Apr 11, 2022
Sebastian Mallaby is the Paul A.
Volcker senior fellow for international economics at the Council on
Foreign Relations, a contributing columnist for The Washington
Post, two-time Pulitzer Prize Finalist, and New York
Times best selling author. His most recent book, The Power
Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future,
chronicles the history of the industry, and his key takeaways serve
as the perfect conclusion to our mini-series.
Our conversation starts with his career as a writer and how he
approaches writing books. We then dive into the origins of the
venture industry, foundations of early-stage investing, and
critical success factors. We dissect different ownership
structures, the importance of mentorship, competition, the current
pace of capital deployment, and venture capital abroad. We close
discussion the industry’s gender gap, challenges to future success,
and thoughts on Sebastian’s next project.