Who this is
Albert Wenger grew up in Oberasbach near Nuremberg. His parents bought him an Apple II early on, and after a year in Rochester, Minnesota, he studied computer science and economics at Harvard. After a few years in management consulting he went to MIT for a PhD, realised there that he didn't want to become an academic, and in 1996 started a company with two professors. His main lesson from it: he is more of an investor than a founder. Today he is a partner at Union Square Ventures in New York, teaches a course on product-market fit at NYU, and writes about the transition to the knowledge age on his blog Continuations and in his book “The World After Capital”.
Episodes
Numbers from the episode
FAQ
Who is Albert Wenger?
Albert Wenger is a partner at Union Square Ventures in New York and author of “The World After Capital”. He comes from Oberasbach near Nuremberg, studied computer science and economics at Harvard, started a PhD at MIT and founded his own company in 1996 before moving into venture capital. He teaches a course on product-market fit at NYU and blogs at Continuations. To the episode →
How does Union Square Ventures invest?
USV is thesis-driven and deliberately keeps its team and funds small; around 20 people work there in total. Per fund it makes around two dozen investments, targeting 3x cash on cash. Carry is flat with no deal attribution: every GP earns the same on every deal. Albert stresses, though, that other VC models can be successful too. To the episode →
What does Albert Wenger think of universal basic income?
He has supported it for many years and, with his wife, runs his own pilot project in the small town of Hudson: 128 people chosen by lottery receive 500 dollars a month for five years. According to Albert, the experiments show that people become physically and mentally healthier and often invest in their careers. He sees the real problem in the existing welfare system, which cuts benefits as soon as someone starts working. To the episode →
Why does Albert Wenger still believe in Web3?
Because it rests on a fundamental innovation: Bitcoin was the first system able to reach consensus in a decentralised way, in other words a database nobody owns alone. Big platforms like Amazon or Facebook are, at their core, central databases. For decentralised systems to win, though, he thinks legal changes are needed, such as a right to access platforms programmatically with your own AI. To the episode →