E25: Seth Winterroth, Partner at Eclipse, Investing $10 Billion in the Physical Economy
Seth Winterroth is a Partner at Eclipse where he has been investing in the physical world for over a decade. They now have fresh $1.3B in funds taking their AUM (Assets Under Management) to ~$10B to build and invest in critical technologies in the physical world.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
02:14 - Breaking down techno-optimist Tech Twitter
04:45 - Rediscovering Silicon in Silicon Valley
08:45 - The SpaceX and Tesla Training Grounds
12:45 - Hard is the Moat: Engineering Execution vs. Science Risk
16:45 - Institutionalizing a Thesis-Driven Culture
20:45 - Partnering with Highly Prepared Minds
24:45 - The Wave Series A Case Study
28:45 - The Willingness to Ship: Managing the "Gen 1" Failure
32:45 - Managing Design Partners and Expectations
36:45 - The Hard Reality of Defense Tech Go-To-Market
40:45 - The First Chapter of Company Formation
44:45 - The Mytra Thesis
48:45 - The Build-Co Strategy at Eclipse
52:45 - First Principles Thinking and Avoiding the Small Idea Trap
56:45 - Why General Purpose Robotics is a Ninth-Inning Game
1:00:45 - Breaking the Industrial Food Complex: A Decade-Long Opportunity
1:04:45 - Finding Value After the Hype
1:08:45 - The Rigor of Capital Allocation and Returns
1:12:45 - Reindustrialization: Market Dynamics and National Security
1:16:45 - Sustaining Long-Term Value and Discipline
1:20:45 - History, Podcasting, and the Next Generation of SaaS