The Rise

the rise by @nucleus_talent

spotlighting the investors defining what’s next, from rising GPs and EMs to breakout fund builders and LPs.

hosted by @alexklein0x

[The Rise @TheRisePod]

Nucleus 100 Growth episode of The Rise. Coming later this week.

Last year, Keith Rabois came on after the Early list dropped and the methodology put him at #1.

This week, Lucas Swisher from Coatue joins after landing #1 in Growth.

The track record is absurd.

OpenAI. Anthropic. OpenEvidence. Harvey. Attentive. Glean. Deel. Rippling. Scale. Grafana. Figma.

We got into how he built it, how Coatue invests across private and public markets, and every layer of the AI stack.

Plus some great advice for early-career investors and students trying to figure out if venture is the right path.

Thanks for coming on @LucasSwisher1 🙏

[Alex Klein @alexklein0x]

the era of black box rankings should be over.

most are just PitchBook with a logo on top. the one people take most seriously is powered by a single LP, which is a bit like a VC firm publishing a market map. their portcos always make the cut. huge respect for what they’ve built but that’s a structural bias, not a fixable one.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​.

when a partner leaves a firm, their attribution gets scrubbed, reassigned, or quietly handed to whoever inherited the seat. PitchBook and Crunchbase get cleaner. but less true. that is the data most rankings treat as gospel. cray !

we went direct to founders, board members, people inside the firms with gaps who have left. the ask wasn’t “who did the deal.” that doesn’t work lol.

think more “we have your round mapped and want to make sure the right people get credit, especially the juniors and people outside the large platforms who get zero love.”

founder/team confirmation was still sub 40%, but we filled 3x more gaps than last time.

biggest change was tracking full teams behind rounds, not just leads. genuinely humbling how many growth investors doing incredible work have stayed invisible.

early stage you need to be known. growth is a different game, complex diligence, going deep. visibility is secondary. better read on bench strength inside firms and who actually worked on the defining rounds of the AI era. a lot of people deserve way more credit than they get.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

the Nucleus 100 exists because we feel if a ranking is going to exist it should be built on math, open about methodology, and focused on surfacing the people who actually did the work.

worth the wait. promise. 🫶🙏

[Alex Klein @alexklein0x]

previewing the Nucleus 100 Growth rankings ahead of the full april drop.

many flavors of growth out there. we boiled them down to conviction and momentum, though i'd still take help on the names.

Coatue, Sequoia, a16z at the top of both.

conviction tells a different story further down, with Spark, Thrive, Founders Fund, Index and others breaking through.

the individual rankings are a whole different world. that's the fun part. growth investors keep a lower profile. less networking, more research. the data reflects that and you see it in the partnership DNA.

formula, attribution workflow, and weighting below.

[Alex Klein @alexklein0x]

to my wonderful clients who put up with me the last couple months, thank you. was not expecting the gates to open how they have and am grateful you've stuck with me.

NEXT started as an experiment. it quickly became something real and will be a core part of nucleus going forward.

think neo for investors. a positive sum community for the next generation.

a place where exceptional young people meet the investors practicing the craft at the highest level.

in the post i share the cohort, the process, and lessons from ~200 interviews.

program kicks off tomorrow. fellows flying in from across the country.

grateful to the partners who took a bet on us and to a very special founding class. thank you. truly.

substack in comments.

[Nexus @GMN_watch]

Here’s the full podcast. Highly recommended https://t.co/csAXP1Chgb

[Brandon Kainoa Jacoby @JacobyBrandon]

New work for @nucleus_talent

Quick brand sprint with @alexklein0x and team to put together a new system that was modernized and matched the evolution of the firm

You'll see more and more of the brand rolling out soon

[The Rise @TheRisePod]

@CapitalAlso @nunzi46 youtube:
https://t.co/WHIuSUHJ4Z

spotify:
https://t.co/u1Zx9IHsFq

apple:
https://t.co/AXw6Tc0Ii1

[The Rise @TheRisePod]

"we're backing proven talent but maybe unproven founders"

@CapitalAlso founder and solo gp @nunzi46 doesn't care if you've founded before - only if you have extreme talent.

check out our episode, link in comments!

[The Rise @TheRisePod]

youtube:
https://t.co/5VZNe1G2fo

spotify:
https://t.co/ZGQchnxhVT

apple:
https://t.co/igkyuyOsAp

[The Rise @TheRisePod]

this is why @khoslaventures managing director @rabois thinks being early is so important.

he also breaks down the success of investors like @vkhosla and @pmarca.

we heavily recommend this episode, link in comments!

[The Rise @TheRisePod]

youtube:
https://t.co/PMTlTo6efs

spotify:
https://t.co/bflCklJRI2

apple:
https://t.co/4aUlWEaAEA

[The Rise @TheRisePod]

our media intern really liked this clip :)

"a lot of vc's just don't make good content - they treat it as a second class citizen", says @BananaCap_ founder and @ThePeelPod host @TurnerNovak

find more hot takes in our episode, link in comments!

[The Rise @TheRisePod]

@collabfund @cshapiro youtube:
https://t.co/v0i1WL1M5k

spotify:
https://t.co/eZMGROFXjs

apple:
https://t.co/eLqtfY8jcg

[The Rise @TheRisePod]

invest like you're evil.

@collabfund founder @cshapiro describes the ""villain test"" - would a villain invest alongside you?

look for things that are both sexy and push the world forward.

check out our episode, link in comments!"

[Robby @robby_mtf]

Had the MOST fun on @TheRisePod with the awesome @alexklein0x 😊

[The Rise @TheRisePod]

youtube:
https://t.co/H4PT0Ahbuv

spotify:
https://t.co/DiWixOXVfN

apple:
https://t.co/RWA53NtngZ

[The Rise @TheRisePod]

before she was founder and managing partner of @mtf_vc, @robby_mtf didn't know what venture capital was...

but she knew she wanted to work with founders.

now, she's the managing partner of a $22m debut seed fund.

check out our episode, link in comments!

[The Rise @TheRisePod]

YouTube:
https://t.co/13McE6H9bc
Spotify:
https://t.co/cYEiSCUvKw
Apple:
https://t.co/iB19exglcD

[The Rise @TheRisePod]

Enjoy a new episode of The Rise with @ashleymayer - Co-founder and GP at @coalitionvc!

Listen to Ashley share her path from @Box during IPO prep, to shaping narrative at @SocialCapital, to helping build @Glossier, and ultimately starting Coalition with @toyinajayidoc, @leullman, and @jacsrice.

We discuss:
- storytelling as a true competitive advantage
- messaging versus story market fit
- intentional cap table design
- why we're in a sloppy era for startup storytelling
- advice for first-time angels and emerging managers

Links in comments!