David Kaye's Interviews

Kevin is the founder and CEO of AfterHour, the stock market super app for active traders. On WallStreetBets, he was known as SirJack, the day trader who turned $35,000 into $8M. A former engineer at Stripe and YouTube, he is also a serial founder.In this episode:How Kevin used Reddit to seed his initial audienceThe positives and negatives of building for consumers in 2024How he tackles the search for product-market fitWhy he loves big hatsFull episode guide:(00:39) Is 2024 a good time to build in consumer? (02:48) The two viable paths for consumer startups (06:00) What Kevin learned from his last two startups (07:44) Finding product-market fit and why he focuses on DAUs above all (09:49) How AfterHour works (15:01) What Kevin learned at Stripe and YouTube (19:37) How Kevin traded his way from $35,000 to $8M (24:54) Community as a moat (26:46) The death of friend-based social networks? (28:55) Balancing startup life with fatherhood (30:00) What’s the deal with the big hat?Where to find Kevin:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/imkevinxu/Twitter: @imkevinxuWebsite: https://afterhour.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.davidkaye.co

Siqi Chen is co-founder and CEO of Runway, and a master startup storyteller who has successfully raised tens of millions of dollars from some of the biggest names in venture capital. This is an honest conversation about how investors really think and what they actually respond to - and why it’s different from most of the advice out there.In this episode:* Why standard pitch templates are good for investors but bad for you * The three-act structure Siqi uses to tell compelling startup stories* The four crucial questions you need to answer for investors* How to pick a good name* The risks of investing in "prestige track" foundersFull episode guide:* (00:24) Introduction of Siqi Chen and Runway* (01:15) Why traditional pitch templates don't work* (03:05) The five emotional stages of an effective pitch* (05:15) Three-act structure for startup storytelling* (10:01) Four key questions investors need answered* (12:33) What’s in a name?* (17:51) How to balance brand with performance marketing* (24:02) Lessons from a decade of angel investing* (27:25) How to evaluate founders* (35:35) Closing remarks and contact informationWhere to find Siqi:* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siqic/* Twitter: @blader* Website: https://runway.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.davidkaye.co

Bertrand Vernizeau, co-founder and partner at Game Seer Venture Partners is an unusual games investor. He and his partner invest out of their own pool of capital, with no outside LPs. This structure affords some unique advantages, but that’s not the only thing they do differently.In this episode:* Why big gaming venture funds will struggle to achieve market-beating returns* Lessons learned from missing a 100X opportunity to invest in PowerWash Simulator* The TikTokification of gaming and what it means for game development and marketing* Why their upcoming game Half Sword is blowing up in playtests and across social mediaSome takeaways:* Chasing billion dollar outcomes in games is incredibly challenging in the absence of a new platform driving massive audience growth. This presents a big challenge for mega funds with hundreds of millions to deploy. Funds writing smaller checks under flexible models that allow for faster payback via royalties with an equity kicker have an inherent advantage in the current market.* If the product cannot sell itself, marketing is not going to help. Marketing alone cannot create interest - it can only amplify something that is already there.* Traditional channels are mostly dead. From the start of development, you have to figure out how your game going to capture attention in the first five seconds of a TikTok clip, because that’s where a lot of your organic audience is going to come from.* Attention can be engineered - attributes such as the anticipation of movement combined with the constant delivery of pleasurable stimuli are powerful hooks to create engagement.* Team chemistry and history of working together trumps individual pedigree: a superstar creator is an unreliable guide of future hit making potential, even more so than in other industries such as film and TV. This is because a lot of what makes a game great is the product of many disparate things coming together, not the singular vision of a designer.Full episode guide:* 01:13) Bertrand’s background and entry into the gaming industry* (03:00) The unique structure of Game Seer Venture Partners* (06:04) Why Game Seer avoids trends like Web3, AI, and mobile gaming* (08:14) The rise of venture funding in PC and console games* (10:35) The importance of team chemistry over individual pedigree* (13:02) The challenges and pitfalls of over-funding in the gaming industry* (15:44) Indie games outperforming big studios: recent success stories* (18:30) GameSeer’s selective investment strategy: evaluating 1,500 teams annually* (21:50) How GameSeer structures deals with a focus on royalties* (25:16) The TikTokification of gaming and the fight for user attention* (27:43) The shift in the market: AAA struggles and indie successes* (30:58) Lessons from missing out on PowerWash Simulator* (34:07) The creation and success of Game Seer’s publishing label* (36:23) Why traditional VC models don’t always fit the gaming industry* (38:45) The balance between project financing and publishing in Game Seer’s model* (41:30) Game Seer’s approach to evaluating new game concepts and teams* (47:02) The impact of post-COVID realism on gaming investments* (49:30) Addressing the challenges of scaling indie game hits* (52:14) The future of game development: Balancing creativity and commercial success* (57:45) Final thoughtsWhere to find Bertrand:* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bertrand-vernizeau-2795144a* Website: https://www.game-seer.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.davidkaye.co