VC10X - Investing, Venture Capital, Asset Management, Family Office, Wealth Management

David Hornik is the Founding Partner of Lobby Capital, an early-stage venture firm built on concentrated, conviction-driven investing. Before founding Lobby, he spent 20 years as a General Partner at August Capital, where he was the earliest investor in Splunk and backed companies like WePay, Bill.com, and Fastly.

⭐ Sponsored by Podcast10x - Podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.com

In this episode we cover:

→ Why three out of four VC firms couldn't raise a fund last year — and why Lobby Capital did
→ 2000 vs. today: the one structural difference that makes this AI cycle harder to navigate
→ Dancing among giants — what it takes for startups to survive next to Google, Meta, and Microsoft
→ The two deals that got away: LinkedIn, Uber, and the lessons that came out of missing them
→ Why Lobby Capital passed on Airbnb's Series A — and has never used a formal voting system since
→ Splunk and big data — betting on a problem nobody else was talking about in 2004
→ The exit landscape: mega IPOs, a record M&A market, and why liquidity may not reach everyone

Links:

Lobby Capital: https://lobby.vc
Connect with David on X: davidhornik
Connect with Prashant: https://linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab
Subscribe to VC10X newsletter - https://vc10x.beehiiv.com
Subscribe on YouTube - https://youtube.com/@VC10X
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/vc10x-investing-venture-capital-asset-management-private/id1632806986
Subscribe on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7F7KEhXNhTx1bKTBFgzv3k?si=WgQ4ozMiQJ-6nowj6wBgqQ
VC10X website - https://vc10x.com

Timestamps:(00:00) - Preview

(00:48) - Guest Introduction: David Hornik, Founding Partner at Lobby Capital

(02:32) - Fundraising for Lobby Fund Two in a Tough LP Market

(03:57) - Key Learnings from Fundraising: Fund One vs. Fund Two

(05:45) - Comparing the Current Market to the 2000 Dot-Com Bubble

(09:15) - The Current Sentiment-Driven Correction in AI Markets

(10:27) - On Irrational Valuations and the "SaaS-pocalypse"

(13:05) - Strategies for Startups: Finding a Proprietary Position

(15:17) - Why Lobby Capital Avoids Late-Stage Special Opportunity Funds

(16:45) - Learning from Passing on LinkedIn and Uber

(21:23) - The Importance of Being Valuation Sensitive

(24:15) - Backing Unconventional Founders and the Airbnb Miss

(27:41) - The Splunk Investment: Solving a Real, Unseen Problem

(30:16) - Lobby Capital's Conviction-Driven Model Without Formal Voting

(32:45) - Building Psychological Safety with Founders Remotely

(35:30) - The Current Exit Landscape: A Tale of Two Cities

(39:03) - The Playbook for Supporting an Overwhelmed Founder

(42:02) - Contrarian Take: The Real Opportunity is in Empowering Humans

(43:45) - Rapid Fire Round Begins

(43:58) - Investment Focus: Great People Solving Problems with Software

(44:28) - Typical Investment Stage: First Professional Money In

(44:45) - Why Lobby Capital Always Leads Rounds

(45:42) - Typical Initial Check Size

(46:08) - How Founders Can Get in Touch

(46:32) - Where to Follow David and a Tribute to Om Malik

Reports that Meta is selling excess AI compute sparked an important question across the investment community:

Is this the first sign that AI demand is slowing?

Or is the market reading too much into a normal part of operating hyperscale infrastructure?

In this episode, we separate headlines from fundamentals and examine what Meta's move could actually mean for the broader AI investment thesis.

⭐ Sponsored by Podcast10x - Podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.com

Key topics we explore:

– Why Meta may be selling excess compute capacity
– Does this signal weakening AI demand or simply better capital allocation?
– How hyperscalers think about infrastructure utilization
– What this means for Nvidia, Micron, and the broader AI supply chain
– Why compute utilization is becoming just as important as compute capacity
– The key indicators investors should monitor to assess the health of the AI buildout

The bigger question:

Is Meta's decision an early warning sign for the AI infrastructure boom, or evidence that the industry is entering a more mature phase where optimizing compute matters as much as building it?

For investors, understanding the difference between excess capacity and weakening demand is critical to evaluating the next phase of the AI race.

LINKS

Prashant Choubey - ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab⁠

Subscribe to VC10X newsletter - ⁠https://vc10x.beehiiv.com⁠

Subscribe on YouTube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@VC10X⁠

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts - ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/vc10x-investing-venture-capital-asset-management-private/id1632806986⁠

Subscribe on Spotify - ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/7F7KEhXNhTx1bKTBFgzv3k?si=WgQ4ozMiQJ-6nowj6wBgqQ⁠

VC10X website - ⁠https://vc10x.com⁠

For sponsorship queries reach out to prashantchoubey3@gmail.com

This channel is for asset managers, allocators, and investors who want analysis that holds up — not headlines dressed as insight.

Subscribe for weekly data-driven breakdowns of the forces reshaping capital markets.

#Meta #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Datacenter #Nvidia #Micron #Semiconductors #CloudComputing #Investing #Stocks #TechStocks #VC10X #Infrastructure #CapitalMarkets #Finance #VentureCapital #WallStreet #BigTech

What does it take to back a technical founder before there's a product, a customer, or a dollar of revenue?

Ashmeet Sidana has been doing exactly that — and he's been oversubscribed on every fund he's ever raised.

Ashmeet is the Founder and Managing Partner of Engineering Capital, a seed-stage venture fund he runs as a solo GP in the Bay Area. A Stanford-trained engineer and former product leader at VMware, he brings one of the sharpest technical lenses in early-stage venture.

⭐ Sponsored by Podcast10x - Podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.com

In this episode we cover:

→ Why software still holds 63,000x more opportunity than hardware
→ Data as the new asbestos — and the AI slop contamination loop
→ Data sovereignty and the rise of isolated global cloud regions
→ Big tech's structural blind spots and the Gandhi model for startups
→ Backing technical founders at day zero, before product or revenue
→ Why running a fund alone is a structural advantage, not a risk
→ The VMware lesson every AI infrastructure founder needs to hear

Links:

Engineering Capital: engineeringcapital.com

Connect with Ashmeet on X: ashmeetsidana

Connect with Prashant: https://linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab

Subscribe to VC10X newsletter - ⁠https://vc10x.beehiiv.com⁠

Subscribe on YouTube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@VC10X ⁠

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts - ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/vc10x-investing-venture-capital-asset-management-private/id1632806986⁠

Subscribe on Spotify - ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/7F7KEhXNhTx1bKTBFgzv3k?si=WgQ4ozMiQJ-6nowj6wBgqQ⁠

VC10X website - ⁠https://vc10x.com

Timestamps:

(00:00) - Preview

(01:22) - Introduction to Guest Ashmeet Sidana & Episode Overview

(03:00) - The Interconnect Layer Bottleneck in LLM Training

(04:52) - Physical Limitations: From Silicon Availability to Megawatt Capacity

(06:01) - Powering Data Centers: Consistent vs. Intermittent Energy Sources

(08:21) - The Case for Software: Unlocking 63,000x Performance Gains

(11:12) - Data Sovereignty and the Rise of Independent Cloud Regions

(13:19) - How Engineering Architectures Must Evolve to Handle "AI Slop"

(16:57) - Can AI Be Used to Detect AI-Generated Slop?

(18:26) - What Happens When a New AI Architecture Replaces the Transformer?

(20:19) - Startup Opportunities Arising from the Legacy CPU Stack

(21:48) - How Startups Can Compete with Big Tech's Infinite CapEx

(25:34) - Identifying Big Tech's Structural Blind Spots in the AI Cycle

(28:22) - Early Signals of Commercial Instinct in Technical Founders

(29:47) - How to Pressure Test a Founder's "Technical Insight" at Day Zero

(31:45) - The Solo GP Advantage: Turning Key Man Risk into Structural Alignment

(34:51) - Transitioning from an Operator to a Venture Capitalist

(36:34) - Managing the Workload as a Solo GP

(39:30) - Why AI Startups Struggle to Find a Specific Niche like VMware's Server Consolidation

(41:17) - Rapid-Fire Round: Investment Thesis

(42:40) - Rapid-Fire Round: How Founders Can Get in Touch

(43:05) - Rapid-Fire Round: Where to Follow Ashmeet Sidana

Micron just delivered one of the most important earnings reports of the AI era.

The company reported record fiscal Q3 results and issued a blowout forecast for the next quarter, sending the stock sharply higher.

But the real story wasn't the earnings beat.

It was management's commentary that memory shortages could persist beyond 2027 as AI demand continues to outstrip supply.

In this episode, we break down what Micron's latest earnings tell us about the broader AI infrastructure buildout — and why the implications extend far beyond a single semiconductor company.

⭐ Sponsored by Podcast10x - Podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.com

Key topics we explore:

– Why Micron's results are a critical signal for the entire AI ecosystem
– How memory has become one of the biggest bottlenecks in AI infrastructure
– Why HBM demand is exploding alongside AI training and inference
– What persistent memory shortages could mean for the industry
– Why the AI investment theme may be broader than just Nvidia
– Whether current margins and valuations are sustainable
– The biggest risks investors should be watching

The bigger question:

Are Micron's results evidence that AI is entering a multi-year infrastructure supercycle?

Or are investors extrapolating today's shortages and demand too far into the future?

For investors, Micron's earnings may be one of the clearest indicators yet of how strong underlying AI demand remains — and where the next opportunities in the AI stack may emerge.

LINKS

Prashant Choubey - ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab⁠

Subscribe to VC10X newsletter - ⁠https://vc10x.beehiiv.com⁠

Subscribe on YouTube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@VC10X⁠

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts - ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/vc10x-investing-venture-capital-asset-management-private/id1632806986⁠

Subscribe on Spotify - ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/7F7KEhXNhTx1bKTBFgzv3k?si=WgQ4ozMiQJ-6nowj6wBgqQ⁠

VC10X website - ⁠https://vc10x.com⁠

For sponsorship queries reach out to prashantchoubey3@gmail.com

This channel is for asset managers, allocators, and investors who want analysis that holds up — not headlines dressed as insight.

Subscribe for weekly data-driven breakdowns of the forces reshaping capital markets.

#Micron #MU #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Semiconductors #Nvidia #HBM #Datacenter #Investing #Stocks #TechStocks #VC10X #OpenAI #Anthropic #Google #Microsoft #WallStreet #Finance #VentureCapital #Markets

What does managing $600 billion teach you about risk that most investors never learn?

Jeffrey Blazek, Co-CIO of Multi-Asset at Neuberger Berman, joins Prashant on VC10X to challenge the assumptions that have quietly shaped — and quietly undermined — institutional portfolios for a generation.

From the macro shift that is more permanently broken than rates or geopolitics, to the asset class generating 10 to 15 percent returns with zero correlation to equities, to whether AI is the internet bubble all over again — this is one of the most substantive allocator conversations we have had on the show.

⭐ Sponsored by Podcast10x - Podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.com

In this episode:

— Why deglobalization is the one macro assumption that will not reverse
— The difference between short-term volatility risk and the purchasing power risk that actually destroys portfolios
— Why bonds have failed as a diversifier and what replaces them
— Catastrophe bonds: the non-consensus case for an asset class most institutions will not touch
— The $1B to $10B institutional sweet spot and why scale is not always an advantage
— AI investment: real conviction, real concentration risk, and the winner-take-most bear case
— What the private markets miscalibration of the last decade means for LP portfolios today
— The off-script manager due diligence technique that separates process from performance
— Career risk as the hidden driver of institutional conservatism
— Where rates are headed and why the old fixed income playbook is gone

Jeffrey Blazek is Co-CIO of Multi-Asset at Neuberger Berman, a $600B global asset management firm with over 700 investment professionals across 30+ offices worldwide.

Links:

Neuberger - https://www.nb.com/

Jeffrey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-blazek-cfa-a0a57212

Connect with Prashant: https://linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab

Subscribe to VC10X newsletter - ⁠https://vc10x.beehiiv.com⁠

Subscribe on YouTube - ⁠https://youtube.com/@VC10X ⁠

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts - ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/vc10x-investing-venture-capital-asset-management-private/id1632806986⁠

Subscribe on Spotify - ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/7F7KEhXNhTx1bKTBFgzv3k?si=WgQ4ozMiQJ-6nowj6wBgqQ⁠

VC10X website - ⁠https://vc10x.com

Timestamps:

(00:00) - Preview

(01:39) - Introduction to Jeffrey Blazek

(03:16) - Which Macro Assumptions Are Permanently Broken Today?

(05:03) - Key Drivers of Long-Term Returns Most Investors Underestimate

(06:24) - Coaching Clients to Embrace Appropriate Equity Exposure

(07:55) - What Real Diversification Looks Like in Practice

(09:51) - How Portfolio Construction Changes as Institutions Scale

(11:55) - Should Investors Change Their Approach to Equity Markets Now?

(13:31) - Evaluating a New Asset Class for Permanent Allocation

(15:16) - AI: A Genuine Secular Shift or a Narrative-Driven Boom?

(17:26) - The Bear Case for AI: Commoditization and Concentration Risk

(19:30) - Uncovering a Non-Consensus Asset Class: Catastrophe Bonds

(21:09) - Common Mistakes LPs Make in Private Market Allocations

(22:58) - The Key to Effective Investment Manager Selection

(24:25) - Analyzing Past Portfolio Mistakes: Errors of Analysis vs. Behavior

(26:24) - The Gap Between Institutional Goals and Portfolio Realities

(27:38) - What Drives Over-Conservatism in Institutional Investing?

(29:15) - How Investment Needs Differ Across Institutions (Hospitals vs. Endowments)

(31:38) - Advising Family Capital: Avoiding Common Mistakes

(33:43) - Career Lessons Learned from Navigating Market Crises

(36:01) - The Most Misunderstood Risk of the 2020s

(37:22) - Is the AI Boom a Repeat of the Dot-Com Bubble?

(38:15) - The Three Most Important Bets for the Next Decade

(40:00) - Outlook on the Future Interest Rate Environment

(41:19) - Where to Find Jeffrey Blazek and Neuberger Berman