Obvious Ventures James Joaquin: brings operator expertise to fund #worldpositive startups | E897

In this episode, Jason Calacanis chats with James Joaquin about his venture capital journey and the importance of purpose-driven businesses. They discuss mental health among founders, James's experience with Obvious Ventures, meat alternative brands, and the potential of crypto. They also address issues with vaping and JUUL.

Speakers

AI Chat

Unidentified

Jason Calacanis

Host • 55%

James Joaquin

Guest • 42%

Unidentified

Chapters

0:00	Opening
0:51	Jason introduces James Joaquin. The two talk about Ofoto and how James got into the venture capital world.
12:00	Jason thanks sponsor Mixmax. Visit get.mixmax.com/twist for $100 in credits.
13:58	The two talk about River Pheonix, Joaquin Pheonix, and the film ‘The Master.’
15:52	Why are mental health issues so prominent amongst founders, and how can you stay healthy despite the pressures in the startup world?
21:46	James shares how he met Ev Williams and Vishal Vasishth, why they started Obvious Ventures together, and why purpose-driven businesses are important.
25:45	Jason thanks sponsor DigitalOcean. Sign up at do.co/twist to receive a free $100 credit.
27:32	James shares his story about his 23andMe results and attending their launch Spit Party.
31:22	Why did Obvious Ventures decide to raise $123,456,789 for their first fund and are they focused on returns or purpose?
36:49	Meat alternative brands Beyond Meat vs. Impossible Foods, and how the world will change for the better with these “world-positive” companies.
43:19	Jason thanks sponsor Smile Direct Club. Visit smiledirectclub.com/podcast and enter promo code “startup” at checkout to get $150 off invisible aligners.
45:16	The two discuss the New York Times article that paints venture capitalists as bad, why scalability and transparency are important in the venture capital industry, and stories about the worst investor behavior.
53:43	Thoughts on crypto as a technology and a boom and bust cycle, why James and Jason have yet to invest in crypto, and positive potential in the world of crypto.
1:05:55	Three categories of deals that Obvious Ventures has participated in, and the issues with vaping and JUUL.

Transcript

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