{"podcast":{"title":"Venture Unlocked: The playbook for venture capital managers","slug":"venture-unlocked-the-playbook-for-venture-capital-managers-2990261","podcast_index_feed_id":2990261,"rss_url":"https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/73172.rss","website_url":"https://ventureunlocked.substack.com/podcast","image_url":"https://substackcdn.com/feed/podcast/73172/f198d8343a19d4654fb4c4b0f92c9a4d.jpg","author":"Samir Kaji","episode_count":159,"summary":"Venture Unlocked offers unique insider insights into venture capital through our Podcast and writings.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-05T00:20:47.002881+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/venture-unlocked-the-playbook-for-venture-capital-managers-2990261"},"episode":{"title":"TX Zhuo’s of Fika Ventures on raising a Fund I, evolving decision making frameworks, and what founder first means to them","slug":"tx-zhuo-s-of-fika-ventures-on-raising-a-fund-i-evolving-decision-making-frameworks-and-what-founder-first-means-to-them","published_at":"2024-06-27T15:57:30+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/venture-unlocked-the-playbook-for-venture-capital-managers-2990261/tx-zhuo-s-of-fika-ventures-on-raising-a-fund-i-evolving-decision-making-frameworks-and-what-founder-first-means-to-them","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/venture-unlocked-the-playbook-for-venture-capital-managers-2990261","url":"https://ventureunlocked.substack.com/p/tx-zhuos-of-fika-ventures-on-raising","audio_url":"https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/146047531/363ce2e506f0c290309ea5e04f80cdd0.mp3","summary":"Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape. We're joined by TX Zhuo , Co-Founder and General Partner of Fika Ventures . His tech career began in college when he started an online textbook marketplace. After working at McKinsey and as a CFO at an operating company, TX joined Innovation Endeavors. He then co-founded Karlin Ventures, which was backed by a single family office. In 2016, he co-founded Fika Ventures, which now has a 10-person team and has raised three funds. During the pod, we discussed the culture needed to run a successful VC firm, how they've thought about innovation, LP fundraising as a first-time fund, and how they think about valuation methodology. About TX Zhuo: TX Zhuo is a General Partner at Fika Ventures, a boutique seed fund in Los Angeles investing in data, AI, and automation technologies. He co-founded Fika Ventures in August 2016 and has been dedicated to solving systemic problems through innovative platforms ever since. Prior to this, he was the Managing Partner at Karlin Ventures from 2012 to 2016, focusing on early-stage investments in various sectors including education technology, digital media, and healthcare. Before Karlin Ventures, TX worked at Innovation Endeavors from October 2010 to May 2012, managing deal screening and outreach initiatives. He also served as the CFO of Lit Motors, an electric vehicle startup, after his tenure at McKinsey & Company from August 2008 to August 2010, where he contributed to financial services and consumer goods projects. TX's entrepreneurial journey began in college when he founded and successfully sold an online textbook marketplace, EMT Alliance, which had significant sales and a cost-efficient distribution center in India. H…","meta_description":"Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape. We're joined by TX Zhuo , Co-Foun…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2488,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/venture-unlocked-the-playbook-for-venture-capital-managers-2990261/episodes/tx-zhuo-s-of-fika-ventures-on-raising-a-fund-i-evolving-decision-making-frameworks-and-what-founder-first-means-to-them/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/venture-unlocked-the-playbook-for-venture-capital-managers-2990261/tx-zhuo-s-of-fika-ventures-on-raising-a-fund-i-evolving-decision-making-frameworks-and-what-founder-first-means-to-them.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}