Shows
Newcomer PodcastDOGE's Twitter FirestormIn this episode of the Newcomer podcast, Eric Newcomer and Madeline Renbarger dig into all of the chaos in Washington led by Elon Musk and his team of young staffers. They push back on the attacks from the right at the press that revealing information about public employees is anything close to "doxxing," and unpack a16z's virtue signaling by hiring new right-wing cause celebrity Daniel Penny to its investing team. Later on, Eric breaks down the General Catalyst's a pitch to investors shapeshifting into a "company." They close with even more meme discourse, this time over Marc Andreessen's...2025-02-0725 minNewcomer PodcastThe DeepSeek Fire DrillIn this episode, Eric Newcomer and Madeline Renbarger break down DeepSeek’s impact on western AI companies. Is it really the “AI Sputnik Moment” that investors have called it, or just a CCP bluff?They also delve into new AngelList data on venture returns — unsurprisingly, they’re not looking good post-2021. They also discuss voice AI startup ElevenLabs’ new funding round.2025-01-3124 minNewcomer PodcastGrit vs Grift"In this episode of The Newcomer Podcast, Eric Newcomer and Madeline Renbarger unpack how tech elites are reacting to the early days of the Trump presidency. They discuss Sam Altman and Masayoshi Son’s new venture to build AI data centers dubbed “Project Stargate” and make the case for business leaders to abide by important ethical norms. They also break down fresh performance data from UTIMCO, calling out Thrive Capital’s standout returns and examining the broader struggles for many funds amid the post-2021 downturn. They close by discussing Brookfield’s billion-dollar acquisition of Divvy Homes—once valued at over $2 billion—and u...2025-01-2425 minNewcomer PodcastShake-ups at Silicon Valley's Biggest VC FirmsAfter a brief hiatus, the Newcomer podcast is back! Madeline Renbarger has rejoined me as my co-host to help break down all of the news across venture capital and startups. This week, we’re kicking off with a massive $693 million chip deal and Google’s huge quantum computing breakthroughs, in news that feels like flashes of Silicon Valley returning to its “silicon” roots. Still, some of this tech feels a bit too early to be exciting for a venture-backable model. We also dig into the personnel shake-ups across the major multi-stage funds, i...2024-12-1120 min
Dead CatShake-ups at Silicon Valley's Biggest VC FirmsAfter a brief hiatus, the Newcomer podcast is back! Madeline Renbarger has rejoined me as my co-host to help break down all of the news across venture capital and startups. This week, we’re kicking off with a massive $693 million chip deal and Google’s huge quantum computing breakthroughs, in news that feels like flashes of Silicon Valley returning to its “silicon” roots. Still, some of this tech feels a bit too early to be exciting for a venture-backable model. We also dig into the personnel shake-ups across the major multi-stage funds, i...2024-12-1120 minNewcomer PodcastThe Ongoing Startup Downturn & More PR People Than Reporters to Answer Their EmailsDescription: In this episode of the Newcomer Podcast, Eric Newcomer and Madeline Renbarger discuss two major funding rounds, the ongoing downturn in VC funding, and the growing imbalance between public relations professionals and reporters. Eric and Madeline highlight Poolside’s $500M round and Impulse Space’s $150M raise, while pointing out that even the AI mega rounds cant hide the downturn in VC funding.Produced by Christopher GatesAudio Chapters: 00:00:18 — Poolside’s $500M round 00:02:24 — Impulse Space’s $150M raise00:05:17 — Downturn in VC00:11:03 — The imbalance between PR and journalism2024-10-0817 min
Dead CatThe Ongoing Startup Downturn & More PR People Than Reporters to Answer Their EmailsDescription: In this episode of the Newcomer Podcast, Eric Newcomer and Madeline Renbarger discuss two major funding rounds, the ongoing downturn in VC funding, and the growing imbalance between public relations professionals and reporters. Eric and Madeline highlight Poolside’s $500M round and Impulse Space’s $150M raise, while pointing out that even the AI mega rounds cant hide the downturn in VC funding.Produced by Christopher GatesAudio Chapters: 00:00:18 — Poolside’s $500M round 00:02:24 — Impulse Space’s $150M raise00:05:17 — Downturn in VC00:11:03 — The imbalance between PR and journalism2024-10-0817 minNewcomer PodcastListen: OpenAI's 'Great Man,' AI Regulation & DrugsIn this episode of the Newcomer Podcast, hosts Eric Newcomer and Madeline Renbarger delve into the world of venture capital deals, starting with Ujet’s $76M Series D for its AI-powered call center software. Next up is the drama surrounding PearAI, whose growth-hacker tweet set the tech world buzzing. From there, they navigate through OpenAI’s own “Game of Thrones,” exploring internal power plays and high-stakes exits, before turning to California’s latest AI regulatory battles. To wrap things up, they call for some balance in Silicon Valley’s escalating discourse around drugs and psychedelics.Chapters:00:22 Ujet...2024-10-0124 min
Dead CatListen: OpenAI's 'Great Man,' AI Regulation & DrugsIn this episode of the Newcomer Podcast, hosts Eric Newcomer and Madeline Renbarger delve into the world of venture capital deals, starting with Ujet’s $76M Series D for its AI-powered call center software. Next up is the drama surrounding PearAI, whose growth-hacker tweet set the tech world buzzing. From there, they navigate through OpenAI’s own “Game of Thrones,” exploring internal power plays and high-stakes exits, before turning to California’s latest AI regulatory battles. To wrap things up, they call for some balance in Silicon Valley’s escalating discourse around drugs and psychedelics.Chapters:00:22 Ujet...2024-10-0124 min
Newcomer PodcastAI + Robots, YC Preview & Why the Cool Kids Keep Picking on TechEpisode 1: AI + Robots, YC Preview, and Why the Cool Kids Keep Picking on TechIn this week’s episode of the Newcomer Podcast, hosts Eric Newcomer and Madeline Renbarger discuss three top venture capital deals, including World Labs and delivery startup Flink. They also wade into Y Combinator’s upcoming Demo Day, highlighting trends in defense tech and the implications of AI’s power consumption.The conversation touches on Runway’s licensing deal with Lionsgate and concludes with an examination of John Mulaney’s performance at Dreamforce.Chapters* 00:00 World Labs: A New Era in...2024-09-2423 min
Dead CatAI + Robots, YC Preview & Why the Cool Kids Keep Picking on TechEpisode 1: AI + Robots, YC Preview, and Why the Cool Kids Keep Picking on TechIn this week’s episode of the Newcomer Podcast, hosts Eric Newcomer and Madeline Renbarger discuss three top venture capital deals, including World Labs and delivery startup Flink. They also wade into Y Combinator’s upcoming Demo Day, highlighting trends in defense tech and the implications of AI’s power consumption.The conversation touches on Runway’s licensing deal with Lionsgate and concludes with an examination of John Mulaney’s performance at Dreamforce.Chapters* 00:00 World Labs: A New Era in...2024-09-2423 min