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We The Builders: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Suffiyan Malik
Conversations with practitioners at the edge of their craft across business, media, startups, frontier technologies, investing. wethebuilders.us
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- 5 days ago1h 44m
Ross Fubini of XYZ Ventures on Investing in Anduril, Advising Palantir and Funding Palantir Mafia
IntroI sat down with Ross Fubini, Founder and Managing Partner at XYZ Ventures. Ross has been a venture capitalist for 15 years, cofounded Village Global, and was an early investor in Anduril. XYZ now manages billions in AUM and has over 140 companies in its portfolio, 42 of them founded by ex-Palantir people.When Anduril went to raise its A round, Ross couldn’t get firms to take a meeting. Investors were confident you couldn’t make money building products for the government.We discuss why this moment feels like the dot com era, how AI could change where value is captured in software, what it took to back Anduril before defense was popular, and why Ross believes networks and intimacy with founders are the durable advantages in venture.What we cover:* Venture risk at every stage: why the pace at which dollars become relevant and irrelevant reminds Ross of the dot-com days, and what the market is now willing to believe about outcomes.* AI and the value of software: Ross’s mom self-publishing children’s books with OpenAI, and whether AGI in software engineering means value accrues to the models.* Backing Anduril early: knowing Palantir from the inside, why firms like Sequoia and Greylock passed on the A round, and what changed across the defense ecosystem.* Building XYZ: why the first fund was hard to raise, finding LPs who back new firms, dollar concentration, and building compounding excellence inside a firm.* Networks and builder DNA: asking founders who you wish you could hire, networks of networks, what Ross learned from Reid Hoffman, and what makes his partner Chauncey a builder.Other WTB guests who are in the XYZ portfolio include Cobi Blumenfeld-Gantz, Cofounder of Chapter, Ian Cinnamon, Cofounder of Apex Space and Cameron McCord, Cofounder of Nominal. Follow on X/Twitter:Ross Fubini: https://x.com/fubiniSuffiyan Malik: https://x.com/suffiyanmalikkWe The Builders: https://x.com/WeThe_BuildersWatch on YouTube:Timestamps00:00 Intro01:37 Starting out at Netscape04:59 How technology beats shift05:35 From Village Global to nine years of XYZ06:37 How venture and company building are changing09:50 How Ross's approach to venture has evolved12:25 Venture risk priced in at every stage14:35 Exit outcomes and what the market is willing to believe17:35 AI and the changing pace of creative work19:23 Ross's mom, OpenAI, and self-published children's books21:57 If software engineering gets AGI, who captures the value?24:42 Is this what verticalization looks like?27:08 Merging code and the near-term bottlenecks28:55 Government, drones, and Turbine One29:10 Backing Anduril alongside Founders Fund30:07 Ahoy Capital and the first LP31:50 Getting close to early Palantir33:18 140 companies, 42 founded by ex-Palantir people34:31 Why Anduril struggled to get access to capital37:44 What changed in the defense ecosystem41:35 Village Global, XYZ, and raising a first fund<a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/wa
- 1 weeks ago1h 24m
He Sold His Company for $2.5 Billion. Now He is Building AI for Logistics | Harish Abbott
IntroEvery product we use depends on businesses coordinating behind the scenes. A shipment moves because someone calls a carrier, confirms an appointment, checks inventory, or follows up on an email. Those small interactions add up to an enormous amount of work.I sat down with Harish Abbott, Cofounder and CEO of Augment. He previously cofounded Deliverr, which Shopify acquired for $2.5 billion, and spent part of his early career at Amazon. He is now building AI teammates for the people who keep goods moving.One detail from our conversation stayed with me: Harish and his cofounder spent their first 60 days on the road, shadowing customers, before writing a single line of code. Understanding an operator’s day, the interruptions, relationships, and problems that follow them home, shaped what they chose to build.We discuss the opportunity for AI in logistics and what it takes to earn a place inside a customer’s business. We also get into fundraising, the Shopify acquisition, storytelling, and why Harish puts so much weight on curiosity and a willingness to act when hiring.What we cover:* The coordination tax: why moving everyday goods requires so many calls, emails, and decisions and where AI can help.* AI as a teammate: how humans and software share information, divide responsibilities, and build trust.* Learning the customer’s world: why Harish starts with observation and a single painful task before expanding.* From customers to capital: building before fundraising, explaining your business through customer stories, and the path to Deliverr’s acquisition.* Building a team that keeps improving: rewarding impact, learning quickly from failure, and adapting Amazon’s bar raiser approach.Follow on X:Harish Abbott on X: @habbottSuffiyan Malik on X: @suffiyanmalikkWe The Builders on X: @WeThe_BuildersWatch on YouTubeTimestamps00:00 Intro 01:21 The hidden supply chain behind everyday goods 04:49 How wholesalers and distributors work 09:26 Why trucking is harder than ordering an Uber 14:47 How AI reduces the coordination tax 20:29 Why logistics is a multiplayer problem 24:19 Getting humans and AI to work in sync 29:00 AI coding and the verification bottleneck 32:42 Relationships, trust, and selling outcomes 37:40 Shadowing customers before writing code 40:42 Earning operators’ trust, one task at a time 45:22 How founders build culture in difficult moments 48:49 Build before you raise: advice for founders 54:08 Why attention is scarcer than capital 59:19 Storytelling and the customer who inspired Augie 1:03:30 How Shopify came to acquire Deliverr 1:07:31 Expanding into B2B distribution 1:10:10 Rewarding impact and learning from failure 1:12:49 Hiring for curiosity and a bias for action 1:15:40 Bringing Amazon’s bar raiser approach to hiring 1:19:11 Books, history, and influences <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZvj7GLPAlc&
- 2 weeks ago1h 14m
The Investment Thesis for Rebuilding America | Chris Buskirk (Cofounder of 1789 Capital)
IntroThis is my first conversation with Chris Buskirk, Cofounder and Chief Investment Officer at 1789 Capital and author of America and the Art of the Possible. We explore his investment thesis for American renewal: backing technological innovation, rebuilding industry, and creating the conditions for a thriving middle class. We discuss defense tech, China, political conviction, charter cities, and what the people at the top of society owe the country.What we cover:• Inside 1789 Capital: the ambition to build a multi-strategy asset manager and why Chris backed defense technology before it became a popular investment category.• Reindustrializing America: critical minerals, dependence on China, and why rebuilding manufacturing requires capital and supportive policy.• Politics and investing: whether alignment with an administration creates risk, and why Chris believes key parts of reindustrialization have bipartisan support.• Charter cities, aristocracy, and oligarchy: why Chris thinks building a new city may not be ambitious enough, and what distinguishes public-minded leadership from extraction.• The cultural conditions for progress: resisting excessive risk aversion, preserving the freedom to fail, and bringing people together around a meaningful purpose.Follow on X/Twitter:Chris Buskirk: https://x.com/thechrisbuskirkSuffiyan Malik: https://x.com/suffiyanmalikkWe The Builders: https://x.com/WeThe_BuildersWatch on YouTubeTimestamps00:00 Introducing Chris Buskirk00:52 One project: renewing America02:55 Why the middle class is the measure of national health05:08 The master plan for 1789 Capital06:35 A generational shift in asset management08:45 Technological stagnation and the search for fundamental innovation12:46 Investing in defense tech before it was popular15:07 Rebuilding America’s manufacturing capacity16:10 China, trade, and American industrial policy19:12 Tariffs, critical minerals, and forcing China’s hand20:32 Why reindustrialization needs more than venture capital22:23 The risks of mixing politics and investing25:38 Political conviction versus hedging your bets26:15 Can reindustrialization survive a change in administration?30:20 Deregulation and letting builders build32:13 The case for charter cities33:56 Why charter cities may not be ambitious enough36:06 Brasília and the challenges of building new cities39:05 Why cities need an economic reason to exist41:34 Singapore and the modern city-state42:25 Aristocracy versus oligarchy: who should lead?45:28 Identifying talent and encouraging public responsibility47:40 How stagnation creates a scarcity mindset49:11 Exporting the American dream<a tar
- 3 weeks ago1h 39m
What Billion Dollar Founders Have in Common | Ali Tamaseb of DCVC
IntroThis is my first conversation with Ali Tamaseb, General Partner at DCVC, a $5B AUM fund and author of Super Founders. Ali spent years studying billion dollar startups to understand what separates their founders from the rest. We discuss the myths around age, education, cofounders, and industry experience and what the data reveals about building exceptional companies.What we cover:* The young founder myth: why age alone doesn’t predict success, and what Ali’s research reveals about billion-dollar founders.* Why repeat founders have an advantage and the early signs of ambition, resourcefulness, and a drive to build.* Inside the Super Founders Club: a network of 750 founders who become each other’s customers, cofounders, and investors.* How successful startups enter crowded markets, differentiate their products, and start with a small niche before expanding.* The myths around cofounders, technical backgrounds, and industry experience and why trust, customer understanding, and knowing when to pivot matter.Follow the guest and host on X:Ali Tamaseb: https://x.com/alitamasebSuffiyan Malik: https://x.com/suffiyanmalikkWe The Builders: https://x.com/WeThe_BuildersWatch on YouTube:Timestamps00:00 Highlights00:40 Introducing Ali Tamaseb01:34 The young founder myth06:57 Why your investors matter10:34 Peter Thiel, competition, and crowded markets13:36 Start small, think big15:16 What creates a startup moat?18:58 Customer relationships as an advantage22:14 What makes a “Super Founder”?24:20 Why startup success isn’t random27:59 Venture capital is a network business33:07 Inside the Super Founders Club37:29 Building a community of exceptional founders45:57 How VCs compete for the best founders49:54 Do degrees and university brands matter?57:19 Do you really need a cofounder?1:00:00 Super founders in AI, defense, and deep tech1:03:02 Great founders versus great markets1:06:46 Finding your wedge in a massive market1:09:25 Technical versus nontechnical founders1:12:00 Does industry experience matter?<a target="_blank" href="https://www.you
- 3 weeks ago46 min
In Conversation with Bryon Hargis, Cofounder & CEO of Castelion ($13B defense technology company)
IntroMy first conversation with Bryon Hargis, Cofounder and CEO of Castelion. This is a special edition of our show recorded at Reindustrialize. Since then, Castelion has announced a $1 billion Series C funding valuing the company at $13 billion making it one of the most valuable defense technology companies in the ecosystem. What we cover:* Why Bryon sold his SpaceX stock to bootstrap Castelion and bet two-thirds of his savings on the mission.* Why affordable, mass-produced hypersonic missiles are central to his vision of American deterrence.* Building Blackbeard, winning the first Navy order, and scaling production to thousands of missiles a year.* The SpaceX lessons behind faster hardware development: rapid testing, questioning convention, and knowing when to change course.* Hiring for mission over money and why company culture is built one person at a time.Watch on YouTubeTimestamps00:00 Intro01:00 Bootstrapping with SpaceX stock and crypto mining07:00 Why Bryon started a defense company11:00 Building deterrence and landing the first Navy order14:00 Scaling missile manufacturing in New Mexico18:00 Meet Blackbeard: Castelion’s hypersonic missile20:00 Hypersonic vs. ballistic vs. cruise missiles23:00 Golden Dome and the future of missile defense25:00 How SpaceX enables America’s national security27:00 Elon Musk, ambitious deadlines, and moving faster30:00 Why rapid testing beats over-engineering33:00 Lessons from SpaceX: Question convention, follow the data38:00 Hiring for the mission and building company culture45:00 Growing as a founder and being willing to be wrongBrought to you byIntangible: One of the missions of the show is to highlight frontier technologies and the builders, investors and policymakers at the heart of technological progress. Our sponsor Intangible lets you show it before you build it. Intangible is an AI 3D studio. Frontier technology builders turn ideas into scenes they can edit and film, in minutes. No VFX shop, no six-week render queue. Visualize your moonshot product at intangible.aiThe material presented by We The Builders & Suffiyan Malik, including on its website, podcast, social media channels, newsletters, events, and other content, reflects the opinions of the hosts, guests, and contributors and is provided for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing presented by We The Builders should be construed as investment, financial, legal, tax, or other professional advice, nor as a recommendation, offer to sell, or solicitation of an offer to buy any security, investment product, company, strategy, or asset. Discussions of companies, investments, industries, technologies, markets, or other subjects may rely on information from public sources or information provided by guests and other third parties that we believe to be reliable. We The Builders does not represent or warrant that such information is accurate, complete, or current and should not be relied upon as such. Views and opinions expressed are those of the individual speaker at the time of publication and may change without notice. Guest appearances, discussions of companies, or references to investors or investments should not be interpreted as endorsements by We The Builders. Past performance is not indicative of future results. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wethebuilders.us
- Sep 26, 202632 min
Michael Thompson, Board Member at Oklo & Joby on Betting on The Future
IntroMy first conversation with Michael Thompson who is on the board of Joby Aviation ($JOBY) and Oklo ($OKLO). He previously started Reinvent Capital with Mark Pincus and Reid Hoffman where he was Managing Partner and made early investments in the physical economy through Joby, SpaceX, Nimble Robotics, Oklo and many other companies. This is a special edition of We The Builders conversation from Reindustrialize.Watch on YouTubeTimestamps00:00 Intro02:35 From hedge fund to physical-world techonolgies03:45 "Where is all this power gonna come from?" The case for nuclear04:50 Why nuclear stalled07:05 Where AI value will accrue: physical-world technologies07:55 "Recursive industrialization": SpaceX, Cursor & frontier models09:15 Joby: amplifying world-class engineers with AI10:50 Does eVTOL need a charging network like Teslas?11:30 Breaking down the Joby aircraft: airframe, controls, powertrain18:55 Why these companies need vertical integration and technical founders20:25 How to value SpaceX and Joby (it's not next year's EBITDA)22:25 Why Joby went public through a SPAC23:50 "Henry Ford never built a mile of road": financing the infrastructure25:15 FAA certification is like FDA approval27:35 Reinvent Capital and the "1870s thesis"28:55 Nimble: specialized robots and forward-deployed training data30:25 What he's changed his mind on This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wethebuilders.us
- Sep 14, 20261h 48m
Somesh Dash on IVP, Firm Building, Venture Investing, The AI Era and Immigration
IntroSomesh Dash has been investing in startups for over 20 years at IVP where he is a General Partner. IVP is one of the most prominent venture firms in growth stage investing founded in 1980. In the last almost five decades, they have invested in over 400 companies, with over 135 of them going public. IVP is an investor in generational companies like Anthropic, Uber, Snap, Twitter, CrowdStrike, Snap, Robinhood, Figma, Discord, Coinbase. I had a wide ranging conversation with Somesh about his thoughts on the craft of investing itself, immigration, IVP’s firm structure, his role as a leader in the firm now, thoughts on the unprecedented era of AI and how he thinks about investing in this era and more. Watch on YouTubeTimestamps00:00:00 - Introduction00:00:55 - What 20 Years in VC Teaches You About the Job00:02:00 - Risk-Taking, Contrarianism, and Dealing with Failure00:02:45 - The Importance of LP Relationships00:03:30 - Building and Sustaining a Strong VC Partnership00:06:05 - Index / Spray-and-Pray vs. High-Conviction Investing00:08:10 - What Does "Contrarian" Mean at the Growth Stage?00:11:25 - Investing in Twitter in 200900:13:00 - Early Bet on Snapchat in 201300:14:45 - How Growth Stage Investing Has Evolved at IVP00:16:15 - Investing in Anthropic00:17:55 - How IVP Adds Value00:20:00 - Founder Mental Health & The VC as Counselor00:21:15 - Customer Introductions & The Day-to-Day VC Grind00:26:37 - The IVP Partnership Model & Shared Decision-Making00:28:05 - Depth vs. Breadth of Networks & Being In-Person00:29:40 - Cross-Pollination Across Sports, Culture, and other Industries00:33:33 - Favorite Podcasts, Comedy00:35:50 - Expanding into New Sectors: Healthcare, Defense Tech & Space00:37:45 - The Resurgence of Hardware & Semiconductors (Seagate, LSI Logic)00:41:05 - Silicon Valley, Immigration, and Global Talent00:45:15 - The Immigrant DNA of Unicorn Founders00:47:23 - Geopolitics, Soft Power, and Media Narratives00:52:16 - Immigrant Values, Capitalism, and Democracy as a Startup00:57:35 - Labor Market Matching and Skilled Immigration01:02:42 - How IVP Selects 8–10 High-Conviction Investments a Year01:05:05 - Capital Allocation Lessons from the Clean Tech Boom01:06:40 - Hot Take: Why Traditional Software/SaaS is Making a Comeback01:08:45 - VC Firm Governance: CEO Model vs. Pure Partnership Model01:11:50 - Generational Transition & Internal Mentorship at
- Aug 31, 20262h 32m
Adam Grosser, The Renaissance Man behind UP.Partners on 40 Years of Investing & Building in Silicon Valley
IntroThis is my first conversation with Adam Grosser, a Silicon Valley OG. Adam has had a front row seat to what Silicon Valley is today from being at the centre of personal computing in the early days of Apple in the 1980s as Director of Engineering to directing products at LucasFilm in 1990s and investing in the still early internet days in the 2000s at Foundation Capital. Adam went on to be a Managing Director at prominent technology focused private equity firm SilverLake and co-created the Up Summit, an exclusive annual event for the future of transportation. He was also a part of building and scaling two multibillion dollar companies in the 1990s. He is also a 4x Forbes Midas list investor. He now runs Up Partners which he founded six years ago around the thesis of future of transportation enabled by software. Up Partners has been an investor in companies like Hermeus (founded by AJ Piplica), Reliable Robotics, Axiom Space, Skydio, Westmag, Pacific Fusion and Beta to name a few. What makes him unique and extremely hard to b******t to is the fact that he builds cars, airplanes and boats in his workshop in San Carlos which I had the chance to check out, this is where the technical knowhow of founders gets tested. It is not a team of 10 technicians working on these projects, it is a team of just Adam plus a couple of contractors here and there. For investors in frontier tech, this would be the equivalent of touching grass. Adam is one of the kindest and most generous humans I have come across in the industry, still a student at heart who is insatiably curious and genuinely interested in other people. Perhaps one of the reasons he has been so successful. In this wide ranging conversation we cover a bit of Silicon Valley history, what it was like working with Steve Jobs, his time in media through LucasFilm and Sony, how venture capital has changed, how Adam keeps up and how to build a successful lasting venture firm. Watch on YouTubeTimestamps00:00 – Intro 02:52 – Early Days at Apple and Meeting Steve Jobs03:29 – Innovation and the History of Printing at Apple05:37 – Early User Interfaces and Working at Xerox PARC07:29 – Technological Breakthroughs at LucasFilm11:56 – Corporate Acquisitions and Maintaining Founding DNA14:43 – "Stake vs. Rank" in Corporate Structures17:19 – The Ephemeral Nature of Success in the Film Industry21:15 – Two Approaches to Creating Great Products22:22 – Spotting Breakthrough Innovations Early27:35 – How the Venture Capital Industry Has Changed31:56 – Rebuilding the Cottage Model with Up Partners38:19 – The Mobility Thesis and Stagnation in the Physical World42:18 – His San Carlos Workshop48:48 – Why Hardware Innovation Took Decades to Evolve54:36 – The True Job of a Venture Capitalist57:28 – Basic Research and the Return of the Polymath01:04:12 – The Chasm Between Tech and Business and the Value of Finishing Things01:10:53 – The "996" Work Culture01:17:34 – Choosing to Stay Nimble in Business and Investment01:23:00 – Building Alignment and Generational Stability in a VC Firm01:45:00 – Decisio
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Conversations with practitioners at the edge of their craft across business, media, startups, frontier technologies, investing. wethebuilders.us
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