from his early times as an entrepreneur24:03 Should you stay in a stable career or start a company?25:21 Mike's approach to deep tech investing31:32 Having fun and playing to win33:58 The importance of getting on that flight36:47 How the best founders lead their teams?41:44 The biggest challenge of founding Farther Farms43:42 The importance of aligning leaders with organisational culture46:44 The difference between a seed stage founder, a growth stage founder & a public company CEO48:34 How to pick good board members50:32 How to guide founders as a board member53:15 Who are board members typically?54:11 Branding for deep tech companies57:31 How to attract the best team to your deep tech startup?59:18 Exciting frontier technologies arriving in the future01:03:50 The Also Capital Flywheel01:06:17 What does being a Father teach you about life?Mike [Twitter] Ollie [Twitter, WEBOAF] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theoafproject.substack.com

Yuriy Blokhin is the Founder / CEO of Homecoming, a startup building tools and technologies to support the essential work of coaches and therapists. Yuriy has consulted a therapy chatbot company for acquisition by Airbnb. He is a founding member of the Heroic Hearts Project, offering educational, financial & counseling services to veterans with PTSD seeking access to ayahuasca and other psychedelic therapies. He studied mathematical physics at college before dropping out to start working at Kik as the first employee, which grew to 300m registered users. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro01:18 Overcoming treatment resistant depression with psychedelics07:19 What is consciousness?11:12 What does homecoming do?14:56 How to find a business idea17:48 Should you follow your passion?21:08 Is it possible to plan life?24:42 Why you need a mentor29:55 What is your life purpose?35:09 What does a seed stage CEO do?39:26 Homecoming go to market strategy40:39 Finding product market fit47:05 Does homecoming have a viral loop?49:16 Adding discovery layers to apps second instead of first56:05 Is SEO a good marketing strategy?57:15 How to choose a great board of directors including the co-founder of Substack01:01:02 The leading driver of burnout in startup FoundersYuriy: https://www.homecoming.health/https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuriyblokhin/Ollie: https://weboaf.com/https://twitter.com/ollieallenfox This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theoafproject.substack.com

Hector Mason is General Partner at Episode 1 Ventures, where he invests in pre-seed and seed stage companies using data driven insights. Often sourcing deals before founders have even left their job. He supplements his work at Episode 1 as Co-Founder of Focal, a virtual demo day matching top seed companies with the best investors in the world. As a self proclaimed productivity freak, he has also finds time to be the Co-Host of Riding Unicorns. A podcast focused on venture capital and growth startups where Hector has met many unicorn founders. We talked about: 00:45 The new gold standard for demo days04:41 How did you find the idea for Focal?06:24 How do VC's find competitive advantage in the future?10:05 Using Data & Tech in VC 18:55 Small teams doing the work of huge teams22:03 What character traits define unicorn founders?26:17 How hard do Founders really work?29:20 Unicorn founders and wellness30:29 The importance of self intuition34:22 Hectors lifestyle as a VC, founder & podcast host41:05 Becoming a Homing Missile to Money44:45 How Hector became a general partner at 2848:58 The Power of Curiosity52:11 Pre-seed investing is a human business57:03 Your most proud behaviour?01:00:39 Content StrategyHector [Linked In]Ollie [Twitter, WEBOAF] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theoafproject.substack.com

Clint Graumann is Founder & CEO of Nuview. He's building the world’s first commercial constellation of LiDAR imaging satellites. The data will help academics, scientists and companies fight climate change. Clint has raised $15m from top investors including MaC Venture Capital, Leonardo DiCaprio and Florida Funders. Clint is very passionate about the Space industry, he hosts the Space in 60 podcast. If you have ever read Naval Ravikant's 'How To Get Rich Without Getting Lucky' you will notice that Clint embodies lots of the philosophies that Naval talks about. If you are stuck in life and want to see what someone who has found their passion looks like, this is it. Timestamps:01:04 Nuview Mission06:26 Nuview Data Use Cases13:17 What do you look for in Venture Capital partners? 15:31 How do you start a space company?18:09 Getting Investment From Leonardo DiCaprio20:20 What jobs are there in the Space industry? 23:46 How did you find your passion? 31:28 How to spot the best opportunities34:23 Seeking deep expertise before starting a deep tech company35:38 How to start a deep tech company 37:33 Do Sci Fi movies really influence science? 39:36 Will the human race go to space?41:13 How does the Nuview business model work?45:00 How to build a satellite49:47 WEBOAF, a creative agency for deep tech founders. A good idea? 53:17 Should you plan or just get started?56:19 How to find your passion in your 20s59:58 Clint's thoughts on self actualisation01:07:12 How to choose the right women to be your wife Clint: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clintgraumann/https://nuview.space/Ollie: https://twitter.com/ollieallenfoxhttps://www.weboaf.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theoafproject.substack.com

Sa'ad Shah is the the Managing Partner of Noetic Capital, a $150m AUM venture capital firm focused on funding companies providing solutions for the 1.2 billion people diagnosed with mental health conditions. Portfolio companies include Merlin Mind, Beckley Psytech & Apollo Neuroscience. Sa'ad has used his experience from his successful finance career in hedge funds and private equity to create a venture capital firm that invests in an area he is deeply passionate about. Show Notes:01:25 Noetic Fund Investment Thesis04:29 Why isn't the mental health epidemic more widely reported?07:20 The Theme Running Through Noetic Funds Investment Strategy 11:59 The Cultural Causes of the Mental Health Crisis17:02 The Impact Of Phones On The Circuitry Of The Mind20:54 Start Ups Tracking Data In The Brain25:08 Merlin Mind AI For Government, Intelligience & Organisations Where Data Privacy Is Important29:53 How Sa'ad found his passion?37:40 Spending 51 years to find the meaning of life40:17 How do you balance progress with health47:36 Growing Up In East Berlin52:37 What does Sa'ad think is the meaning of life?56:06 The 5 Steps To Starting A VC Fund 01:04:42 Film Financing01:08:48 The Performance Of Noetic Fund01:11:42 The Traders MindsetSa'ad: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sa-ad-shah-a650441b7/https://noeticfund.com/Ollie:https://twitter.com/oafhqhttps://www.weboaf.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theoafproject.substack.com