Michael Dempsey: Managing Partner at Compound

Michael Dempsey is the managing partner of Compound, a thesis-driven, research-centric investment firm. Prior to founding Compound, Michael worked at the predictive analytics startup CB Insights and at Crane Partners, a multi-strategy hedge fund. Our conversation covered how Michael views venture capital and frontier technologies, how Compound develops theses, and how he thinks about several of those theses in the areas of robotics, decentralized energy grids, local software, and AI. — Moth Minds is a podcast where ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Molly Mielke⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Moth Fund⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ interviews high-agency humans.

Joseph Cohen is the co-founder and CEO of Universe, a mobile-first website builder that aims to empower everyone to build the internet. Our conversation covered Joe's early enamorment with the internet, his view on technological and cultural progress, the changing role of the digital designer, and advice for young toolmakers. — Moth Minds is a podcast where ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Molly Mielke⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Moth Fund⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ interviews high-agency humans.

Blake Robbins is a principal at Benchmark. Prior to Benchmark, Blake was an investor at Ludlow Ventures. He also co-hosts a podcast on the history of the video game industry called Gamecraft. Our conversation covered Blake’s unique insights from studying the business of games, how curiosity drives his investing, and his thoughts on being a person online.— Moth Minds is a podcast where ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Molly Mielke⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Moth Fund⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ interviews high-agency humans.

Josh Miller is the co-founder and CEO of The Browser Company. Previously Josh was an investor at Thrive Capital, Director of Product at the White House, and the co-founder and CEO of Branch, which was acquired by Facebook. Our conversation covered web browsers, the future of computing, and The Browser Company’s unique ethos. — Moth Minds is a podcast where ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Molly Mielke⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Moth Fund⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ interviews high-agency humans.

⁠Camille Ricketts⁠ is the former Head of Marketing at ⁠Notion⁠. Previously Camille led content and marketing at ⁠First Round Capital⁠, worked in digital services for the White House, and helped manage communications at ⁠Tesla⁠. Our conversation covered content marketing strategies, the unique skills needed by different kinds of marketers, and the areas of the field where humans are still needed. — Moth Minds is a podcast where ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Molly Mielke⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Moth Fund⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ interviews high-agency humans.

Matt Clifford is the co-founder and CEO of Entrepreneur First, the Chair of ARIA, the UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency, and the co-author of the book, How to Be a Founder.  Our conversation covered the characteristics that define cultures of entrepreneurship, the goals of his work on ARIA, and how the internet functions as a variance amplifier. — Moth Minds is a podcast where ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Molly Mielke⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Moth Fund⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ interviews high-agency humans.

Justin Mares is a serial entrepreneur and investor who founded startups like TrueMed and health brands like Kettle & Fire, Surely, and Perfect Keto. Our conversation covered strategies to increase entrepreneurship, the ingredients and misconceptions around success as a founder, and the US health crisis. — Moth Minds is a podcast where ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Molly Mielke⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Moth Fund⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ interviews high-agency humans.

Claire Hughes Johnson⁠ is a corporate officer/advisor at Stripe and the author of Scaling People, a practical guide to company building. Claire was previously the COO of Stripe for 6 years and a leader at Google for 10. Claire currently serves on many boards including those of HubSpot, Aurora Innovation, and The Atlantic. Our conversation covered advice for ambitious young people, tactics for hiring for and maintaining company culture, and the qualities that make for an excellent COO. — Moth Minds is a podcast where ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Molly Mielke⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Moth Fund⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ interviews high-agency humans.

Daniel Gross is a prolific angel investor and entrepreneur. Daniel previously co-founded Cue, a search engine that was acquired by Apple. He then ran AI and search projects at Apple for four years, was a partner at Y Combinator, and founded the quantitative startup accelerator Pioneer, all while angel investing early in iconic startups like Figma, Uber, and Rippling along the way. Our conversation covered Daniel’s thoughts on depth vs. breadth of expertise, evaluating market vs. founder, and how he thinks about the opportunities in AI. — Moth Minds is a podcast where ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Molly Mielke⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Moth Fund⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ interviews high-agency humans.