Today, Mike joins us at Boost to share the concept of the ‘Thunder Lizard,’ and explain why he prefers to work with Prime Movers. He discusses how he got involved with venture capital, who he goes to for advice, and his approach to cultivating humility. Mike offers insight around the time value to decision-making and the idea of progress by way of competing alternatives. Listen in to understand cryptocurrency’s potential to make trust free and get Mike’s advice for aspiring VCs.
The startups that become really big, really fast are capitalist mutations or ‘Thunder Lizards’ that force the world to react to their agenda. Their founders refuse to accept the world as is and write their own rules, rather than conforming to the systems in place. This is how VC Mike Maples identifies the entrepreneurs he wants to support, the Prime Movers he can serve as not just an investor but a coconspirator.
Mike is the founding partner at Floodgate, a venture capital fund focused on backing Prime Movers before others believe. Mike has been on the Forbes Midas List since 2010, and his investments include Twitter, Twitch.tv, ngmoco, Weebly, and Lyft, among many others. Prior to his career in VC, Mike founded two successful startups of his own, Tivoli Systems and Motive. He earned his MBA from Harvard Business School.
Today, Mike joins us at Boost to share the concept of the ‘Thunder Lizard,’ and explain why he prefers to work with Prime Movers. He discusses how he got involved with venture capital, who he goes to for advice, and his approach to cultivating humility. Mike offers insight around the time value to decision-making and the idea of progress by way of competing alternatives. Listen in to understand cryptocurrency’s potential to make trust free and get Mike’s advice for aspiring VCs.
Topics Covered
The concept of the ‘Thunder Lizard’
Why Mike prefers to work with Prime Movers
Mike’s path to venture capital
Who Mike goes to for advice
Mike’s approach to decision-making
Mike’s advice for aspiring VCs
How Mike cultivates humility
Mike’s take on the crypto space
Mike’s insight on the job of technology
The current problem with currencies
Connect with Mike
Resources
Connect with Boost VC