James Joaquin is co-founder and managing partner at Obvious Ventures, a VC firm that backs startups tackling intractable problems like climate change, chronic disease, and income inequality.

Their portfolio includes businesses that once sounded like science fiction but are reshaping billion-dollar industries. He says he's looking for technology that will “move humanity forward."

But this episode isn’t just about mission-driven investing.

James gets extremely tactical: he breaks down how Obvious evaluates founding teams, how he prefers to be pitched, and how your answer to “why are you building this?” can make or break your shot at getting funded.

He also shares a framework for balancing ego with humility, why startups die of indigestion — not starvation — and how his experience building one of Apple’s most famous failures helped him identify category-defining companies.

By the end of this conversation, you’ll have a clearer understanding of what top-tier VCs are looking for—and whether your startup has what it takes to earn a “yes.”

(2:37) James unpacks the firm’s origin story: “We love to say that all great ideas are obvious in hindsight.”

(7:43) What “world-positive” investing looks like in practice.

(10:41) When it comes to a founder’s domain expertise, “I  don't think that there's one single archetype.”

(13:46)  What's something you used to believe as a founder that changed dramatically after you became an investor?

(15:15) “A lot of the work that I do at Obvious is trying to sniff through the veneer and the BS to get to that authenticity.”

(18:13) The most successful founders he’s bet on “were weird, and they were ridiculed by whatever industry they were in at the start.”

(19:40) Tactical lessons he learned while working at Apple for six years after they acquired his startup.

(23:29) Why generative science has “ become a key investment thesis” for Obvious.

(26:48) James is looking for startups that will “ output or generate new scientific breakthroughs.”

(29:42) “ You almost cannot think too large in terms of the scale that we're going after.”

(33:03) James shares the framework Obvious used to evaluate geothermal startup Zanskar.

(37:58) The firm’s sweet spot: startups that are “just one step away from commercialization.”

(42:31) “ We don't get lost in the noise of what's going to happen in the next three and a half years.“

(43:54) What kind of startup would he launch today if he wanted to change the world?

• James Joaquin
• Obvious Ventures
• Biz Stone
• Beyond
• Diamond Foundry
• Virta Health
• Zanskar Geothermal & Minerals
• Gusto
• Xoom
• What is a B Corp? (B Lab)

• Get the newsletter
• Follow Fund/Build/Scale on Instagram

Thanks for listening!

– Walter.