Investing

Steve Vassallo trained as a mechanical engineer, studied design thinking at Stanford, and worked at IDEO as a award-winning product designer. Now he’s an early-stage investor at Foundation Capital, where he helps founders bring world-changing ideas to life. If you’re into great design, you’ll love Steve’s new book, The Way to Design – where he shares his passion for the intersection of user experience and systems thinking. Listen in and learn how Steve’s design sensibilities inform his investing choices and inspire his knowledge-sharing.

Tim Chang is a polymath, a longtime Burner, an accomplished musician, and a forward-looking VC who invests in the positive side of technology. As Managing Director of Mayfield, Tim blends his background in engineering and business development with a customer-first approach to supporting breakthrough products and services. I’ve worked with Tim several times — and I’m always inspired by our interactions. Listen in and get a taste of Tim’s mind-expanding ideas about how to create deeply engaging experiences.

Jim Scheinman is a lifelong entrepreneur who’s spent the last two decades working at the forefront of social software. As an early employee of Friendster and Bebo, Jim rode out the first big social media wave. Now he’s helping the next generation of founders invent the future through his work at Maven Ventures. Jim’s approach is grounded in operational reality – and infused with a passion for working on a ‘vision worth fighting for.’ He appreciates the power of a truly compelling experience to draw people in and keep them engaged. Learn how an early-stage investor decides who to work with – and how to help his companies succeed.

In the short history of web design, Jeff Veen is a true pioneer. In his work for Wired, Adaptive Path, Google, Adobe, and now True Ventures, Jeff has been pushing the boundaries of online publishing and Web interactivity for decades. He’s worked with some of the best and brightest teams in tech – and has a deep and abiding passion for group collaboration Find our what’s on Jeff’s mind and capturing his his attention these days. I got a lot our of this conversation – and I know you’ll enjoy it too.

Irene Au is a design leader and UX expert with deep experience in team-building. She’s currently an operating partner at Khosla Ventures, where she works with startup CEOs to make their designs great. Irene started her career at Netscape – then moved on to lead design efforts at Yahoo, Google and Udacity. This progression gives her a unique perspective on growing UX teams – and smart strategies for enhancing design in different situations. Irene brings a deeply humanistic approach to everything she does, and integrates her passion for Yoga and mindfulness into everything she does. Listen in and discover how a Silicon Valley legend gets startup CEOs to embrace iterative, user-centered design practices.