# Podcast with Paige Craig of Outlander VC: People Over Plans

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/tacos-and-tech-podcast-534768/podcast-with-paige-craig-of-outlander-vc-people-over-plans
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/tacos-and-tech-podcast-534768/podcast-with-paige-craig-of-outlander-vc-people-over-plans.md
Podcast: [Tacos and Tech Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/tacos-and-tech-podcast-534768)
Published: 2026-04-28T17:55:03+00:00
Episode link: https://risingtidepartners.substack.com/p/podcast-with-paige-craig-of-outlander
Audio file: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/192889104/df279b8995cb5e0936801294be161965.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/tacos-and-tech-podcast-534768/episodes/podcast-with-paige-craig-of-outlander-vc-people-over-plans
Duration seconds: 2096

## Resource

Neal sits down with Paige Craig, Founder and Managing Partner at Outlander VC, the first-check fund that backs founders as early as humanly possible. Paige shares how growing up homeless, bootstrapping a defense tech company during the Iraq War, and years of studying what makes founders tick led him to build a 38-point framework for picking people - not plans. They cover physical AI, manufacturing, defense tech, and why first-time founders still get his first call. And yes, there are duck carnitas involved. Key Topics * Outlander’s first-check model: investing before product or metrics exist * The 38-point founder framework: vision, intelligence, character, execution * Why first-time founders often outperform repeat founders on a risk-adjusted basis * Bootstrapping a defense tech company in 2003 - driving into Iraq to win contracts * Physical AI as a 20-year defining theme * Manufacturing and industrial automation as the next frontier * The coming dislocation of creative talent from AI * Defense tech investment beyond the hype cycle Links & Resources * Outlander * Scale AI * Brad Feld Connect on LinkedIn * Paige Craig This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit risingtidepartners.substack.com/subscribe

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## Transcript

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