279. The Effect of Technology on Relationships, The 5 Indicators of a True Brand, The Appeal of Love/Hate Businesses, & the Rise of Super Apps (Nicole Quinn)

The Full Ratchet (TFR): Venture Capital and Startup Investing Demystified

Nicole Quinn of Lightspeed Venture Partners joins Nick to discuss The Effect of Technology on Relationships, The 5 Indicators of a True Brand, The Appeal of Love/Hate Businesses, & the Rise of Super Apps. In this episode, we cover:

• Walk us through your background and path to VC
• What if anything changed the most from your early days, angel investing on your own to the days you joined the team at Lightspeed?
• I think a good place to start is with an article you wrote a little over a year ago about your investment philosophy, and how it was shaped by the book, Shoe Dog, by Phil Knight. What was the seminal learning from that book, and how has it shaped your approach?
• What's the thesis at Lightspeed?
• What are the consumer behaviors in different regions?
• You emphasized the importance of hiring and the framework Lightspeed uses for its portfolio companies. Could you give us the broad strokes on that?
• How did you develop your thesis on Lunch Club, and what makes you so excited about it and kind of the way they're thinking about relationships?
• You have such a lens on social and all these things, but how will relationships be affected over time with not being able to achieve that same level of authentic connection with folks when it's just over chat or the internet?
• Are you bullish or bearish on Clubhouse?
• What are the early indicators in a company that signal that a true brand is being built? Are their must-haves vs. nice to haves?
• Have you ever come across an opportunity where the NPS was? marginal or low, but the repeat rate and referral rate was high?
• Have you looked at all this? You know, kind of buzzy new way of looking at that the Rahul Vohra Superhuman? How pissed off would you be if this was taken away or something like that?
• Most of the super apps have been outside of the states, places like China, Latin America. Do you expect the rise of more super apps here? Why or why not?