In Episode 2 of The Debrief, Nawaz and Vignesh unpack some of the most fascinating developments in venture capital, private markets, and tech investing. The conversation begins with the surprising transformation of Allbirds from a direct-to-consumer footwear brand into an AI infrastructure company before diving deep into Anthropic’s crackdown on unauthorised secondary share sales.

The pair explore the growing complexity of SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) investing, the risks hidden within layered secondary market structures, and why retail investors may be unknowingly paying enormous fees for exposure to high-profile companies like Anthropic and SpaceX. They also discuss the implications of SpaceX’s anticipated IPO, the evolving private market landscape in New Zealand, and the emergence of the Rocket Lab Mafia as a catalyst for the next generation of founders.

This episode offers an insider’s perspective on venture capital, secondary markets, startup ecosystems, and the unintended consequences of financial engineering.

Key Moments

• [00:00:50] Allbirds shocks the market by pivoting from footwear to AI infrastructure under a new identity.

• [00:05:45] Anthropic’s warning that unauthorised secondary share sales may be void and unenforceable.

• [00:08:30] Understanding SPVs, how layered structures work, and who profits from them.

• [00:16:00] The hidden fees inside multi-layer SPVs and why investors need to understand their position in the stack.

• [00:21:00] SpaceX secondary markets, investor demand, and the potential fallout from complex financial structures.

• [00:28:00] How SPVs and secondary markets are beginning to emerge within New Zealand’s startup ecosystem.

• [00:33:00] Understanding ordinary shares versus preference shares and why the distinction matters for investors.

• [00:37:00] The rise of the Rocket Lab Mafia and its influence on New Zealand’s aerospace and startup sectors.

• [00:44:00] Whether successful founders should reinvest more heavily into the local venture ecosystem.

Introduction

In this first episode of The Debrief, Nawaz and Vignesh launch a new podcast focused on venture, technology, and startup conversations that are more relevant to the New Zealand ecosystem. They unpack the collapse of Allbirds from a heavily hyped public company to a distressed acquisition, debate whether direct-to-consumer brands really fit venture economics, and explore why companies like Halter are changing how global investors view New Zealand tech. The conversation also moves into founder fears around venture capital and boards, with both hosts arguing that strong governance is usually less about control and more about helping founders scale responsibly.

Key Moments

·      [00:00:34] Show launch: Nawaz introduces The Debrief and Vignesh explains why a local NZ-focused venture conversation matters.

·      [00:02:52] Allbirds acquisition: The hosts react to Allbirds being acquired for around $68 million after once peaking near $4 billion.

·      [00:06:14] D2C and venture fit: They question whether consumer brands should raise venture capital or build sustainable businesses through revenue and profit.

·      [00:13:40] Venture as a tool: Vignesh argues founders do not need venture money to pursue their vision, but it can accelerate scale when the business model fits.

·      [00:14:57] Eucalyptus and healthcare D2C: The discussion shifts to why some consumer companies win by solving real needs rather than selling discretionary products.

·      [00:17:36] Halter’s rise: Nawaz and Vignesh discuss Halter as a defining New Zealand venture success story with real local investor participation.

·      [00:21:39] Compounding in venture: Vignesh explains how Halter’s long fundraising arc shows that scale, strong investors, and time can create a flywheel.

·      [00:25:32] Founder control and boards: The episode closes with a candid discussion on why boards exist, what founders get wrong about investor control, and how governance evolves as companies grow.

In this episode of Inquisitive VC, host Nawaz Ahmed speaks with Bhavik Vashi serves as Managing Director for APAC at Carta, the platform powering over 9,000 fund managers worldwide.

We talk about Bhavik's unique perspective on the venture ecosystem, overseeing Carta's expansion across the Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa regions, which represent some of the most dynamic and rapidly evolving venture landscapes globally. From his vantage point supporting thousands of fund managers across diverse markets, Bhavik has unparalleled insights into emerging manager trends, regional differences in venture capital, and the operational challenges facing today's fund managers. In this episode, the conversation explores the data-driven insights Carta sees across its platform, the unique characteristics of venture markets in APAC and MENA, and how technology is reshaping the infrastructure that powers modern venture capital.

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The podcast is also available on your favourite podcast sources like Spotify, Apple and Youtube!

Check out the Substack for show notes and transcript!

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In this episode of Inquisitive VC, host Nawaz Ahmed speaks with Hootie Rashidifard, Founder and General Partner of Hash3, a $30M crypto venture fund built on a mission to bring self-sovereignty to all end users.

Hootie shares how his Iranian upbringing—watching his father’s bank accounts frozen after the 1979 revolution—instilled a deep mistrust of centralized systems and shaped his belief in Bitcoin’s promise. From investment banking to five years at Canaan Partners, and now leading Hash3, he reveals what it takes to raise and run a crypto fund through market chaos.

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The podcast is also available on your favourite podcast sources like Spotify, Apple and Youtube!

Check out the Substack for show notes and transcript!

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In this episode of Inquisitive VC, host Nawaz Ahmed sits down with Andy Kangpan, Founder and General Partner of Metalayer Ventures, a $25M crypto venture fund focused on blockchain adoption in financial services.

Andy shares his journey from investing at Two Sigma during the 2017 ICO boom to founding Metalayer after the FTX collapse—driven by the belief that crypto’s next chapter lies in real-world deployment, not speculation.

He opens up about the emotional rollercoaster of raising a first fund, the key lessons learned from rejection, and how Metalayers balanced 50/50 approach to equity and token investments positions them for the evolving crypto landscape.

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The podcast is also available on your favourite podcast sources like Spotify, Apple and Youtube!

Check out the Substack for show notes and transcript!

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In this episode of Inquisitive VC, host Nawaz Ahmed sits down with Alex Lin, Founder and General Partner of Reforge, a crypto venture fund investing in coordination infrastructure across capital markets, AI, and compute systems.

Alex shares his journey from running a gaming bot farm that led him to Bitcoin, to becoming a venture capitalist with a mission to rebuild trust in failing institutions. He talks about leaving Shima Capital to launch Reforge, the brutal realities of fundraising, and why early-stage venture—not speculative liquid markets—will define the next decade of crypto

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The podcast is also available on your favourite podcast sources like Spotify, Apple and Youtube!

Check out the Substack for show notes and transcript!

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In this episode of Inquisitive VC, host Nawaz Ahmed interviews Travis Scher, co-founder of North Island Ventures, to explore crypto investing and venture capital. Travis shares his journey from a disgruntled lawyer discovering Bitcoin in 2014 to becoming a seasoned crypto VC at Digital Currency Group and launching his own fund. He discusses North Island’s thesis on crypto as an enabling technology, the challenges of fundraising during COVID, and building a values-driven firm. Travis offers actionable insights on selecting partners, diversifying investments, and backing entrepreneurs solving real-world financial problems with blockchain, making this a must-listen for crypto investing enthusiasts.

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The podcast is also available on your favourite podcast sources like Spotify, Apple and Youtube!

Check out the Substack for show notes and transcript!

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In this episode of Inquisitive VC, host Nawaz Ahmed interviews Lucas He, founder of Tomorrow Ventures, to dive into crypto investing and venture capital. Lucas shares his journey from buying Bitcoin in 2013 to building a crypto fund focused on real-world adoption. With experience at State Street and OP Crypto, he discusses bridging crypto to industries like healthcare and AI, navigating fundraising challenges, and crafting a portfolio for institutional adoption. Lucas’s insights on real-world crypto use cases and portfolio exits offer actionable strategies for investors and founders aiming to drive crypto adoption beyond speculation.

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The podcast is also available on your favourite podcast sources like Spotify, Apple and Youtube!

Check out the Substack for show notes and transcript!

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In the premiere episode of Inquisitive VC, host Nawaz Ahmed interviews Sal Gala, co-founder of EV3, to explore venture capital and crypto investing. Sal shares his journey from discovering Bitcoin during Venezuela’s hyperinflation to launching a venture fund focused on DePin (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks) and real-world crypto use cases like zkTLS. He offers insights on overcoming fundraising challenges, embracing non-consensus investing, and driving escape velocity for startups. From his Ribbit Capital experience to EV3’s bold bets on crypto innovation, Sal provides actionable strategies for founders and investors navigating crypto markets.

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The podcast is also available on your favourite podcast sources like Spotify, Apple and Youtube!

Check out the Substack for show notes and transcript!

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Welcome to The Inquisitive VC. Today I am speaking to Boris Revsin, the Managing Director of Tribe Capital.

We speak about his journey to crypto, how Tribe invests, crypto cycles and narratives, airdrops and more! I hope you enjoy this episode.

The podcast is also available on your favourite podcast sources like Spotify, Apple and Youtube!

Check out the Substack for show notes and transcript!

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Welcome to the Inquisitive VC, today I am speaking to Richard Chen a General Partner at 1confirmation, a seed-focused crypto venture fund.

We talk about Richards's prediction of underrated product trends for 2024, the function of airdrop and points, difficult questions asked by LPs and much more. I hope you enjoy the episode!

The podcast is also available on your favourite podcast sources like Spotify, Apple and Youtube!

Check out the Substack for show notes and transcript!

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Joey Krug is a Partner at Founders Fund (FF) and leads their crypto investments. Joey is also a co-founder of Augur, one of the first projects on Ethereum, and of Eco. Prior to FF, Joey was the Co-CIO of Pantera Capital.

We speak about practical use cases of crypto, challenges crypto founders face, building crypto native vs building general products, Joey’s anti-portfolio and much more.

The podcast is also available on your favourite podcast sources like Spotify, Apple and Youtube!

Check out the Substack 

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Sachi Kamiya does Investments at Polygon, one of the leading scaling solutions for Ethereum. Prior to Polygon, Sachi worked in the traditional finance world. We talk about her journey to crypto, Polygon zkEVM, the Polygon Ecosystem Fund, learning early-stage investing and a lot more!

The podcast is also available on your favourite podcast sources like Spotify, Apple and Youtube!

Check out the Substack 

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Baek Kim is a General Partner at Hashed, a crypto-native VC focused on bridging the ecosystem in US and Asia. Prior to this Baek was a software engineer at AWS working on IoT and Robotics. He was also the founder of a last-mile logistics startup.

We talk about his entry into crypto VC, Hasheds’ thesis, crypto gaming, the Asian market and more!

Check out the Substack for a full transcript of the episode, with links and images!

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Jeff Weinstein is a Partner at FJ Labs, a global marketplace investor also investing in crypto and Web3. Jeff was previously a Senior Associate at Lux Capital.

We talk about his entry into VC, the FJ Labs thesis, why they are investing in crypto, problems marketplaces face and more!

Check out the Substack for a full transcript of the episode, with links and images!

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Regan Bozman is a General Partner at Lattice Capital, an early-stage crypto fund that helps founders build defensible moats. He previously led growth initiatives at a number of crypto projects including C.R.E.A.M., Index Coop, and Maple. Prior to that, he was the first employee at CoinList and managed $100M+ of token launches.

We talk about his journey from angel investing to a fund, state of the crypto VC market, valuations and more!

Check out the Substack for a full transcript of the episode, with links and images!

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Imran Khan is a Core Contributor and Pilot of AllianceDAO, previously known as DeFi Alliance, the leading accelerator program for crypto and web3 projects. Imran is also a Venture Partner at Volt Capital and was previously at Microsoft.

We talk about his journey to crypto, how DeFi Alliance formed, Alliance DAO, what he is excited about in crypto, incentives for teams and more.

Check out the Substack for a full transcript of the episode, with links and images!

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Dylan Olivia Hunzeker is the Head of Ventures at Advanced Blockchain AG, a publicly listed investor and incubator. Prior to this, she was an Investor at Struck Capital Crypto, also having worked at Iconic Holding and Eigen Capital.

We talk about her journey in crypto, her time in China, investing in crypto and more!

Check out the Substack for a full transcript of the episode, with links and images!

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Nick Grossman is a Partner at Union Square Ventures, a leading venture firm that has invested in companies like Twitter, Stripe, Coinbase and many more. Previously, he led an incubator for startups at the intersection of cities and data at OpenPlans.

We talk about his journey to VC and crypto, investing in collector DAOs, the future of VC, the USV anti-portfolio and more.

Check out the Substack for a full transcript of the episode, with links and images!

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Noah Gaynor is the Co-Founder of Parcel. Parcel is the “Zillow for the metaverse”, a metaverse-native platform building key infrastructure for the needs of virtual real estate users, builders, property managers, investors, developers, and service providers.

We talk about his journey from tradfi to crypto, Parcel, fundraising, the future of virtual real estate, Meta and more! 

Check out the Substack for a full transcript of the episode, with links and images!

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