Best Connie Loizos Podcasts (2025)

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UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts on pushing his university into the AI age 23:09

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3d ago23:09

23:09

This week on Strictly VC Download, Connie Loizos sits down with Lee Roberts, Chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, to discuss his ambitious plan to make AI the university’s “north star” amid a tumultuous year. Roberts walks through his decision to merge UNC’s School of Data Science and Society with its School of Information…

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How Hans Swildens pulled off a blockbuster Goldman Sachs sale, and what it means for venture liquidity 24:00

10d ago24:00

24:00

This week's episode of StrictlyVC Download features Hans Swildens, founder of Industry Ventures, discussing his firm's transaction with Goldman Sachs that comes during Industry Ventures' 25th anniversary year. Swildens walks through the 20-year evolution of the Goldman relationship—from LP investor to wealth platform partner to minority stakeholder…

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The politics of AI: OpenAI’s Chris Lehane on AI’s promise and peril 20:11

17d ago20:11

20:11

This week’s episode of StrictlyVC Download was recorded live at the Elevate Festival in Toronto. TechCrunch editor-in-chief Connie Loizos sat down with Chris Lehane, OpenAI’s Chief Global Affairs Officer, to discuss the company’s newly launched video generation tool Sora, the complexities of copyright and fair use in AI training, and the massive in…

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How Monarch Collective scored some of the biggest early deals in women's sports 30:43

24d ago30:43

30:43

By Connie Loizos & Alex Gove

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How Replit went from $2.8M to $150M ARR by pivoting away from professional developers 34:35

1M ago34:35

34:35

This week on StrictlyVC Download, TechCrunch Editor-in-Chief Connie Loizos and StrictlyVC's Alex Gove spoke with with Amjad Masad, founder and CEO of Replit, fresh off the company's $250 million Series C at a $3 billion valuation. They discussed Replit's remarkable journey from hovering around $2.8 million in ARR for years to hitting $150 million—a…

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Google Cloud's COO isn't stressed about landing the AI giants with Francis deSouza 26:12

1M ago26:12

26:12

This week on StrictlyVC Download, TechCrunch Editor-in-Chief Connie Loizos is joined by Francis deSouza, the renowned entrepreneur, operator and, since January of this year, COO of Google Cloud. They discuss his goals for Google Cloud and how the company maintains its competitive position by focusing on startups while giants like AWS and Oracle sna…

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How the world's energy economics flipped with Al Gore and Lila Preston 30:26

2M ago30:26

30:26

his week on StrictlyVC Download, TechCrunch EIC Connie Loizos sits down with former Vice President Al Gore and Lila Preston to explore their ninth annual Sustainability Trends Report and how the global climate transition is accelerating despite political headwinds. In fact, while traditional media focuses on Trump administration rollbacks, the thre…

1
General Catalyst's plan to eat the $16 trillion services market 30:02

2M ago30:02

30:02

This week on StrictlyVC Download, TechCrunch EIC Connie Loizos and StrictlyVC's Alex Gove sit down with Marc Bhargava, partner at General Catalyst, to explore his ambitious $1.5 billion Creation Fund strategy that's targeting the $16 trillion global services economy through AI-powered rollups. They dive into how Bhargava's team proves AI automation…

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Adeo Ressi and Sarah Lacy call B.S. on the shrinking emerging manager narrative 34:04

2M ago34:04

34:04

This week on StrictlyVC Download, TechCrunch EIC Connie Loizos and StrictlyVC's Alex Gove sit down with Adeo Ressi, founder of Decile Group, and Sarah Lacy, the former TechCrunch journalist turned entrepreneur to explore how one of Ressi's newest projects -- VC Lab -- has quietly launched over 800 venture funds worldwide, averaging $12 million each…

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Uncork Capital on 21 years of venture cycles—and what's different about this one 35:37

2M ago35:37

35:37

This week on StrictlyVC Download, Techcrunch EIC Connie Loizos talks with Uncork Capital honchos Jeff Clavier and Andy McLoughlin. They discuss how their seed-stage firm is positioning itself in this environment, from a recent investment in AI chip maker Groq to bets on AI-native companies attacking unsexy industries like material sciences and robo…

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Seven Seven Six bets on moonshots that are mining on the actual moon 31:25

2M ago31:25

31:25

This week on StrictlyVC Download, TechCrunch Editor-in-Chief Connie Loizos speaks with Katelin Holloway, co-founder of Seven Seven Six, the generalist firm that's raised over $1 billion across three funds. They discuss Seven Seven Six's unconventional investment thesis spanning AI-powered stone carving robots to commercial lunar mining, including h…

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The $20B LP View: AI Valuations, Solo GPs, and What's Really Happening in Venture 22:37

3M ago22:37

22:37

This week on StrictlyVC Download, TechCrunch Editor-in-Chief Connie Loizos and Alex Gove of StrictlyVC speak with Lara Banks, who leads venture investing at Makena Capital Management. They discuss her firm's $3 billion venture allocation across 30 manager relationships, how she evaluates everything from solo GPs to the AI rollup trend sweeping trad…

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A VC's take on the billion dollar AI researcher gold rush 27:36

3M ago27:36

27:36

This week we're sharing an interview from the Equity podcast. Rebecca Bellan chatted with Deedy Das, principal at Menlo Ventures. Das has seen this shift from multiple angles, first as an engineer and product leader at Google, Facebook, and AI startup Glean, and now as an investor helping technical founders figure out how to build enduring companie…

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This Greek startup is challenging defense giants, and attracting attention, with its low-cost autonomous weapon systems 37:37

3M ago37:37

37:37

This week on StrictlyVC Download, TechCrunch EIC Connie Loizos and Alex Gove of StrictlyVC speak with Dimitrious Kottas, the founder and CEO of Delian Alliance Industries. They discuss his journey from Apple's Special Projects Group to building autonomous defense systems in Greece, how his company is reimagining surveillance and strike capabilities…

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VC Aileen Lee Still Sees the Most Promise in Mundane Tech (Re-Release) 34:56

3M ago34:56

34:56

In this episode we're revisiting Connie Loizos' conversation with Aileen Lee, the founder of Cowboy Ventures. They discuss what’s on the horizon for Cowboy Ventures and how she’s thinking about AI’s impact on job creation, automation, and new business models—while also giving listeners a glimpse into Cowboy’s own recent team changes. Learn more abo…

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Mayfield's Navin Chaddha on the $5 trillion AI services revolution 22:14

4M ago22:14

22:14

This week on StrictlyVC Download, Mayfield managing partner Navin Chaddha joins Connie Loizos at our event in Menlo Park to break down why the $5 trillion services sector is ready for AI disruption. Navin, an early investor in Lyft, Poshmark, and HashiCorp, explains why the next wave of winners in this space will combine human and AI teammates to d…

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Drive Capital's Columbus gamble is paying off 27:02

4M ago27:02

27:02

This week on StrictlyVC Download, TechCrunch EIC Connie Loizos is joined by Drive Capital co-founder Chris Olsen. Chris explains how Drive's contrarian approach to fund size, ownership stakes, and geographic focus is generating returns where others firms are right now struggling. Plus: why Silicon Valley billionaires are choosing Columbus, and what…

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How Circle co-founder Sean Neville plans to build the first AI-native financial institution 24:45

4M ago24:45

24:45

This week on StrictlyVC Download, Circle co-founder Sean Neville joins Alex Gove of StrictlyVC to discuss building banking infrastructure for AI agents. Fresh off Circle’s 450% IPO surge, Sean has raised $18 million from A16z to create Catena Labs, the first fully regulated AI-native financial institution. They explore what “agent-native finance” a…

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Katie Haun on the GENIUS Act and what it may mean for the future of crypto 27:56

4M ago27:56

27:56

This week on StrictlyVC Download, we're bringing you to our recent event in Menlo Park. Connie Loizos was joined by Katie Haun, founder and CEO of Haun Ventures, who shared an inside look at her contrarian "harpoon strategy" that targeted distressed crypto assets during the depths of crypto winter. They explored everything from stablecoin infrastru…

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VC Charles Hudson on the new LP timeline 28:57

5M ago28:57

28:57

This week on StrictlyVC Download, Alex Gove and Connie Loizos are joined by Charles Hudson, Founder and Managing Partner of Precursor Ventures, a pre seed and seed stage venture firm that invests at the very beginning of company formation. They discuss his data-driven approach to portfolio management, how he's navigated many changes in the VC lands…

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The U.S. Navy says 'welcome aboard' to new startup partnerships 25:24

5M ago25:24

25:24

This week on StrictlyVC Download, Alex and Connie are joined by Justin Fanelli, the Acting Chief Technology Officer for the US Navy and Technical Director of Program Executive Office Digital, where he oversees billions of dollars in IT infrastructure and cybersecurity initiatives. He's also a venture partner at NextGen Venture Partners and serves a…

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Elad GIl is hoping to teach old companies new tricks with AI 32:20

5M ago32:20

32:20

This week on StrictlyVC Download, Alex and Connie are joined by return guest Elad Gil, one of the world’s most renowned solo capitalists, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders in the AI investing space. He has backed companies like Airbnb, Stripe, Figma, and perplexity He’s also the co-host of No Priors. In this episode, they discuss the current lands…

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Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Greece's big tech moment 27:32

5M ago27:32

27:32

This week on StrictlyVC Download, we're bringing you to our recent event in Athens. Connie was joined by Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who shared an inside look at how the country is positioning itself as a refreshed hub for innovation, investment, and participation from the world's technology industry. They explored everything from …

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Accel partner Sonali De Rycker on AI, exits, and European tech 24:45

5M ago24:45

24:45

This week's episode was recorded live at StrictlyVC London, host Connie Loizos sat down with Accel partner Sonali De Rycker. They discussed Europe's regulatory challenges, compares US and EU tech ecosystems, and explores venture capital's evolving exit strategies in the absence of IPOs. Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction to Strictly VC Download and Son…

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These investors are betting big on Greece’s founders 28:14

6M ago28:14

28:14

This week we're taking you with us to our StrictlyVC event in Athens. Connie led a panel discussion with some of Greece's most notable investors about Greece's evolving startup ecosystem. You'll hear from Panos Papadopoulos: Partner at Marathon Venture Capital, Apostolos Apostolakis: Partner at VentureFriends, Marco Veremis: Entrepreneur turned inv…

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Why Eric Slesinger, a former CIA officer, is now funding European defense tech 28:40

6M ago28:40

28:40

This week on StrictlyVC Download, Alex Gove speaks with Eric Slesinger from 201 Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on seed-stage defense tech startups in Europe. They discuss Eric's journey from CIA to investor and how he recognized the untapped potential in European defense tech while others were dismissive, and how he's working to overcome …

1
Ali Partovi is using these indicators to spot future tech billionaires 28:43

6M ago28:43

28:43

In this episode of StrictlyVC Download, hosts Connie Loizos and Alex Gove are joined by, Ali Partovi, co-founder and CEO of Neo. They talk about Neo's evolution from a scholar program that provides grants to talented technical young people to a venture fund that recently raised $320 million in committed capital. Partovi discusses Neo's investment p…

1
The RealReal founder Julie Wainwright has written a memoir–and an entrepreneurial survival guide 29:16

6M ago29:16

29:16

This week on Strictly VC Download, TechCrunch Editor in Chief, Connie Loizos, sits down with Julie Wainwright, the founder of The RealReal who faced one of tech's most public failures with Pets.com. They discuss Julie's recent memoir, Time to Get Real. They get into board dynamics, leadership challenges, and how she rebuilt her career when Silicon …

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Hans Swildens of Industry Ventures on the ways VCs are "manufacturing" liquidity in 2025 25:36

7M ago25:36

25:36

This week Connie Loizos and Alex Gove are joined by return guest Hans Swildens. Hans is the founder and CEO of Industry Ventures, a firm known for its pioneering role in the venture secondary market. With stakes in over 700 venture funds and years of experience in the secondaries market, we wanted to have him on to discuss how VCs are thinking abou…

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AI has opened a new era in Venture Capital with Forerunner's Kirsten Green 16:18

7M ago16:18

16:18

Forerunner has seen a number of high-profile successes in their investments, showing an ability to get ahead of consumer trends with investments in Oura, Chime, the Farmer's Dog and beyond in non-B2C companies. And to get a sense of how that happened, and what's next for Forerunner in the AI era, TechCrunch Editor-in-Chief Connie Loizos spoke with …

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Trump's tariffs swift impacts on the global supply chain with Flexport CEO Ryan Peterson 21:27

7M ago21:27

21:27

In this bonus episode, Connie Loizos is joined by Flexport's CEO Ryan Petersen to discuss the ins and outs of the tariffs' impact, the industry's reaction and why Petersen still sees long-term opportunity in global trade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Connie Loizos & Alex Gove

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Peter Diamandis answers the question: is longevity only for the wealthy? 35:22

7M ago35:22

35:22

In this week's episode, Connie Loizos and Alex Gove are joined by entrepreneur, futurist, and best-selling author Peter Diamandis. He's founder of XPRIZE Foundation and the co-founder of SIngularity University. In this conversation he laid out his vision for how tech will transform our lives and make longevity advances in the near future. The quest…

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Why the founder of BuzzFeed is building an AI-Native social media platform with Jonah Peretti 33:41

7M ago33:41

33:41

Today Connie and Alex are joined by Jonah Peretti who has been working in digital media for the past two decades as the founder and CEO of BuzzFeed—a brand that has seen a ton of evolution. Last month, Jonah announced the next phase of Buzzfeed, a social media platform that will use AI to ensure a positive environment. They’re investing $10 million…

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The rise of secondaries and seed-stage liquidity with Michael Kim 24:36

8M ago24:36

24:36

This week on StrictlyVC Download TechCrunch editor-in-chief Connie Loizos and StrictlyVC’s Alex Gove are joined by Michael Kim, the long-time VC and founder of Cendana Capital where he has built a $2.6 billion portfolio focused exclusively on seed and pre-seed funds, backing some of the most successful emerging managers in the industry. In this epi…

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VC Aileen Lee Still Sees the Most Promise in Mundane Tech 35:28

8M ago35:28

35:28

In this episode TechCrunch Editor in Chief, Connie Loizos, is joined by Aileen Lee the founder of Cowboy Ventures. Aileen coined the term "unicorn" in a TechCrunch article all the way back in late 2013. In this conversation, they discuss what’s on the horizon for Cowboy Ventures and how she’s thinking about AI’s impact on job creation, automation, …

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Can Kevin Rose and Alexis Ohanian bring Digg back? 37:50

8M ago37:50

37:50

In this week's episode, Connie Loizos is joined by Kevin Rose, best known for founding Digg. The news aggregator changed the way people engaged with the news back in 2004, and it's apparently coming back. That’s right. Kevin joined forces with Alexis Ohanian – his former rival and the co-founder of Reddit, and Digg’s new CEO Justin Mezzell to relau…

1
Chris Farmer of SignalFire is betting the venture industry will never look the same 18:09

8M ago18:09

18:09

In this episode of StrictlyVC Download, Connie Loizos is joined by Chris Farmer, founder of SignalFire, to discuss the current state of venture capital. With many startups stuck in financial limbo and no clear path to exit, Farmer shares why he believes the industry has a structural problem. He also shares his perspective on new funding mechanisms,…

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Slow Ventures creates a creators fund, Meta enters the humanoid bot race, and everything else you may have missed 22:17

9M ago22:17

22:17

This week on StrictlyVC Download, we're catching our breath and catching up with all of the news that's been happening in the industry. Connie Loizos and Alex Gove are breaking down the top headlines from Slow Ventures’ new creator fund, to Meta’s step into the humanoid robot race, to the continued saga between Elon Musk and Open AI. Learn more abo…

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Nirav Tolia is turning to AI to keep things neighborly on Nextdoor 31:49

9M ago31:49

31:49

In this episode, Nextdoor CEO Nirav Tolia joins Connie and Alex to talk about the challenges of running a public company, his strategy to improve user engagement, and why he’s betting on AI and third-party content to make Nextdoor indispensable. They also get into Nextdoor's current product overhaul and whether an acquisition is on the table. Chapt…

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Dub, an app at the intersection of TikTok and Wall Street, has teens talking 34:39

9M ago34:39

34:39

In this episode, hosts Connie and Alex sit down with Steven Wang, the 23-year-old founder of Dub, a rapidly growing copy trading platform. Wang shares how Dub is revolutionizing retail investing by allowing users to automatically mirror the portfolios of top traders, hedge fund managers, and even politicians like Nancy Pelosi. He also dives into th…

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As Boom breaks the sound barrier, founder Blake Scholl says supersonic travel is around the corner 32:47

9M ago32:47

32:47

In this episode, we sit down with Blake Scholl, CEO of Boom Supersonic, to discuss the company’s ambitious mission to revolutionize commercial aviation. From developing the Overture, a supersonic airliner, to embracing sustainable aviation fuels, Blake shares how Boom plans to make faster, greener air travel a reality. They also discuss their recen…

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Fifth Wall’s Brendan Wallace on wildfires, insurance, and the unquenchable demand for data centers 31:46

10M ago31:46

31:46

In this episode, Brendan Wallace of Fifth Wall Ventures shares his insights on the transformative power of PropTech in addressing modern challenges like sustainability, housing affordability, and urban resilience. From rebuilding wildfire-stricken Los Angeles to navigating the intersection of real estate and AI-driven data centers, Wallace explores…

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Robinhood, already a ‘comeback’ stock, has even more aggressive plans for 2025 45:28

11M ago45:28

45:28

In this episode of The StrictlyVC Download, Connie Loizos talks withwith Vlad Tenev, the co-founder and CEO of Robinhood, to discuss the company’s remarkable evolution and recent designation as Yahoo Finance’s "Comeback Stock of the Year." Tenev shares how Robinhood is poised for significant growth through its innovative approach to prediction mark…

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GV CEO David Krane on what it takes to manage 800 investments in five years 24:46

11M ago24:46

24:46

This week on the StrictlyVC Download, Connie sits down with GV CEO David Krane at our December StrictlyVC event in San Francisco to discuss his approach to identifying potential investments, what it's like to work so closely with Google while helping potential competitors, and why their approach to successful exits is much more long-term than other…

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Why Lead Edge founder Mitchell Green keeps buying Bytedance shares 34:09

11M ago34:09

34:09

This week, Connie and Alex are joined by the founder of Lead Edge Capital, Mitchell Green, to discuss his firm’s $5 billion portfolio, its eight-point investment criteria, and their playbook for discovering early stage startups in less popular markets. He also weighs in on Bytedance’s future, the aspects of AI that he thinks may be overhyped, and t…

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How AI is powering a comeback in consumer startups, with Brynn Putnam and Ben Lerer 24:26

11M ago24:26

24:26

In this episode, Connie sits down with Brynn Putnam, the former CEO of Mirror, and VC Ben Lerer to discuss why founders – and investors – are getting excited about consumer-focused startups for the first time in a handful of years. Putnam already turned her home fitness company into a $500 million success story. Now she’s building something new tha…

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Marc Lore Has Big Plans for Wonder That Go Beyond Fast Casual 47:47

12M ago47:47

47:47

At a StrictlyVC event in New York this past Wednesday, Connie talked to Marc Lore, founder and CEO of Wonder, about Wonder's plans for the future, including the news that Wonder is buying GrubHub for $650 million, or $6.65 billion less than the Netherlands-based food delivery company Just Eat Takeaway paid for the company just four years ago.…

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Ashton Kutcher Never Wants to See Your Pitch Deck Again 32:05

12M ago32:05

32:05

Ashton Kutcher, Guy Oseary, and Effie Epstein of Sound Ventures talk about their AI strategy and why they think we are in the early innings of artificial intelligence startups. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Connie Loizos & Alex Gove