IPOs are overrated. secondaries are where the bodies get buried.

in ep.3 of [trading places], dave mcclure & aman verjee get way too many smart people on one bad pod:

emily zheng (pitchbook) — the adult in the room with $61b in us vc secondaries, step-ups, discounts, rofrs, and why ai is the only thing saving your carry.

sim desai (hiive) — transparency = liquidity. kraken vs coinbase, spvs multiplying like rabbits, whales vs minnows, and how most of the market is just ai + crypto.

vlad voroninski (helm.ai) — why honda & vw are betting on his adas → l4 software, why oems can’t build it themselves, and whether robo-cars actually ship before the singularity.

vitaly golomb — the investor/friend translating helm.ai into vc-speak.

timestamps:

00:00 — [intro]

00:44 — [emily zheng, pitchbook]

11:24 — [interview: sim desai, hiive]

46:27 — [news + tech: revolut, klarna, affirm]

54:34 — [valuation corner: bytedance / tiktok]

01:05:07 — [deal spotlight: helm.ai ft. vlad voroninski + vitaly golomb]

find us at:

www.linktr.ee/tradingplacespod

[sim desai = https://x.com/SimDesai ]

[emily zheng = https://x.com/EMZheng47 ] | https://www.linkedin.com/in/emzheng/ | https://www.instagram.com/bycheznails ]

[vlad voroninski = https://x.com/VVoroninski]

[vitaly golomb = https://www.linkedin.com/in/vitalyg/]

[aman verjee = https://www.linkedin.com/in/aman-verjee | https://x.com/amanverjee ]

[dave mcclure = https://www.linkedin.com/in/davemcclure/ | https://x.com/davemcclure ]

subscribe for pod pain, regret, and the 137th best vc podcast.