VC 101: How Venture Capital Really Works (No Finance Degree Needed)

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🧠 Think venture capital is just for tech bros and finance guys? Think again.
In this Tiger Sisters episode, we break down how venture capital really works — and how you can borrow the frameworks VCs use to make billion-dollar bets (and apply them to your own career, finances, and love life).
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲:
◦ What VCs actually do (explained in plain English)
◦ How investors evaluate startups — and how to evaluate yourself the same way
◦ Why venture capital is a power game, not just a money game
◦ The dark side of VC nobody talks about (and the pressure that comes with it)
◦ 3 frameworks you can steal from investors to level up your own life decisions
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⏰ Timestamps
00:00:00 What even is venture capital?
00:01:14 Case studies from HBS, GSB & real angel deals
00:03:35 Pre-seed to Series E: The VC funding ladder 🪜
00:05:53 Airbnb’s $600K seed round to $100B IPO
00:09:40 How VCs really evaluate startups (3-part framework)
00:13:06 TAM: Total Addressable Market vs. actual market
00:14:29 Why VC is a power game (not just a money game)
00:17:48 Burn book of venture capital 😈
00:19:10 The real pressure that comes with raising VC money
00:21:23 The biggest mistake founders make, according to Stanford
00:26:07 3 ways to apply VC thinking to your own life
00:29:56 “I turned down Harvard Business School” 🤯
00:30:46 Your mini-exercise: Make the bet you’re scared to make

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