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Artwork for Beginner's Mind

Beginner's Mind

Christian Soschner
Venture Capital
Europe
Entrepreneurship
Artificial Intelligence
United States
Silicon Valley
Nuclear Energy
Eleva Biologics
Precision Oncology
Secondaries
Unity
European Investment Bank
Pattern Breakers
Leadership
Climate Change
Last Energy
Biotechnology
Teams and Judgment
One Clear Goal
Discipline

Blueprints for Builders and Investors

Hosted by Christian Soschner

From pre-seed to post-IPO, every company—especially in deep tech, biotech, AI, and climate tech—lives or dies by the frameworks it follows.

On Beginner’s Mind, Christian Soschner uncovers the leadership principles behind the world’s most impactful companies—through deep-dive interviews, strategic book reviews, and patterns drawn ... more

PublishesTwice monthlyEpisodes231Founded7 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
EntrepreneurshipBusinessInvesting

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Artwork for Beginner's Mind

Latest Episodes

Invest in the wrong startup and you lose one times your money. Miss the next Google and you lose ten thousand times. Most boards are built to avoid the first mistake.

Venture capitalists play by different rules. They back the team before the market,... more

The trait a Silicon Valley AI investor rewards most in a management team has a name almost nobody uses: XQ.

IQ brings the idea and EQ reads the people across the table. The execution quotient shows in something as small as how fast a team follows up... more

YouTube

In 2017 another investor told Ivy Nguyen that artificial intelligence was too small a niche to dedicate a fund to.

More than ten thousand AI pitches later, every pitch deck says AI. Single funding rounds have grown larger than entire venture funds, ... more

YouTube

A seed investor at Novo Holdings would rather read your rough idea than your finished pitch deck.

Most founders spend a year building the deck, forming the team and waiting until the story holds together. By the time it is ready the science has move... more

YouTube

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Recent Guests

Ivy Nguyen
Partner at GFT Ventures who has backed AI companies since 2017
GFT Ventures
Episode: EP 185: Ivy Nguyen | IQ, EQ and the Execution Quotient Investors Fund
Ben Horowitz
Co-founder of Loudcloud/Opsware; author
Andreessen Horowitz
Episode: #181 - When Things Fall Apart: 3 Lessons from Ben Horowitz on Leading Through the Struggle (Part 1 of 2)
Eric Ries
Founder of the Long-Term Stock Exchange, creator of Lean Startup, author of Incorruptible
Incorruptible / Lean Startup
Episode: EP 180: Eric Ries | Why Good Companies Go Bad After Success
Alberto Chalon
Co-founder of Giano Capital; investor focusing on single-asset secondaries in digital and tech
Giano Capital
Episode: EP 177: Alberto Chalon | Liquidity Before the IPO Window Opens
Alasdair Milton
Principal at KPMG; leads the Precision & Advanced Therapies practice
KPMG
Episode: Alasdair Milton, KPMG | Why Precision Medicine Still Fails Patients (SPARK20 – 168)
Stefanie Schubert
Professor of Economics, University of Heidelberg; negotiation advisor; keynote speaker; coach
University of Heidelberg
Episode: EP 175: Stefanie Schubert | Why Smart People Lose Negotiations Before They Start
Wanwipa Siriwatwechakul
Chemical engineer trained at MIT and Princeton; former professor; venture partner at Vector Capital focusing on climate and bio innovation
Vectors Capital
Episode: EP 174: Wanwipa Siriwatwechakul | Funding the Next Industrial Era
Bret Kugelmass
Founder and CEO of Last Energy
Last Energy
Episode: EP 173: Bret Kugelmass | The West Bet on the Wrong Energy Future
Björn Cochlovius
CEO of Eleva Biologics
Eleva Biologics
Episode: EP 171 - Björn Cochlovius: Why Brilliant Biotech Breaks at Manufacturing

Host

Christian Soschner
Host of Beginner's Mind; focuses on leadership frameworks for scaling deep tech, biotech, AI, and climate ventures.

Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars from 20 ratings
  • Fantastic

    Christian brings an extremely intelligent mind and deep curiosity to the podcast. When he interviews his guests he digs deep to not only glean the business gems they have to offer but who, as a person, they are as well. It brings a level of humanity to an excellent podcast. Highly recommend.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Smurfteer
    United States4 years ago
  • A great resources for life science entrepreneurship

    If you want to be an entrepreneur in life sciences this podcast is a great way to get started. Christian knows the field well and brings on experts to help you learn.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    mherschberg
    United States4 years ago
  • Mr

    Insightful! Thanks for the interesting discussion about a fascinating topic.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Alex_Schwartz_Vie
    Austria5 years ago
  • Awesome!

    One of my new fav podcasts!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Trevor Oldham
    United States5 years ago
  • Great show!

    Christian, host of the podcast, highlights all aspects of inspiration, entrepreneurship and more in this can’t miss podcast! The host and expert guests offer insightful advice and information that is helpful to anyone that listens!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    malfoxley
    United States5 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Guests are credible leaders across biotech, tech, and policy, providing broad context for builders
Host asks sharp, thoughtful questions that reveal core drivers of success and failure
Strong mix of founder and investor perspectives that translate well to real-world execution
Consistently high-quality conversations with deep, practical takeaways

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

EP 184: Ivy Nguyen | 10,000 AI Pitches and the One Test That Matters
Q: Did you develop a method to separate real innovation from copycats when every company includes artificial intelligence in its pitch?
Nguyen looks for companies that could reach a billion-dollar exit within ten years using minimal capital. Her firm's key indicator is proprietary data that drives a reinforcement loop, continually improving product performance and making the company difficult for copycats to catch.
EP 184: Ivy Nguyen | 10,000 AI Pitches and the One Test That Matters
Q: What experiences helped you the most as an investor in working as an operator?
Nguyen studied chemical engineering at Stanford, started a company that ran out of money, and then took a role running a startup accelerator. The experience taught her how important cash flow is to a startup's survival and gave her an entry point into venture capital.
EP 185: Ivy Nguyen | IQ, EQ and the Execution Quotient Investors Fund
Q: How do you distinguish when you look at a business's feature potential from platform potential?
Nguyen looks for an initial product or feature that can open the door to a larger multi-year vision, with successive workflows and steps in the value chain creating greater customer value and a product that is difficult to replace.
EP 185: Ivy Nguyen | IQ, EQ and the Execution Quotient Investors Fund
Q: What do you see as your role as a VC, as an investor when you have to deal with such a situation?
Nguyen says an investor should understand customers and their buying behavior, support the company after investing, and help with advice and useful introductions. The CEO remains in charge, and the investor should respect that responsibility.
EP 177: Alberto Chalon | Liquidity Before the IPO Window Opens
Q: Can you shine more light on what secondary investments are?
Secondary investments are purchases of existing equity stakes in private companies, often before an exit. Giano focuses on single-asset secondaries in digital and tech, rather than buying diversified portfolios; the aim is to acquire a well-defined asset with due diligence and access to management, enabling a faster, more informed path to liquidity for LPs and founders.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Beginner's Mind

What is Beginner's Mind about and what kind of topics does it cover?

The show centers on leadership, strategy, and execution frameworks for building breakthrough tech companies, with a heavy emphasis on deep tech, biotech, AI, and climate tech. Episodes typically feature founders, investors, and operators who dissect how to translate science into scalable businesses, navigate capital markets, and lead teams through long product cycles. A standout pattern is the blend of practical frameworks, personal narratives, and cross-industry comparisons that illuminate how durable value is created, from pre-seed to IPO. The show often highlights disciplined decision-making, market-shaping perspectives, and governance as levers for long-term impact, making it a valuable listen for founders, operators, and investors seek... more

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Which podcasts are similar to Beginner's Mind?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Beginner's Mind:

1. The Long Run with Luke Timmerman

How many episodes of Beginner's Mind are there?

Beginner's Mind launched 7 years ago and published 231 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on Beginner's Mind?

Recent guests on Beginner's Mind include:

1. Ivy Nguyen
2. Ben Horowitz
3. Eric Ries
4. Alberto Chalon
5. Alasdair Milton
6. Stefanie Schubert
7. Wanwipa Siriwatwechakul
8. Bret Kugelmass

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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