The education system has not evolved since the industrial era. New tools have been introduced over the years, … Continue reading “Episode 23: Synthesis: The startup scaling up the most innovative ideas from Elon Musk’s school”

9 out of 10 startups fail. This is a gloomy number. However, it has never stopped entrepreneurs from … Continue reading “Ep 22: Why Startups Fail with Tom Eisenmann”

This is one of the most requested questions I’ve received since starting Playing With Unicorns. People want to … Continue reading “Episode 21: How to Build the Perfect Pitch Deck?”

Last week Alpha Capital, a SPAC company that FJ Labs co-sponsored, went public. We rang the bell and … Continue reading “Episode 20: So you want to launch a SPAC ?”

Brian Requarth is the Co-Founder of Latitud and former CEO of Viva Real. Through Latitud, he now dedicates … Continue reading “Episode 19: Reinvesting in the Latam Tech Ecosystem with Brian Requarth”

Tim Jackson is a fellow entrepreneur, venture capitalist and author. He has lived an interesting life from a … Continue reading “Episode 18: Thirty-Six Lessons from Company Founders & CEOs with Tim Jackson”

This week Kerim Baran shares where we stand in the world of solar. He covers: The history of … Continue reading “Episode 17: The State of Solar”

I often pondered the makeup of successful founders and founding teams. At FJ Labs we spend a disproportionate … Continue reading “Episode 16: Startup Talent & Trends”

It is extremely hard to succeed as an entrepreneur. Even the most successful entrepreneurs have countless ups and … Continue reading “Episode 15: Mistakes to Avoid as an Entrepreneur”

Christian is the rare breed of polymath Renaissance Man operating in a world that rewards specialization. We had … Continue reading “Episode 14: A Conversation with Christian Angermayer”

SPACs have been one of the hot topics of 2020. Jeff Weinstein, who co-heads investing at FJ Labs, … Continue reading “Episode 13: What’s the deal with SPACs?”

Given the omnipresent doom and gloom of 2020, I took the time to reflect objectively on where things … Continue reading “Episode 12: Pandemic, Populism and Policy Failure – The Surprising Case for Optimism in 2020”

I had the privilege of running into the same social and intellectual circles as Safi Bahcall for the … Continue reading “Episode 11: Loonshots with Safi Bahcall”

Last week we covered how to come up with great startup ideas. This week I present how to … Continue reading “Episode 10: Validating Your Startup Idea”

Many aspiring entrepreneurs struggle to come with compelling startup ideas. I detail the four sources of startup ideas: … Continue reading “Episode 9: Coming Up with a Startup Idea”

Most entrepreneurs merely see venture capitalists as a source of capital without understanding how venture capitalists operate. Jeff … Continue reading “Episode 8: The Business of Venture Capital”

Last week we covered whether first time founders should build a company on their own or join an … Continue reading “Episode 7: FJ Labs’ Startup Studio Model”

This week we cover whether first time founders should build a company on their own or join an … Continue reading “Episode 6: DIY vs Accelerator vs Studio”

Given that I was in Lake Placid looking at the foliage change without my multi-screen setup, I tried … Continue reading “Episode 5: Ask Me Anything”

In the third episode, I described how VCs evaluate startups by using a combination of the team, business, … Continue reading “Episode 4: FJ Labs’ Investment Thesis”

In the first episode I covered how and when to fundraise. In this episode, I describe how venture … Continue reading “Episode 3: How VCs evaluate startups”

I start by covering the theoretical do’s and don’ts of building a minimum viable product (MVP) before giving … Continue reading “Episode 2: Build a MVP for less than $20k”

Given that it’s episode 1, I start by explaining why I am creating this show before covering everything … Continue reading “Episode 1: Fundraising”

Playing with unicorns is a new weekly live streaming show on startups, entrepreneurship, and venture capital. I will … Continue reading “Announcing Playing With Unicorns”