We sit down with Nate Williams, the founding partner of Union Labs Ventures. This episode dives into the complexities of startup success and the role of sales in ensuring a startup's longevity and growth.

Nate Williams begins by discussing common pitfalls in startups, particularly the tendency to over-feature products, which can hinder finding a true Minimum Viable Product (MVP). He emphasizes the importance of focusing on one customer segment and use case, and securing payment for it as a foundation for success.

We then explore the problem Union Labs aimed to solve in the venture capital industry. Nate, drawing on his experience as an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) at Kleiner Perkins and a veteran in running successful startups, shares insights into the evolution of venture capital, particularly in deep tech. Union Labs was conceived to assist entrepreneurs from day zero, focusing on two key aspects: de-risking the product-market fit and addressing the crux of product development in deep tech.

Closing the episode, Nate offers insights into the broader implications of deep tech investment for venture capital funds and Limited Partners (LPs). He stresses the importance of understanding the unique nature of deep tech, which often involves a higher level of technical risk and requires specialized knowledge and approach from investors.

This episode is brought to you by VSC Ventures, a leader in supporting and promoting climate and technology startups.

About VSC Ventures:
For 20 years, our award-winning ⁠⁠PR agency VSC⁠⁠ has worked with innovative startups on positioning, messaging, and awareness and we are bringing that same expertise to help climate startups with storytelling and narrative building.

Last year, general partners Vijay Chattha and Jay Kapoor raised a $21M fund to co-invest in the most promising startups alongside leading climate funds.

Through the conversations on our show CLIMB by VSC, we're excited to share what we're doing at VSC and VSC Ventures on climate innovation with companies like ⁠⁠Ample⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Actual⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Sesame Solar⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Synop⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Vibrant Planet⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Zume⁠⁠ among many others.