David Weisburd had a chance to witness live the conversation between Jack Kokko, Founder & CEO of AlphaSense, and Lloyd Blankfein, former Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, during AlphaSummit 2025 in New York City.
In this wide-ranging discussion, Jack draws out Lloyd’s reflections on his early years in Brooklyn, his path to leading Goldman Sachs, and the lessons learned from steering the firm through periods of volatility and transformation. Together they explore how leadership, risk, and technology continue to shape Wall Street—and what it takes to stay adaptable in an ever-changing world.
--------
36:22
--------
36:22
E230: What Great VCs Actually Do for Founders
How do you invest when it’s “too early for data”—but just right for conviction?
In this episode, I speak with Vivek Ladsariya, Managing Director at Pioneer Square Labs (PSL), about what it really takes to back founders before traction, before funding rounds, and sometimes even before incorporation.
Vivek shares how he partners with founders as a thought partner instead of a coach, why iteration trumps ideas, and how efficiency and automation have rewritten what it means to earn a Series A today. From early-stage pattern recognition to AI-driven productivity and new definitions of founder resilience, this conversation is a masterclass in what “being early” actually means in 2025
--------
57:28
--------
57:28
E229: Inside Industry Ventures: The $8 Billion Firm Backing 650 Venture Funds
How does an $8B venture platform turn a 650-fund network into a repeatable co-investing edge?
In this episode, Jonathan Roosevelt, Managing Director at Industry Ventures, explains how the firm evolved from a pioneer in venture secondaries into a platform combining secondaries, co-investments (directs), fund-of-funds, and tech buyout—with AUM “a little over $8B” and 25+ years in market. We break down why Series A/B/C co-investing requires a different lens than seed, how believability guides which GPs get a “stamp” for later-stage deals, and why customer calls are ground truth when underwriting mid-stage businesses. Jonathan also shares how asymmetric information and inflection points create true co-invest alpha—and when to ignore comps for N-of-1 companies.
--------
40:59
--------
40:59
E229: Inside Industry Ventures: The $8 Billion Firm Backing 650 Venture Funds
How does an $8B venture platform turn a 650-fund network into a repeatable co-investing edge?
In this episode, Jonathan Roosevelt, Managing Director at Industry Ventures, explains how the firm evolved from a pioneer in venture secondaries into a platform combining secondaries, co-investments (directs), fund-of-funds, and tech buyout—with AUM “a little over $8B” and 25+ years in market. We break down why Series A/B/C co-investing requires a different lens than seed, how believability guides which GPs get a “stamp” for later-stage deals, and why customer calls are ground truth when underwriting mid-stage businesses. Jonathan also shares how asymmetric information and inflection points create true co-invest alpha—and when to ignore comps for N-of-1 companies.
--------
41:30
--------
41:30
E228: Balaji Srinivasan: “The Dollar Is Already Dead” and What Comes Next
What if the U.S. dollar’s dominance has already ended—and we’re just living through the lag?
In this episode, I sit down with Balaji Srinivasan, one of the most original thinkers in technology and finance, to unpack his boldest prediction yet: the death of the dollar and the rise of a digital, decentralized global economy.
Balaji explains how inflation, weaponized finance, and technological sovereignty are accelerating a massive shift away from traditional monetary systems—and why crypto, AI, and network states could define the next reserve paradigm.
We go deep into why he believes the internet will replace the nation-state, how founders can build parallel institutions from scratch, and why opting out—not lobbying—is the only path forward.
This is not a doomsday take. It’s a blueprint for builders who believe the future is already here.
How I Invest with David Weisburd is a podcast that interviews the world's leading institutional investors. Previous guests include The Ford Foundation, Northwestern University Endowment, CalPERS, Stepstone, and other top limited partners.
USA