Josh Wolfe - This is Who You Are Up Against

Long-time listeners will have heard me joke before that this podcast should really be called “this is who are you up against.” I’ve been waiting for the right episode to deploy the joke as a title, and this week we have it.  The joke is meant to convey how incredibly impressive these people are who we get to hear from every week. My guest this week is Josh Wolfe, a founding and managing partner at Lux Capital in New York City. Lux is a venture capital firm, but a highly unique one. They’ve spent more time in hard sciences and interesting nooks and crannies of the market than the typical VC firm. Some of investing is zero sum: my outperformance is someone else’s underperformance. Sometimes, though, investing is positive sum. The combination of capital, ideas, people, drive, and raw energy leads to amazing new things.  I think the best investing and best investors of the future will be more collaborative than competitive. After finishing with Josh, I couldn’t stop thinking “god, do I want to be involved with whatever he’s doing, if only just to learn.”  This conversation made me rethink my joke “this is who are you up against.” Now I won’t think of it as a zero-sum joke, but instead as a reminder: this is the kind of person who is out there. You better find your niche, and still be the absolute best you can within that niche.   Please enjoy this killer conversation with Josh Wolfe. We cover just about everything.  For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast. Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_oshag   Links Referenced Investing in Biofuels or Biofools? Ali Hamed podcast Alex Moazed podcast Andy Rachleff podcast Popplet @wolfejosh   Books Referenced Modern Monopolies: What It Takes to Dominate the 21st Century Economy   World After Capital   Show Notes 2:35 – (First Question) – Lux Capital and the kind of investments they have made over the years  5:42 – The formation of the investment philosophy for Lux  9:52 – Investment philosophy 100-0-100 (ambition, arrogance, intellectual humility)  10:40 – How Josh manages his time and attention 12:53 – Investing in Biofuels or Biofools?  13:29 – Obsession with nuclear  18:28 – Focus on autonomous vehicles  21:02 – How all of these gambles are viewed by Josh’s investors  22:56 – Tattoo technology 24:20 – Ali Hamed podcast  24:36 – How Josh evaluates people when considering early stage investments 24:45 – Alex Moazed podcast 24:49 – Modern Monopolies: What It Takes to Dominate the 21st Century Economy  29:50 – Memorable experience investing in a founder  30:44 – The idea of thesis driven approach to private investment    30:56 – Andy Rachleff podcast   32:38 – Crazy thesis – understanding the emotional needs of our pets  38:03 – Josh’s learning process through these theses 38:34 – Popplet 45:49 – Investors that Josh has learned the most from 47:37 – Josh’s comfort investing outside of his usual asset class 49:03 – @wolfejosh 50:56 – What is the thinking with the short strategy at Lux 52:31 – SpaceX vs Tesla, good business vs bad business 53:42 – How Josh approaches the quality of a business 54:15 – World After Capital 55:16 – How does Josh evaluate competitive advantage 56:45 – Where are we in the venture capital landscape 1:01:42 – How does his outlook on venture capital affect the way Lux is run 1:02:48 – Thoughts on cryptocurrency 1:07:22 – What is the most memorable conversation Josh has ever had 1:09:34 – What is Josh’s objective function in life 1:12:43 – Are there people that Josh disagrees with but deeply respects 1:13:32 – Kindest thing anyone has ever done for Josh  Learn More For more episodes go to InvestorFieldGuide.com/podcast.  Sign up for the book club, where you’ll get a full investor curriculum and then 3-4 suggestions every month at InvestorFieldGuide.com/bookclub Follow Patrick on twitter at @patrick_oshag