Eugene Malobrodsky's Bet on Immigrant Founders

Eugene Malobrodsky came to the U.S. as a teenager and went on to co-found Hotspot Shield, the VPN that became a symbol of free speech during the Arab Spring. Now he’s a venture capitalist at One Way Ventures, backing immigrant founders building the next wave of AI companies. He joins Scott McGrew to talk about risk, resilience, and what really drives innovation in Silicon Valley. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Startups need an interesting story.  Not just for the media, but for investors and clients.   Former CNBC reporter turned venture investor turned author Christina Farr explains what makes a great story and how being boring is the worst strategy of all. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Postman began as a side project by Abhinav Asthana and his two co-founders, and turned into the most widely adopted API collaboration platform, used by millions of developers worldwide. In this conversation, Abhinav breaks down why developer feedback matters more than early paywalls, how “just ship” beat long strategy decks, and why he’s still bullish on San Francisco. We cover raising capital without making it the point, scaling from three founders to ~850 people across 20+ countries, and the hard lessons of hiring—and replacing—leaders as a company grows. Plus: Factorio, parenting, and what it really means to build “developer-first.”  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Venture capitalist Katelin Holloway—founding partner at 776— unpacks the new math of sports investing. From incubating Angel City FC and LA Golf Club to why women’s sports offer the biggest upside, Holloway explains where value is created (media, sponsors, merch) and how pay equity should be built from first principles. Plus: the origin of “776,” TGL’s tech-arena gamble, and the story behind her three citizen’s arrests. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ireland is making an aggressive play to strengthen its ties with the West Coast. IDA Ireland—the nation’s foreign investment agency—has launched a trade mission aimed at securing €250 billion (about $300 billion) in new capital and creating 75,000 jobs over the next five years. Already, a West Coast company opens or expands in Ireland every month, with Apple, Google, Anthropic, and Microsoft among the major investors. Scott McGrew sits down with Ivan Houlihan of IDA Ireland to talk about Ireland’s evolving industries, the impact of Brexit, why U.S. tech companies keep choosing Ireland, and how the country is balancing record foreign investment with challenges like housing. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

NEA partner Aaron Jacobson joins Sand Hill Road to discuss the next wave of robotics and AI — from warehouse automation and drone manufacturing to autonomous construction and defense innovation. Jacobson explains why the future of robotics isn’t humanoids but specialized machines that perform one task perfectly. He shares insights on startups like Outrider, Built Robotics, Second Front Systems, and Firestorm, and why he believes AI-driven intelligence and flexible manufacturing will reshape industries from green energy to national security. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Steven Lee raised $40 million in five weeks to fund his own venture firm — with just his reputation, network, and a bet on AI. From being the last kid picked up at school to becoming one of Silicon Valley’s earliest investors in breakout companies, Lee shares his journey from his parents’ clothing store in Los Angeles, to Twitter, to launching his own fund. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Steven Lee’s journey from waiting outside his L.A. high school to launching Seven Stars Capital is one of grit, timing, and intuition. In this episode, the former SV Angel partner explains how he raised $40 million in five weeks—without a product or pitch deck—relying on relationships, reputation, and a sharp eye for AI. Lee reflects on lessons from Twitter and SV Angel, his immigrant roots, and why being the earliest money in isn’t just about speed, but trust. Plus: how AI is transforming overlooked sectors, from law enforcement to accounting.

Rehan Jalil has sold three companies. His fourth, Securiti AI, might be his first to go public. A decade after we first met him as the founder of Elastica, Rehan returns to explain why protecting enterprise data is the gateway to unlocking AI’s full potential—and why building companies will always be his passion. From reading market signals to redefining data security, Jalil shares what it takes to keep winning in a fast-changing tech landscape.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Kanyi Maqubela’s journey is nothing short of extraordinary—from fleeing apartheid South Africa as an infant, to living in a homeless shelter in New York City, to becoming a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley. As managing partner at Kindred Ventures, Maqubela sits at the intersection of culture, finance, and technology. In this episode, he talks with Scott McGrew about why he believes crypto has already succeeded—even if it doesn’t look the way early critics expected.Maqubela argues that value isn’t just stored in physical assets or spreadsheets—it can also be stored in memes. Whether it's gold, real estate in Las Vegas, or Dogecoin, he suggests that cultural momentum and shared belief can give something staying power and real economic weight. “Mimetic value is value,” he says, making the case that virality itself is a form of capital.This conversation explores why the blockchain matters, how meme coins might be more serious than they seem, and why the next generation is right to question the financial systems they inherited. It's a provocative look at the future of value—and the stories we tell to justify it. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.