Tank Talks By Ripple Ventures cover art

Tank Talks By Ripple Ventures

Tank Talks By Ripple Ventures

By: Ripple Ventures
Listen for free

Join your host, Matt Cohen, Founder & Managing Partner at Ripple Ventures for weekly conversations with leaders in the startup ecosystem discussing the truth about investing, building and running startups.

tanktalks.substack.comMatt Cohen Economics Leadership Management & Leadership Personal Finance
Episodes
  • The Case for Concentrated Seed with Jason Shuman of Primary Ventures

    The Case for Concentrated Seed with Jason Shuman of Primary Ventures
    May 21 2026
    In this episode of Tank Talks, host Matt Cohen sits down with Jason Shuman, General Partner at Primary Ventures, New York’s largest dedicated seed fund. With a journey that spans from raising money for a nonprofit at eight years old to driving Uber at night while sourcing deals like Latch, Jason’s experience offers valuable insights for founders, especially those navigating the challenges of building companies in the AI era.Jason shares his entrepreneurial beginnings, the painful lessons from shutting down his DTC footwear brand Category5, and how that shaped his investing philosophy at Primary. He also discusses why software-only moats are dead, how Primary’s 60-person impact team delivers customers (not just capital), and the firm’s unique incubation model that backs founders only after the wedge is validated. From vertical AI to hardware-activated agent networks, Jason dives into the key principles he follows in his investing and why he still believes backing great founders beats incubating anything.Whether you’re interested in AI, venture capital, or building deep-tech companies, Jason’s story provides inspiration and practical wisdom.From Sick Kid to Serial Founder: Jason’s Origin Story (01:53)* Growing up outside Boston with a family of entrepreneurs and a mother who was a therapist* Being diagnosed with primary immune deficiency as a child and becoming a spokesperson for the Jeffrey Modell Foundation at age eight* Why a life lived with urgency became the defining trait of his careerBuilding and Winding Down Category5 (05:33)* Launching a direct-to-consumer boat shoe brand while still in college - before Shopify was good and when Facebook ads were cheap* The hard realization that a brand without a visual cue has a ceiling, and why he saw the Allbirds story coming* Hitting his quarter-life crisis at 23, burning out, and what he learned from the processBreaking Into Venture: Sourcing Deals While Driving Uber (11:38)* How Jason made money driving Uber nights while sourcing deals during the day in 2014* Building a bridge between Boston founders and New York VCs - one warm intro at a time* The story of Latch: why a B2B mortise lock for apartment buildings, with near-perfect logo retention and CapEx billing, was the first deal he ever sourcedWorking with Mark Gerson and the Family Office Years (16:17)* Meeting Mark Gerson at a dinner, not knowing who he was, and getting a cold call months later* The lessons in trust, urgency, and delegation he learned running the family office* Backing AI sales enablement, AI accounting, and robotics in 2015 - and why being too early is almost always better than being too lateJoining Primary: The Case for Concentrated Seed (21:14)* Why Jason chose a principal role at a six-person, $190M AUM Primary over a partner title elsewhere* What he saw in founders Ben and Brad that others were missing - the depth of diligence, the buttoned-up fundraising, the point of view* How Primary has scaled from $190M to $1.6B AUM while staying obsessively focused on seedPrimary’s Differentiated Model: Impact, Incubation, and the 60-Person Team (25:56)* The three things companies need most - customers, people, and capital - and how the Impact team is built around them* How a VC firm’s email address can deliver a 25X higher outbound conversion rate than a startup’s own SDRs* The “glass ball” monthly review process: triaging the highest-priority risks across the portfolio before anything breaksWhy Platform Is Broken - and What Primary Does Instead (31:36)* Why most VC platform teams are set up to fail: too few people, too many companies, treated as second-class* Primary’s Impact team is run by former C-suite executives from multi-hundred-million-dollar ARR companies* The shift to AI-native operating inside the platform team - and what that means for portfolio companiesVertical AI, Hardware Agents, and Why Software Moats Are Dead (42:09)* Why Jason is spending more time on physical-world businesses than pure software right now* The wedge vs. system of record debate: why jaw-dropping UX and fast customer acquisition beat “10X better” enterprise replacements every time* Hardware-activated agent networks: how cheap cameras, sensors, and downstream automation are eating vertical workflows - and why Flock Safety is the modelWhat Jason Looks for in Founders Today (50:07)* The qualities that define the founders Jason is most excited to back: urgency, learning velocity, customer obsession, and the ability to sell product and equity* Why he would always rather back a great founder than incubate a company himself* Where incubation and inbound sourcing sit in his priorities heading into the new fundAbout Jason ShumanJason Shuman is a General Partner at Primary Ventures, New York’s largest dedicated seed fund with over $1.6 billion in AUM. A former founder himself, Jason built Category5, a direct-to-consumer footwear brand, before transitioning to venture capital. At ...
    Show More Show Less
    53 mins
  • Inside Canada’s Most Ambitious Space Infrastructure Company with Mina Mitry of Kepler Communications

    Inside Canada’s Most Ambitious Space Infrastructure Company with Mina Mitry of Kepler Communications
    May 13 2026
    In this episode of Tank Talks, host Matt Cohen sits down with Mina Mitry, CEO and Co-Founder of Kepler Communications, one of the world’s most ambitious space infrastructure companies. With a journey that spans from winning $75,000 in university pitch competitions to building the world’s first commercial optical data relay network, Mina’s experience offers valuable insights for founders, especially those navigating the challenges of building deep-tech and hardware-driven companies.Mina shares his entrepreneurial beginnings, the lessons he learned while scaling Kepler, and the hard pivot from off-the-shelf software to a vertically integrated satellite manufacturing model. He also discusses the Arctic surveillance gap, why real-time space data is critical for Canadian sovereignty, and how Kepler was selected as prime contractor for ESA’s Hydron Element 3 project.From launching 10 satellites on a SpaceX Falcon 9 to shooting lasers across 6,500 kilometers in orbit, Mina dives into his journey and the key principles he follows in his entrepreneurial endeavors. Whether you’re interested in space tech, defense, or sovereign infrastructure, Mina’s story provides inspiration and practical wisdom.From University Rockets to Building Space Infrastructure (02:03)* Mina’s journey from a first-generation immigrant family to co-founding Kepler at the University of Toronto* Why Kepler’s original mission of bringing the internet beyond Earth has never changed* The ultimatum that convinced his co-founders to leave traditional career paths behindThe Early Days of Kepler and Finding Product-Market Fit (06:36)* How Kepler survived the early years with limited capital and massive ambition* Why remote communications in the Arctic became one of the company’s first real-world use cases* The challenge of convincing investors in 2015 that orbital laser networks were even possibleSatellites, Orbital Networks, and Why Space Connectivity Matters (08:25)* A breakdown of low Earth orbit, geostationary orbit, and why northern connectivity remains difficult* How Kepler built the world’s first commercial laser-based relay network in space* Why real-time data transmission is becoming critical for everything from disaster response to defenseBuilding Canada’s Largest Orbital Data Center (14:22)* What it actually means to put compute infrastructure in orbit* Why SpaceX, Starship, and falling launch costs could completely reshape the space economy* The engineering, thermal, and regulatory challenges of scaling orbital infrastructureInside Kepler’s Falcon 9 Launch Moment (16:48)* What it felt like watching Kepler’s satellites launch from Vandenberg for the first time* The emotional significance of one of Canada’s largest space milestones in years* Why launch economics and insurance remain misunderstood parts of the industryDefense, Arctic Surveillance, and Sovereign Space Infrastructure (19:42)* How Kepler is helping governments access real-time intelligence from space* Why the Arctic has become a major strategic priority for Canada and its allies* The role of orbital infrastructure in missile detection, surveillance, and national securityThe Geopolitical Tailwinds Behind Space Sovereignty (23:19)* Why middle powers are increasingly investing in sovereign technology infrastructure* How defense ministries around the world are approaching space-based intelligence differently* The recurring revenue model behind Kepler’s government partnershipsWhy Space Tech Moats Are Built Over Decades (26:56)* Why Mina believes infrastructure, regulatory access, and time are harder to replicate than capital* The importance of spectrum rights, security clearances, and orbital heritage* Why Kepler’s biggest competitive advantage may simply be the years it has already spent buildingJeremy Hansen, Artemis II, and Inspiring the Next Generation (28:43)* What Canada’s moon mission means for the future of the country’s space sector* Why Mina believes visibility and inspiration matter as much as technology itself* How astronauts have become both cultural icons and catalysts for innovationWhy Ambition Still Matters Most for Founders (31:00)* Mina’s advice for founders building difficult, long-term companies* Why independent thinking matters more than following trends* The types of space startups Mina believes are still too early to realistically succeedAbout Mina MitryMina Mitry is the CEO and co-founder of Kepler Communications, a Toronto-based space infrastructure company building the world’s first commercial optical data relay network. A first-generation Egyptian-Canadian, Mina started Kepler out of the University of Toronto in 2015 with $75,000 from pitch competitions. Under his leadership, Kepler has grown to over 200 employees, vertically integrated its satellite manufacturing, and launched 10 optical relay satellites on a SpaceX Falcon 9 in January 2026. Mina holds advanced degrees in engineering, left a PhD program to start ...
    Show More Show Less
    37 mins
  • Bring it Home: Canada's Regulatory Gridlock & Real Estate Recovery with Jon Love of KingSett Capital

    Bring it Home: Canada's Regulatory Gridlock & Real Estate Recovery with Jon Love of KingSett Capital
    May 7 2026
    In this episode of Tank Talks, host Matt Cohen sits down with Jon Love, founder and executive chair of KingSett Capital, one of Canada’s largest and most experienced private equity real estate platforms. A seasoned investor who has navigated multiple market cycles, Jon is known for his frank, unfiltered takes on Canadian policy, regulation, and capital deployment, and this conversation is no different.Jon shares his honest assessment of the federal government’s newly announced $25 billion Canada Strong sovereign wealth fund, the push to fast-track major resource projects, and what’s really holding Canada back: not a shortage of capital, but a shortage of permission. He also breaks down where the real estate market stands today across office, retail, industrial, and residential, and why he believes a sharp recovery is coming for those with the balance sheet to wait it out.Whether you’re a developer, investor, policy watcher, or simply trying to understand what’s actually happening in the Canadian economy, Jon Love delivers the kind of straight talk that cuts through the noise.Canada’s $25 Billion Sovereign Wealth Fund: Progress or Déjà Vu? (02:48)* Jon’s honest take on the Canada Strong fund and what’s still missing* Why the real barrier to investment isn’t capital, it’s permission* Lessons from the Heritage Fund and what discipline looks like in practiceResource Fast-Tracking and the Major Projects Office (08:36)* The bull and bear case for Tim Hodgson’s promise of 5–10 shovel-ready projects by spring 2027* What regulatory bottlenecks remain under the Carney government* Why Shell’s takeover of Arc Resources signals renewed confidence and what still needs to happen nextInstitutional Capital Coming Home (14:50)* What’s different about this wave of pension fund repatriation* OMERS, the Maple Eight, and why Canadian real estate returns are among the best in the world* The case for Canada as a technology superpower and why Jon is more optimistic than mostThe Real Estate Cycle: Where We Are and What’s Coming (20:25)* Triple-A office as the surprise strongest asset class in the country* Why for-sale residential is in pain and why a sharp recovery is inevitable* How banks are behaving with stressed borrowers, and the Oxford story from 1992 that defined a strategyCreative Repurposing, Affordable Housing, and the HST Rebate (30:44)* Office-to-hotel conversions in Toronto and why adaptive reuse is just getting started* Why streamlining affordable housing approvals matters more than new funding programs* The HST rebate: right medicine, but the prescription still isn’t writtenMedia, Trade Wars, and What Jon Would Tell Carney (33:24)* Why the Port of Vancouver’s seven-day container turnaround vs. Dubai’s seven hours is a symbol of a much bigger problem* How media fragmentation and social media have made constructive policy debate nearly impossible* The one frank piece of advice Jon would give Prime Minister Carney if he had 15 minutes: give permissionAbout Jon LoveJon Love is the founder and executive chair of KingSett Capital, one of Canada’s leading private equity real estate platforms. With decades of experience across multiple market cycles, Jon has built a reputation for candid, principle‑driven commentary on Canadian policy, regulation, and investment. He is a former CEO of Oxford Properties and has been a key figure in shaping Canada’s institutional real estate landscape. Beyond investing, Jon is known for mentoring young talent, championing affordable housing, and relentlessly advocating for cutting red tape.Connect with Jon Love on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonlovekingsett?originalSubdomain=caVisit KingSett Capital website: https://www.kingsettcapital.com/Connect with Matt Cohen on LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/matt-cohen1Visit the Ripple Ventures website: https://www.rippleventures.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tanktalks.substack.com
    Show More Show Less
    44 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_c
No reviews yet