Venture Declassified

About Venture Declassified

Venture Declassified is here to provide you with practical insights, expert advice, and a deeper understanding of the investment landscape for first-time investors. Hosted by a team of seasoned investors and financial experts, this podcast is tailor-made for newcomers who are eager to learn about the fundamentals of investing and want to make informed decisions. We understand that starting your investment journey can be intimidating, but our goal is to demystify the process and equip you with the knowledge and tools needed to succeed.

Publisher

Mike Kelly, Ben Pidgeon, and Jacob Schpok

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

19 Feb 2024

Latest episode

5 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

43 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   5 Oct 2026

   Swapping CEOs: When the Founder Isn’t the Right Fit

   Swapping out a startup CEO is never a simple decision—especially when that CEO is also the founder. In this episode, Ben, Mike, and Jacob dig into when a leadership change makes sense, why it can be so disruptive, and how boards can tell the difference between a founder who needs help and one who may no longer be the right person to lead the company. They share stories from their own portfolios, including one CEO transition that helped a company more than double its ARR, and another where boa...

2. 

   21 Sept 2026

   The Fine Line Between Pitching and Selling

   What happens when investors have to pitch a deal to other investors? In this episode, Mike, Ben, and Jacob turn the tables and talk about the art of selling an investment without sounding like you’re selling it too hard. The hosts discuss everything from putting your own “chip on the table” to asking about founders' salaries, ownership, and even what happens if a husband-and-wife founding team gets divorced. They also get into the challenge of syndicating deals with friends and fellow investo...

3. 

   7 Sept 2026

   AI One Year Later: What's Changed?

   In this episode of Venture Declassified, Mike Kelly, Ben Pidgeon, and Jacob Schpok revisit one of the fastest-moving topics in tech: artificial intelligence. Fourteen months after their last AI discussion, the hosts compare notes on how dramatically the landscape has changed—from building internal tools with platforms like Lovable and Claude to using AI to develop production-ready software in a fraction of the time it once took. What once felt experimental has quickly become part of the every...

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.4 / 5

7 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

8 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 42 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

53

Social presence

90

YouTube

0

Engagement

31

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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