Nikhil Basu Trivedi: Co-Founder & General Partner at Footwork

Welcome back to Trailblazers by Park Rangers Capital!In this week’s solo episode, host Erica Wenger breaks down 7 things she wishes every founder knew before raising their first check. The honest, unfiltered truths that can dramatically change the way you approach fundraising.Drawing from the countless lessons she’s learned while raising for her own firm, Erica unpacks the realities behind investor conversations, what actually moves a deal forward, and the common mistakes first-time founders don’t even realize they’re making.From understanding how investors really make decisions to setting expectations, building genuine momentum, and crafting a narrative that sticks, Erica shares the tactical learning nuggets she had to earn the hard way.If you’re preparing for your first raise or simply want a clearer look at how fundraising really works behind the scenes. This episode is your grounded, practical guide to entering the capital-raising arena with confidence.✨ This episode is presented by Brex.Brex: brex.com/trailblazerspodThis episode is supported by Rocketreach, Gusto, OpenPhone & Athena.RocketReach: rocketreach.co/trailblazersGusto: gusto.com/trailblazersQuo (formerly OpenPhone): Quo.com/trailblazersAthena: athenago.me/Erica-WengerFollow Us!@thetrailblazerspod: Instagram, YouTube, TikTokErica Wenger: @erica_wenger🐘 Learn more about Park Rangers Capital!

This week, we chat with Nikhil Basu Trivedi! Nikhil is Co-Founder & General Partner at Footwork, an early-stage focused venture firm in San Francisco. Footwork leads Seed and Series A rounds in companies with early signs of product-market fit, across both consumer technology and the consumerization of enterprise technology.The firm was founded in 2021 and is investing its second fund, with $400M of AUM. Footwork’s portfolio companies include Elicit, Felt, GPTZero, Tracksuit, Watershed, and WindBorne. Nikhil was previously a Managing Director at Shasta Ventures, where he led the firm's investments in Athelas, Canva, ClassDojo, Color, Frame.io, Imperfect Foods, Lattice, and The Farmer's Dog. He started his career on the investing team at Insight Partners and on the founding team at Artsy. Nikhil graduated from Princeton University with a degree in molecular biology and finance.✨ This episode is presented by Brex.Brex: brex.com/trailblazerspodThis episode is supported by RocketReach, Gusto, OpenPhone & Athena.RocketReach: rocketreach.co/trailblazersGusto: gusto.com/trailblazersQuo: Quo.com/trailblazersAthena: athenago.me/Erica-WengerFollow Us!Nikhil Basu Trivedi: x.com/nbt@thetrailblazerspod: Instagram, YouTube, TikTokErica Wenger: @erica_wenger🐘 Learn more about Park Rangers Capital!

This week, we chat with Jeffrey Bussgang! Jeff has spent his career at the intersection of startup experimentation and transformative technology. For over a decade, he has taught one of Harvard Business School’s most popular entrepreneurship courses, Launching Tech Ventures, where he's helped thousands of founders build and scale successful companies. As co-founder of Flybridge Capital Partners (a leading seed VC fund with over $1 billion under management), he and his partners were early to recognize AI’s potential to transform startups, evolving the firm’s investment thesis to focus exclusively on AI-forward companies and founders. Before his time as an educator and investor, Bussgang experienced the startup journey firsthand—joining Open Market’s early team and helping lead it through an IPO in 1996, and then co-founding Upromise in 2000, which was successfully acquired. This unique vantage point—as professor, investor, and startup executive—has given him an unmatched perspective on how AI is revolutionizing the startup landscape.✨ This episode is presented by Brex.Brex: brex.com/trailblazerspodThis episode is supported by RocketReach, Gusto, OpenPhone & Athena.RocketReach: rocketreach.co/trailblazersGusto: gusto.com/trailblazersQuo: Quo.com/trailblazersAthena: athenago.me/Erica-WengerFollow Us!Jeff Bussgang@thetrailblazerspod: Instagram, YouTube, TikTokErica Wenger: @erica_wenger🐘 Learn more about Park Rangers Capital!

Welcome back to Trailblazers by Park Rangers Capital!In this week’s solo episode, host Erica Wenger dives into Starting a VC Fund 101, breaking down the real reasons why you might want to start a fund, what it actually takes to launch one, and the lessons she’s learned from being in the trenches herself.From structuring your first fund to navigating LP conversations and finding your unique edge, Erica shares insider tips and hard-earned insights that every aspiring fund manager should hear.If you’ve ever thought about building your own VC fund or just want to understand how the process really works behind closed doors, this episode is your practical and honest guide to getting started in venture capital.✨ This episode is presented by Brex.Brex: brex.com/trailblazerspodThis episode is supported by Rocketreach, Gusto, OpenPhone & Athena.RocketReach: rocketreach.co/trailblazersGusto: gusto.com/trailblazersQuo (formerly OpenPhone): Quo.com/trailblazersAthena: athenago.me/Erica-WengerFollow Us!@thetrailblazerspod: Instagram, YouTube, TikTokErica Wenger: @erica_wenger🐘 Learn more about Park Rangers Capital!

Ankur is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and the founder of Carry, a modern platform helping business owners build durable wealth through smarter tax strategies and long-term financial systems.He’s also the founder of Vibe Capital, a $100M venture fund backing bold founders across the U.S., India, and beyond, and the creator of Silly Money, a fast-growing newsletter and community helping people beat the game of capitalism.Before that, Ankur founded Teachable, the groundbreaking platform that empowered over 100,000 creators to turn their expertise into income—helping them earn over $1 billion and scaling Teachable to $60M in ARR before its nine-figure exit to Hotmart.Ankur is passionate about helping founders and entrepreneurs not just make money, but keep it, through the right systems, strategy, and mindset for long-term freedom.✨ This episode is presented by Brex.Brex: brex.com/trailblazerspodThis episode is supported by RocketReach, Gusto, OpenPhone & Athena.RocketReach: rocketreach.co/trailblazersGusto: gusto.com/trailblazersQuo: Quo.com/trailblazersAthena: athenago.me/Erica-WengerFollow Us!Ankur Nagpal: @ankurnagpalsillymoney.com@thetrailblazerspod: Instagram, YouTube, TikTokErica Wenger: @erica_wenger🐘 Learn more about Park Rangers Capital!

This week, we chat with Amber Atherton!Amber is a British entrepreneur and investor based in San Francisco. She’s a Partner at Patron, an early-stage venture capital firm shaping the future of gaming and online communities, and the Founder of The Atherton Award, which honors young women pursuing careers in STEM and entrepreneurship.A lifelong builder, Amber began coding as a kid in Hong Kong before founding Zyper, a Y Combinator–backed community software startup that used NLP and computer vision to connect creators and their top fans. Zyper was later acquired by Discord, where Amber led growth, launched new international markets, and spearheaded revenue initiatives.Recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30 and Business Insider’s Rising Stars in VC, Amber continues to shape the future of community, technology, and venture.✨ This episode is presented by Brex.Brex: brex.com/trailblazerspodThis episode is supported by RocketReach, Gusto, OpenPhone & Athena.RocketReach: rocketreach.co/trailblazersGusto: gusto.com/trailblazersQuo: Quo.com/trailblazersAthena: athenago.me/Erica-WengerFollow Us!Amber AthertonThe Rise Of Virtual Community Books@thetrailblazerspod: Instagram, YouTube, TikTokErica Wenger: @erica_wenger🐘 Learn more about Park Rangers Capital!

Welcome back to Trailblazers by Park Rangers Capital!In this week’s solo episode, host Erica Wenger dives into Starting a VC Fund 101, breaking down the real reasons why you might want to start a fund, what it actually takes to launch one, and the lessons she’s learned from being in the trenches herself.From structuring your first fund to navigating LP conversations and finding your unique edge, Erica shares insider tips and hard-earned insights that every aspiring fund manager should hear.If you’ve ever thought about building your own VC fund or just want to understand how the process really works behind closed doors, this episode is your practical and honest guide to getting started in venture capital.✨ This episode is presented by Brex.Brex: brex.com/trailblazerspodThis episode is supported by Rocketreach, Gusto, OpenPhone & Athena.RocketReach: rocketreach.co/trailblazersGusto: gusto.com/trailblazersQuo (formerly OpenPhone): Quo.com/trailblazersAthena: athenago.me/Erica-WengerFollow Us!@thetrailblazerspod: Instagram, YouTube, TikTokErica Wenger: @erica_wenger🐘 Learn more about Park Rangers Capital!

This week, we chat with Des Traynor! Des is the Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Intercom, the company behind Fin.ai, and he also sits on Intercom’s board of directors. Over the years, Des has led teams across Product, Marketing, Customer Support, and Content, playing a key role in shaping Intercom into one of the most influential customer communication platforms in the world. Today, he oversees Intercom’s R&D team, based in Dublin and London.Before founding Intercom, Des was a UX consultant, a university lecturer in computer science, and a Ph.D. researcher focused on improving computer science education. He also previously co-founded Exceptional, a software company acquired by Rackspace.Beyond his work at Intercom, Des is an author, speaker, and angel investor, sharing insights on startups, product strategy, and scaling companies through books, podcasts, and conferences. He’s also an investor in some of the most notable startups of our time — including Miro, Stripe, Notion, and Hopin.✨ This episode is presented by Brex.Brex: brex.com/trailblazerspodThis episode is supported by RocketReach, Gusto, OpenPhone & Athena.RocketReach: rocketreach.co/trailblazersGusto: gusto.com/trailblazersQuo: Quo.com/trailblazersAthena: athenago.me/Erica-WengerFollow Us!Des Traynor: @destraynorFin AI: fin.ai@thetrailblazerspod: Instagram, YouTube, TikTokErica Wenger: @erica_wenger🐘 Learn more about Park Rangers Capital!

This week, we chat with Amanda Goetz! Amanda Goetz is a 2x Founder, CEO and 4x CMO. She is an inspirational writer and content creator captivating millions of people every month through her social insights and newsletter “Life’s a Game”. Amanda graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and went on to lead marketing teams at Ernst & Young, The Knot and still advises as Fractional CMO to multiple startups. She started her last company, House of Wise, during the pandemic in her garage, raised two rounds of venture capital and sold it in 2022 all while homeschooling three young children as a single mom. She found love again and lives with her partner and 3 kiddos in Miami, FL after a decade dodging hustle culture in NYC.✨ This episode is presented by Brex.Brex: brex.com/trailblazerspodThis episode is supported by RocketReach, Gusto, OpenPhone & Athena.RocketReach: rocketreach.co/trailblazersGusto: gusto.com/trailblazersQuo: Quo.com/trailblazersAthena: athenago.me/Erica-WengerFollow Us!Amanda Goetz: @theamandagoetzhttps://www.amandagoetz.com/@thetrailblazerspod: Instagram, YouTube, TikTokErica Wenger: @erica_wenger🐘 Learn more about Park Rangers Capital!

This week, we chat with Rex Woodbury! Rex is the Founder and Managing Partner of Daybreak, an early-stage venture capital firm based in New York. Daybreak is a first-check firm built on the belief that the companies shaping the future will be those improving the lives of the next generation.Before starting Daybreak, Rex was a Partner at Index Ventures, where he invested in consumer technology and the creators building online communities. Beyond investing, Rex is also the writer behind Digital Native, a widely read weekly publication exploring the intersection of technology, culture, and the internet with over 70,000 readers each week.With his unique perspective as both an investor and a storyteller of the digital age, he brings deep insight into how technology continues to shape how we live, work, and connect.✨ This episode is presented by Brex.Brex: brex.com/trailblazerspodThis episode is supported by RocketReach, Gusto, OpenPhone & Athena.RocketReach: rocketreach.co/trailblazersGusto: gusto.com/trailblazersQuo: Quo.com/trailblazersAthena: athenago.me/Erica-WengerFollow Us!Rex Woodbury: @rex_woodburyDaybreak: @daybreak_fund@thetrailblazerspod: Instagram, YouTube, TikTokErica Wenger: @erica_wenger🐘 Learn more about Park Rangers Capital!