Shows
Motion BlurReplay: The Hardware PlaybookGiven we’ve had a bunch of new subscribers recently, we decided to re-release one of our first episodes we ever recorded, and the first one we launched with!You know the saying: Hardware is hard! In today’s episode, Grant and Hammad discuss why that’s the case. Together they examine the software investing frameworks that also apply to hardware, and also explore new frameworks that offer some predictability in the built world.The culmination of this conversation is a project Grant’s been working on for a while now dubbed The Hardware...2025-05-1040 min
Motion BlurHowdy, PartnerGrant's Promotion to Partner, the State of Seed Investing, and Quantum vs Classical RisksToday’s episode is a day late but for good reason — Grant was recently promoted to Partner(!), so Hammad wanted to open the pod congratulating him, and let Grant share some thank you’s to those that have helped him reach this amazing milestone.We then shift to a topic that’s seemingly on everyone’s minds: why is early stage (seed) investing so competitive? And what will happen from here? Grant opens with an iconic Jerry Neumann post from 10 years ago, and c...2025-05-031h 06
Motion BlurQ&A Mailbag #1Today’s episode is the long-awaited Q&A. Thank you to all our listeners who submitted questions to us, we did our best to cover as many as possible. We plan on making more of these in the future so please keep them coming (and hopefully we can get to some that we couldn’t cover this time).🔗 Show Resource LinksBryce Roberts’ tweet on the Wiz acquisition🎙️ Podcast LinksSpotifyApple PodcastsX (FKA Twitter)Subscribe🌀 About Motion BlurExploring what makes great companies and technologies work...2025-04-2551 min
Motion BlurPast Performance Does Not Equal Future ResultsEntropy, record revenue growth, and persistenceToday’s episode covers the Second Law of Thermodynamics — entropy, and how it extends to the world of (AI) companies. We’ve seen a number of companies shatter revenue milestones in record times, and Hammad and Grant viewed this as an opportunity to talk about building enduring businesses in the face of shifting environment.We open with one of Grant’s favorite facts: the average age of a company in the S&P 500 has fallen over 50 years in the past few decades. The Hedonic Treadmill has only accelerated, and we’re se...2025-04-1844 min
Motion BlurTime for TariffsWhat reindustrialization actually means, and how we do itThe market is digesting the impact of the latest round of tariffs, and given that reshoring is a core talking point, we wanted to use this as an opportunity to cover our perspective on the broader reindustrialization efforts.This is very much an evolving dynamic, so we focus on the broader picture to give this more of a durable perspective. What do stronger tariffs signal about the next phase of American industrial policy? How do you navigate a world of uncertainty?We dig into...2025-04-1136 min
Motion BlurChicken SexingThe art of founder pickingToday we’re covering a topic near and dear to our hearts: chicken sexing!While you might think it’s an odd comparison, there’s actually a lot of similarities between chicken sexing and founding picking. Grant originally wrote about this over a year ago on a previously pseudonymous blog, and then referenced it when he announced he was joining Cantos.Expect to learn why this analogy resonates, how Grant originally came up with the idea (Hammad had a huge role in the backstory), and how this type of tal...2025-04-0448 min
Motion BlurThe Hedonic Treadmill11x, an AI sales development representatives (SDR) co is in the news for some potentially troubling action. We are not going to comment on the individual company, but instead we wanted to use this as an opportunity to talk about what the challenges of building in the world of software are.Hammad opens the floor by telling us more about what AI SDRs are, how they work, how the market is evolving, and why a story like this might pop up. Grant then asks Hammad to share his perspective on where long-term value accrual will actually happen...2025-03-2841 min
Motion BlurM&A is Back on the MenuGoogle is acquiring Wiz, so we decided it’s time to talk about M&A. There’s a lot of analysis on this particular acquisition and less about how it fits into the broader tech ecosystem, so that’s where most of our discussion centers.We open the conversation by talking about Grant’s time at the 3rd annual American Dynamism Summit in DC, and transition into the Wiz conversation by talking about his latest substack post. Hammad then gives us his perspective on the transaction and whether it will lead to a new era of M&A (and p...2025-03-2144 min
Motion BlurNot Dead, Can't QuitGiven the recent market sell off Grant and Hammad thought it would be a good opportunity to discuss their thoughts on the current venture landscape and how macro conditions impact the GP and LP ecosystem. We start off by quickly looking at the American Dynamism 50, which is an annual list of 50 companies highlighted that are supporting the national interest. From there the conversation shifts to the broader markets, LP liquidity needs, and potential shuttering of some non-performant firms.What starts off as an episode about current market dynamics shifts to one about lessons learned from athletics, venture...2025-03-1336 min
Motion BlurMatt Curtolo – An Allocator's MindInsights from two decades in the private marketsToday we’re interviewing a close friend of the show — Matt Curtolo. Grant first met Matt back during his time at MetLife, and he’s one of the people responsible for Grant entering venture in the first place.In this episode we discuss Matt’s journey into the allocator’s seat, how his evaluation of managers has changed over time, what the private market landscape looks like for emerging managers, how allocation programs like DEI and other initiatives actually get created and executed, and lastly: what Matt would chan...2025-03-061h 05Motion BlurHuman(e)'s EncoreHumane, Alexa Plus, and the future of computingLast week Humane announced that HP was acquiring its team and technology, which formally marks the end of their AI pin product.We thought today would be a good time to dissect the news, but more importantly, we wanted to explore what the future of computing may look like. This is an area Grant has spent years thinking about, and he opens up by sharing thoughts on the directional arrows of progress within wearables more broadly, and how the history of computing offers clues as to how...2025-02-2733 minMotion BlurRide or DieAI or die?What’s the latest with AI? Is it really AI or Die?A bunch of people are telling us to pay more attention to what’s happening, so Grant and Hammad decided to dive into the meta discussion of how to handle periods of profound change. We discuss everything from Formula One race strategies to v2 companies and how these changes will impact the software + hardware playbooks.This is a wide-ranging conversation that touches a bit of everything. We conclude with Hammad’s excitement for the opportunity in healthcare and Grant’...2025-02-2048 minMotion BlurCompetition is for WinnersChoosing Competitors WiselyYou know the line: Competition is for losers!But what if the opposite is actually true? Today Hammad and Grant explore the topic of choosing your enemies (in reality:competitors), and how that sets your company up for success (or the lack thereof). We dive into Blockbuster, Netflix, Shopify, Amazon, counter-positioning, and much more. This is a topic relevant across the entire startup ecosystem, whether it’s AI and LLMs or the American Dynamism Cinematic Universe.Hammad and Grant close us out with their perspective of how this extends beyond th...2025-02-1340 minMotion BlurNot from ConcentrateIndex Investing vs Concentration
Today Hammad and Grant debate the merits of index investing vs concentrated investing at the early stages. The conversation begins with Hammad sharing a tweet from a notable early-stage investing legend; Grant proceeds to explain why he thinks it’s wrong!
Been reflecting lately on various people taking a "portfolio approach" of options where one bet hits big -- Kyle Shanahan w/ various quarterbacks; obviously, VC firms who find a big winner; more recently, Lina Khan & FTC w/ Figma-Adobe.
Obviously, there’s lots of ways to invest, and Grant and...2025-02-0644 minMotion BlurKonnichiwa, DeepSeekLessons from a last-minute trip to Tokyo, and DeepSeek
Hello from Tokyo! This week Grant shares some lessons from a recent trip to Japan to support one of the Cantos portfolio companies: Shinkei Systems. For context, Shinkei is a vertically-integrated robotic fish processing company. They’re using robots to process fish more efficiently and humanely, which makes the fish taste better and last longer. They achieve this using robotics and AI to scale the artisanal craft of ike-jime — a technique that actually comes from Japan.
Hammad asks Grant to open with Cantos’ thesis around partnering with S...2025-01-3054 minMotion BlurIan Rountree – Founder & Managing Partner of CantosToday we have a special episode where Grant and Hammad interview a mentor, friend, and someone who happens to also be Grant’s business partner — Ian Rountree. Ian founded Cantos back in 2016 and has since built the firm into the preeminent early-stage investor in the deep tech universe.
We open the conversation discussing Ian’s path to founding Cantos but then quickly shift to much more spicy topics, starting with what Ian describes as venture’s incentive problem. Learn why Ian thinks “East Coast” biotech teaches us a unique lesson about deep tech, why his flavor of deep tech is...2025-01-2352 minMotion BlurThe Starlink IPOWe’re back for the first episode of 2025! Today we’re exploring one of Grant’s older essays:The Starlink IPO. We open the conversation discussing Amazon and it’s path to creating AWS, and then compare that story to SpaceX and Starlink's meteoric rise. Grant discusses his thesis in greater detail and Hammad asks him what attributes he seeks in founders trying to build multi-act companies. Hammad also asks Grant to share the biggest difference between Blue Origin and SpaceX. Finally we conclude with a project Hammad is excited to put together for the coming year.🔗 Show Resour...2025-01-1640 minMotion Blur2024 in ReviewIt’s the end of the year, so Grant and Hammad decided to revisit some of the most popular 2024 tech predictions and evaluate how accurate they were. We open with Grant’s maritime prediction from his time at a16z, and then we shift to robotics, crypto, Apple’s Vision Pro, and geopolitics. Hammad then wraps the show by sharing his favorite idea from Satya’s recent podcast interview. This is a lively back and forth episode that culminates with some reflections on the first year of Motion Blur.
This will be our last episode for 2024. We’ll see you...2024-12-1949 minMotion BlurRiding the WaveGrant and Hammad discuss how the act of creating a company is like surfing a monster 100 foot wave. Grant begins by sharing a surfing metaphor that explains what it’s like to build a company. Hammad steps in to share his pushback, and then the conversation transitions to some stories about John Doerr, Tesla, and Navy SEALs and sledgehammers. They conclude the show by discussing some of the deep currents they’re focusing on today.
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Not Dead, Can’t Quit (Let’s get our sledgeh...2024-12-1241 minMotion BlurInsiders vs OutsidersLarry’s tone was in the friendly advice-category. He teed it up this way: I had a choice. I could be an insider or I could be an outsider. Outsiders can say whatever they want. But people on the inside don’t listen to them. Insiders, however, get lots of access and a chance to push their ideas. People — powerful people — listen to what they have to say. But insiders also understand one unbreakable rule: They don’t criticize other insiders. — Elizabeth Warren, A Fighting Chance
Grant and Hammad discuss the concept of Insiders and Outsiders and how this app...2024-12-0541 minMotion BlurThanksgiving GratitudesIn this special Thanksgiving-inspired episode, Grant and Hammad share a few thoughts on an app, book, and person that they each are grateful for.
We hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and wonderful start to the Holiday season. Thanks for listening!
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Exploring what makes great companies and technologies work. Brought to you by Grant Gregory & Hammad Aslam. Grant is an investor at Cantos where he focuses on physical world technologies. Hammad is a Partner at Kivu Ventures, Susa’s growth...2024-11-3013 minMotion BlurThe IBMification of EverythingNobody ever got fired for buying IBM, or so the saying goes.
Grant and Hammad talk about how that same sentiment has pervaded everything from Boeing to Venture, and what that means for today’s startup environment, as well as ways to address it. Hammad shares some perspectives on growth, and Grant wraps us up by talking about some founder stories from the last few eras of Venture.
We’re iterating on this as we go. Please let us know what you think.
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X (FKA Twitter)...2024-11-2134 minMotion BlurHow Can I Help?Episode 3: The iconic line.
Everyone’s heard it. We’ve joked about it. Today we’re talking about it. Grant and Hammad cover everything from how multistage firms support portcos to founder dinners. Grant tells us his gold standard for helping founders, and then closes us out with some comments on his time working with Hammad and Susa.
We’re iterating on this as we go. Please let us know what you think.
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Exploring what makes great co...2024-11-1448 minMotion BlurLong Live SoftwareEpisode 2: Software strikes back!
In today’s episode, Hammad leads a discussion about the history of software and how it brought us to today's venture landscape. Hammad details how incrementalism has come to dominate investing decisions and why he eschews that in favor of embracing true outlier-type opportunities. Grant and Hammad closes us out with their excitement around what this next era of venture-backed companies can become.
We’re iterating on this as we go. Please let us know what you think.
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X (FKA Twitter)...2024-11-0842 minMotion BlurThe Hardware PlaybookYou know the saying: Hardware is hard!
In today’s episode, Grant and Hammad discuss why that’s the case. They examine the software investing frameworks that also apply to hardware, and also explore new frameworks that offer some predictability in the built world. Hammad closes us out with some thoughts on his perspective on the Near Frontier / Dynamism categories, and gets us ready for an upcoming episode on his software world view.
We’re iterating on this as we go. Please let us know what you think.
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App...2024-10-3140 min