In this episode of Startups Decoded, I’m joined by Mike MacCombie, partner at Generous Ventures, a NYC-based VC fund known for investing in founders who build with behavioral design in mind.

We explore how human behavior shapes startup success and dive deep into the subtle forces that guide (and misguide) founder decisions, from social anchoring to pattern recognition, from frameworks that help to those that hold you back.

The big conversations centered around;

• What early-stage VCs really look for in decision-making
• The traps founders fall into by following trends
• Why "easy" paths often lead to dead ends
• How to make better products and hiring calls by understanding behavioral cues
• The difference between one-way vs. two-way doors in startup choices

This episode isn’t about theory, it’s about how psychology meets startup execution and how founders can challenge conventional wisdom to build smarter, faster, and more intentionally.

Mike MacCombie

Mike MacCombie is a behavioral science-driven investor and community builder focused on accelerating startup growth. As a Partner at Generous Ventures, he works closely with early-stage founders to scale their companies, refine business development strategies, and navigate hiring and later-stage fundraising.

With a deep passion for entrepreneurial communities, Mike has mentored at Techstars NYC and Quake Capital, helping emerging leaders sharpen their communication and connection-building skills. A self-proclaimed “community geek,” he specializes in curating opportunities that drive meaningful connections and business impact in the startup ecosystem.

Generous Ventures

Generous Ventures is a $10M pre-seed and seed-stage venture capital fund based in NYC, backing companies across the US and selectively abroad. They invest in founders with lean, iterative mindsets who prioritize distribution leverage as a key element of their company success.

They focus on applied behavioral design principles in the companies they back: building with the grain of human behavior for leverage in adoption at the customer level, distribution at the business level, and more efficient paths to revenue.

SHOW NOTES

Music Credit: "Neptuno" - Phondupe (Album: Onykia)

Chapters

00:00 Foundations of Curiosity and Learning

05:34 Behavioral Science in Startups

11:36 Founder Types and Decision Making

13:06 Navigating Information Overload

15:33 The Rise of Bootstrap Founders

19:36 The Validation of Fundraising

20:09 The Role of External Validation

22:05 Understanding Internal and External Anchoring

25:40 The Dance of Intuition and Data

27:55 Mastering Decision-Making and Fear of Failure

32:05 One-Way vs. Two-Way Decisions

35:52 The Importance of Self-Awareness in Founding

41:08 Building Communities and Networking for Success

In this episode, I sit down with Ben Yoskovitz, founding partner at Highline Beta, to explore the intersection of product, analytics, and venture studios.

We dive into:

• How data-driven decision-making fuels startup growth
• The role of venture studios in corporate innovation
• Lessons from Go-Instant’s journey to acquisition by Salesforce
• Why startups and enterprises must bridge the gap for success

With deep expertise in Lean Analytics, venture building, and product strategy, Ben shares insights on what it takes to build and scale impactful businesses.

Ben Yoskovitz

Ben Yoskovitz is a founding partner at Highline Beta, a hybrid venture studio and VC firm that helps corporations innovate beyond their core while investing in early-stage startups. A seasoned entrepreneur, investor, and product expert, Ben has built and scaled multiple startups, including GoInstant (acquired by Salesforce). He co-authored Lean Analytics, a go-to resource for data-driven growth, and has advised companies worldwide on Lean Startup methodologies. With expertise spanning innovation, product management, and venture investing, Ben bridges the gap between startups and enterprises.

Highline Beta

Highline Beta is a hybrid corporate venture studio and VC firm that helps large companies and family offices identify new growth opportunities, build ventures, and scale beyond their core business. Unlike traditional consulting firms, they focus on execution—designing, launching, and running corporate venture studios to create repeatable innovation. Working with global brands like RBC, AB InBev, and Colgate-Palmolive, they bring a startup mindset to corporate innovation, helping executives turn ideas into high-impact businesses.

Music Credit: "Neptuno" - Phondupe (Album: Onykia)

SHOW NOTES

Summary

In this episode of Startups Decoded, host Andy Walsh speaks with Ben Yoskovitz from Highline Beta about the evolution of startups, the role of venture studios, and the importance of product experience. They discuss the changing landscape of entrepreneurship, the significance of validation and early revenue, and how venture studios can provide a structured approach to building successful businesses.

Ben shares insights from his extensive experience in the startup world, emphasizing the need for rigorous methodologies and the balance between creativity and science in the startup process. In this conversation, Ben and Andy explore the dynamics of venture studios, emphasizing the balance between structured processes and creative flexibility in startup development.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Highline Beta and Ben's Journey

02:20 The Evolution of Startups and Venture Studios

05:58 Advice for Founders: Then and Now

11:32 The Role of Product Experience in Startups

16:29 Validation and Early Revenue in Startups

20:13 Venture Studios vs. Traditional Startups: A Comparative Analysis

24:28 Balancing Process and Creativity in Startups

26:31 The Role of Founders in Startup Success

30:00 Timing and Recruitment of Founders

34:36 Understanding Venture Studio Models

38:16 Navigating Investor Relationships in Venture Studios

42:20 Innovation Across Different Startup Models

48:02 Future Directions for Highline Beta

The startup funding game is changing fast, and so is the early-stage VC model. So… is it time for a reset?

In this episode of Startups Decoded, I sit down with Jeff Becker — investor, entrepreneur, and partner at Antler, the fastest-growing global VC firm, to unpack what’s really going on in early-stage venture capital.

We explore everything from the decline of the traditional fund model to the rise of rolling capital agreements, counter-cyclical strategies, and new ways of backing durable founders. Jeff shares lessons from his journey at LinkedIn through hyper-growth, his hands-on experience building startups, and Antler’s bold mission to launch 10,000 companies in the next decade.

We also dig into the “hidden years of inception”, how AI is reshaping go-to-market, why resilience is the ultimate founder trait, and how Antler is rewriting the global venture playbook — with community, culture, and capital all under one roof.

If you’re a founder or investor trying to make sense of today’s VC market, this one’s unmissable.

Jeff Becker

Jeffrey Becker is a venture investor, entrepreneur, and builder of businesses that scale. Starting his career valet parking and interning at startups, he honed his sales skills at Xerox before joining LinkedIn, where he played a role in its explosive growth—from 100M to 770M members, IPO to Microsoft acquisition, and $600M to $10B in revenue. Alongside, he co-founded a DTC brand that served 250,000 customers and partnered with Best Buy and Daymond John.

Since 2016, Jeffrey has focused on angel investing in companies driving health, wealth, and happiness. By 2018, he was mentoring at emerging funds, setting the stage for his career in VC. Now at Antler, he’s on a mission to help launch 10,000 companies in a decade, fueling the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders.

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to Early Stage Venture Capital
• 03:05 The Hidden Years of Inception
• 05:58 The Role of Founders in Early Stage Investing
• 08:50 Culture and Community in Startups
• 11:57 Resilience and Solution Orientation in Founders
• 15:07 The Dichotomy of Building: Fast vs. Durable
• 18:02 Navigating the AI Landscape in Venture Capital
• 25:19 Outsourcing and AI in Business Growth
• 29:01 Trends in Venture Capital and Founders' Perceptions
• 30:36 Counter-Cyclical Investment Strategies
• 34:12 Identifying Durable Founders and Their Vision
• 39:03 Follow-On Strategies and Rolling Capital in Early Stage Investing
• 48:13 Navigating the Antler Application Process

Music Credit: "Neptuno" - Phondupe (Album: Onykia)