Aaron & Brian talk with Dr. Steve Herrod (@herrod, Managing Partner at General Catalyst) about the transition from CTO to VC, his views on the evolution of the Enterprise, how he thinks about mobile-only, and why he's building iOS apps in his spare time. We also talk about how our podcast is like a VC firm, except without all the money. Music Credit: Nine Inch Nails (www.nin.com)
Topic 1 - You were a very early employee at VMware and eventually rose to become the CTO. Most people know you from that very visible role. Now you're less visible as a VC. How is the transition and what excites you about this new role in the industry?
Topic 2 - We've had a number of VMware-alumni based start-ups on the show, and now there are several prominent VMware-alumni VCs (yourself, Jerry Chen, and of course Diane Greene). There's the PayPal mafia. Is this the VMware Mafia, and did you see that entrepreneurial spirit when you were at VMware?
Topic 3 - VMware was probably the last great packaged software company, but now the future seems more driven by public cloud and open-source. As a VC instead of a CTO, how have you shifted your thinking about what will be successful, both in terms of technology and a good investment?
Topic 4 - What trends or technologies interest you these days as both an investor and a techie/geek?
Topic 5 - What's the role of a good VC? How much do you get involved in the company (strategy, GTM, etc.) vs. trying to externally influence markets?
Topic 6 - What trends in the market do you think the mainstream press or pundits has wrong?
Topic 7 - Before you go, give us something cool that techie should go checkout that's off the beaten path
