Is The Venture Capital Model Broken? | Andrew Romans, 7BC

The venture capital model of the last two decades, characterized by the "30-minute rule" and the race to a quick IPO, is obsolete. We are witnessing a fundamental decoupling of capital from geography and a restructuring of how liquidity is manufactured. In this episode, Andrew Romans of 7BC Venture Capital argues that we have entered a new era where geopolitical friction is forcing a renaissance in hard tech, hedge funds have permanently altered the growth stage, and the "Series A" playbook has been rewritten by the realities of a market where companies stay private indefinitely.

Highlights

• 01:05 Why 30 Firms Control the Market
• 09:49 "Stay Private Forever" & The Secondary Market 
• 19:51 Geopolitics, Supply Chains, & Defense Tech
• 30:30 Hedge Fund Tourists & Founder-Led VCs
• 37:11  The Death of the "30-Minute Rule" 
• 47:35 Beyond "Silicon Hills" 

Guest Links
Andrew Romans: LinkedIn, X
7BC Venture Capital
Fireside with a VC: Apple, Spotify, YouTube

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Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
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What is Austin Next?

Austin is building the new tech, cultural, and intellectual stack. The region is a living laboratory to answer a single question: How do you build a global innovation superpower?

Host Jason Scharf dissects innovation from the individual to the ecosystem. From the soundstage to the data center to the fab, we decode the mechanics of Austin's innovation ecosystem.

As Atoms, Bits, and Intelligence converge, we explore how Hard Tech scale, digital velocity, and creative density collide. This is an audit of the future. We map the physics of the flywheel so builders and investors can navigate the chaos.