W talks: founders counsel

Jun 03 2021
W talks: founders counsel Podcast artwork

Founders Counsel is about founders at the top of their game advising other founders while exploring one central theme per show. Host Doug Mandell draws on his experience as consigliere to many well-known Silicon Valley founders and operators as well as his background as general counsel to startups (including the first GC at LinkedIn) to facilitate the discussion. Doug also draws upon his network to curate a panel of founders selected based on their experiences and relationship to the episode’s topic.

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Ep5. Keeping founders and families secure: Issues with cyber and physical security

Jun 03 2021 53 mins  
For family offices, individuals and families, cyber and physical security preparedness is often overlooked or less emphasized than it is at companies. But the threats are real and growing, including to founders and senior executives, and in some cases are greater to the individual or family than to a corporation. What are the biggest and most common cyber and physical security thre

Ep4. How can VCs best help founders?

Dec 07 2020 45 mins  
The fourth episode of the Founders Counsel podcast, “How can VCs best help founders?,” is out now. This episode examines what it means to be considered a “founder-friendly” venture capitalist and how VCs can best help founders. Host Doug Mandell is joined by two successful Silicon Valley VCs, David Hornik of August Capital and Jim Scheinman of Maven Ventures, who are both k

Ep3. Should age matter for founders?

Sep 01 2020 50 mins  
The third episode of Founders Counsel explores the relevance of age when founding a company. It has been posited by some that one is over the hill in Silicon Valley at 35. From our experience representing founders, we know that this certainly is not the case. We explored this topic with three active founders at different stages of their lives to hear their stories, perspectives and

Ep2. Do operators make the best VCs?

Jul 14 2020 55 mins  
For the second episode of Founders Counsel, three dynamic and successful operators (Silicon Valley speak for executives) who became venture capitalists discuss how they broke into the Silicon Valley VC world, what their experiences were like as outsiders, and how they faced and overcame barriers as they progressed in Silicon Valley. These guests also share their experiences as foun

Ep1. Using entrepreneurial skills for good

May 27 2020 47 mins  
How can founders use their entrepreneurial skills for good?In this first episode of Founders Counsel, we explore this question by examining how five top founders have responded to Covid-19 by launching their entrepreneurial initiatives. Each guest was compelled to step away from their jobs and families to join the fight against this virus. Why did they do this? How did they draw on