Venture Passport

Hosted by Richard Armstrong, Jack Richardson

Business EntrepreneurshipInterviews guests

Website RSS feed

Episodes

Latest episode

Mar 2025

Language

About the show

The show is co-hosted by two VCs, Jack Richardson, and Richard Armstrong, exploring the inner workings behind the creation of thriving tech unicorns, showcasing conversations with leading pioneers and visionaries in the global startup arena.

Listen to episodes

23 recent

March 25, 2025Episode 111 hr 4 min

Viktoriya, Founding Partner of TA Ventures, on Eastern Europe to Southeast Asia in Venture Capital

In this episode, Richard Armstrong chats with Viktoriya, Founding Partner of TA Ventures, about her venture capital journey and early challenges. They discuss the rise of Eastern European tech, bootstrapping culture, and conference networking. Viktoriya shares success stories and TA Ventures' investment philosophy. The conversation highlights TA Ventures' strategic shift from Europe to Southeast Asia, exploring the region's venture capital allure. They cover the firm's partnership model, sector expertise, and team efficiency. Viktoriya also talks about angel clubs, growth plans, and emerging Southeast Asian trends. The episode wraps with quickfire questions and a teaser for future episodes.

March 4, 2025Episode 1050 min

Jamie Funfinergi, Co-founder & GP of Nazca VC

In this episode, Jack Richardson and Richard Armstrong engage with Jamie Funfinergi to delve into his early career, the founding of Nazca, and his notable investments. Jamie shares his investment philosophy, focusing on founders and missed opportunities, and discusses overcoming challenges within the Latin American ecosystem. The conversation highlights strategies for managing liquidity and growth, lessons from international investing, and insights into AI. Jamie addresses the growth capital gap and the role of secondaries in Latin America, offering ideas on enhancing the investment climate. The episode wraps up with a quick-fire session and closing remarks.

February 18, 2025Episode 940 min

Juan Pablo Ortega, Co-founder of Rappi & Yuno

In this episode, Richard Armstrong and Jack Richardson engage with Juan Pablo Ortega to explore his journey from early ventures to the founding of Rappi. They discuss Rappi's rapid growth, the challenges of fundraising, and the transformation into a super app. Juan Pablo shares insights into leadership, culture, and the inception of Uno, highlighting its differentiation and AI integration in payments. The conversation touches on global compliance, comparing fintech developments in Southeast Asia and Latin America. They also examine the growth trajectories of Rappi and Uno, the future of payments, and the role of Stablecoins. The episode concludes with a quick-fire round and a look at Uno's future prospects.

February 4, 2025Episode 839 min

Nick Tran, Former Head of Global Marketing @ TikTok, Farfetch

In this episode, Jack Richardson and Richard Armstrong engage with Nick Tran to explore his tech journey and marketing acumen. They delve into TikTok's most notable marketing strategies and how the company navigates scrutiny and challenges. Nick shares insights on building a global marketing team and the impact of TikTok Shop on retail. The discussion covers the evolution of social media and platform comparisons, drawing from Nick's experience at Farfetch. The episode includes a quick-fire session with Nick and insights into his future endeavors, wrapping up with thoughts on the next generation of brands.

January 21, 2025Episode 746 min

Tien Tzuo, CEO and Founder @ Zuora

In this episode, Jack Richardson and Richard Armstrong sit down with Tien Tzuo to discuss his journey from Oracle and Salesforce to becoming CEO of Zuora. They explore Marc Benioff's influence and Tzuo's epiphany about the subscription model. The conversation highlights the challenges faced by CEOs during the shift to subscription models, with insights from Jason Lemkin and the impact of Spotify. They examine consumption-based pricing models, leadership evolution, and the role of funding partners. Tien shares strategies for board dynamics, sustaining motivation, and building company culture in preparation for IPO. The episode concludes with a quick-fire round on career beginnings and contrarian beliefs.

October 22, 2024Episode 643 min

Liz Christo, Partner @ Stage 2 Capital

In this episode, Jack Richardson and Richard Armstrong chat with Liz Christo about her career journey to Stage 2 Capital. Liz shares insights on sales team building and upsell strategies from her time at NetSuite, highlighting her shift from sales to venture capital. They discuss creating sales playbooks, hiring strategies, and compare product-led growth with enterprise sales. The conversation also covers compensation, retention, and prospecting, along with the synergy between sales, marketing, and customer success. Liz offers insights into forecasting for investors and ends with a quick-fire round on contrarian beliefs in venture capital.

October 8, 2024Episode 538 min

Will Bennett & Sivesh Sukumar, Investors @ Balderton, Seedcamp

In this episode, Jack Richardson and Richard Armstrong join Will Bennett and Sivesh Sukumar to explore AI's role in startups. They discuss their venture capital experiences at Seedcamp and Balderton, comparing AI dynamics in startups versus large companies, and cloud versus on-prem storage. The conversation covers how startups are outperforming incumbents, future AI trends, and regulatory challenges. They also address AI development hurdles, enterprise education, talent dynamics, public misconceptions, employment impacts, AI verticals, and hype cycles. The episode wraps up with advice on entering venture capital.

September 24, 2024Episode 444 min

Harrison Rose, Co-founder @ Paddle, Goodfit

In this episode, Jack Richardson and Harrison Rose delve into the founding story of Paddle, discussing the motivation and challenges faced, including the impact of A-level results. They explore Paddle's initial business model, strategic pivots, and the evolution of its sales strategy. The conversation highlights the importance of refining the Ideal Customer Profile and balancing sales-led with product-led growth strategies. The episode also examines the evolution of SaaS pricing models, challenges in rapid scaling, and co-founder dynamics. Harrison shares his personal growth journey, transition from Paddle, and motivation behind joining Goodfair. The episode wraps up with career advice and contrarian beliefs in tech.

September 10, 2024Episode 338 min

James Peyer, Founder @ Cambrian

In this episode, Jack Richardson and Richard Armstrong engage with James Pyre to explore the biotech landscape, delving into his background and the founding of Cambrian. The discussion highlights Cambrian's mission to tackle aging biology and compares biotech to tech investment landscapes. James shares insights into Cambrian's early funding, metabolism research, and drug development efforts. The conversation navigates the complexities of the regulatory environment and data management, emphasizing strategies to accelerate drug development and the future of longevity drugs. The episode wraps up with a quick-fire round of questions with James Pyre, followed by closing remarks.

August 27, 2024Episode 241 min

Chris Tottman, Founding Partner @ Notion Capital

In this episode, Jack Richardson sits down with Chris Tottman to explore his remarkable journey from entrepreneur to investor. They discuss the founding and growth of MessageLabs, its market leadership, and the impact of the 2008 financial crisis on the company. Chris shares insights into founding Notion Capital and its investment strategy, emphasizing the importance of assessing founder resilience and experience. The conversation delves into finding the right balance in founder traits and lessons learned from 15 years in venture capital. Chris reflects on influential board members and shares his personal inspirations. The episode wraps up with a quick-fire round and social media connections.