Episodes

  • Alok Sama: On why Masa Son is easy to admire but impossible to emulate

    Alok Sama: On why Masa Son is easy to admire but impossible to emulate
    Jan 8 2026
    What does it really mean to live in the future as an investor? In this episode, we go inside SoftBank, the Vision Fund, and the mind of Masayoshi Son with someone who was there for the biggest bets — the wins, the losses, and the lessons. We unpack: - Why SoftBank’s biggest mistakes weren’t wrong — just too early - How AI is reshaping venture capital, infrastructure, and distribution - Why timing matters more than brilliance in tech investing - The difference between narratives vs numbers in early-stage bets - Why most AI value may flow to hyperscalers — not startups - The illusion of control in careers, capital allocation, and life This is not hype. This is a grounded, insider conversation about AI, capital, ambition, hubris, and serendipity. 🎙️ If you care about venture capital, AI, or how massive bets actually get made — this one’s for you. Timestamps: 00:00 Inside SoftBank 02:30 Genius or Hubris? 05:00 The Vision Fund Explained 07:30 WeWork & Too Much Capital 10:00 AI & Capital Concentration 13:30 Narrative vs Numbers 17:00 Who Really Wins AI? 21:00 Is AI Truly Transformational? 26:00 The Illusion of Control 30:00 Why Passion Is Bad Advice 34:30 Creativity vs AI 39:00 Final Lessons Find [guest name] online at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aloksama/ Twitter: https://x.com/alok_sama The Money Trap: https://aloksama.com/ This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    57 mins
  • Why 2025 Ended Easy Money | Aarish Shah

    Why 2025 Ended Easy Money | Aarish Shah
    Dec 18 2025
    2025 wasn’t a recovery year, it was a reckoning. Venture capital didn’t bounce back. It split clean in two. In this year-end episode of Nothing Ventured, Aarish breaks down The Great Bifurcation — the moment the market decided who matters and who doesn’t. From the collapse of AI wrappers like Builder.ai, to $30B valuations with no product. From biology quietly raising billions in London, to defence, energy, and sovereign infrastructure becoming the only safe harbours. From Europe’s talent paradox to why a SpaceX IPO could restart the entire venture flywheel. This episode covers: - Why 2025 killed the “fake it till you make it” era - The AI split: gods vs mortals - The biology boom nobody is talking about - Defence, energy, and the rise of the sovereignty stack - Europe’s capital problem (and why exits keep moving to the US) - Why SpaceX’s IPO may unlock liquidity for everyone in 2026 2025 ended easy money. 2026 will reward important money. 🎙️ If you’re a founder, investor, operator, or LP — this is the map of where venture actually is now. #venturecapital #startups #ai #biotech #defencetech #europe #tech2025 #nothingventured This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    19 mins
  • The AI Bubble No One Wants to Admit | Emmet King

    The AI Bubble No One Wants to Admit | Emmet King
    Dec 11 2025
    In this deep-dive season closer, Aarish sits down with Emmet King to unpack the real state of AI, venture, and the hidden strengths of the Nordic ecosystem. They explore why Scandinavia punches far above its weight, where the AI bubble will burst first, why distribution beats innovation, and what it actually takes for an application-layer AI startup to survive 2026. From trust, data moats and workflow depth, to manufacturing intelligence, robotics, and the limits of context—this conversation goes way beyond the hype. Emmett also reveals his most contrarian belief as a tech investor, and what genuinely moves him in life. Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro & Why the Nordics Punch Above Their Weight 08:00 – Europe’s Culture Shift: Ambition, Failure & Jante 14:00 – The AI Bubble & Where the Reset Starts 19:40 – What AI Apps Must Have to Survive 2026 27:00 – Hardware, Sensors & Industrial AI’s Next Frontier 44:45 – What Dies, What Consolidates & What Wins in AI 53:00 – Emmett’s Contrarian Take & What Moves Him Emotionally Find Emmet King online at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmetking/ Twitter: https://x.com/J12Ventures J12 Ventures: https://www.j12ventures.com/ This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • Saving a Generation: Inside the Fight Against Infinite Scroll | Jess Butcher

    Saving a Generation: Inside the Fight Against Infinite Scroll | Jess Butcher
    Dec 4 2025
    In this deep, funny, and at times shocking conversation, Jess Butcher MBE — co-founder of Blippar and the creator of Scroll Aware — breaks down how the attention economy became an addiction economy, how AR missed its moment, why our kids are becoming NPCs, and what the analogue renaissance could look like. We explore: Timestamps: 00:00 — AR’s rise & missed moment 03:00 — Why AR never hit education 06:46 — Attention → addiction economy 11:30 — Algorithmic media & truth decay 15:50 — Overwhelm, ADHD & digital habits 18:49 — Kids, screens & NPC culture 22:03 — Phones out of schools 27:07 — The “safe phone” movement 30:32 — Big Tech vs Big Tobacco 46:37 — The analogue renaissance begins Find Jess Butcher online at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessbutcher/ Twitter: https://x.com/jessbutcher scrollaware: https://www.scrollaware.com/ This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    1 hr and 10 mins
  • Rajan Dosanjh & Ankush Shah: Playing indefinitely repeated games

    Rajan Dosanjh & Ankush Shah: Playing indefinitely repeated games
    Nov 27 2025
    In this episode of Nothing Ventured, Aarish Shah sits down withRajan Dosanjh and Ankush Shah, partners at Rank Ventures, to unpack what real early-stage investing looks like in 2025 and beyond. We get into: 🔥 Why “banking is eat what you kill” but “venture is eat what you grow” 🔥 How bad governance, weak boards & misaligned incentives pushed them to build Rank 🔥 Why 2026 will demand profitability plans and default-alive thinking 🔥 Why skin-in-the-game investors behave differently 🔥 How to remove blame culture and run an effective board 🔥 What founders must internalize about the new funding environment If you’re a founder, operator, angel or fund manager — this one cuts deep. Timestamps: 00:00 — Intro to Rajan & Ankush and the Rank Ventures story 02:00 — “Banking is eat what you kill; venture is eat what you grow” 04:30 — The investment that went wrong — and what it taught them 07:00 — Shared values, asymmetric bets & building trust 10:00 — Operator vs investor mindset (and how to balance both) 14:00 — Bad governance in venture: fiduciary failures & hard lessons 17:00 — Why Rank has real skin in the game (and no management fees) 21:00 — DPI over TVPI: why returns need to be real, not theoretical 24:00 — The new VC market: slower capital, higher expectations 31:00 — What founders need going into 2026: default-alive + ROI-driven growth Find Rajan Dosanjh online at: LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajan-dosanjh/ Rank Ventures: https://rank-ventures.com/ Find Ankush Shah online at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ankush-shah-64144a34/ Rank Ventures: https://rank-ventures.com/ This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    1 hr and 9 mins
  • AI Is Eating Venture Capital Alive | November 2025 Proves It

    AI Is Eating Venture Capital Alive | November 2025 Proves It
    Nov 20 2025
    November 2025 might go down as the month venture capital actually snapped. Cursor raised $2.3B at a $29.3B valuation — for a coding assistant. One company, Anthropic, took 29% of all global VC funding. And 18 companies consumed a third of the world’s capital. This isn’t a market. It’s a feeding frenzy. In this explosive episode of Nothing Ventured, Aarish Shah breaks down the 5 signals that prove the venture landscape has officially entered its “no rules” era: ⏱ Chapters 00:00 – Intro 00:27 – The $29B Cursor Shockwave 05:12 – Defence Tech Goes From Taboo to Hot Overnight 10:21 – Slush & Why Europe Might Actually Win 15:18 – The IPO Window Reopens (But Only for Winners) 20:02 – The 18-Company Quarter 23:30 – The Five Takeaways You Cannot Ignore 24:40 – Final Word 💥 What you’ll learn: • Why dev tools are suddenly worth mega-cap valuations • How defence tech became Silicon Valley’s favourite new game • Why Europe’s “boring” capital efficiency might beat America’s AI obsession • Why the IPO window matters more than any funding headline • How extreme capital concentration is setting up the next correction If you want to know where venture is REALLY heading in 2026 — this is the episode. #venturecapital #startups #ai #defencetech #technews This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    26 mins
  • The VC Using AI to Spot Founders Before Anyone Else | Adam Shuaib

    The VC Using AI to Spot Founders Before Anyone Else | Adam Shuaib
    Nov 13 2025
    In this episode of Nothing Ventured, host Aarish Shah sits down with Adam Shuaib, GP at Episode 1 Ventures, the early-stage fund using data and AI to spot founders before everyone else. From scraping GitHub and Twitter to building behavioural models that detect grit over gloss, Adam explains how Episode 1’s machine is changing how venture capital discovers talent — and why “weird” founders often hold the biggest alpha. We dive into: ⚙️ How data models are finding unconventional founders 🚫 Why filtering out the “weird” kills innovation 💭 The ethics of AI-driven sourcing 📊 Why alpha is always in the tail end of the distribution 🌍 The concentration of global capital and Europe’s rise 💡 How Episode 1 balances data with human intuition If you’re building the next big thing or investing in it — this one’s for you. 🎧 Subscribe for more conversations that uncover the real stories behind venture capital. Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro: Aarish Shah & Adam Shuaib 00:45 – Episode 1’s AI engine for founder discovery 02:30 – Signal vs. surveillance in VC 05:00 – Finding grit over gloss 07:00 – Adversity as a founder trait 10:30 – Alpha lives in the middle 12:00 – Keeping humans in the loop 18:00 – The AI compute arms race 21:00 – Why NVIDIA always wins 28:30 – The barbell future of VC 32:00 – Europe’s rising edge in venture 38:00 – Hype, unicorns & valuation bubbles 41:30 – Measuring grit, not trauma 46:00 – Why most VCs shouldn’t exist 49:00 – The human side of venture Find Adam Shuaib online at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamshuaib/ Twitter: https://x.com/Episode1VC Episode 1 Ventures: https://www.episode1.com/ This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe #venturecapital #startupfounders #nothingventured #podcast #entrepreneurship Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    52 mins
  • Eva Yazhari: VC Across the Africa India Corridor

    Eva Yazhari: VC Across the Africa India Corridor
    Nov 6 2025
    What happens when a Wall Street-trained investor brings a relational approach to venture capital in emerging markets? In this episode, Eva Yazhari, Managing Partner at Beyond Capital Ventures, joins Arya Shah to unpack her people-first investment philosophy — why 75% of future global growth will come from East Africa and India, how conscious leadership drives stronger returns, and what the next decade of venture in emerging markets looks like. If you care about the future of investing, diversity of thought, and where the next billion customers will come from, this conversation is for you. Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro: Who is Eva Yazhari and what makes Beyond Capital Ventures different 03:30 – Relational vs Transactional VC: Why relationships drive better outcomes than capital alone 06:00 – Case Study: Ampersand Mobility: Building Africa’s e-mobility infrastructure 09:00 – Founder NPS & Portfolio Impact: 93% NPS and 10x capital mobilisation 15:00 – Exits in Africa: How strategic investors and corporates are driving liquidity 18:30 – Diversity of Thought: Conscious leadership, behavioural frameworks, and anti-fragility 27:00 – Gender Lens Investing: Why women are Africa’s most reliable workforce 28:15 – The India–Africa Corridor: Why 75% of global growth will come from this region by 2050 34:00 – Human Capital Challenges: Why talent is Africa’s biggest constraint — and opportunity 40:00 – The Role of AI: How emerging markets are using AI to leapfrog, not lag behind 55:00 – Conscious Capital in Action: Building businesses that outperform and uplift Find Eva Yazhari online at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eva-yazhari/ Twitter: https://x.com/BeyondCapital Beyond Capital Ventures: https://www.beyondcapitalventures.com/ This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    1 hr and 14 mins