Episode #37: Bill Gurley's Market Realities, Geo- Arbitrage Investing, The Acquihire Wave

This week on The Learning Corner by Precursor: Reflections from Invest Like the Best’s episode featuring Bill Gurley. From zombie unicorns to misaligned fund incentives, Gurley addresses the long arc of staying private and the system-wide pressures created by illiquidity, consensus strategies, and overcapitalization. We dig into Alex Lazarow’s post on how Chime borrowed elements from international fintech giants like Nubank and Toss and what it means to apply lessons from one market to another. What makes geo-arbitrage work, and why hasn’t live commerce, which has seen major success in China, taken off in the U.S.? Finally, we dive into Tomasz Tunguz’s prediction that acquihires are poised for a resurgence. With seed deal volume spiking post-2021 but Series A slots staying flat, we explore how structural pressure is creating an environment ripe for sub-$20M talent buys, especially in AI.

Speakers

AI Chat

Charles Hudson

Host • 67%

Mia Farnham

Host • 33%

Chapters

0:00	Introduction to the episode and topic of starting companies outside the current trend
0:49	Discussion on Bill Gurley's insights and the state of venture capital
2:10	Investing challenges in high valuation startups
4:10	AI's influence on startup investments
6:18	Attention dynamics for non-AI startups
7:14	Venture capital supply, demand, and future returns
10:20	Alex Lazaro's insights on Chime and geo arbitrage
13:17	Building consumer solutions and Precursor Ventures portfolio examples
15:31	Seed boom, acquihires, and managing non-graduating companies
18:02	Fair pricing and the role of acquihires in venture capital
19:42	Closing remarks

Transcript

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