How a VC Predicts the Future (ft. Amy Wu, Lightspeed Ventures)

Last week we discussed blockchain, and I wanted to continue that conversation, at least for a few minutes, with Amy Wu, a Partner at Lightspeed Ventures I’ve become acquainted with recently. Amy joined Lightspeed in 2019 as an early member of the growth team, investing in growth-stage consumer and enterprise businesses. Prior to Lightspeed, Amy was an executive for several years, including at global media company Discovery, Inc, and at NewsCred, which she helped raise $60 million for, after starting her career at Insight Venture Partners.

Amy’s breadth of experience – in early-stage and corporate, in consumer and enterprise businesses, and across the US, Europe, and Asia – make her the perfect candidate to talk to about how venture capitalists make decisions. How, exactly, does a VC place bets on the future? Should emotion be a part of those decisions, or can emotion blind you? And does being a cheerleader and spokesperson, as many VCs are these days, throw off your judgement as a futurist? We talk about all of that and more in this conversation.

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