{"podcast":{"title":"Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money","slug":"afford-anything-make-smart-money-choices-49454","podcast_index_feed_id":49454,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/PDR2376775771","website_url":"https://affordanything.com/podcast","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/76596ff0-aae1-11ec-9d71-2f600d8e89e7/image/f5c3b856912db26383711530ad533ba2.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Paula Pant | Cumulus Podcast Network","episode_count":781,"summary":"45 million downloads. One question: what does it actually take to build wealth? Each week, Paula Pant brings in economists, investors, business leaders, authors, and researchers to dig into the five pillars of financial freedom — financial psychology, increasing income, investing, real estate, and entrepreneurship. Deep insights rooted in economics and behavioral finance. First-principles thinking. No surface-level tips. to hear new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Get smarter with money. Build wealth.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-25T22:17:46.879756+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/afford-anything-make-smart-money-choices-49454"},"episode":{"title":"The Hidden Math Behind Every Venture Capital Fund, with former Wharton Prof. David Bell","slug":"the-hidden-math-behind-every-venture-capital-fund-with-former-wharton-prof-david-bell","published_at":"2026-07-17T20:58:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/afford-anything-make-smart-money-choices-49454/the-hidden-math-behind-every-venture-capital-fund-with-former-wharton-prof-david-bell","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/afford-anything-make-smart-money-choices-49454","url":"https://affordanything.com/episode733","audio_url":"https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/www.claritaspod.com/measure/traffic.megaphone.fm/WWO2460949448.mp3","summary":"#733: Venture fund managers can collect years of fees before a single dollar comes back to investors — and the bar to hand over your money is lower than you'd think. David Bell spent 20 years as a chaired professor at Wharton before co-founding the venture firm Idea Farm Ventures, where he's backed early-stage brands like Bonobos, Warby Parker, and Jet.com. In this episode, we discuss: How venture funds actually make money, and why nearly every one runs on the same fee formula Why fund managers get paid before they've invested anything Why the bar to invest in risky private deals is lower than you'd think What to ask before trusting any fund manager with your money The one red flag that should make you think twice about an eager fund manager How some investors make an all-or-nothing bet on a single breakout company Why taking outside money can quietly change what a founder is optimizing for Whether you're weighing becoming a fund investor yourself or you're a founder deciding whether outside money is worth what it costs, this episode gives you a clearer read on how the venture world actually works. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS Note: Timestamps may vary slightly depending on dynamic ad placements. (03:41) How venture capital actually works, in three tiers (06:09) The fee formula nearly every venture fund runs on (10:30) Why fund managers get paid before they invest anything (14:19) The surprisingly low bar to invest in risky deals (26:52) What to ask before trusting any fund manager (29:27) How investors make an all-or-nothing bet on one company (34:33) The red flag hiding in an eager fund manager (42:16) What separates a great fund manager from a mediocre one (48:10) How outside money quietly changes what a founder optimizes for (55:47) Why kids today may never remember life before A…","meta_description":"#733: Venture fund managers can collect years of fees before a single dollar comes back to investors — and the bar to hand over your money is lower than y…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3665,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/afford-anything-make-smart-money-choices-49454/episodes/the-hidden-math-behind-every-venture-capital-fund-with-former-wharton-prof-david-bell/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/afford-anything-make-smart-money-choices-49454/the-hidden-math-behind-every-venture-capital-fund-with-former-wharton-prof-david-bell.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}