Standing out, finding the right investors, and the future of work | Roy Bahat (Bloomberg Beta)
Roy Bahat leads Bloomberg Beta, a venture capital firm focused on the future of work and how AI is reshaping it. The firm’s investments include Slack, Replit, Flexport, and MasterClass. Before launching Bloomberg Beta, Roy founded a venture-backed startup, served as an executive at News Corp., and worked in New York City government.
In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I sit down with Roy to explore the relationship between founders, investors, and employees, and how to build companies that balance long-term success with the interests of the people who make it possible.
We discuss why founders need to maintain control of their vision, how to make governance decisions that reflect a company’s priorities, and why Roy sees organized labor and employee ownership as opportunities rather than obstacles to business success.
We also explore what distinguishes promising founders and Roy’s optimistic vision for a future where AI changes not only how we work, but the roles we take on throughout our careers.
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Brought to you by:
Framer: Build better sites, faster at https://www.framer.com/eric
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Where to find Roy Bahat:
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roybahat
• Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3jWOtpQs-BvP-om7veItKYYWkrpeYLj
• Website: https://also.roybahat.com
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Where to find Eric:
• Newsletter:https://ericries.carrd.co/
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In This Episode We Cover:
(00:00) Intro
(02:44) Roy Bahat and Bloomberg Beta
(06:30) Why founders should treat VCs as vendors, not bosses
(10:22) Getting investors on board with Incorruptible-style governance
(16:14) Identifying founders who have thought deeply
(20:34) Why governance advice is hard to generalize
(21:42) Three things every company should do
(27:07) How Roy became passionate about organized labor
(36:20) Empowering employees to participate in the business
(38:48) Creating magnetic attraction at Bloomberg Beta
(43:03) What Roy looks for in founders and startups
(48:02) Managing people and agents side by side
(50:10) The future of work
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Production and marketing by Pen Name.
Eric may be an investor in the companies discussed.
