LPs · new episode 20 Oct 2026
Origins: Inside Venture Capital
Hosted by OpenLP, LGT Capital Partners
Venture investors on how their firms began and how they invest, heard by an LP.
Follow on Apple PodcastsThe regulars
Investors named as guests in the most episode titles on Origins: Inside Venture Capital.
Every episode 130 · page 1 of 5
- 130Carnegie Mellon's Miles Dieffenbach: Can Mega Funds Still Produce Venture Returns?20 Oct 2026 · 41 min▶Show page
About this episode
Miles Dieffenbach's path into venture started with getting cut from the Pittsburgh Steelers. A team captain at Penn State, Miles signed with the Steelers as a priority free agent, played four preseason games, and was released - at 310 pounds, eating 7,000 calories a day, and paying for his own food for the first time…
- 129Robinhood's Sarah Pinto: Bringing Private Markets to the Public21 Sept 2026 · 38 minSarah PintoEmerson CollectiveLaurene Powell JobsY Combinator▶Show page
About this episode
What happens when you take the most exclusive asset class in the world and list it on the New York Stock Exchange? Sarah Pinto is finding out in public, every trading day. Sarah spent close to a decade investing in mission-driven growth-stage companies at Emerson Collective, the organization founded and led by…
- 128Minisode: Answering Uncertainty, Venture’s Vibes Problem & the Limits of TVPI2 Sept 2026 · 9 minLGT Capital PartnersMagnetar Capital▶Show page
About this episode
Origins hosts Nick Chirls (GP, Asylum Ventures) and Beezer Clarkson (LP, LGT Capital Partners) unpack their recent conversation with Alec Litowitz, founder of Magnetar Capital and founder and managing partner of QStar Capital. They discuss what changes when a rigorously structured public-markets mind looks at…
- 127Ask Forgiveness, Not Permission: Josh Browder on Building DoNotPay and Investing Like a Founder20 Aug 2026 · 43 minAndreessen HorowitzFounders FundJoshua Browder▶Show page
About this episode
What does it take to build a profitable company for a decade without ever really needing the money you raised? According to Joshua Browder, it comes down to one trait he looks for in every founder he backs: grit. Josh is the founder and CEO of DoNotPay, the consumer platform he started the summer before he enrolled…
- 126Minisode: The Endowment Model, LP Culture Fit & Surviving Venture Cycles29 Jul 2026 · 9 minLGT Capital Partners▶Show page
About this episode
Origins hosts Nick Chirls (GP, Asylum Ventures) and Beezer Clarkson (LP, LGT Capital Partners) unpack their recent conversation with Thomas Kristensen, Beezer's new colleague at LGT Capital Partners. They discuss what it actually takes to merge investing teams, why the endowment model still matters, and how a platform…
- 125The Second Cognitive Revolution: What AI Actually Means for Venture Capital13 Jul 2026 · 1h 1mRevolutionMagnetar Capital▶Show page
About this episode
What separates the investors and founders who thrive in moments of radical change from those who don’t? According to Alec Litowitz, it isn’t intelligence or emotional maturity - it’s adaptability. Alec is the founder of Magnetar Capital, one of the most respected multi-strategy hedge funds in the world, and the…
- 124Fund Commitments, Co-Invest & Secondaries: The $120B LP Playbook17 Jun 2026 · 45 minLGT Capital Partners▶Show page
About this episode
What does it look like when one of the world’s most longstanding institutional investors ($120B) decides to go deeper into venture capital? And what happens when one of the most respected LP teams in the business joins forces with them? Thomas Kristensen, who is responsible for the venture capital business at LGT…
- 123Minisode: The Conversation Happening in Every Early-Stage Boardroom Right Now27 May 2026 · 13 min▶Show page
About this episode
Origins hosts Nick Chirls (GP, Asylum Ventures) and Beezer Clarkson (LP, Sapphire Partners) react to their conversation with Nicholas Csicsko, a public/private investor at Trinity. They dig into his framing of “cynical optimism” and why it might be the right posture for venture investing, unpack the growing…
- 122From Juilliard to $6B AUM: How a Musician Built One of Venture's Most Unconventional Endowments13 May 2026 · 44 min▶Show page
About this episode
What happens when a classically trained musician from Juilliard ends up managing a $6 billion endowment? Today's episode of Origins explores exactly that journey - and what it reveals about how the best institutional investors really think. Nicholas Csicsko, Managing Director of Investments at Trinity Church NYC ,…
- 121Minisode: The Brutal Math Behind VC Consolidation29 Apr 2026 · 16 minLGT Capital Partners▶Show page
About this episode
Origins hosts Nick Chirls (GP, Asylum Ventures) and Beezer Clarkson (LP, LGT Capital Partners) unpack a recent conversation with David Clark, CIO of VenCap International PLC on megafunds vs small funds and a16z returns. They also discuss Beezer’s article “I See Dead VCs,” which explores how VC is in the first…
- 120Why Power Laws Still Drive Outperformance with VenCap’s David Clark15 Apr 2026 · 54 min▶Show page
About this episode
What does patience look like today when the best companies take 10–15 years to exit, and is it still worth it to wait that long? Today’s episode of Origins dives into one of the most pressing questions in today’s market: how to balance long-term conviction with the need for liquidity. David Clark, CIO of VenCap and a…
- 119Minisode: Does the Data Match the Anecdotes?24 Feb 2026 · 13 minDan Gray▶Show page
About this episode
Origins host Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP, and Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures, dig into their recent conversation with Dan Gray, prolific venture writer and Research Lead at Odin. They discuss various levels of risk tolerance across the ecosystem – including who the data says…
- 118Venture’s Haves and Have-Nots with Dan Gray10 Feb 2026 · 45 minDan Gray▶Show page
About this episode
Dan Gray is a prolific thinker, writer and researcher in the VC world, who describes himself as best known for “long walls of text on Twitter about the venture industry.” Now the Research Lead at Odin, he sits down with Nick Chirls, Partner at Asylum Ventures, and Beezer Clarkson, Partner at Sapphire Partners, to…
- 117What Venture's Top Voices Expect Next in AI21 Jan 2026 · 42 minFounder CollectiveMicah RosenbloomMike Dauber▶Show page
About this episode
2025 was, undoubtedly, the year of AI. In the first episode of 2026 Beezer Clarkson, Partner at Sapphire Partners, and Nick Chirls, Partner at Asylum Ventures revisit some of their favorite moments from the year before to see what the top voices in VC saw as emerging AI trendlines and how the venture ecosystem and…
- 116Minisode: The Speed of Iteration in Venture16 Dec 2025 · 8 minFounder CollectiveSapphire VenturesMicah Rosenbloom▶Show page
About this episode
Origins host Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP, and Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures, dig into their recent conversation with Micah Rosenbloom, Managing Partner at Founder Collective. They discuss the EQ and self-awareness required to switch from operator to investor, how to separate…
- 115Staying Small Despite Billion-Dollar Backings with Micah Rosenbloom2 Dec 2025 · 45 minMicah RosenbloomFounder Collective▶Show page
About this episode
Micah Rosenbloom is a Managing Partner at Founder Collective, a firm dedicated to seed investing and, crucially, to keeping their fund sizes below $100 million. Micah talks with Beezer Clarkson, Partner at Sapphire Partners, and Nick Chirls, Partner at Asylum Ventures, to discuss Founder Collective’s philosophy of…
- 114Minisode: What Early Stage Venture Can Learn from Crypto Traders18 Nov 2025 · 10 minMulticoin CapitalKyle Samani▶Show page
About this episode
Origins host Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP, and Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures, dive into their recent conversation with Kyle Samani, Founder and Managing Partner of Multicoin Capital. They discuss their learnings on crypto, including why Nick is more bullish on bitcoin than…
- 113Internet Capital Markets with Kyle Samani12 Nov 2025 · 44 minKyle SamaniJerry NeumannMulticoin Capital▶Show page
About this episode
Kyle Samani is the Founder and Managing Partner of Multicoin Capital, a thesis-driven investment firm that invests in cryptocurrencies, tokens, and blockchain companies reshaping trillion-dollar markets. He joins Beezer Clarkson, Partner at Sapphire Partners, and Nick Chirls, Partner at Asylum Ventures, to discuss the…
- 112Minisode: Can LPs Diversify in an AI-Obsessed World?28 Oct 2025 · 10 minSarah Tavel▶Show page
About this episode
Origins host Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP, and Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures, unpack their recent conversation with Sarah Tavel, Partner at Benchmark. Together they discuss their takeaways from Sarah’s recent decision to take a step back at Benchmark to fully focus on AI,…
- 111Becoming AI Native with Benchmark’s Sarah Tavel21 Oct 2025 · 42 minSarah Tavel▶Show page
About this episode
Eight years after becoming the first female partner at Benchmark, Sarah Tavel recently took on a new role as Venture Partner that allows her more time to fully immerse herself in AI, all while continuing to make new investments on behalf of Benchmark and serving her current portfolio. She sat down with Beezer…
- 110Minisode: Is It 2021 All Over Again?7 Oct 2025 · 8 minSapphire Ventures▶Show page
About this episode
Origins host Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP, and Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures, dig into their recent conversation with Alex Edelson, LP at Slipstream. They discuss whether a spate of recent 100X multiples means we’re living 2021 all over again, why that’s led people to deploy…
- 109Fundraising as a Fund of Funds with Alex Edelson16 Sept 2025 · 49 min▶Show page
About this episode
Alex Edelson’s Slipstream is a fund of funds that focuses on firms that are “difficult to find, evaluate and access.” Together with Beezer Clarkson, Partner at Sapphire Partners, and Nick Chirls, Partner at Asylum Ventures, Alex unpacks his strategy of investing in funds he believes can outperform, how to raise…
- 108Minisode: Curiosity, Chemistry, and Keeping Relevance Across the Partnership26 Aug 2025 · 14 minSapphire VenturesMike DauberSunil Dhaliwal▶Show page
About this episode
Origins host Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP is rejoined by Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures to unpack her recent conversation with Sunil Dhaliwal and Mike Dauber of Amplify Partners. They discuss partner dynamics, the importance of maintaining relevance for the long haul, and the…
- 107Backing Outliers in Venture with Sunil Dhaliwal & Mike Dauber12 Aug 2025 · 41 minMike DauberSunil Dhaliwal▶Show page
About this episode
Sunil Dhaliwal founded Amplify in 2012, and was joined by his longtime friend and colleague Mike Dauber in 2014. Beginning as one of the first solo GP, early-stage, sector-focused funds, Amplify has now grown to a team of 9 partners investing in the next generation of applications tools and platforms for developers,…
- 106Minisode: Are Major Incumbents Finally at Risk in the Age of AI?22 Jul 2025 · 8 minSapphire Ventures▶Show page
About this episode
Origins hosts Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures and Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP, dig into their recent conversation with Will Manidis, SVP at Veradigm AI. They discuss the risks AI introduces to tech incumbents, and its potential to reshape both the healthcare system and improve…
- 105Merchant Banks: Venture’s Next Act with Will Manidis8 Jul 2025 · 44 min▶Show page
About this episode
Before he sold his company to Veradigm, Will Manidis’s Science.io developed an AI model that allowed doctors to translate mountains of medical documents into usable data to improve patient outcomes. Today Will is the SVP of AI at Veradigm, and he sits down with Nick and Beezer to discuss how AI is impacting…
- 104Minisode: Innovation Energy And the Future of Biotech17 Jun 2025 · 11 minSapphire VenturesZach Weinberg▶Show page
About this episode
Origins hosts Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures and Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP, unpack their conversation with Zach Weinberg, Co-Founder and CEO of Curie.Bio. They discuss the “innovation energy” that drives new breakthroughs and take a closer look at Sapphire’s approach to…
- 103Building The YC of Biotech with Zach Weinberg3 Jun 2025 · 58 minZach Weinberg▶Show page
About this episode
Zach Weinberg, co-founder and CEO of Curie.Bio, is redefining early-stage biotech investing with an operator’s mindset and a founder-first philosophy. His approach combines funding with operational support and direct access to world-class drug hunters to dramatically increase odds of success. Today, Zach sits down…
- 102Minisode: How Novel Strategies Become the Venture Industry’s Standard20 May 2025 · 14 minSapphire VenturesTheory VenturesTomasz Tunguz▶Show page
About this episode
Origins hosts Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures and Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners and co-founder of OpenLP, unpack their conversation with Theory Ventures’ Tomasz Tunguz, discussing how strategies that once set firms apart – like pre-seed or founder-centric investing – become industry standards over…
- 101AI Agents Will Supercharge the Future of VC with Tomasz Tunguz6 May 2025 · 40 minTomasz TunguzTheory Ventures▶Show page
About this episode
Tomasz Tunguz, Founder of Theory Ventures, is widely recognized for his analytical approach to venture investing. Now, he’s building Theory with a philosophy rooted in research and data-driven decision-making. Tomasz sits down with Nick Chirls, General Partner at Asylum Ventures and Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire…
Who the show talks about
Firms named in its episodes, and people named in descriptions: talked about, rather than on the show.
