Turpentine is hiring a GM of Events, and a GM of Newsletters to help launch new business units for our growing media platform.
Currently, Turpentine’s core product is a podcast network. We have launched 21 shows to date that bring in 250k unique monthly listeners, and until now…
.
@vkhosla
forecasts the future of technology:
-Fusion boilers to phase out coal and gas plants
-Billion bipedal robots revolutionize labor
-Free doctors and tutors for all
-Billion programmers
-Next-gen protein sources beyond soy and corn
-Mach 5 air travel
.
@PalmerLuckey
calls on the U.S. to create a Space Force Navy.
"Patrol the high seas of space to ensure freedom of communication, freedom of movement and freedom of operation in space."
On this episode on Upstream:
@eriktorenberg
is joined by
@LynAldenContact
, an investment strategist known for her unique blend of engineering, tech, and finance expertise.
They discuss her book Broken Money, macro trends, and her best advice in the face of an uncertain economic…
.
@PalmerLuckey
to
@jacobhelberg
: Chinese tech like TikTok is a national security threat and represents unfair business practices.
"Why allow Chinese companies to come to the U.S. and sell us ads and social media tools when they prohibit us from doing the same in their markets?"
On today's episode of Turpentine VC:
@mhdempsey
, Managing Partner at
@compoundvc
, joins
@eriktorenberg
to discuss thesis-driven vs founder-driven investing, Compound’s AI thesis, company building opportunities, ways to win at venture, advice for emerging managers, and much more.…
This week
@mamoonha
and
@ilyaf
of
@kleinerperkins
joined
@eriktorenberg
on Turpentine VC to make the case for the craftsman approach to venture capital, and it's a must-listen.
Our top takeaways:
1. KP holds firm in their belief in the craft approach to VC, which isn’t too…
🔥 On episode 10 of Turpentine VC,
@traestephens
of
@foundersfund
joins
@eriktorenberg
to chat through how the firm's focus on independent thinking and debate culture has been key in helping them build an enduring fund. They touch on:
➕ Founders Fund's deal-making process, or…
In this episode of HR Heretics:
@kellidragovich
and special guest co-host
@Chiefpplofficer
go from 0 to 100 with
@dhh
, creator of
@rails
and co-founder of
@37signals
(Basecamp).
The discussion covers 37signals’ radical policies and the “no politics at work” policy that got…
E8 of Econ 102 w
@noahpinion
breaks down the economic carnage ahead for China. Noah and
@eriktorenberg
discuss:
• What China's recession means for the US
• 'Extend and Pretend'
• Why Xi Jinping is like Steve Ballmer
• What Chinese unrest will look like
Links in comments
🔥 New episode of Live Players with
@SamoBurja
and
@eriktorenberg
is up! They discuss:
➕Technological feats and regressions in ancient civilizations i.e. Greek fire, the Bronze Age collapse
➕Europe's past, present, and future
➕the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Links to full…
In this episode of Autopilot:
@WillSummerlinAI
sits down with
@aphysicist
, CEO and Cofounder of
@atomic_inc
, a company using AI to automate tool and die creation in manufacturing.
They discuss the challenges of modern manufacturing in the tool and die-making field, the current…
New episode of Econ 102 is out!
@noahpinion
is joined by Age of Miracles hosts
@packyM
and
@juliadewahl
to discuss:
➕The future of energy sources
➕The cases for nuclear, solar, & wind energy
➕What Texas and Japan are doing right with batteries
Links in the comments:
.
@ChrisJBakke
on Turpentine Finance predicts build in public content creators like
@levelsio
and
@buffer
are the future of social media.
"I think a lot of the next great accounts will be in that arena."
🔥 Exciting episode of Turpentine VC just dropped with
@chadbyers
of
@SusaVentures
. Chad and Erik Torenberg talk about Susa's re-launch and:
+ Their new vision and why Susa isn't becoming multi-stage
+ Why Susa won't pursue the maximal AUM game
+ The trade-offs of investing in…
.
@Noahpinion
on the
@Econ102_Podcast
lays out the top priority for enhancing U.S. preparedness for World War III: "Resuscitate our defense industrial base."
The process
@kleinerperkins
uses to determine how well they’re doing compared to other competing firms, explained by partners
@mamoonha
and
@ilyaf
:
"Every Monday we look at the prior week of Seed, Series A's, and Series B's that got done by our peer set. And we just mark it as:…
Now live: a special episode of
@Econ102_Podcast
with
@Noahpinion
and
@eriktorenberg
on the war in Israel.
They cover:
- Iran and Saudi Arabia
- Moral problems of the new left - technological advantages
- why this event marks the waning of US power
Watch here:…
There’s a lot of coverage on the “who” and the “how much” of Silicon Valley’s top VCs. But there’s very little on how they actually build their firms.
@bhorowitz
shared about how he thinks about the business of building
@a16z
and where the firm (and the future) is going on the…
In today's episode of History 102: Rudyard Lynch, creator of the enormously popular YouTube channel
@whatifalthist
joins
@eriktorenberg
every week to offer a deeper understanding of critical moments in history.
Together they identify patterns in order to predict the future and…
This week's episode of Live Players is all about the Chinese and American elite.
@samoburja
and
@eriktorenberg
discuss:
➕ China as America's mirror: how they are converging
➕ The waning prestige of American universities, while Chinese students increasingly choose to study at…
🇸🇬This week's Live Players is a deep dive on Singapore with
@SamoBurja
and
@eriktorenberg
. They discuss:
➕Singapore's post-colonial rise to a city-state
➕Why city-states are more oriented to prosperity
➕How being a city-state influences law enforcement, ruling, and…
🔥 Today's episode of Turpentine VC features a long-awaited guest,
@infoarbitrage
of IA Ventures.
@eriktorenberg
and Roger talk about:
➕ IA Ventures' firm strategy and how that's allowed them to generate 10x fund returns
➕ The future of venture and whether it will favor…
In this episode of Sourcery:
@MollySOShea
interviews
@2112Power
, Founder & CEO of
@HadrianSpace
, a vertically integrated deep tech manufacturing company.
Hadrian recently raised a $117M Series B to support its mission of revitalizing American manufacturing. The company…
.
@jasonlk
on the
@TurpentineVC
podcast: "Way too many people are trying to build too many income streams."
"Too many charlatans on Twitter are claiming, 'Hey, I've got 11 SaaS businesses, each putting out ~$500K a year, so I'm making $6M personally.' Bless their soul."
The latest episode of Live Players is all about dynasties in our modern age.
@SamoBurja
and
@eriktorenberg
discuss:
➕A breakdown of the key aspects of succession for the Sulzberger family of the
@nytimes
, the Samsung family, and Sweden’s Wallenberg family
➕The case of…
.
@tferriss
to
@david_perell
: "Reputation and credibility are the new gold. There is a finite amount of trust that any person can put into other people. They are going to choose the people with the highest signal of credibility."
On today’s episode of the Cognitive Revolution:
@drmichaellevin
, Distinguished Professor of Biology at
@TuftsUniversity
, joins
@labenz
to discuss embodied minds, his research into limb regeneration and collective intelligence, cognitive light cones, and much more.
Dr. Levin…
.
@bhorowitz
on the existential threat wartime VCs are battling right now: regulation.
“The biggest war issue we have is actually the regulatory environment and some of the ideas of the current administration where they have become anti-innovation. We’ve already seen a pretty…
.
@reidhoffman
to
@danshipper
: "[A] background of philosophy is more important for entrepreneurship than an MBA."
"It's understanding how to think crisply about what are theories of human nature ... and as they may be modified by new products and services, and new technologies."
🔥 On episode 13 of Turpentine VC,
@sarahtavel
and
@ericvishria
of
@benchmark
join
@eriktorenberg
to talk about how Benchmark thinks about venture in 2023.
We talk about beliefs that are central to Benchmark in firm-building, including why they think platform teams exist to…
🔥New episode of Turpentine VC features
@eladgil
in conversation with
@eriktorenberg
about what's next in 2024 and beyond.
They cover AI, crypto, social tech, ed tech, and health tech sectors. Elad also offers signature advice for who should start companies now and the best…
.
@VivekGRamaswamy
is on this week's episode of
@Upstream__Pod
@eriktorenberg
spoke to Vivek just before his rapid rise in the polls. The conversation goes deep on many of the soundbites you've heard.
- Culture war
- Climate Science
- Why Silicon Valley should abandon otherism
🔥 This week's Live Players is a deep dive on Japan with
@SamoBurja
and
@eriktorenberg
. They discuss:
➕ Japan's military stance + nuclear ambitions
➕ Japan's efforts to address underpopulation
➕ How Japan's homogeneity influences culture, law enforcement, politics, +…
.
@alexandr_wang
to
@loganbartlett
on AI: "It's potentially the greatest economic engine that humanity will have ever invented. It's like as if we're inventing the steam engine times a million."
.
@Naval
: "If you want to operate at peak performance, you have to learn how to tame your mind. A clear mind leads to better judgment and leads to better outcomes."
🔥Our next episode of Live Players just dropped.
@samoburja
and
@eriktorenberg
discuss:
➕Samo’s theory of Long History - he wrote about this in
@palladiummag
➕Why archaeologists are disincentivized to revise their theories about human history
➕How to prevent this…
On today's episode of Upstream:
@eriktorenberg
sits down with
@tylercowen
to discuss Harvard, AI, Javier Milei's legacy, the value of non-legibility in talent spotting, and more.
--
TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Intro
(01:58) Tyler's new book GOAT: Who is the Greatest Economist of all…
In this episode of The Cognitive Revolution:
@labenz
sits down with
@WilliamBryk
, CEO of .
They discuss how
@ExaAILabs
enables complex, research-based searches that differ from traditional keyword-based search, how their AI uses neural and non-neural…
On Turpentine VC this week,
@htaneja
of General Catalyst joins
@eriktorenberg
talk about:
+ Hemant’s approach to being the CEO of the firm
+ Why General Catalyst decided to operate like a true company
+
@generalcatalyst
's unfair advantage in healthcare
and more! Links to the…
On today’s episode of Live Players:
@SamoBurja
, founder of
@bismarckanlys
, and
@eriktorenberg
discuss AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk, and big pharma's dysfunction despite its enormous economic power, incentives behind scientific breakthroughs and the potential for improvement, and…
📈This week on "1 to 1000"
@chughesjohnson
, COO of Stripe (2014-2021), joins
@eriktorenberg
and
@jaltma
to chat through:
➕ How to fire well, quickly
➕ The fallacy of transparency
➕ Reorgs and how to do them right
➕ Why communication architecture is so important
and more…
Our newest show, Request for Startups, is the podcast version of a tech group chat.
Investors and founders share the companies they want to see in the world and the paths they’ve taken down the idea maze so you don’t have to start from scratch. 1st episode features
@jwmares
…
On today’s episode of Econ 102: Economist
@elidourado
joins
@Noahpinion
and
@eriktorenberg
to explore the concept of the Great Stagnation and whether it is over, the challenges of scaling in America, the role of governance in hindering progress, the role of new technology in…
Founders: be a pattern-breaker.
@justinkan
sold his first company on eBay, which caught then attention of
@m2jr
:
"I was like, ‘who does that?’ These are the kinds of guys that win because they're pattern breakers. They engage in behaviors and activitie that conventional…
.
@rabois
discusses the two management lessons that Peter Thiel taught him during his first week at PayPal.
1. Expertise-specific managers are better than general managers.
"The best engineer becomes VP of engineering and the best designer leads the design team."
2. Promote…
On today’s episode of Turpentine VC:
@eriktorenberg
is joined by
@fintechjunkie
, the founding partner of
@QEDInvestors
, a fintech-focused VC firm.
Frank provides a nuanced analysis of investing in fintech and neo banks, offers his view of the larger macro environment, and…
In this episode of Moment of Zen:
@mikedemarais
(co-founder of
@rainbowdotme
) joins
@eriktorenberg
,
@dwr
, and
@antoniogm
as they dive into crypto's future.
The conversation was prompted by the thesis that innovative social protocols like Farcaster are co-evolving with crypto…
Turpentine is growing and we are looking for part-time junior producers to work across our shows like Upstream, Turpentine VC, and more.
If you're someone who is deeply curious about tech and investing and has an insatiable appetite for good, online content, please apply.…
In this episode of Live Players:
@SamoBurja
and
@eriktorenberg
discuss Alibaba after Jack Ma's exit and analyze the Chinese Economy. With 1.3 billion users and $135 billion in revenue, Alibaba is like China's version of PayPal, Amazon, and Walmart combined.
--
TIMESTAMPS:…
.
@lessin
on yesterday's episode of Turpentine VC, explaining why the so-called "factory system" of venture capital is over.
"I think for the last 10 years, you and I have been part of what I call a factory system of venture capital that came together.
Seed investors put ideas…
This week
@ttunguz
of
@Theoryvc
joined
@eriktorenberg
and
@cjgustafson222
on
@TurpentineVC
to discuss the future of accelerators, fund concentration, and the biggest data trends in VC.
Two of our takeaways:
1. Theory aims to differentiate itself by understanding spaces “better…
In this episode of The Cognitive Revolution:
@thesephist
, AI product leader at
@NotionHQ
, joins
@labenz
to discuss his groundbreaking projects and unique approach to exploring AI systems.
He shares his toolkit and insights on language model capabilities, along with his vision…
📈📈This week on "1 to 1000"
@qasar
and Peter Ludwig join co-hosts
@eriktorenberg
and
@jaltma
to chat through people, team, and culture at
@AppliedInt
, their cognizance of their company values and the importance of living them out, product-market fit and how founders need to…
📈📷This week on "1 to 1000"
@jaysimons
, president of Atlassian from 2011 to 2020 (through IPO), joins
@eriktorenberg
and
@jaltma
to chat through:
➕ What made Atlassian different from other VC-backed companies
➕ How to use pricing to differentiate in a hyper-competitive market…
.
@pmarca
: "I don't think happiness is the thing to strive for. I think satisfaction is the thing. Happiness is a walk in the woods, an ice cream cone. Satisfaction is a deeper thing, which is like having found a purpose and fulfilling it."
On episode 15 of Turpentine VC,
@loganbartlett
of
@Redpoint
joins
@eriktorenberg
to dive into how Redpoint operates in venture and a discussion of the most consequential players in the overall ecosystem.
We talk about Logan’s biggest influences, the power of brand versus…
Peter Thiel: "I’m much more worried about the humans trying to stop the AI than the AI destroying us."
"A force that’s powerful enough to stop the AI is probably a force that’s powerful enough to destroy the world."
🔥 On episode 12 of Turpentine VC, the legendary
@Alfred_Lin
of
@sequoia
(invested in
@Airbnb
,
@DoorDash
,
@houzz
, and more) joined
@eriktorenberg
to dig into the unique ways which Sequoia operates as a venture firm.
We chat through:
➕ Why Sequoia doesn't actually track AUM
➕…
On today’s episode of Live Players:
@SamoBurja
, founder of
@bismarckanlys
, and
@eriktorenberg
discuss US government spending, regulation, and the importance of strategic restructuring for improved efficiency.
They cover:
* Reasons why DARPA is a model for enhanced focus and…
In this episode of History 102, hosts
@eriktorenberg
and
@whatifalthist
delve into the American Civil War, providing a comprehensive overview encompassing its causes, key battles, and the aftermath.
--
TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Intro
(00:41) Exploring the Roots of the American…
.
@sama
shares his unconventional stance on seeking input from others: "I mostly got what I wanted by ignoring advice. Listening to advice from other people should be approached with great caution."
Sourcery is officially a part of the Turpentine podcast network.
@MollySOShea
's excellent newsletter and podcast, Sourcery, joins the Turpentine investing cluster of shows that includes
@TurpentineVC
from
@eriktorenberg
, The Riff from
@ByrneHobart
, Investing City from…
🔥 Another episode of Turpentine VC just dropped with
@m2jr
of
@floodgatefund
. On today's episode, Mike and Erik dive into why:
+ It's so important to force a choice and not a comparison when differentiating
+ Discipline and patience are a form of arbitrage
+ Floodgate has…
In this episode of Live Players:
@eriktorenberg
and
@samoburja
discuss the current state and future state of America, China, Russia, Ukraine, energy, the US dollar, AI, Peter Zeihan, Balaji Srinivasan, and more.
This episode was recorded in 2023 for Upstream with Erik Torenberg…
Our newest show drops today with
@bhargreaves
of Thesis Driven. 🚀
The first season of the Leader Series podcast consists of 12 interviews with the leading voices at the intersection of real estate, cities, innovation and technology.
They'll talk about how technology is going…
thrilled to kick off the first season of the Thesis Driven Leader Series, a podcast + video featuring top players at the center of real estate, innovation & cities
The first episode dropped today ft
@moseskagan
and
@reseedrhett
of
@ReSeedPartners
.
@m2jr
on the most recent episode of Turpentine with
@eriktorenberg
: YC's non-consensus economics, and why that risk leads to their super performance.
"What YC is doing that's non-consensus is their economics. A lot of people confuse non-consensus with contrarianism.…
We're back with a new episode of Econ 102 - where
@noahpinion
and
@eriktorenberg
discuss:
➕The politicization of science leading to pseudoscience
➕“Administrification” in America
➕The Trillion-Dollar Non-Profit Sector
Link in comments
“Within one generation, we have the ability to slash incidence rates for so many major diseases.”
@noor_siddiqui_
's company
@OrchidInc
recently announced their whole genome sequencing capabilities for embryos. Noor and
@ErikTorenberg
discuss this technology and more on…
.
@webflow
's VP of Finance, Ivan Makarov, joins host
@cjgustafson222
on the second episode of Run The Numbers, where they go straight into the unfiltered.
They chat about what kept Ivan up at night in the early days at Webflow, the most misunderstood elements of startup equity,…
In this episode of The Cognitive Revolution:
@NathanLabenz
sits down with
@elicitorg
co-founders
@stuhlmueller
and
@jungofthewon
to discuss their mission to make AI-assisted research more accessible and reliable. Learn about their unique approach to task decomposition, which…
.
@GeoffLewisOrg
on Peter Thiel's interview question about what truth do very few people agree with you on: "I believe that anyone who's familiar with that question should never answer it."
Stoked to announce that
@RyanReeves_
' excellent show Investing City is now part of the Turpentine network. 🚀
Whether it be a granular tear-down of
@nvidia
's value chain or an in-depth look at what topgrading is, Investing City helps you supercharge your journey as a student of…
In this episode of Turpentine VC:
@eriktorenberg
sits down with
@jasonlk
, the founder and CEO of
@saastr
, a venture firm, podcast network, event series, and the world’s largest community for B2B/SaaS founders.
This candid conversation focuses on SaaStr's business model at the…
In today's episode of The Cognitive Revolution:
@TheZvi
returns to the show to discuss OpenAI’s Sora model, Google’s Gemini announcement and why Zvi prefers Gemini to other foundation models, Anthropic’s Sleeper Agents, and more live player analysis.
--
TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00)…
In this episode of Econ 102:
@Noahpinion
and
@eriktorenberg
are joined by
@bhargreaves
, the founder of
@hicommon
, co-founder of
@GA
, and writer of Thesis Driven.
They discuss the future of real estate and housing in America, the impact of regulations, and the potential of new…
On today’s episode of the Cognitive Revolution:
@yoheinakajima
, GP at
@UntappedVC
and Creator of
@babyAGI_
, returns to the show. Together with
@labenz
, they analyze and provide commentary on Yohei's TEDAI Talk, unpacking themes on collective intelligence, identity, and how AI…
In this episode of Emergent Behavior: Prophetic AI co-founders
@EricWollberg
and
@weslouis_
j
oin
@8teAPi
to dive into how they're using AI to facilitate lucid dreaming.
--
TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Introduction and background
(04:12) Understanding lucid dreaming
(28:46) Inspiration…
On today’s episode of the Cognitive Revolution: Nathan sits down with
@SanderSchulhoff
, co-founder and CEO of
@learnprompting
.
They discuss the business model, the keys to prompting that every GPT user should know, negative prompting, and prompt hacking.
--
TIMESTAMPS:
(04:50)…
.
@DavidSacks
outlines his operating philosophy "The Cadence" for SaaS startups.
Here's a breakdown of his methodology that helped make PayPal and Yammer into billion-dollar companies 🧵👇:
.
@jamierawsthorne
reveals his methodology for leveraging YouTube data to create viral videos:
• Identify top-performing content in a niche
• Analyze titles and visuals to glean insights
• Repeat process for 5 to 10 channels
• Compile data into a table for analysis
•…
On today’s episode of Age of Miracles:
@jordanbramble
and our own
@juliadewahl
, co-founders of
@AntaresNuclear
, dive deep into how Antares plans on manufacturing in mass micro-sized nuclear reactors to provide abundant energy for all.
--
TIMESTAMPS:
(00:10) Introduction
(03:50)…
In this episode on Upstream:
@eriktorenberg
is joined by
@IgorKurganov
, poker player and founder of
@REGcharity
.
They discuss similarities between poker and Effective Altruism, the successes and failures of EA, and where EA should go next.
--
TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Intro
(01:01)…
.
@variantfund
co-founder
@ljin18
on the
@MOZ_Podcast
discusses how L1 blockchains are like quasi-religious movements.
-Each one has a community
-Unique values and mission
-Skilled storytellers and meme pushers
-Follow the "attention is upstream of everything" hypothesis
"I…
🧮New episode of Run The Numbers is out!
This week,
@cjgustafson222
is joined by
@sruthilanka
, CFO of
@public
, for an insight-filled discussion on topics like the unexpected qualities of great CFOs, how to manage your team well and achieve great retention, how to build…
.
@Lessin
returns to Turpentine VC w/
@eriktorenberg
to discuss venture’s imminent structural inflection.
They cover:
- VCs shift to an asset-management business during ZIRP
- Carnage coming to “VCs who weren’t very good VCs”
- Why startups should deploy their cash as if there…
This week
@phineasb
joined
@eriktorenberg
on
@turpentinevc
to make the case for the service for equity model of venture capital being pioneered by
@theGP
.
According to Phin, the problem with the traditional venture model is that “no one ever got their best meal at an all you can…
In this episode of Moment of Zen:
@curtis_yarvin
returns and talks to
@eriktorenberg
about media, regime change, censorship, and the future role of platforms like X and Reddit in reputation capital structures.
--
TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Preview
(01:54) Yarvin vs Hanania Debate…
.
@brexHQ
's COO/CFO, Michael Tannenbaum, explained his fascinating Startup "Hierarchy of Needs" concept on our newest Turpentine show, Run the Numbers with
@cjgustafson222
.
"The hierarchy of needs is a psychological concept from Maslow. I think that in the hierarchy of every…
E10 of Econ 102 w
@noahpinion
,
@Eriktorenberg
and special guest
@adamnash
is live!
They discuss:
- The Revenge of the Normies thesis
- AI's effects on Skilled + Unskilled workers
- The tech downturn
- Why the venture funding structure has been so successful
Links to the full…