E271: The Future of VC: Space, Energy, Defense

What kind of entrepreneur decides to bring back extinct species and why might that become one of the most important businesses of our lifetime? In this episode, I talk with Ben Lamm, Co-Founder and CEO of Colossal Biosciences, about why de-extinction is not science fiction but an engineering problem — and how solving it is creating breakthrough technologies across biology, conservation, and medicine. Ben shares how Colossal evolved from a bold idea into a multi-billion-dollar platform, why mammoths, dire wolves, and dodos became cultural gateways into serious science, and how mission-driven companies can attract talent, capital, and public imagination at once.

How do you spot a frontier-tech company before it becomes obvious and why is being early so much harder than being right? In this episode, I talk with Jonathan Lacoste, Founder and General Partner of Space VC, about investing at the moment when ideas are still non-consensus. Jonathan explains the difference between deep tech and frontier tech, why founder migration is the strongest signal of emerging opportunity, and how pre-seed investors create alpha by backing contrarian founders before markets agree. We discuss how grit and mission outperform IQ, why concentration beats diversification in early-stage portfolios, and how patience compounds into an edge over time.

What if the most important decision in wealth planning isn’t the tax strategy—but who you trust to make decisions when you no longer can? In this episode, I talk with Thomas Monroe, Founder and President of Blue Sky Trust, about the real role of a trustee and why independence, judgment, and governance matter more than technical structuring alone. Thomas explains how trustees sit at the intersection of tax, legal, investment, and family dynamics—and why poor trustee selection can quietly undermine even the most sophisticated planning. We explore real-world trust use cases, parenting and purpose across generations, and how thoughtful structuring creates optionality without eroding values.

What happens when you throw out the playbook of traditional private equity and instead build businesses with permanent capital, no exits, and no management fees? In this episode, I talk with Brent Beshore, founder and CEO of Permanent Equity, about a radically different approach to investing that focuses on ownership, compounding, and alignment with operators over decades—not years. Brent explains why avoiding leverage and fees isn’t just philosophically different but materially better for long-term outcomes, how Permanent Equity partners with founders who want legacy and culture to endure, and why patient reinvestment beats short-term optimization. We break down how permanent capital accelerates growth, how to think about cash flow vs. IRR optics, and the unique investor mindset required to succeed outside the traditional private equity model.

Why do so many strong GPs struggle to raise capital today and what actually separates fast, oversubscribed fundraises from stalled ones? In this episode, I talk with Alexander Russ, Senior Managing Director at Evercore and Head of North America for the firm’s Private Funds Group, about what really drives fundraising success in today’s crowded private markets. Alex breaks down the psychology of LP decision-making, why momentum in the first close matters more than almost anything else, and how the best GPs differentiate themselves through narrative, preparation, and credibility rather than fee discounts. We dive into why fundraising is ultimately a momentum machine, how to engineer demand early, and why trust—built over years—can be lost in a single raise.

Do private markets actually outperform public markets once you properly adjust for risk or is that belief built on flawed data? In this episode, I talk with Dr. Gregory W. Brown, one of the leading academic researchers in alternative investments, about what decades of data really say about private equity, venture capital, and risk-adjusted returns. We break down why private-market performance is so hard to measure, how tools like the Kaplan–Schoar PME changed institutional thinking, and what investors misunderstand about beta, volatility, and alpha. Greg also explains why buyouts and ventures behave very differently, how fund size and geography affect outcomes, and what this research implies for building diversified portfolios today.

Why do most investors fail at the exact moments when staying invested matters most—and how can options help fix that? In this episode, I talk with Hamilton Reiner, Managing Director at J.P. Morgan Asset Management and CIO of the U.S. Core Equity Team, about how options can be used not for speculation, but to create discipline, manage risk, and help investors stay invested through market volatility. Hamilton shares lessons from more than three decades managing equities and derivatives, explains why volatility is misunderstood, and breaks down how hedged strategies, rebalancing, and risk-based portfolio construction can dramatically improve long-term outcomes—without requiring heroic market timing.

Why do the most successful investors and founders still miss their best opportunities—and how much of that comes down to poor relationship management? In this episode, I talk with Patrick Ewers, founder of Mindmaven, about why relationships—not intelligence or effort—are the true limiting factor in professional success. Patrick shares lessons from being an early employee at LinkedIn under Reid Hoffman, coaching partners at top firms like Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz, and building a systemized approach to relationship management that scales. We break down why important things lose to urgent ones, how delegation and leverage unlock effectiveness, and why small, consistent actions compound into billion-dollar outcomes.

How do the best venture investors consistently spot unicorn founders before the rest of the market even knows they exist? In this episode, I talk with Jamie Lee, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Tamarack Global, about sourcing asymmetric deal flow in deep tech and why founder referrals are the single strongest signal of future breakout companies. Jamie explains how Tamarack applies hedge-fund-level diligence at the seed stage, why intuition and pattern recognition matter as much as data, and how concentrated conviction—combined with relentless research—drives their unusually high unicorn hit rate. We also explore humanoid robotics, labor automation, and why the next industrial revolution is already underway.

How do you scale a growth equity firm from a $52M first fund to $5B across six funds—without losing discipline or trust? In this episode, I talk with Brian Neider, Managing Partner at Lead Edge Capital, about building a durable growth equity platform by combining rigorous metrics with deep relationship-building. Brian shares how Lead Edge created a differentiated LP model centered on high-net-worth individuals who actively support portfolio companies, why communication and education compound trust over decades, and how a strict investment framework helps avoid negative alpha as the firm scales. We also discuss why exits matter more than paper gains, how to think about “walking dead” portfolio companies, and what truly energizes long-term investing.