The Investor With Joel Palathinkal

The Investor with Joel Palathinkal is a global omni channel show which highlights institutional investors from all walks of life and supports the continuing education for the next generation of allocators

Brendan Baker: Ridge Ventures

S1 E94 • Jun 27, 2025 • 60 mins

In this episode, Brendan Baker from Ridge Ventures shares his venture capital journey, shaped by his experiences in Silicon Valley and AngelList. He discusses AngelList's evolution, market dynamics, and human judgment in investing. Brendan delves into decision-making models, Naval Ravikant's wisdom, and success factors in top deals. He covers distribution strategies, startup signals, and his transition to Greylock. Learn about building Ridge Ventures with AI, systematic advantages, and balancing reputations. The episode wraps up with insights on infrastructure, future evolution, and fund management challenges in venture capital.

Key Points

Ridge Ventures has developed a systematic approach to building advantages, including a highly accountable Ridge Revenue Network that tracks customer introductions meticulously.
Early insights into venture capital from AngelList highlighted the importance of social capital and efficient investor-startup connections, emphasizing the need for structured pitches and understanding market dynamics.
The future of venture capital lies in building firms with strong institutional reputations and embedded advantages, focusing on specialized, aligned, and systematic approaches to sourcing, diligence, and value creation.

Speakers

Brendan Baker

Guest • 57%

Joel Palathinkal

Guest • 43%

Chapters

0:00	Ridge's high success rate and revenue network
1:27	Introduction and guest Brendan Baker from Ridge Ventures
2:02	Brendan's background and transition to venture capital
3:27	Influence of Silicon Valley and joining AngelList
5:31	Evolution at AngelList and early venture capital insights
8:35	Human judgment and market dynamics in venture capital
13:18	Brendan's role and semi-efficient markets at AngelList
18:51	Decision-making and future models in venture investments
20:24	Insights and wisdom from Naval Ravikant
23:29	Identifying success factors in top deals
24:46	Distribution strategies and signals of quality in startups
29:15	Transitioning to Greylock and learnings from industry leaders
36:27	Building Ridge Ventures and utilizing AI in venture capital
41:49	Creating systematic advantages in venture firms
44:39	Community and personal branding's impact on venture capital
47:57	Institutional reputation versus individual reputation
50:09	Role of infrastructure and partners in venture success
52:20	Future evolution and alignment of values in venture capital
57:12	Challenges and potential improvements in fund management
59:05	Closing remarks and gratitude

Transcript

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