The Learning Corner by Precursor

Welcome to the Learning Corner, a weekly Precursor Ventures podcast, where members of the Precursor team walk through their favorite articles and news snippets across the venture ecosystem.

Episode #97: Rob Go of NextView on Seed VC's Existential Crisis

E97 • Oct 1, 2026 • 22 mins

This week on The Learning Corner, Mia and Charles welcome Rob Go, Cofounder and Partner at NextView Ventures, whose writing has been a staple of our reading list since the beginning. We revisit his piece arguing that seed VC is facing a structural crisis rather than a normal down cycle, and the one question he says the whole debate comes down to: classic venture or super compounder? Rob also breaks down the four approaches to early stage venture and how funds drift down the valuation curve without meaning to.

Key Points

The venture market has matured to the point where average execution is no longer enough, and success now requires a clearly chosen strategy rather than drifting between models.
AI infrastructure and power law thinking have become the dominant forces shaping fundraising, capital allocation, and the kinds of companies that can realistically raise follow on rounds.
Seed investors and founders need to recognize earlier when a company is becoming a strong but nontraditional business, because waiting too long to adjust the path can leave both sides with few good options.

A Crisis Moment for Seed VC More Thoughts on the Existential Crisis in Seed: One Question, Two Views of the World The Four Approaches to Early Stage Venture Where Do You Live on the Valuation Curve?

Speakers

Rob Go

Guest • 46%

Mia Farnham

Host • 23%

Charles Hudson

Host • 30%

Chapters

0:00	Introduction: Seed investing in a maturing market, Robko and Nextview
1:40	CVC’s structural crisis, power law, and AI
4:32	Three venture paths: super compounders, classic VC, and alternative models
6:20	Seed investing challenges: higher entry prices and weaker downstream financing
7:20	How funds and LPs choose venture models
9:52	Coexistence of early-stage models and rising execution standards
13:03	Guiding founders on choosing the right path
15:36	Bridges, extensions, and changing fundraising expectations
17:44	Valuation curves: does buying below the median still work?
19:34	Stretching the model vs. sticking to entry-price parameters
20:17	Paying up for outliers vs. finding diamonds in the rough
20:49	Founder characteristics as signals for premium pricing
20:56	Data on 10x probability and entry price correlation
21:07	Wrap-up and thanks

Transcript

Loading transcript...

- / -