How does one go from being an operator to starting a venture capital fund? On the next Invest Stream Live, I will chat with Rob Go, co-founder of NextView Ventures. We will dive into how he got started as a VC, what’ are some of the most interesting companies in NextView’s portfolio, what’s changed for the firm since the covid pandemic hit, how odes NextView run their accelerator and seed programs and much much more.

Rob Go is a co-founder and Partner at NextView Ventures. Prior to founding NextView, Rob was at Spark Capital, Ebay, as well as, Fidelity Investments and BzzAgent. Catch him on Twitter at @robgo

Chapters:
0:00:00 Countdown
0:02:15 Intro
0:02:45 Rob's introduction to entrepreneurship
0:05:08 Rob explains how he got into Venture Capital
0:06:47 Rob shares the story behind how NextView Ventures got started
0:08:20 What's changed with the fund model and thesis since 2010
0:12:59 What's it like investing in startups without meeting founders
0:17:21 How's the NextView Portfolio adapting to the new environment
0:21:07 Distributed teams and managing them
0:25:40 The NextView Accelerator Program model, check sizes, signaling risk
0:36:58 The use of buzzwords in a pitch
0:39:40 Finding that one special thing in a startup and then digging in - founders should focus on identifying that one thing and sharing it first
0:41:50 Outsourcing or insourcing operations at a venture fund
0:42:45 Rob shares how he and NextView have adapted to the pandemic in terms of team, diversity, investment thesis
0:46:00 Can the public markets serve as an indicator for which kinds of companies to invest in or not to invest in
0:48:15 Thoughts on startups that focus on selling to governments
0:48:30 Quick thoughts on Palantir's IPO filing and AirBNB as a company
0:52:40 Prop tech, barriers to entry and other aspects as indicators to investing or not
0:54:20 Areas of interest over the next 6-12 months
0:57:02 How to contact or pitch Rob Go
0:57:33 Our next Invest Stream Live with Amol Sarva, founder of Knotel