173. Corruption, Extortion and the Fight Against Entrenched Interests-- How a VC Saves Startups from Death by Politics (Bradley Tusk)

Bradley Tusk of Tusk Ventures joins Nick to discuss Corruption, Extortion and the Fight Against Entrenched Interests-- How a VC Saves Startups from Death by Politics. In this episode, we cover: Why and how did you get into VC? You have a nice model where you generate revenue through Tusk Strategies, which allows you to hire great talent and invest forward in startups. How has the model changed over time and how is the organization structured today? How were you able to get allocations and generate dealflow when you were new to VC? You spent some time in Illinois w/ an infamous Governor of our's... and you're very candid in the book about the issues and illegal acts that Rod Blagoyevich instructed you to do. Give us some of the highlights and lowlights from the experience. You highlight the importance of narrative many times throughout the book. Can you touch on the key points w/ regard to picking and framing your narrative for tech startups? You've said that when large industry incumbents are disrupted, "they punch back, and they punch hard"... have you seen situations where startups have died b/c of response of a large incumbent? Talk about some of your experiences. Have you worked w/ any tech companies who's mission doesn't align w/ your political beliefs? How can you possibly win a prolonged battle going jurisdiction by jurisdiction? I enjoyed the section of the book you call "Pick your enemies = Win Your Battles (Strangle the baby in the crib). What's the best message founders can take away from this chapter? We've all heard a lot about the political issues w/ independent contracts vs. employees. Uber has been the headliner in the media but you also cite Handy, in the book, the platform that connects independent handymen w/ home owners... what's been your involvement w/ this issue and where do we stand? Talk a bit about your interactions w/ Elon and the work you did w/ Tesla against the dealership incumbents. You close the book w/ an emphasis on voting and the importance of mobile voting. You've even said that mobile voting is "the biggest disruption fight of them all" and that "restoring our true democracy-- and actually confronting our nation's deepest problem."