280. The Harsh Truths Behind Venture Capital No One Tells Founders with Lightspeed's Mortiz Baier-Lentz

Deconstructor of Fun

Lightspeed’s Moritz Baier-Lentz joins us for a no-holds-barred conversation on venture capital, gaming, and the inner workings of multi-billion-dollar venture funds. No fluff—just real talk about fund math, spotting exceptional founders, the future of AI in gaming, and why most investments won’t work out (and why that’s okay).

00:00 from pro-gamer in Diablo II to Goldman Sachs to Lightspeed VC

10:00 The Lightspeed model

18:00 How Moritz spots truly exceptional founders (hint: not a checklist)

24:00 Fund math 101

30:00 Studio investing vs. tech investing in games

36:00 How consolidation is reshaping gaming M&A (and why it’s a big deal)

43:00 Speedrun, a16z’s gaming accelerator: innovation or red flag?

51:00 Debunking big VC myths

58:00 The future of gaming: AI, generative content, and creating the next Roblox

1:05:00 How Lightspeed wins competitive deals—and what founders should ask VCs

1:12:00 Is raising VC money harder now? Yes. But here’s why it’s still a golden era.

1:20:00 Final thoughts: investing at the edge of what’s possible