“Venture Capital in 2023 with Dakin Sloss” — Moonshots EP #30

Episode summary

Diamandis interviews Dakin Sloss, founder of Prime Movers Lab, a $1B+ venture fund focused on deep-tech breakthroughs. The conversation is structured as an insider’s guide to venture capital for entrepreneurs: what VCs look for, how to pitch, how to value a deal, and the dos/don’ts of fundraising. Sloss explains his thesis — backing founders solving the world’s biggest problems across fusion, hypersonic aviation, brain-computer interfaces, energy storage, carbon capture, and space. He describes Prime Movers’ portfolio companies and their trajectories from startup to public. The conversation covers founder selection criteria (driven by personal growth and contribution, not money), the importance of a massive transformative purpose, and how deep-tech ventures differ from software startups in terms of timeline, capital requirements, and risk profiles.

Key arguments / segments

• [00:01:00] Prime Movers Lab overview: $1B+ fund backing breakthrough science companies in hard-tech verticals
• [00:05:00] What VCs look for: founders driven by personal growth and contribution, not financial motivation
• [00:10:00] How to reach a VC: warm introductions, demonstrating traction, building relationships before asking
• [00:15:00] Valuation and deal structure: how deep-tech differs from SaaS (longer timelines, higher capital needs)
• [00:20:00] Portfolio highlights: fusion, hypersonic/supersonic aviation, brain-computer interface companies
• [00:30:00] The pitch: clarity of problem, technical differentiation, team quality, market timing
• [00:40:00] Deep-tech risk: technical risk vs. market risk, why VCs historically avoided hard science
• [00:50:00] Founder-VC relationship: board dynamics, follow-on funding, when to say no

Notable claims

• Prime Movers Lab has backed companies from startup to public in hard-tech verticals that most VCs avoid
• The best founders are driven by personal growth and desire to contribute, not money — money-driven founders plateau
• Deep-tech venture investing is entering a golden age as costs of experimentation drop (simulation, AI-assisted R&D)
• “Rather than starting a photo sharing app, go build something that can change the world” — Diamandis framing

Bias / sponsor flags

• Sloss is promoting Prime Movers Lab and its portfolio — the conversation is effectively a fund marketing exercise
• Diamandis is likely an LP or has portfolio overlap — mutual promotional dynamic
• No discussion of deep-tech failure rates, LP returns, or the challenge of actually commercializing breakthrough science
• Survivorship bias throughout — only successful portfolio companies discussed

RDCO relevance

Low-moderate relevance. The deep-tech VC lens is useful for understanding how hard-science companies get funded and what investors look for in moonshot founders. The “personal growth + contribution” founder selection criteria is a useful filter for evaluating potential partners or collaborators. The observation that deep-tech costs are dropping due to AI-assisted R&D has direct relevance to RDCO’s thesis about AI reducing the cost of knowledge work. File as entrepreneurship/fundraising reference.