Naval Ravikant of AngelList #244

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On This Week in Startups, Naval Ravikant, the mastermind behind the indispensable AngelList, sat down with Jason to talk about his career as a serial entrepreneur and why his latest venture will have a major impact on not just the startup ecosystem, but our national economy.

1:00-2:00 Hi everyone, we’re excited to have Naval Ravikant, the co-founder of AngelList, with us on the program today.
2:00-3:00 How many people have raised money on AngelList?
3:00-4:45 When did the first A round get done on AngelList?
4:45-6:15 So you think moderate success is the hard part?
6:15-8:45 What’s an actual, true overnight success?
8:45-11:45 What do you think when you hear a story of someone like OMGPOP?
11:45-12:15 Would AngelList have worked ten years ago? What were your prior attempts?
12:15-14:30 How do you respond to the critique that weak companies are getting funded and there are too many startups?
14:30-17:00 Thank you to LiquidWeb for supporting TWiST! Show you appreciate them backing independent media by tweeting thanks to @LiquidWeb!
17:00-19:15 So, when a lot of people follow a company but they don’t close the round, how does the entrepreneur take that?
19:15-20:00 So people are raising money from folks like Dave McClure?
20:00-23:00 As an angel, what should I be doing? Should I join a VC firm?
23:00-25:00 There are people who call themselves broker and will help you make deals. Is this normal?
25:00-27:30 How do you respond to VCs who have tried to paint you in a negative light? What are the criticisms?
27:30-31:00 So Obama’s jobs act passed this week. What impact do you think that will have?
31:00-34:30 I saw that Democrats were fighting this citing fears that people will get scammed. Is that a valid concern?
34:30-35:30 If you could raise a million dollars every year, you could essentially fund a Facebook-like company within a few years.
35:30-37:00 Is there a bubble in the angel space?
37:00-41:45 Thank you to Walker Corporate Law for their support! Thank them @ScottEdWalker!
41:45-43:30 So how does the stock market affect things?
43:30-43:45 Do you think you’re creating more angel investors?
45:45-48:30 What do you think the impact of the Facebook IPO will be?
48:30-50:00 Do you think Kickstarter is going to start taking equity?
50:00-55:00 Aside from disrupting the space and helping entrepreneurs, what is AngelList in the business of?
55:00-56:00 If you force CEOs to take ownership of recruiting instead of outsourcing it, you get better results.
56:00-58:00 What’s your advice for someone who wants to put a company on the site?
58:00-59:30 How big is your team now?
59:30-1:03:00 What’s your goal in life now?
1:03:00-1:05:00 Is being a billionaire a goal for you?
1:05:00-1:06:45 Do you know what the SEC thinks of AngelList?
1:06:45-1:10:15 Have you had any bad experiences with VCs? What’s the worst story you’ve ever heard about a VC interaction?
1:10:15-1:12:30 What do you think of the space we’re in now? What does the future hold?
1:12:30-1:13:15 Naval, this conversation has been so amazing. Thank you so much for coming on the program. We’ll see you all next time!

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Keep up with the latest from our sister company, LAUNCH:

• LAUNCH Education & Kids, June 12 and 13
• LAUNCH Festival Wrap-up: Winners, Investments and More
• Where Over $1M in LAUNCH Festival Prize Money is Going
• LAUNCH Festival 2012 Winners
• Who Launched at the 2012 LAUNCH Festival

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