The Rise by Nucleus

The Rise tells the stories of the builders shaping the future of venture. From first-time fund managers to operator angels and LPs, each conversation explores what it really takes to raise, invest, and win at the early stage. Created by Nucleus Talent, this is where the next generation learns from each other.

The Rise by Nucleus is a business podcast hosted by Alex Klein, with 9 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Alex Klein hosts The Rise by Nucleus, a business show with 9 episodes published.

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  The Rise by Nucleus

  Lucas Swisher (Coatue) | #1 Growth in the Nucleus 100, From Oklahoma to Coatue

  Jun 24, 202642 min

  Lucas Swisher is the Co-Lead of Growth at Coatue and the number one Growth investor in the Nucleus 100. On this episode we open on the Nucleus 100, why we built it, and why Lucas landed at the top of Growth. Then he traces the path. Oklahoma to Insight to Kleiner to Coatue OpenAI. Anthropic. Rippling. Deel. OpenEvidence. Glean. Cyera. Scale. Figma. We get into how Coatue wins. The public-private edge. Real allocation in rounds everyone fights for. How he holds conviction when the cost of being right keeps climbing. His advice for folks getting started is excellent, and we were grateful to have him on. Listen and it is not hard to see why he sits at the top of Growth. Learn More About Nucleus: https://nucleustalent.io/ Nucleus 100: https://nucleustalent.io/growth100 Follow Alex: https://x.com/alexklein0x Timestamps: 0:00 - Lucas Swisher, #1 in Nucleus 100 Growth 1:35 - Coatue as a Team Sport 4:21 - The Platform Edge in Growth 6:36 - Oklahoma to Investing 9:44 - The Insight Bootcamp 11:43 - Modeling Lessons from Kleiner 15:58 - Why Lucas Joined Coatue 19:15 - The Public-Private Flywheel 28:21 - Coatue's AI Origin Story 32:39 - Lucas' Advice, Give First 37:30 - Physical AI Escapes the Screen #venturecapital #investing #podcast #vc #startup #tech

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  The Rise by Nucleus

  Story as Leverage: From Glossier to Coalition w/ Ashley MayerAshley Mayer

  Dec 23, 202548 minS0

  <p>Ashley Mayer is a Co-Founder and General Partner at Coalition, an early stage venture firm powered by active operators. Coalition invests at the Pre-Seed and Seed and is obsessed with connecting founders in their portfolio and beyond with world class operating talent.</p><p><br></p><p>In this episode, Ashley shares her path from Box during IPO prep, to shaping narrative at Social Capital, to helping build Glossier, and ultimately starting Coalition. We discuss storytelling as a true competitive advantage, messaging versus story market fit, intentional cap table design, and why we are in a particularly sloppy era...

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  The Rise by Nucleus

  Michael Gilroy on Founding Marathon, the Rule of 200, and the Future of Fintech

  Dec 18, 20251h 7mS0

  <p>Michael Gilroy is the Founding Partner at Marathon. In this episode, we unpack Michael’s path from Canaan to Coatue and the decision to launch Marathon alongside Gokul Rajaram. We dive deep into the Rule of 200, Michael’s framework for evaluating fintech companies, how he thinks about global fintech expansion, what it takes to build a four-pillar investment team, where he sees Marathon a decade from now, and his advice for emerging fund managers building enduring firms.</p><p><br /></p><p>Learn More About Nucleus: https://nucleustalent.io/</p><p>Follow Alex: https://x.com/alexklein0x </p><p><br...

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  The Rise by Nucleus

  The Rise of Work-Bench: Inside the $375M Enterprise Fund w/ Jonathan Lehr

  Dec 3, 202549 minS0

  <p>Jonathan Lehr is the Co-Founder and General Partner of Work-Bench, the NYC early-stage enterprise firm managing $375M across four funds with investments in companies such as Socure, Spring Health, and Cockroach Labs. </p><p><br></p><p>In this conversation, we walk through the origin story of Work-Bench, how the team planted a flag in New York’s enterprise ecosystem, the role of community in their model, and the experience of navigating institutional LPs as an emerging manager. Jonathan also shares how Work-Bench evaluates early GTM strength, lessons from backing category-defining companies, and what is ahead as the firm ra...

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  The Rise by Nucleus

  Turner Novak: Building Banana Capital and a Following That Compounds

  Nov 10, 202539 minS0

  <p>Turner Novak is the founder and solo GP of Banana Capital and the host of The Peel Pod, with guests spanning from Benchmark’s Eric Vishria and Cendana’s Mike Kim to Weekend Fund’s Ryan Hoover and Sweetgreen’s founder and CEO, Jonathan Neman. From his beginnings in Winnipeg to building Banana Capital out of Ann Arbor, Turner has become one of the most recognizable and trusted voices in venture, known for pairing curiosity and humor with real conviction. He’s built a following of hundreds of thousands and a portfolio that includes BeReal, ScienceIO, Bee, Chainguard, and more. On t...

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