Brom Rector is the founder of XEIA Venture Partners (formerly Empath Ventures), a venture capital firm focused on the intersection of neuroscience, mental health, and emerging technologies.
In this episode we discuss:
- The evolution from Empath's psychedelics focus to XEIA's broader "Human 3.0" vision
- The current state of psychedelic medicine after recent FDA setbacks
- Revolutionary brain-computer interfaces like Motif Neurotech and their potential to treat depression
- Genetic medicine innovations including RNA therapeutics
- The fertility crisis and hearing damage epidemic as underexplored health frontiers
- How VCs evaluate founders and what makes a compelling pitch
- AI's role in investment decision-making and its future impact on various industries
Recorded in San Francisco in early 2025, this conversation explores the cutting edge of human health technology and the venture capital ecosystem supporting it.
#venturecapital #Biotech #Neuroscience #HumanHealth #Psychedelics #BrainComputerInterfaces #GeneMedicine #AI
Ollie Allen Fox speaks to Hugo Lu, founder of Orchestra, about his journey from investment banking to revolutionizing data engineering. Hugo offers valuable insights on data stack architecture, the importance of clean and modular systems, and how Orchestra is helping data engineers streamline their workflows. Whether you're a data professional or a tech entrepreneur, this podcast provides a wealth of knowledge on building and scaling a successful SaaS startup in the data space. In this conversation, Ollie & Hugo discuss: 00:00:00 - Hugo's background and experience at Juul 00:04:00 - The skills needed to start a tech company 00:08:00 - The power of curiosity and learning in entrepreneurship 00:13:00 - What Orchestra does and the data problems it solves 00:23:00 - Building a founding team and the importance of incentives 00:29:00 - The future of SaaS and AI in enterprise software 00:37:00 - Orchestra's marketing strategies and programmatic SEO 00:47:00 - Early customers and the value Orchestra provides 00:54:00- The challenges of data engineering and work-life balance Ollie Allen Fox is the founder of Weboaf, a creative agency specialising in designing brands for companies in the deep tech industry. Hugo Lu is the CEO and Founder of Orchestra, a SaaS startup offering best in class data orchestration for data teams.
Molly O’Shea is an investor & founder of Sourcery.vc. A weekly newsletter on top weekly VC deals & tech signals. After posting top quality content for 4 years, whilst working at a variety of VC firms, Molly has built an audience of 6,000 people from the industry.
In this conversation we talked about:
00:59 Sourcery.vc
03:29 Consistency and discipline in content creation
05:41 Networking and building connections through content
12:16 Molly's personal background and journey into venture capital
18:18 Taking a multi-disciplinary to life
20:06 Whats the difference between those who are active in online communities and those who aren't?
23:24 Being a pirate
27:31 The hidden challenges of a 9-5
29:56 Alcohol
31:17 Go outside
35:42 Standing out in the age of AI
45:43 Content Advertising
55:56 Where does Molly get her information?
57:08 Morgan Housel Same As Ever
Cyrus is General Partner at rational.fund. He podcasts and writes at rationalvc.com. He is currently working as a Software Engineer at Tesla.
He has co-invested alongside Founders Fund, Jim O'Shaughnessy, YC, a16z, Sam Altman et al. The podcast has reached the top 25 charts on several occasions, and the essays have 3,000+ subscribers.
Previously, Cyrus operated my own indie startups (some failed, 2 sold) or worked in VC-backed startups (and advised several).
Prior to that he was part of a founding team for Silicon Valley Bank in London after university where he managed a $200MM portfolio in his early 20s.
Interests: reading (preferably Lindy), podcasting, writing, polymathy, learning new skills, indie hacking, asymmetric bets, lifestyle design, sovereignty, mentoring ambitious immigrants, barbell training, martial arts, flâneuring the oldest inhabited cities, architecture, hiking, meditating, and Achaemenid history.
Timestamps:
00:29 Cyrus's Background
08:08 Cyrus's Values
12:11 Escaping corporate
13:28 Leveraging code, media & capital
18:35 Self teaching software then joining Tesla
21:03 Making Small Bets
27:51 What is Lindy knowledge and why will it change your life
34:07 Is code or media a better form of leverage?
46:57 The Mayfair music scene
48:59 Should you optimise for work rate or exploration?
01:01:27 Why people should be bored more
01:04:29 Will AI eat software devs?
01:14:04 What it takes to be a top performing CEO / Founder
01:18:03 The problem with 30 under 30 & other status games
01:21:07 Don't build SaaS
01:24:03 How to get people more interested in quality content
01:35:50 The story of David Senra & Chris Williamson
01:40:48 Starting your life's work before having financial runway
01:46:22 Lifestyle design
01:49:40 Do people have a tendency to over prepare?
01:54:06 Is Charlie Munger right to be anti-crypto?
Cyrus Yari:
https://cyrusyari.com/
Ollie Allen Fox:
https://www.weboaf.com/
https://twitter.com/ollieallenfox
Alex Leiman is the Co-Founder of Plug AI. An AI dating app that got 1.5M downloads in 4.5 months thanks to a genius TikTok campaign. It's now making $190k / month and the business is for sale for $3.5M. Alex is 23.
His last business (SexyCakes - a college delivery service) did $700k in revenue whilst he was at college.
My goal with this podcast is to meet a billionaire to find out how they operate. I believe I have just met one, 15 years before his bank account catches up.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:36 How Wingman grew from 0 to 1.2M Downloads in less than 3 months
06:15 Experimenting to find viral content ideas
08:15 How to find content creators to collab with on TikTok
10:21 Does TikTok marketing work for any business?
11:51 Using Superwall to test paywall strategy
15:55 Teaching the art of Rizz
18:13 How to build an iOS app that integrates with AI
20:25 Using custom instructions on ChatGPT
23:20 What will successful entrepreneurs look like in 15 years?
25:53 Why the name change from rizz gpt to wingman
29:14 AGI coming in 5 years?
36:22 Selling $700k worth of pancakes in college
44:47 How hard it is applying for jobs
47:30 Living in america
49:20 What will be a safe career when AI takes over?
56:16 How to find a viral tik tok idea}
Ollie ( https://linktr.ee/ollieallenfox )
Alex ( https://twitter.com/old_man_alex )
Mike Annunziata is the Founding Partner of Also Capital, the Co-Founder of Farther Farms & a board member of Varda Space.
In this episode, Ollie & Mike talk about:
Timestamps:
00:34 Mike's Background
04:16 Varda Space Founding Story
07:14 Storytelling for Founders
09:47 How do VC's find investment opportunities in Deep Tech?
13:56 How to launch a startup?
17:42 Farther Farms origin story
20:04 The steps to grow Farther Farms from Seed to Series B
22:17 Mike's lessons from his early times as an entrepreneur
24:03 Should you stay in a stable career or start a company?
25:21 Mike's approach to deep tech investing
31:32 Having fun and playing to win
33:58 The importance of getting on that flight
36:47 How the best founders lead their teams?
41:44 The biggest challenge of founding Farther Farms
43:42 The importance of aligning leaders with organisational culture
46:44 The difference between a seed stage founder, a growth stage founder & a public company CEO
48:34 How to pick good board members
50:32 How to guide founders as a board member
53:15 Who are board members typically?
54:11 Branding for deep tech companies
57:31 How to attract the best team to your deep tech startup?
59:18 Exciting frontier technologies arriving in the future
01:03:50 The Also Capital Flywheel
01:06:17 What does being a Father teach you about life?
Mike [Twitter]
Yuriy Blokhin is the Founder / CEO of Homecoming, a startup building tools and technologies to support the essential work of coaches and therapists.
Yuriy has consulted a therapy chatbot company for acquisition by Airbnb.
He is a founding member of the Heroic Hearts Project, offering educational, financial & counseling services to veterans with PTSD seeking access to ayahuasca and other psychedelic therapies.
He studied mathematical physics at college before dropping out to start working at Kik as the first employee, which grew to 300m registered users.
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
01:18 Overcoming treatment resistant depression with psychedelics
07:19 What is consciousness?
11:12 What does homecoming do?
14:56 How to find a business idea
17:48 Should you follow your passion?
21:08 Is it possible to plan life?
24:42 Why you need a mentor
29:55 What is your life purpose?
35:09 What does a seed stage CEO do?
39:26 Homecoming go to market strategy
40:39 Finding product market fit
47:05 Does homecoming have a viral loop?
49:16 Adding discovery layers to apps second instead of first
56:05 Is SEO a good marketing strategy?
57:15 How to choose a great board of directors including the co-founder of Substack
01:01:02 The leading driver of burnout in startup Founders
Yuriy:
https://www.homecoming.health/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuriyblokhin/
Ollie:
https://twitter.com/ollieallenfox
Hector Mason is General Partner at Episode 1 Ventures, where he invests in pre-seed and seed stage companies using data driven insights. Often sourcing deals before founders have even left their job.
He supplements his work at Episode 1 as Co-Founder of Focal, a virtual demo day matching top seed companies with the best investors in the world.
As a self proclaimed productivity freak, he has also finds time to be the Co-Host of Riding Unicorns. A podcast focused on venture capital and growth startups where Hector has met many unicorn founders.
We talked about:
00:45 The new gold standard for demo days
04:41 How did you find the idea for Focal?
06:24 How do VC's find competitive advantage in the future?
10:05 Using Data & Tech in VC
18:55 Small teams doing the work of huge teams
22:03 What character traits define unicorn founders?
26:17 How hard do Founders really work?
29:20 Unicorn founders and wellness
30:29 The importance of self intuition
34:22 Hectors lifestyle as a VC, founder & podcast host
41:05 Becoming a Homing Missile to Money
44:45 How Hector became a general partner at 28
48:58 The Power of Curiosity
52:11 Pre-seed investing is a human business
57:03 Your most proud behaviour?
01:00:39 Content Strategy
Hector [Linked In]
Clint Graumann is Founder & CEO of Nuview. He's building the world’s first commercial constellation of LiDAR imaging satellites. The data will help academics, scientists and companies fight climate change. Clint has raised $15m from top investors including MaC Venture Capital, Leonardo DiCaprio and Florida Funders.
Clint is very passionate about the Space industry, he hosts the Space in 60 podcast. If you have ever read Naval Ravikant's 'How To Get Rich Without Getting Lucky' you will notice that Clint embodies lots of the philosophies that Naval talks about.
If you are stuck in life and want to see what someone who has found their passion looks like, this is it.
Timestamps:
01:04 Nuview Mission
06:26 Nuview Data Use Cases
13:17 What do you look for in Venture Capital partners?
15:31 How do you start a space company?
18:09 Getting Investment From Leonardo DiCaprio
20:20 What jobs are there in the Space industry?
23:46 How did you find your passion?
31:28 How to spot the best opportunities
34:23 Seeking deep expertise before starting a deep tech company
35:38 How to start a deep tech company
37:33 Do Sci Fi movies really influence science?
39:36 Will the human race go to space?
41:13 How does the Nuview business model work?
45:00 How to build a satellite
49:47 WEBOAF, a creative agency for deep tech founders. A good idea?
53:17 Should you plan or just get started?
56:19 How to find your passion in your 20s
59:58 Clint's thoughts on self actualisation
01:07:12 How to choose the right women to be your wife
Clint:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/clintgraumann/
Ollie:
https://twitter.com/ollieallenfox
Sa'ad Shah is the the Managing Partner of Noetic Capital, a $150m AUM venture capital firm focused on funding companies providing solutions for the 1.2 billion people diagnosed with mental health conditions.
Portfolio companies include Merlin Mind, Beckley Psytech & Apollo Neuroscience.
Sa'ad has used his experience from his successful finance career in hedge funds and private equity to create a venture capital firm that invests in an area he is deeply passionate about.
Show Notes:
01:25 Noetic Fund Investment Thesis
04:29 Why isn't the mental health epidemic more widely reported?
07:20 The Theme Running Through Noetic Funds Investment Strategy
11:59 The Cultural Causes of the Mental Health Crisis
17:02 The Impact Of Phones On The Circuitry Of The Mind
20:54 Start Ups Tracking Data In The Brain
25:08 Merlin Mind AI For Government, Intelligience & Organisations Where Data Privacy Is Important
29:53 How Sa'ad found his passion?
37:40 Spending 51 years to find the meaning of life
40:17 How do you balance progress with health
47:36 Growing Up In East Berlin
52:37 What does Sa'ad think is the meaning of life?
56:06 The 5 Steps To Starting A VC Fund
01:04:42 Film Financing
01:08:48 The Performance Of Noetic Fund
01:11:42 The Traders Mindset
Sa'ad:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sa-ad-shah-a650441b7/
Ollie:
Anya Culling's marathon PB is 2hr 34min. She set this personal record at Copenhagen marathon wearing an England vest. Anya started running in lockdown and fell in love with the sport taking her marathon time from 4hr 34min to 2hr 36min. This earned her an invitation to represent the England team at the Copenhagen Marathon where she achieved a 2hr 34m marathon.
Timestamps:
03:01 from 4 hour marathon to being selected to run for england
06:38 Building a marathon mindset
11:01 Drinking Alcohol & Running (not at the same time)
12:03 Achieving top 1% performance
14:15 Hanging out with other pro athletes
18:21 Becoming a Lululemon Ambassador
21:14 How to hit a sub 20 5k
24:00 Anya's training plan
28:02 Where does Anya's passion stem from?
30:56 Being selected for England
32:27 Looking after your body
36:10 Qualifying for the Olympics in running
38:07 Doping In Running
Anya:
IG- @a.culling
Ollie:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliverjallman/
https://twitter.com/oafhq
Daniel Tarockoff is a Partner at Vine Ventures where he invests in companies taking a novel approach to conscious health and wellness such as Tripp, Othership & Psygen.
Previously Daniel worked in strategy consulting for 5 years at Strategy&. In this episode he explains the contrast between corporate and startup life and how this related to him finding meaningful work he is passionate about.
Timestamps:
00:43 Intro
01:05 Vine Ventures Mission
02:38 What does Daniel invest in?
03:47 Pushing towards people taking more ownership of their lifes
15:04 Why did Daniel leave his good job i
29:45 Why do people do MBAs?
32:40 The best people daniel met at his MBA
34:01 Alex Lieberman At Uni
36:27 The top 3 things a VC looks for in early stage companies
38:26 The standards expected of startup founders
43:31 Routes into vc
54:30 Howmuch does a vc make?
58:50 Why does Daniel stay in the game if not for money?
01:02:55 The building blocks of a VC fund
Jessica Harrison-Bolton is a Creative Director at IBM. She sees over an IBM team that brings storytelling & experiential telling excellence to big deals ($10M - $100M+). The team has worked on over $1B worth of deals for IBM in the last few years. In 2022, Jess won the IBM Growth Award as nominated by the Managing Director of IBM UK & Ireland for her work on winning 9 figure deals.
Jess's passion lies in coaching & mentoring senior partners to simplify complexity in their messaging, deliver confidently & connect with their audiences. She is also passionate about giving back to Apprentices, Graduates and those earlier in their career & helping them to understand the skills they can nurture to progress further.
Jess has worked for years with C-Level execs across UK, Europe, Asia & the USA. She's worked a range of company sizes from large enterprise customers to local innovators, entrepreneurs & SME's.
Jess:
Ollie:
In this episode we talk about:
00:56 Intro
02:08 The Biggest Deal Jess Has Ever Signed
02:52 What do creative directors actually do?
05:43 Jess's Creative Process
09:05 The Top 5 Questions To Ask In A Sales Presentation
11:02 Jess's Number 1 Rule
12:25 Lessons from Jess's first ever job
17:59 The importance of people skills
21:40 Doing scary things
25:49 The challenge of moving to america
29:24 Overcoming an unexpected divorce
35:44 The power of competitiveness to pull through hard times
45:59 Defining your values to make better life decisions
50:36 How to find out what company culture is really like
John McGlothlin is a former US military paratrooper & author of the book "How to Deal With Damn Near Anything: The Paratrooper's Guide To Life". He is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland where he focuses on building ethical & legal decision-making skills in MBA candidates.
In this episode we talked about the 5 most important character traits taught in the military & John explains how they apply to every day life. We also hear a fascinating range of stories about life serving in Afghanistan & Iraq, considering both the American viewpoint & the viewpoint of the locals. John is an Arabic linguist so it gives him a very unique insight into the local point of view.
John's links:
Ollie's links:
Timestamps:
01:01 The important lessons the military teach you
05:51 Why did you join the military?
08:28 Whats it like in Afghanistan?
13:01 Being an Arabic linguist
17:35 The power of positive framing
21:45 What the military teaches about self awareness
22:30 The problems with being too nice to your friends
25:10 How do you become more self aware?
28:40 Whats it like serving in Iraq?
34:16 Having a well rounded skill set
38:38 The military secret to using your initiative
42:56 A surprise encounter in Baghdad
45:39 Why would anyone join the Taliban?
51:36 Dealing with conflict in the workplace
01:01:34 THE MOST USEFUL CHARACTER TRAIT LEARNT IN THE MILITARY
Dillan DiNardo is the Co-Founder & CEO of Mindstate Design Labs. A company focused on developing the next generation of psychedelic - inspired therapeutics for mental health treatment.
Mindstate Design Labs went through the S21 Y Combinator batch. They then went on to raise $11.5M from top investors including Initialized Capital, Empath Ventures, Naval Ravikant, Max Hodak, Fred Ersham & Gary Tan.
Previously Dillan worked in venture investing and spinouts at UPMC Enterprises, the internal venture arm of UPMC. Prior to UPMC Enterprises I was a transaction-focused consultant, covering the full investment life cycle from angel and seed-stage startup funding rounds to Fortune 500 mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures.
Timestamps
01:37 Podcast Start
02:52 Why are the smartest people in the world investing in Mindstate Desgin Labs?
06:46 The Biggest Medical Problem Faced By Society
08:17 Treating Depression With Psychedelics
11:16 Are Psychedelics A Treatment Or A Cure?
14:54 Does MDMA burn holes in your brain?
16:42 Safely Adminstering Psychedelic Drugs
18:36 Dillan's Journey To Becoming CEO of Mindstate Design Labs
22:39 Building A Psychedelic Company In A Capitalist Society
24:07 The Thinking Behind Starting Mindstate
31:00 Designer Psychedelics
32:52 What Happens When Psychedelics Research Is Powered By AI, Quantum & Neuralink
35:00 The Anti-Addictive Properties of Psychedelic States
38:18 What is consciousness and is AI sentient?
43:50 Psychedelics as a probing tool to better understand the brain
46:50 Mindstate Design Labs Models Could Improve AI Model Architecture
49:58 Learnings from Y Combinator
53:15 Your Aunt's Friend Will Take Psychedelics Mainstream
56:04 Will Psychedelic Companies Be Acquired By Big Pharma?
01:01:54 Sacrifices on the journey to self actualisation
Dillan:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dillandinardo/
https://twitter.com/DillanDiNardo
https://www.mindstate.design/ [ designed & built by my agency, WEBOAF ]
Ollie:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliverjallman/
Stuart Cope is the Co-Founder of Yellow Panther, a digital studio that builds products for some of the world's biggest brands such as Nike, eBay and the Rajasthan Royals. Stuart & his co-founder have 30+ staff & two offices, one in the UK and one in India. We talk about integrating AI into creative endeavours, the Manchester of India & the surprising effect of trusting those around you.
In this conversation we talk about sales, hiring & operations in a fast growing startup.
Timestamps:
00:10 Intro
00:41 What does a creative agency do?
02:28 How did Stu begin Yellow Panther
07:41 Providing a great service to clients
11:53 Being resilient in the creative industry
15:08 Building culture in a team
21:29 Exiting from an agency business
24:17 The importance of risk taking in business
26:27 Working for billionaire Larry Ellison
32:47 How much do entrepreneurs need to sacrifice?
36:00 The surprising outcome of trusting your team
41:32 The benefit of having an office in India
43:08 The Manchester of India
44:29 Using AI in daily work practise
45:22 UI/UX AI Tools
45:59 Will AI take our jobs?
48:41 Services business selling products
52:57 Featured in the Times
56:03 Linked In Stalking Outbound Sales
57:23 VR
01:03:44 The Best Part Of Co-Founding Yellow Panther
01:07:33 Dealing With Self Doubt
Stuart & Yellow Panther:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuart-cope-54392b16/
Ollie:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliverjallman/
Mahyad Ghassemibouyaghchi is the Co-Founder & CEO of SigmaOS. A Y Combinator backed startup that is looking to change how you interact with the internet with their new Mac browser app.
Seven years ago, Mahyad moved to the UK from Iran with nothing. He was rejected from interviews, fired from jobs & built 2 failed startups. Now he is the CEO of one of London's hottest startups. His story is a masterclass in resilience & self belief.
Timestamps:
01:24 Sigma OS Elevator Pitch
03:26 Facing Rejections
06:05 Having a thick skin
08:17 Mahyad's Failed Startups
10:17 Mahyad's Goals
12:04 How did the idea for Sigma OS happen?
17:09 The Subscription Business Model
19:58 Managing ADHD
26:45 Going through Y Combinator
31:43 The Best Piece of Advice From YC
33:36 What is the best feature of Sigma OS?
34:41 The importance of user feedback
40:54 Why are Iranians in London so succesful?
46:46 Raising $4 Million after YC
49:16 Sigma OS Growth
50:13 Will Sigma OS raise more money?
52:02 Mahyad's Personal Life Ambition
54:20 How much did you have to sacrifice to get here?
56:52 Do you drink?
59:23 London Startup Scene
01:02:23 Who are the best startups atm?
01:04:20 Dealing with competition
01:05:59 Staying mission focused
Mahyad:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahyad-ghassemi/
https://twitter.com/MahyadGhassemi
Paul Deuchar is currently the Founder & CEO of UseVerb.com. Paul is a serial entrepreneur who has been recognised in 40 Under 40, Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Young Engineer of the Year, Australian Product Innovation and the Australian Cool Company Awards. His previous companies were in the Robotics & EdTech Industries.
We talked about:
https://www.youtube.com/@ollieallman
This is a truly inspiring story.
Brock McLean played 167 games at the highest level of Australian Rules Football. He's scored winning goals in front of tens of thousands of people, learnt what it takes to perform at an elite level & overcome the difficulties of life after sport.
Brock struggled with mental health, abusing drugs & alcohol culminating in suicide attempts. On his journey to climb out of dark places, Brock has learnt about the fundamental components of happiness & the promise of novel emerging psychedelic medicines.
He is now pursuing a career in the Psychedelic industry to help others who could benefit from the medicine.
Brock's story is incredible & I hope the insights from this podcast can help lots of people.
Resources mentioned in the podcast:
Connect with Brock: Linked In
Connect with Ollie: Linked In, Twitter, WEBOAF
Sam Heward is the Co-Founder of Ultra X. A global ultramarathon series hosting the best Ultra races on the planet. In locations such as Jordan, Sri Lanka, Madeira, Tanzania & Azores as well as many others.
Ultra X: https://ultra-x.co/
Sam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samheward