Origins S3-E2: Andy Weissman — Union Square Ventures on the “New New Thing”
On this episode of Origins, we sit down with Andy Weissman, a managing partner at Union Square Ventures. This was plain and simple one of the best episodes we’ve ever recorded. Andy’s one of the most thoughtful and admired VCs in the industry, and it’s obvious why after listening to this conversation.
We cover a lot in this episode — including Andy’s experience working in the early days at AOL and how that informed the creation of betaworks, where he was a co-founder. We discuss what it was like joining Fred, Brad, and Albert as the fourth partner at USV, and subsequently becoming a managing partner at the firm a few years later alongside Albert.
What we found most interesting about the conversation was Andy’s description of his perpetual search for the “New New Thing,” a term made popular by the Michael Lewis book under the same name. Given the incredibly competitive venture landscape today, Andy argues it’s no longer enough to be looking to invest in the latest hot trend, but to do venture the right way, one most look further out on the horizon to find the thing no one else is yet looking for. This is maybe the most challenging part of doing VC well, but also the most fun and rewarding. Andy provides some hints at a roadmap, so we hope you’ll listen and find it useful.
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— Nick + Alex
