Episode 419 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Chip Hazard, General Partner at Flybridge.
Before we get into the details of Chip’s career, I have to call out a random fun fact: Chip is the only VC with his own action figure, yes – it’s true. There’s a DreamWorks animated movie called Small Soldiers. The lead character is named Chip Hazard, voiced by Tommy Lee Jones. As you’ll hear in this episode, there’s a great story suggesting that the character’s name was actually inspired by Chip himself, which absolutely makes sense once you hear the story.
But beyond the fun facts, as you’ll hear, Chip has a major leg up on most investors because he’s successfully navigated multiple platform shifts – from the internet and mobile to the cloud and now AI. What’s impressive is that Chip and the team at Flybridge saw this latest AI shift coming long before the hype. For proof, you just have to look at his blog post titled “Applied AI: Beyond the Algorithms” which he published all the way back in 2019.
Chip has backed some of the most impactful companies in tech, like MongoDB back when it was still called 10Gen. Today, it’s a public company with a $20B+ dollar market cap, and Chip still serves on the board. His portfolio also includes Nasuni which was valued at $1.2 billion following a strategic investment led by Vista Equity Partners in 2024.
If you aren’t familiar with Flybridge, they are a seed-stage firm investing in ambitious founders leveraging the power of AI. Last September, they announced their latest fund, a $100M seventh fund.
In this episode of our podcast, we cover:
- Chip’s background story, plus his time at Stanford as a dual sport athlete.
- His early career at Bain in strategy consulting and his path through HBS to venture capital at Greylock.
- The full story of founding Flybridge and what they are looking for in new investments.
- All the details on the MongoDB investment and its full lifecycle journey.
- Why he’s excited about VoiceRun, which is a recent investment and a company that we recently featured on The VentureFizz Podcast with an interview with Nick Leonard, its Co-Founder & CEO.
- Flybridge’s commitment to investing in diverse founder-led companies.
- Crucial advice for founders on how to conduct due diligence on their potential investors.
- What happens after a portfolio company goes public for a VC.
- And so much more!
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