
We the Builders Podcast l From LiveRamp ($RAMP) to NQB8: Auren Hoffman’s Founder Journey
30.12.2025 | 1 Std. 44 Min.
This episode is a rebroadcast of Auren's appearance on the We the Builders podcast. We The Builders: https://twitter.com/WeThe_BuildersHost Suffiyan Malik: https://twitter.com/suffiyanmalikkSubstack: https://wethebuilders.us---------------------------------------------------This week I sat down with Auren Hoffman founder, builder, prolific investor, and one of the most connected people in Silicon Valley.Today’s episode features Auren Hoffman founder of LiveRamp ($RAMP), Flex Capital, Dialog, Safegraph and NQB8. This is one of the most interesting conversations I have had on the show so far and probably the best.He grew LiveRamp to a $300m exit, has invested in 180+ companies through Flex Capital, a seed stage fund, is chair of Safegraph ($370m data company backed by Sapphire Ventures, Peter Thiel, Ridge Ventures) and is host of World of DaaS, a podcast and community for data nerds.Auren is thinking of and validating new ideas on almost a weekly cadence. He continues to start new companies through NQB8 which includes a few successful spin outs. He also has a great blog post on it if you are interested in exploring different type of spinouts and how you should think about them as a startup.-------------------------------Looking for more tech, data and venture capital intel? Head to worldofdaas.com for our podcast, newsletter and events, and follow us on X @worldofdaas.You can find Auren Hoffman on X at @auren and We The Builders on X at WeThe_Builders. Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)

FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller - why pricing data businesses trade at 30x EBIT despite 4% growth
23.12.2025 | 51 Min.
Craig Fuller is the founder and CEO of FreightWaves, a freight media company, and SONAR, a supply chain data platform. He’s also the founder of Firecrown, which owns more than 50 publications across aviation, marine, and supply chain sectors, and he recently released his first book, Moving the World: How the Supply Chain’s Evolution Affects Us All. In this episode of World of DaaS, Craig and Auren discuss:How FreightWaves predicted the 2022 freight recessionWhy pricing data businesses trade at 30x EBITBuilding negative CAC through media acquisitionsThe four-year industry experience rule for freight startupsLooking for more tech, data and venture capital intel? Head to worldofdaas.com for our podcast, newsletter and events, and follow us on X @worldofdaas.You can find Auren Hoffman on X at @auren and Craig Fuller on X at @FreightAlley.Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)

Wispr Flow CEO Tanay Kothari - voice AI deep dive
16.12.2025 | 35 Min.
Tanay Kothari is the co-founder and CEO of Wispr Flow, a voice-first AI assistant that recently raised $56 million in Series A funding.In this episode of World of DaaS, Tanay and Auren discuss:Why Apple and Google's dictation tools failWhat AI-first devices will actually look likePivoting from hardware to softwareVoice replacing nearly three-quarters of keyboard usageLooking for more tech, data and venture capital intel? Head to worldofdaas.com for our podcast, newsletter and events, and follow us on X @worldofdaas.You can find Auren Hoffman on X at @auren and Tanay Kothari on X at @tankots.Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)

The LM Brief: India as the Next Epicenter of AI?
12.12.2025 | 12 Min.
Microsoft is investing $17.5 billion to turn India into a global AI powerhouse — from training 20 million workers to building new data infrastructure. We break down what this means for the future of AI talent, innovation, and digital sovereignty. Listen to this short podcast summary, powered by NotebookLM.

YipitData CEO Vin Vacanti - why hedge funds dominate data usage (and corporations don't)
09.12.2025 | 52 Min.
Vinicius Vacanti is the co-founder and CEO of YipitData, an alternative data intelligence platform that analyzes billions of consumer data points daily for institutional investors and corporations. The company reached unicorn status with a $475 million Series E from Carlyle Group in 2021.In this episode of World of DaaS, Vin and Auren discuss:Why hedge funds dominate data usage versus corporationsHow AI is transforming data processing costsThe durability of data businesses over 120 yearsWhy "hire great people and get out of the way" is bad adviceLooking for more tech, data and venture capital intel? Head to worldofdaas.com for our podcast, newsletter and events, and follow us on X @worldofdaas.You can find Auren Hoffman on X at @auren and Vinicius Vacanti on X at @vacanti.Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)



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