High Stakes
by Paige Soya
Latest episode
How VCs Think About PR for Startups | Paige Soya & Kate Meissner…
How VCs Think About PR for Startups | Paige Soya & Kate Meissner…
About this podcast
Join seasoned investors and successful start-up founders as they weigh in on topics and trends currently dominating the venture capital space. Each episode brings together a founder and an investor to provoke a deepened understanding of the topic at hand. If you want to learn about how early-stage venture capital investing works, this show is for you.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 78 episodes
- How VCs Think About PR for Startups | Paige Soya & Kate Meissner (Velocity Partners) · 44 min · Season 4 Episode 17In this episode of High Stakes, K Street Capital Managing Partner Paige Soya continues the Venture Capital 101 season with a conversation about public relations (PR) for…
- The 6 Unit Economics VCs Use to Evaluate Startups | Paige Soya, Nick Duafala & K Street Capital · 43 min · Season 4 Episode 16In this episode of High Stakes, K Street Capital Managing Partner Paige Soya and Principal Nick Duafala continue the Venture Capital 101 season with a discussion about unit…
- Zero Churn, 90% Close Rate: The Customer Journey VCs Look For | Paige Soya & Mike Desai (CEO, Truentity Health) · 35 min · Season 4 Episode 15In this episode of High Stakes, K Street Capital Managing Partner Paige Soya continues the Venture Capital 101 season with a conversation about the user journey: how products get…
- How VCs Actually Think About Startup Valuations? | Paige Soya, Nick Duafala & K Street Capital · 39 min · Season 4 Episode 14What actually determines what a startup is worth? In this episode of High Stakes, K Street Capital’s Paige Soya and Nick Duafala are joined by investment team members Joseph and…
- What Makes a Business VC-Backable? | Paige Soya, Nick Duafala, & Jon Sherry (Alium, Ex-CB Insights) · 49 min · Season 4 Episode 13What makes a business venture-backable? In this episode of High Stakes, K Street Capital’s Paige Soya and Nick Duafala sit down with Jonathan Sherry, founder and CEO of Alium and…
- Learn the Lingo VCs Actually Use | Paige Soya, Nick Duafala, & K Street Capital · 42 min · Season 4 Episode 12For years, founders and investors have used terms like “fintech,” “SaaS,” and “platform” without always having a shared definition. But as venture firms rely more heavily on data…
- Go-to-Market Is the Moat | Paige Soya, Nick Duafala, and Mark Schacknies (NFTYDoor) · 46 min · Season 4 Episode 11What actually creates a competitive moat? For years, founders believed the answer was simple: build a better product. Today, venture investors increasingly believe the answer is…
- How VCs Structure Venture Deals | Paige Soya, Nick Duafala & Scott Stern (Partner, Origin Ventures) · 52 min · Season 4 Episode 10Not all venture deals are created equal, and understanding the fine print can make a significant difference for founders. In this episode of High Stakes, K Street Capital's Paige…
- How VCs Evaluate Pre-Revenue Startups | Paige Soya, Nick Duafala & Charles Hudson (Precursor Ventures) · 35 min · Season 4 Episode 9What makes a pre-revenue startup worth investing in? Before there's revenue, traction, or a long list of customers, venture investors have to make decisions with limited data. So…
- Venture Liquidity, Secondaries & How VCs Exit | Paige Soya, Nick Duafala & Andrew (Principal at Savano Capital) · 36 min · Season 4 Episode 8How do venture capital firms actually exit their investments when startups are staying private longer than ever before? On this episode of High Stakes, hosts Paige Soya and Nick…
- VC Deal Timelines & Due Diligence | Paige Soya, Nick Duafala & Matt Bressler (Lookout Ventures & Fmr TDF Ventures) · 37 min · Season 4 Episode 7How long does it actually take to raise venture capital? In this episode of High Stakes, Paige Soya and Nick Duafala sit down with Matt Bressler, Co-Founder and General Partner…
- Power Dynamics in VC | Paige Soya, Nick Duafala, Haley Bryant (Hustle Fund), & Ann Marie Guzzi (Dalmatian Ops, Angel Investor & Agora Initiative) · 52 min · Season 4 Episode 6In this episode of High Stakes, K Street Capital’s Paige Soya and co-host Nick Duafala sit down with Haley Bryant, Partner at Hustle Fund, and Ann Marie Guzzi, angel investor…
- How VCs Evaluate Founding Teams | Paige Soya, Nick Duafala, & Neil Shah (CEO, ThinkNimble) · 42 min · Season 4 Episode 5Most people assume VCs are evaluating traction, revenue, or the pitch deck first. Those things matter — but often, the real signal is something harder to quantify: how a founder…
- Angel Investors vs. VCs | Paige Soya & Dadi Akhavan (Startup-to-IPO Founder) · 40 min · Season 4 Episode 4In this episode of High Stakes, Paige Soya sits down with Dadi Akhavan, a startup-to-IPO founder and angel investor, to break down one of the most important dynamics in…
- How VCs Source Deals | Paige Soya, Nick Duafala & Taylor Margot (Partner, Lytical Ventures) · 50 min · Season 4 Episode 3How do venture capitalists actually find deals and how can founders break into those conversations? In this episode of High Stakes, Paige Soya and Nick Duafala are joined by…
- Not All Capital Is Created Equal: Venture Capital vs. Other Funding | Paige Soya & Jill Ralph (Former Chemonics Capital and Motley Fool) · 32 min · Season 4 Episode 2Venture capital is one of the most misunderstood asset classes in investing and one of the most powerful when approached correctly. In this episode of High Stakes, K Street…
- An Introduction to Venture Capital: Meet your hosts | Paige Soya & Nick Duafala at K Street Capital: Season 4 of High Stakes · 36 min · Season 4 Episode 1Welcome to Season 4 of High Stakes and this season we’re starting with the fundamentals. In Venture Capital 101, K Street Capital Managing Partner Paige Soya and Principal Nick…
- Unlocking Women Investing in VC with Julie Castro Abrams · 47 min · Season 3 Episode 20In this episode of High Stakes, host Paige Soya, Managing Partner at K Street Capital, sits down with Julie Castro Abrams, GP and Founder of How Women Invest, for a candid look…
- What VCs and Angel Investors are seeing from Y-Combinator in 2025 · 48 min · Season 3 Episode 19In this episode of High Stakes, K Street Capital Managing Partner, Paige Soya, sits down with Gabriel Jarrosson, Managing Partner at Lobster Capital, to unpack how Y Combinator’s…
- How Early Funding Rounds a Shape Startup's Future · 38 min · Season 3 Episode 18The High-Stakes Decisions Behind Early Fundraising: When to Raise, Who to Raise From, and How Much Equity to Give Up In this episode of High Stakes, host Paige Soya sits down…
