An Introduction to Venture Capital: Meet your hosts | Paige Soya & Nick Duafala at K Street Capital: Season 4 of High Stakes

An Introduction to Venture Capital: Meet your hosts | Paige Soya & Nick Duafala at K Street Capital: Season 4 of High Stakes

Author: Paige Soya March 12, 2026 Duration: 35:36

Welcome to Season 4 of High Stakes and this season we’re starting with the fundamentals.

In Venture Capital 101, K Street Capital Managing Partner Paige Soya and Principal Nick Duafala break down how venture capital actually works for founders, investors, and anyone curious about the startup ecosystem.

In this opening episode, Paige and Nick share the origin story of K Street Capital and their own paths into venture, from Wall Street and investment banking to founding and exiting a fintech company.

They discuss:

  • How K Street Capital started as an angel syndicate and evolved into a venture platform
  • Why early-stage investing is different from traditional finance
  • What makes venture capital unique compared to other asset classes
  • How investors evaluate startups and work alongside founders

Along the way, they also talk about some of the companies K Street has backed, from digital health platforms to AI-powered robotics, and what makes those opportunities exciting.

This episode sets the stage for the rest of the season, where Paige and Nick will walk through the full venture capital playbook, including angel investing vs. VC, startup evaluation, deal terms, portfolio strategy, and more.

If you're a founder thinking about raising capital, an investor interested in venture, or just curious about how the startup funding world works, this season is designed to be your starting point.

Listen to the full episode and follow along as we break down Venture Capital 101.


Behind every major innovation, there's usually a risky bet and a tense conversation that made it happen. High Stakes pulls back the curtain on those pivotal moments by focusing squarely on the world of early-stage venture capital. Instead of abstract theory, each conversation pairs a founder who has lived the grind with an investor who has backed the vision, creating a dynamic and often revealing dialogue. They tackle the specific trends and tough questions shaping the venture space right now, from evaluating a team's potential to navigating a market downturn. You'll hear the nuanced strategies, the candid mistakes, and the real-world compromises that define building and funding a company from the ground up. This podcast is built for anyone curious about the mechanics and human drama of startup investing, offering a genuine sense of how capital flows to ideas and what it truly takes to succeed. Tune in for unscripted perspectives that clarify how high-risk decisions are made and what both sides learn when the stakes are at their absolute highest.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 64

High Stakes
Podcast Episodes
Unlocking Women Investing in VC with Julie Castro Abrams [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:08
In this episode of High Stakes, host Paige Soya, Managing Partner at K Street Capital, sits down with Julie Castro Abrams, GP and Founder of How Women Invest, for a candid look at one of the most important shifts happeni…
What VCs and Angel Investors are seeing from Y-Combinator in 2025 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:47
In this episode of High Stakes, K Street Capital Managing Partner, Paige Soya, sits down with Gabriel Jarrosson, Managing Partner at Lobster Capital, to unpack how Y Combinator’s internal tool “Bookface” is reshaping inv…
How Early Funding Rounds a Shape Startup's Future [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:31
The High-Stakes Decisions Behind Early Fundraising: When to Raise, Who to Raise From, and How Much Equity to Give UpIn this episode of High Stakes, host Paige Soya sits down with Jennifer Neundorfer, Managing Partner at…
How Diverse Founders Drive Bigger Wins [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:55
Many investors still see backing diverse founders as a bigger risk.In this episode of High Stakes, Paige Soya sits down with Melissa Bradley, General Partner at BAE Ventures, to challenge that misconception and explore w…
The Art and Science of Diligence in Early-Stage VC [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:06
How do investors evaluate founders when there’s little or no traction? What really drives decisions in early-stage venture capital?In this episode of High Stakes, host Paige Soya sits down with early-stage investor Matt…
How VC success is truly measured [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:27
How do you know if you're actually a successful venture capitalist? It's harder to tell than you might think. In this episode, K Street Capital Managing Partner Paige Soya sits down with Henri Pierre-Jacques, Managing Pa…
What LPs Want from VC Fund Managers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:56
Most founders know the pressure of fundraising, but what many don’t realize is that venture capitalists have to fundraise too. Behind every investment is a group of limited partners (LPs) whose expectations shape how fun…
Power Law & the VC Playbook [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:01
What makes a venture investment a true home run—and why is it so hard to find those opportunities?In this episode of High Stakes, Paige sits down with Sean Glass (entrepreneur, investor, and founding partner at Ayuda Par…