# Origins: Inside Venture Capital: the investor podcast, by episode

> Origins: Inside Venture Capital: Venture investors on how their firms began and how they invest, heard by an LP.

Source: https://millionrounds.com/podcasts/origins-openlp (Millionrounds; every figure on the page links to its filing or article)

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 PodcastsBrowse the episodes

**130** episodes

**60** investors heard as guests

**44 min** an average episode

19 in the last 12 months

## The regulars

Investors named as guests in the most episode titles on Origins: Inside Venture Capital.

[MM *2* **Mike Maples** Floodgate](https://millionrounds.com/person/mike-maples)[AG *1* **Aaron Gershenberg** SVB Capital](https://millionrounds.com/person/aaron-gershenberg)[AL *1* **Alex Lines** Notation Capital](https://millionrounds.com/person/alex-lines)[AP *1* **Alex Pall** MANTIS Venture Capital](https://millionrounds.com/person/alex-pall)[AW *1* **Andy Weissman** Union Square Ventures](https://millionrounds.com/person/andy-weissman)[AR *1* **Atul Rustgi** Accolade Partners](https://millionrounds.com/person/atul-rustgi)[AC *1* **Austin Clements** Slauson & Co.](https://millionrounds.com/person/austin-clements)[BF *1* **Brad Feld** Foundry Group](https://millionrounds.com/person/brad-feld)[BT *1* **Bradley Tusk** Tusk Ventures](https://millionrounds.com/person/bradley-tusk)[CD *1* **Chris Douvos** Ahoy Capital](https://millionrounds.com/person/chris-douvos)[CP *1* **Chris Paik** Pace Capital](https://millionrounds.com/person/chris-paik)[CS *1* **Conrad Shang** Ensemble VC](https://millionrounds.com/person/conrad-shang)

## Every episode 130 · page 1 of 5

- 130 **Carnegie Mellon's Miles Dieffenbach: Can Mega Funds Still Produce Venture Returns?** 20 Oct 2026 · 41 min 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… ▶Show page
- 129 **Robinhood's Sarah Pinto: Bringing Private Markets to the Public** 21 Sept 2026 · 38 min [Sarah Pinto](https://millionrounds.com/person/sarah-pinto)[Emerson Collective](https://millionrounds.com/fund/emerson-collective)[Laurene Powell Jobs](https://millionrounds.com/fund/laurene-powell-jobs)[Y Combinator](https://millionrounds.com/fund/y-combinator) 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… ▶Show page
- 128 **Minisode: Answering Uncertainty, Venture’s Vibes Problem & the Limits of TVPI** 2 Sept 2026 · 9 min [LGT Capital Partners](https://millionrounds.com/fund/lgt-capital-partners)[Magnetar Capital](https://millionrounds.com/fund/magnetar-capital) 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… ▶Show page
- 127 **Ask Forgiveness, Not Permission: Josh Browder on Building DoNotPay and Investing Like a Founder** 20 Aug 2026 · 43 min [Andreessen Horowitz](https://millionrounds.com/fund/andreessen-horowitz)[Founders Fund](https://millionrounds.com/fund/founders-fund)[Joshua Browder](https://millionrounds.com/person/joshua-browder) 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… ▶Show page
- 126 **Minisode: The Endowment Model, LP Culture Fit & Surviving Venture Cycles** 29 Jul 2026 · 9 min [LGT Capital Partners](https://millionrounds.com/fund/lgt-capital-partners) 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… ▶Show page
- 125 **The Second Cognitive Revolution: What AI Actually Means for Venture Capital** 13 Jul 2026 · 1h 1m [Revolution](https://millionrounds.com/fund/revolution)[Magnetar Capital](https://millionrounds.com/fund/magnetar-capital) 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… ▶Show page
- 124 **Fund Commitments, Co-Invest & Secondaries: The $120B LP Playbook** 17 Jun 2026 · 45 min [LGT Capital Partners](https://millionrounds.com/fund/lgt-capital-partners) 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… ▶Show page
- 123 **Minisode: The Conversation Happening in Every Early-Stage Boardroom Right Now** 27 May 2026 · 13 min 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… ▶Show page
- 122 **From Juilliard to $6B AUM: How a Musician Built One of Venture's Most Unconventional Endowments** 13 May 2026 · 44 min 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,… ▶Show page
- 121 **Minisode: The Brutal Math Behind VC Consolidation** 29 Apr 2026 · 16 min [LGT Capital Partners](https://millionrounds.com/fund/lgt-capital-partners) 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… ▶Show page
- 120 **Why Power Laws Still Drive Outperformance with VenCap’s David Clark** 15 Apr 2026 · 54 min 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… ▶Show page
- 119 **Minisode: Does the Data Match the Anecdotes?** 24 Feb 2026 · 13 min [Dan Gray](https://millionrounds.com/person/dan-gray) 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… ▶Show page
- 118 **Venture’s Haves and Have-Nots with Dan Gray** 10 Feb 2026 · 45 min [Dan Gray](https://millionrounds.com/person/dan-gray) 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… ▶Show page
- 117 **What Venture's Top Voices Expect Next in AI** 21 Jan 2026 · 42 min [Founder Collective](https://millionrounds.com/fund/founder-collective)[Micah Rosenbloom](https://millionrounds.com/person/micah-rosenbloom)[Mike Dauber](https://millionrounds.com/person/mike-dauber) 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… ▶Show page
- 116 **Minisode: The Speed of Iteration in Venture** 16 Dec 2025 · 8 min [Founder Collective](https://millionrounds.com/fund/founder-collective)[Sapphire Ventures](https://millionrounds.com/fund/sapphire-ventures)[Micah Rosenbloom](https://millionrounds.com/person/micah-rosenbloom) 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… ▶Show page
- 115 **Staying Small Despite Billion-Dollar Backings with Micah Rosenbloom** 2 Dec 2025 · 45 min [Micah Rosenbloom](https://millionrounds.com/person/micah-rosenbloom)[Founder Collective](https://millionrounds.com/fund/founder-collective) 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… ▶Show page
- 114 **Minisode: What Early Stage Venture Can Learn from Crypto Traders** 18 Nov 2025 · 10 min [Multicoin Capital](https://millionrounds.com/fund/multicoin-capital)[Kyle Samani](https://millionrounds.com/person/kyle-samani) 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… ▶Show page
- 113 **Internet Capital Markets with Kyle Samani** 12 Nov 2025 · 44 min [Kyle Samani](https://millionrounds.com/person/kyle-samani)[Jerry Neumann](https://millionrounds.com/fund/jerry-neumann)[Multicoin Capital](https://millionrounds.com/fund/multicoin-capital) 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… ▶Show page
- 112 **Minisode: Can LPs Diversify in an AI-Obsessed World?** 28 Oct 2025 · 10 min [Sarah Tavel](https://millionrounds.com/person/sarah-tavel) 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,… ▶Show page
- 111 **Becoming AI Native with Benchmark’s Sarah Tavel** 21 Oct 2025 · 42 min [Sarah Tavel](https://millionrounds.com/person/sarah-tavel) 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… ▶Show page
- 110 **Minisode: Is It 2021 All Over Again?** 7 Oct 2025 · 8 min [Sapphire Ventures](https://millionrounds.com/fund/sapphire-ventures) 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… ▶Show page
- 109 **Fundraising as a Fund of Funds with Alex Edelson** 16 Sept 2025 · 49 min 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… ▶Show page
- 108 **Minisode: Curiosity, Chemistry, and Keeping Relevance Across the Partnership** 26 Aug 2025 · 14 min [Sapphire Ventures](https://millionrounds.com/fund/sapphire-ventures)[Mike Dauber](https://millionrounds.com/person/mike-dauber)[Sunil Dhaliwal](https://millionrounds.com/person/sunil-dhaliwal) 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… ▶Show page
- 107 **Backing Outliers in Venture with Sunil Dhaliwal & Mike Dauber** 12 Aug 2025 · 41 min [Mike Dauber](https://millionrounds.com/person/mike-dauber)[Sunil Dhaliwal](https://millionrounds.com/person/sunil-dhaliwal) 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,… ▶Show page
- 106 **Minisode: Are Major Incumbents Finally at Risk in the Age of AI?** 22 Jul 2025 · 8 min [Sapphire Ventures](https://millionrounds.com/fund/sapphire-ventures) 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… ▶Show page
- 105 **Merchant Banks: Venture’s Next Act with Will Manidis** 8 Jul 2025 · 44 min 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… ▶Show page
- 104 **Minisode: Innovation Energy And the Future of Biotech** 17 Jun 2025 · 11 min [Sapphire Ventures](https://millionrounds.com/fund/sapphire-ventures)[Zach Weinberg](https://millionrounds.com/fund/zach-weinberg) 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… ▶Show page
- 103 **Building The YC of Biotech with Zach Weinberg** 3 Jun 2025 · 58 min [Zach Weinberg](https://millionrounds.com/fund/zach-weinberg) 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… ▶Show page
- 102 **Minisode: How Novel Strategies Become the Venture Industry’s Standard** 20 May 2025 · 14 min [Sapphire Ventures](https://millionrounds.com/fund/sapphire-ventures)[Theory Ventures](https://millionrounds.com/fund/theory-ventures)[Tomasz Tunguz](https://millionrounds.com/person/tomasz-tunguz) 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… ▶Show page
- 101 **AI Agents Will Supercharge the Future of VC with Tomasz Tunguz** 6 May 2025 · 40 min [Tomasz Tunguz](https://millionrounds.com/person/tomasz-tunguz)[Theory Ventures](https://millionrounds.com/fund/theory-ventures) 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… ▶Show page

## Who the show talks about

Firms named in its episodes, and people named in descriptions: talked about, rather than on the show.

[**Sapphire Ventures** *10*](https://millionrounds.com/fund/sapphire-ventures)[**Founder Collective** *6*](https://millionrounds.com/fund/founder-collective)[**LGT Capital Partners** *6*](https://millionrounds.com/fund/lgt-capital-partners)[**Notation Capital** *6*](https://millionrounds.com/fund/notation-capital)[**Accolade Partners** *5*](https://millionrounds.com/fund/accolade-partners)[**AngelList** *4*](https://millionrounds.com/fund/angellist)[**Foundry Group** *4*](https://millionrounds.com/fund/foundry)[L **Laura Thompson** *4*](https://millionrounds.com/person/laura-thompson)[**Andreessen Horowitz** *3*](https://millionrounds.com/fund/andreessen-horowitz)[**Floodgate** *3*](https://millionrounds.com/fund/floodgate)[**Google** *3*](https://millionrounds.com/fund/google-assistant-investments)[T **Top Tier** *3*](https://millionrounds.com/fund/top-tier)

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