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On this week’s dose, we’re joined by Mike Collins, CEO of Alumni Ventures, the largest venture firm in the U.S. dedicated to giving accredited investors access to professionally managed, diversified venture portfolios.Mike kicks things off by sharing his background and the early experiences that drew him into the world of startups and venture (2:00). He then unpacks how Alumni Ventures came to life and what inspired the model behind it. From there, he discusses how the firm began building access into venture investing at scale and started getting into deals by leveraging a powerful alumni-based network (7:53).(14:27) Mike then offers a primer on Alumni Ventures’ investment philosophy, walking us through how the firm thinks about raising capital and constructing portfolios. That leads into a deeper discussion about AV’s identity as a fintech company rather than a traditional VC, and how that mindset influences everything from internal operations to doing the hard things that come with scaling a venture platform (21:40).We then explore where AV is placing its bets, with Mike sharing sectors he’s particularly bullish or bearish on (26:13). That sets the stage for a broader conversation about the current AI wave and why it’s so central to both AV’s outlook and Mike’s personal conviction as an operator (30:54). He also gives us a look at what’s next on the firm’s roadmap and how AV plans to evolve in the coming years (32:50).As we move into the final stretch, Mike shares some of his more contrarian takes on venture and innovation (35:35), reflects on AV’s company culture (36:08), and offers insight into how he incorporates AI into his day-to-day leadership and decision-making (37:35). He names a few CEOs he models after (42:35), talks about how he unwinds with podcasts and uses low-tech strategies for deep focus (44:22), and gives some straightforward advice for those hoping to break into venture: just start doing the work (46:35).
