Beginner's Mind
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 from history’s greatest business, military, and political minds.
With over 200 interviews, panels, and livestreams, the show ranks in the Top 10% globally—and is recognized as the #1 deep tech podcast.
With 35+ years across M&A, company building, board roles, business schools, ultrarunning, and martial arts, Christian brings a rare lens:
What it really takes to turn breakthrough science into business—how to grow it, lead it, and shape the world around it.
🎙 Expect each episode to deliver:
- Founder & Investor Blueprints: How breakthrough technologies scale from lab to IPO
- Historical & Biographical Frameworks: Timeless playbooks from the world's great builders
- Leadership & Communication Mastery: Tools to inspire, persuade, and lead at scale
Whether you're building the next biotech success, investing in AI, or leading a climate tech company through hypergrowth—this podcast gives you the edge.
Listen in. Apply what matters. Build companies that last.
📬 Join the newsletter & community: https://lsg2g.substack.com/
Beginner's Mind
EP 162 - Alex Oppenheimer: The Secret Investors Use Before Writing the First Check
Here’s the harsh truth: If your business model can’t survive a spreadsheet, it won’t survive the market.
Every year, ambitious founders pour months into product, pitch, and brand—yet the single biggest reason startups die isn’t funding, it’s flawed modeling.
What are the four variables investors use to spot winners before anyone else?
In this episode, investor and hands-on builder Alex Oppenheimer (Founder & GP at Verissimo Ventures, ex-Facebook IPO, ex-NEA, Monday.com advisor) reveals why most startup advice misses the point—and how the best founders reverse-engineer success long before a single euro is raised.
🎧 Watch now to learn:
1️⃣ The business model simulation Alex uses to kill (or greenlight) a deal in under an hour
2️⃣ The one thing top VCs always ask founders—but almost nobody prepares for
3️⃣ Why a founder’s “calling” is more important than their credentials
4️⃣ How to avoid the European trap of ignoring leverage and failing to scale
5️⃣ The subtle mindset shift that separates bold investors from the herd—and how to apply it to your own company
👤 About Alex Oppenheimer
Stanford-trained engineer, ex-Morgan Stanley tech banker, NEA Series A investor, Monday.com operator, and now founder of Verissimo Ventures—a fund that bets on weird tech and next-gen software models in Israel, the US, and Europe.
💬 Quotes That Might Change How You Think:
(00:59:00) “If I don't build this, nobody else will—that’s the founder’s true calling.”
(01:12:45) “How can you know what data to collect if you don’t know the model?”
(01:22:36) “The real job of an investor is helping great founders not mess it up.”
🧭 Timestamps to Explore:
(00:04:00) Quitting Corporate Venture—The Decision That Changed Everything
(00:11:50) What Business Modeling Is (and Isn’t)
(00:18:30) Trusting the Founder Over the Deck
(00:24:40) Venture Capital and the Power of Naivete
(00:34:03) Inside the Facebook IPO Data Room
(00:44:38) Lessons from Betting on Outliers
(00:49:48) Leaving NEA to Build Israel’s Next Scaleups
(01:02:32) From Frustration to Founding a Venture Fund
(01:10:57) Why Business Modeling Remains a Blind Spot
(01:14:09) Redefining Value Investing in Venture Capital
(01:15:50) Decoding Value with Core Variables
(01:22:36) Helping Founders Avoid Unnecessary Pitfalls Early
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🎙️ Beginner’s Mind
Top 10% globally. The leading podcast for VCs, operators, and anyone obsessed with building what comes next.
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