Built Not Born Podcast Beyond Capital: How Venture Guides is Redefining the Venture Playbook
In today’s episode of Built Not Born, host Sage Nye sits down with Ben Nye, Managing Partner at Venture Guides, to explore how a hands-on, team-based venture model is helping early-stage startups scale smarter, even in today’s uncertain market. From embedding go-to-market support at every level to co-locating portfolio teams, Ben breaks down what it takes to build enduring companies in 2025.
As a 6-time Midas List investor in multi-billion-dollar companies including Solarwinds, Rapid7, and LinkedIn, and as a former operator leading companies like Turbonomic and Precise Software, Ben offers practical frameworks that balance strategy with grit, and most importantly, always putting the customer first.
Fewer Bets, More Conviction
Venture Guides doesn’t operate like most firms. Venture Guides maintains a focused and constrained fund of just 15-20 companies. That focus allows Ben and his team to spend real time in the trenches with founders, helping respond and guide when founders ask for advice or support. This includes everything from product strategy, hiring roadmaps, and go-to-market execution.
“If you’re going to be concentrated, you need to underwrite those investments. You need to know the founders, understand the space, and write personal checks. That’s what drives conviction.”
The key is not just selectivity, but leverage. Ben believes founders don’t just need capital, they need a capital provider who will do the work to understand their business and use that context to provide informed advice. And in volatile markets like today, that matters more than ever.
Founders Who Lead from the Front
What Ben looks for in a founder is not just product vision, it’s leadership capacity.
“I love seeing people in difficult situations who hold themselves accountable before anyone else,” he shares. “That kind of resilience and customer-led mission is what sets great CEOs apart.”
At Venture Guides, founder character is just as important as company potential. It’s why they back leaders who build from experience, not theory. The best founders, Ben notes, are those who understand their customers intimately, and build with humility, hunger, and focus.
The Path from Founder-Led Hustle to Scalable GTM
A major inflection point for many startups is the move from founder-led sales to a repeatable go-to-market engine. But most founders scale too early and most of the time, without a clear understanding of their ideal customer profile (ICP).
“You need to treasure your ICP, understand who they are, what mandates they’re under, what triggers their decisions. There’s a real human behind every persona.”
Without that level of insight, startups risk hiring the wrong people or building GTM motions that don’t scale. That approach results in wasted spend, churn, and missed opportunities. Ben’s position is to stay close to your early customers, and only scale when you’ve nailed what works and why.
Investors Should Do More Than Write Checks
When raising capital, it’s tempting to go with the investor offering the fastest check or highest valuation. But Ben warns against that instinct.
“The best option is rarely the highest price. You want a thought partner who understands your domain and can help you navigate people issues, recruiting, and execution.”
That’s why Venture Guides focuses on building true partnerships. Their general partners personally contribute 10–11% of each fund, aligning incentives and signaling with real skin in the game. Ben advises to choose investors the way you would choose a co-founder: someone who’ll stick around when things get hard.
Whether you're an early-stage founder building your first sales team, or a technical CEO navigating market shifts, this episode offers a blueprint for scaling smarter—with purpose, patience, and precision.
🎧 Listen to the full episode:
Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/449tgMG
Spotify: https://bit.ly/42YDoqh
YouTube: https://youtu.be/sgcvFdi01Bs