Motion ≠ Movement: Why Venture Has Lost Its Mind
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Episode Summary
In this episode, Earnest Sweat and Santosh Sankar unpack the tension between urgency and momentum in venture capital, contrasting real movement with superficial motion in a market where capital and attention are heavily concentrated in a narrow set of AI deals and mega funds. They discuss the erosion of intellectual honesty, the dangers of consensus thinking, and how kingmaking dynamics and low seed-to-Series A graduation rates are reshaping the landscape for founders, emerging managers, and established firms alike. They also explore the history and “eras” of venture, the pendulum between concentration and unbundling, and why conviction, independent thinking, and craft still matter in an increasingly irrational, growth-obsessed environment—framing the podcast as a candid, open exploration of how to practice better venture in public.
Show Notes
Topics in this conversation include:
- Urgency vs Momentum in Venture Investing (0:11)
- Introspection vs Action Two by Two Matrix (4:01)
- Series B Market Example and Lack of Rationality (5:45)
- Intellectual Honesty and Independent Thinking for VCs (7:08)
- Why Start this Podcast and What Makes it Different (10:38)
- Need for Candor and Calling Out Bubble Dynamics (12:39)
- Technology Shift Compared to Cloud, Mobile, and PCs (18:24)
- Venture Equals Growth and Rise of Mega Funds (22:08)
- AI Funding Concentration Across Deals (24:29)
- Angellist Fund Benchmarks and LP Composition Surprise (26:00)
- Implications for Emerging Managers Always Fundraising (28:55)
- Craft of Venture vs Using Capital as an Advantage (31:08)
- Seed Managers’ Existential Questions if Mega Funds Move Downstream (35:09)
- Venture Eras, Unbundling, and Rebundling of Firms (39:01)
- Funds Over $500M Capturing Most New Capital (43:31)
- Anticipating Ecosystem Gaps vs Reacting to Lagging Indicators (45:51)
- What if This Time Is Different and Mega IPO Validation (51:03)
- Holding VCs to the Same Bar as Founders on Learning and Resilience (56:19)
Venture has plenty of content. What it lacks is candor and curiosity about the craft. Hosted by Earnest Sweat and Santosh Sankar, Carry On is focused on what building a firm actually looks like, not the highlight reel. Each episode breaks down the X’s and O’s of venture capital, traded openly between two GPs and a small circle of friends who live this work. From first funds to franchise firms, specialists to generalists. Learn more and subscribe at www.carryonpodcast.com.
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Your Hosts
Earnest Sweat
Venture Capital Advisor & Emerging Fund Manager
Santosh Sankar
Managing Partner, Dynamo Ventures
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