Meet The Newark ‘Connector’ Who Raised $80 Million. Now He’s On The Lookout For AI Entrepreneurs

Name: Meet The Newark ‘Connector’ Who Raised $80 Million. Now He’s On The Lookout For AI Entrepreneurs
Uploaded: 2025-11-13T21:39:11+00:00
Duration: 40 min 22 s
Channel: Forbes

Forbes

21 hours ago

Vaughn Crowe, co-founder and managing Partner at venture firm NVP Capital, joins Forbes senior writer Jabari Young on The Enterprise Zone at Nasdaq MarketSite. During the conversation, Crowe announced that NVP has raised $80 million to invest in 25 AI software startups. NVP says it will invest up to $3 million in each startup. Additionally, Crowe reflects on his upbringing in Newark; the future outlook of venture capital after a rocky 2025 and offers advice to young entrepreneurs on attracting investment.

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00:00It's a question that still bugs this investor. As a teenager working a summer camp job, had he took $500 and put it in the stock market in 1996, what would it be worth today? It's a lesson that Vaughn Crow learned early in life and we'll see how he's applying it to the venture capital space. You're in the Enterprise Zone at the NASDAQ.

00:20Hello everyone, this is Jabari Young, Senior Writer at Forbes and Uni Enterprise Zone at the NASDAQ. And I'm joined by a special guest. His name is Vaughn Crow. He's the co-founder and managing partner at MVP Capital. And MVP Capital is a early stage venture capital firm based in the New York area looking for AI enterprise software companies. They got some exclusive news. Vaughn, thank you so much for making a trip to the NASDAQ, man, for the second time, right?

00:49Second time. Second time's a charm. Second time's a charm, man. Thanks for having me, Jabari. Absolutely, man. Thank you for coming, man. And listen, before we jump into the business and before we start, man, how's fatherhood, right? You have stepchildren now, man, and, you know, taking on that role. I have a 12-year-old. I'm always curious to see how fatherhood is treating people, man.

01:06Well, the good thing is I've got a great partner, Cecily Crow. Fatherhood for me is like leadership, hanging out, having fun. Good thing is they're adults. So they're not really on the payroll. They're still on the payroll, but like there's a way in which we can manage that.

01:21But it's been great, man. That's a part of the journey of life for me to see these kids perform, be productive in life, and for me to have a small role in their current and their future. It's actually pretty cool. And I'm honored that Cecily invited me to be part of that family.

01:38Yeah, I love it, man. Getting cool points with the wife. I love it. Starting off early, getting cool points with the wife. I love that. Vaughn, listen, man, here we are at the Nasdaq, so you've got to give me a stock, man.

01:46What is something that has worked well for Vaughn Crow? Something that you may tell your kids, hey, listen, you may want to pay attention to this stock. Look into it, man. Give me a stock.

01:54Well, I like the FANG stocks today, right? Like, we'll come back to that 1996 moment in a moment. But I like those FANG stocks. So if you're into the consumer space, you can't go wrong with Facebook.

02:04If you're into, like, enterprise and all of what's happening around AI, you can't go wrong with NVIDIA.

02:10Yeah.

02:11Those are my personal picks. I'm sure my financial advisor will have some other perspective for me. But that's where I'm leaning into right now because I use it every day.

02:19I see the power of what NVIDIA is happening throughout the world. So that's what I'm excited about right now.

02:25Yeah, you can't go wrong with NVIDIA, man. I mean, listen, AI chips, I mean, that's the future right there.

02:30That's right.

02:30Soundtrack to 2025, right? What's been keeping Vaughn Crow motivated? What's been keeping you, like, really excited as we head into 2026?

02:39About two months left here as we talk in November.

02:41What's been your soundtrack to the year?

02:42Yeah, so I'm an 80s baby, but I'm a hip-hop. I'm a 90s hip-hop guy.

02:47Love it.

02:48And so I'm in the gym. I'm walking to work. It's a short walk, but I'm walking to work in the mornings.

02:53I've got, you know, Reasonable Doubt going. I'm a big red man, like Muddy Waters guy.

03:01I'm also, like, quietly, I'm, like, a beehive adjacent, right?

03:05So, like, you know, that country album, a lot of what Bea has done, from a business point of view, I love her as well.

03:12So, but, like, don't get mad at me if you see me in the gym and I'm bopping to something that they've produced.

03:19And then, like, I'm a big, like, so my family comes from a musical background.

03:23I'm the only one who doesn't play an instrument or who doesn't sing and doesn't perform.

03:29So my brother, shout out to Clinton Crow, has a rap album.

03:33Okay.

03:33And so that's constantly in my ear because family means a lot to me.

03:36What's his rap name?

03:37Clinton Crow.

03:39Clinton Crow.

03:39So he used the same name as the rap name?

03:41Yeah, so if you get to know me long enough, I'm one of six.

03:44We all have the initiatives VEC.

03:46I'm Vaughn.

03:47Eric Crow, he is Vince Evan Crow.

03:50Clinton Place in Hawthorne Avenue in Newark, New Jersey is where we grew up.

03:53So his hip-hop name, he took Clinton and added it to his surname, his last name, which we're very proud of, which is Crow.

03:59Love it.

04:00Love it, man.

04:00Download that.

04:01Yeah, listen, I got you, man.

04:03I was with you with Jay-Z, Reasonable Doubt.

04:06Like, that's always playing in my ear, but I might have to get some Clinton Crow, man.

04:09He might replace Reasonable Doubt.

04:10I like that.

04:11Yeah, man.

04:12And so my brother.

04:13Yeah, absolutely, right?

04:14Supporting him.

04:15You walk into a fifth grade class, you know, and they say, hey, what is it that you do, Mr. Vaughn Crow?

04:20What do you tell these fifth graders?

04:21And I know you've told me, you've answered that before.

04:23Yeah.

04:24What do you tell the new batch of fifth graders?

04:25Well, I want to reiterate, I answered it before because it's part of my life, which is giving back.

04:29So walking into a fifth grade class is something that I get excited about to create some exposure.

04:34So for me, I walk in, I say, hey, guys, I am trying to help folks make $1 out of $0.15, which for my community, folks resonate with that.

04:42The reality is what I tell them is, like, listen, I am trying to catalyze dreams with capital, money, and resources.

04:49And such that these dreams that I'm trying to catalyze can become the invidias of today or the invidias of the future, the Facebooks of the future.

04:59So I try to relate to them on companies that they are aware of, whether it's Nike, whether it's Facebook, because they're all on Facebook and Instagram, et cetera.

05:07But I tell them I try to catalyze dreams with capital and resources to make it very simple for what we're doing in my professional life.

05:14You don't lose them at all.

05:15Like, they understand all the terminology.

05:17They don't say, what?

05:18What does that mean?

05:18Yeah.

05:19It's like, hey, if I put $1 in, I'm trying to take $5 out.

05:22That's my business.

05:23And they get that.

05:24Whether you're flipping homes, whether you're flipping dollars, right?

05:31It's the investment business.

05:32I'm trying to put as little in and trying to take as much out, and fifth graders get that because it's part of, at least where I grew up, it's what we kind of were surrounded by.

05:41Yeah.

05:41Well, listen, this is a country.

05:43This country runs on money capital, right?

05:45I mean, we're here at the NASDAQ.

05:46It runs on finances.

05:48But getting into a little bit of a Forbes exclusive here, MVP raised its second, third fund.

05:54You correct me.

05:55$80 million investors include Prudential Financial, Rutgers Endowment, Ford Foundation, Liberty Mutual, Bank of America.

06:04And, again, this is an $80 million fund.

06:06A bit of clarity, understanding that this is fund two, fund three.

06:09Break it down for me.

06:10What's going on with this $80 million fund?

06:12Yeah.

06:12Clarity is great.

06:15Excited to announce that MVP capital, in its current form, raised a second fund with the investors who you mentioned.

06:22Powered by them to go out and find amazing founders.

06:26We are on our second fund, which we recently closed, and excited to have a pretty good amount of dry powder to continue on that journey and backing investors.

06:34So to be very clear, I am the co-founder of MVP Capital.

06:39We've raised our second fund and actively investing out of that fund today.

06:43Okay.

06:43How much assets under management?

06:45When you take the two funds that we've raised and the assets that have created a lot of value inside those two portfolios, proud to say to you that we are managing $200 million of assets under management.

06:57And that's a combination of the two funds we've raised and the value creation and the exits that we've had in that portfolio.

07:04So excited about what we're doing on this journey.

07:05Absolutely.

07:06And you said dry powder.

07:07How much dry powder are you working with now?

07:08Yes, we probably have – the way our model works, Jabari, is we want to construct a portfolio of 25 to 30 companies.

07:17And to date, we have made 10 investments, which means we have roughly 15 more investments to go.

07:25Our average check size is anywhere between $1 million and $3 million.

07:28So call it about $30 million to $40 million of dry powder to invest in next generation companies.

07:33Before looking into the history, I want to stay with this $80 million raise that you guys had.

07:38Looking at the SEC filings, it was a $62 million initial raise, right, that closed March of 2025 this year.

07:46And now this right here added on to that total $80 million.

07:49This is closed.

07:50No other raise is coming from this fund today.

07:51No, no.

07:52We won't be in the market until we earn the right to be so.

07:55But this fund is closed.

07:56Okay.

07:57We'll be back in the market at a point in the future, again, if we earn the right to do so.

08:00And that's by way of generating great returns and being trusted hands to our investors.

08:04But we're closed.

08:05And more importantly, we're actively looking for really good founders.

08:09Ten investments so far that you've made.

08:11That's right.

08:1125 companies that you're looking for to round out this fund.

08:14AI enterprise software companies.

08:16Yes.

08:16When you think of MVP Capital, you said it very well.

08:19We are, you know, we're in the New York City area.

08:21And we are looking to invest in B2B software and vertical AI companies.

08:27And what does that mean, right?

08:28Like it's always a big question.

08:30What does that mean?

08:31So these under-digitized areas in financial services and industrial and healthcare, these

08:38are big parts of the GDP which still have, we think, a lot of running room to go and build.

08:43And those are the types of verticals and sectors we're looking for.

08:47And then chief amongst our investment thesis is backing just amazing people who kind of demonstrate the attributes of what we think to be greatness to help execute on that vision in building companies in those particular sectors.

09:00Yeah.

09:00You look at the history of MVP, Vaughn.

09:03You know, man, you've talked about this over the last week.

09:06It was started as Newark Venture Partners.

09:08Newark Base Accelerator went on to raise $44 million initially.

09:13And in 2021, Forbes reported that there was an $85 million fund, too.

09:17And then it went through the rebrand of MVP.

09:20Take me aside of the history, where you guys are now, and if the former owners, Don Katz and Ray Chambers, still involved with MVP today.

09:28Love these clarified moments.

09:30Today we are MVP Capital, a New York City-based firm investing out of our second fund.

09:35There was a predecessor entity that was an accelerator.

09:40Ray Chambers did not own it, and Don Katz was not involved.

09:44They were, Don in particular, he helped get this thing off the ground by catalyzing the corporate community to support this accelerator called Newark Venture Partners.

09:54I was an investor in that accelerator, a proud one.

09:57And then the lesson learned there was there is a massive opportunity for us to take advantage of these incredible relationships that we've built with the corporate community.

10:06Many of them are large corporations that are serving the global economy.

10:13And so we've now incorporated these corporations.

10:15We've brought these corporations into our fold, referred to as the MVP Galaxy, which powers MVP Capital today.

10:23And that's what we're most excited about.

10:25Yeah, so no more Newark Venture Partners.

10:27It is now MVP.

10:28MVP Capital is what I am, the co-founder and managing partner of today.

10:31Along with your colleague, Dan.

10:32Dan Borak and I started in 21, which we are excited about and happy to be on this journey with him and the team that we've assembled to go and execute on our mission.

10:41Is there still any involvement?

10:42Is Don Katz still involved, the former founder of Audible?

10:45Like, is he still involved with the firm at all?

10:47No, no.

10:48Don is a good friend.

10:50We thank him for what he did as a founder, as a venture-backed founder of audible.com.

10:54So he, too, relates to the power of what we are doing.

10:58But the leadership of MVP Capital today is Vaughn Crow and Dan Borak, experienced professionals and trusted hands.

11:06Yeah.

11:06Why rebrand?

11:07Why not keep it Newark Venture Partners?

11:09Why go MVP Capital?

11:10Yeah.

11:10So MVP Capital is homage to the history, but it's a pledge for the future.

11:16I'm from Newark, dance from the village, so you can capture it there.

11:19But at the same time, what was important for us is to not be button-holed into just being a Newark-focused firm.

11:29Those were a lot of the questions.

11:30So if we're going to execute on our mission of being a North American-focused firm, we should go and do that.

11:37And so, therefore, rebranding such that founders, investors, and others, there's no confusion.

11:43And as we rebrand and as we announce to the world MVP Capital raises the second fund, there will be additional clarity there.

11:50Yeah.

11:50Early in the year, I remember calling up some friends in the VC space and asking around, hey, what do you guys see?

11:56What do you like?

11:57And it was a lot of skepticism, right?

11:59Family offices weren't really putting money into the VC space.

12:03Wasn't a lot of companies going IPO.

12:05I make those same phone calls again before me and you talk, and now the atmosphere seems to be one where investors are feeling like they have the upper hand.

12:14They have the buying power now.

12:15Now, you know, founders are looking more for capital instead of hanging on to their valuation, right, which is what we saw in the past.

12:23What does Von Crow see from the VC space here as we sit in November 2025?

12:28Is it better than what it was at the top of the year?

12:30We see, I see incredible opportunity.

12:35I see entrepreneur, the measure oftentimes is like our entrepreneurs building, right?

12:41That's a question mark.

12:42Like, if they're not building, that means that we've lost a little bit of hope in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

12:47Are they building?

12:47Because you have a lot of immigrants who are being pushed out of our country and not being allowed in, and people are thinking that's messing with the ecosystem of what we are able to build today.

12:56They're building, and the only way I can really judge that is by the activity that's happening and then also our own pipeline.

13:01We have a pipeline of extraordinary founders on both coasts in New York City as well as in the Bay Area.

13:09So what I'm excited about is, one, how founders and brilliant, smart people are looking at real-world problems and tackling them with not point solutions.

13:20They're tackling them with an idea that here's our wedge into a space, and we're going to go and build a big company.

13:27For example, we backed a founder who's building in the healthcare space.

13:32It's a couple years old, but when we backed him, it was like $20,000 of run rate revenue.

13:36Today, he's going to end up at $100 million, and he has taken the bumps and bruises of what's happening in Medicare and Medicaid, and he's figured out ways in which to continue to grow quarter over quarter.

13:49So, yeah, some of the headlines are challenging.

13:52What we're seeing today is some really enthusiastic entrepreneurs, and my goal is to leverage the MVP Capital brand in our galaxy to go and get them,

14:02and encourage them that we should be the firm of choice to back them early on in their journey.

14:07What do you guys look for when you're investing?

14:09Are you looking at certain multiples?

14:12I mean, are you looking at trades?

14:12What exactly are you looking for before you say, all right, $3 million here, sign off?

14:17So a couple things.

14:19We have a whole framework by which we invest, but I'll spare you the details on something that may be a little boring.

14:26How big is the market?

14:28Is there a real opportunity?

14:29Is it a need to have or nice to have?

14:31And part of the value of having this galaxy that I referenced earlier in my comments is that they can help us point to where the puck is going,

14:40like, is this a need to have or nice to have, et cetera.

14:42But at the core of what we're looking for are really experienced founders or who have what some will call an earned secret into a particular space.

14:52They've demonstrated a level of grit in their career.

14:55Maybe they served in the military.

14:56Maybe they played sports.

14:58Maybe they've had a set of life experiences that have informed them as to their why, and they're going to build a business.

15:04So market size, market opportunity, very, very important.

15:09But we lean in, because they're building so early, on the founder attributes of grit, resilience, competence, an earned view of a particular space.

15:19And that comes by way of interacting with founders at a particular time.

15:22Yeah.

15:22And on the other side, you do have money to return.

15:25What are your LPs telling you?

15:26What are they saying?

15:27Hey, we want to see this because we just gave you our money.

15:30They gave you $80 million, right?

15:32You and your partner, Dan, what are your LPs telling you that they want to see?

15:35When do they want to see it?

15:36Yeah.

15:36The good thing about our partners and LPs, they understand the asset class that we're in.

15:41This is early stage venture.

15:43They have return expectations for MVP, but they also recognize that a dollar in isn't going to turn five out immediately.

15:50They recognize that this is a 10-year relationship, and they're looking for us to produce venture-like returns, which are anywhere at multiples of the capital that they gave us.

16:02So they have expectations of us to perform similar to the market, if not better.

16:07But the good thing in having great partners is that they recognize that this is kind of a long-term relationship, and it's a 10-year run.

16:14And we're fortunate to have good partners who understand what we're trying to build at MVP.

16:17Take me back to that young Vaughn Crowe, South Ward, Newark, coming up at Hawthorne Ave.

16:23What was that like for you coming up in Newark?

16:26I didn't know any better back then.

16:29I thought it was great.

16:31My parents, they grew up in the segregated South in North Carolina.

16:37My dad from Charlotte, my mom from Bolton.

16:39Like many black Americans, they migrated to the North, and they found this place called Newark, New Jersey.

16:45It's a population of 300,000.

16:48The neighborhood I grew up in was the largest neighborhood in the city, home to the first black mayor, home to the first black United States congressman from New Jersey.

16:59And so there's a rich history and a proud heritage that I'm fortunate to have been part of.

17:03So as a young kid, I saw greatness as well as our own challenges.

17:07But that's what I was surrounded by, and it helped kind of create some structure for me today.

17:12What did your mom do?

17:14My mom was an amazing mother.

17:16She was a homemaker, and she retired after being a hairstylist after she had me.

17:22So one could argue I was her problem kid or I needed the most attention.

17:26And my dad was a hustler.

17:27I know you didn't ask about him, but part of the reason why she was able to stay home after I'm number five in the ladder of six, he worked two jobs.

17:38And so it allowed for her to kind of create a life for me as a kid to make sure I was dressed decent, going to school every day and to do my homework, et cetera.

17:48She's still with us and an amazing woman.

17:51Yeah.

17:51What was that Von Crowe like on a Saturday watching cartoons, right?

17:54What was your favorite cartoon?

17:55Like, what were you watching as a kid?

17:56You know what's amazing?

17:58I was a Thundercats guy.

17:59Thundercats?

17:59Yeah, yeah, yeah.

18:00I was a Thundercats guy.

18:02But the other day I was at home, and I had a childhood moment because Woody Woodpecker was on.

18:08And, like, at a man of a certain age, mid-40s, I actually found myself having a cup of coffee and watching, you know, huh, huh, huh.

18:19Sometimes I'll catch an old Popeye episode, and I'm the same way, right?

18:22That's right.

18:23I'm like, wow.

18:23Like, they still play this song.

18:25It brings back good memories.

18:26Yeah, it does.

18:27You know, like, you know, I had a pretty fun childhood, rich in experience, and a lot of lessons learned.

18:35Yeah, and here you go in Newark, right?

18:37And you're in high school, and in history class of all classes, your teacher was teaching you, right, starting the class off, teaching you guys about the stock market.

18:45And that kind of motivated you to kind of, I guess, learn about money, how money works, right, how it grows.

18:51But, again, you mentioned in an interview that you did about how that $500 you could have put in, if you saved your checks when you were working at summer camp, how that could have really multiplied in the stock market.

19:02And when you think about it back at that moment, right, that history class, you go back and says, damn, I missed the moment.

19:08Yeah, like, let's use that year of 96.

19:12That was a big year for a lot of things.

19:14It was the year that I got my first pair of Jordan.

19:18I mean, here I am captain of the football team, captain of the basketball team, got my first pair of Jordans.

19:23So, you know, if I could have done it back then, you've got to put some money down on Nike.

19:28I look at what the Jordan brand has done for the enterprise, right, at, you know, in 96, my mom allowed me to go to Six Flags Great Adventure for the first time by myself with some friends.

19:41That was a big deal.

19:43And, right, so I think Six Flags actually went public in 96, right?

19:46And so when I started to think about my childhood and what I was engaging with, and I would double down on the things that brought me joy, which was, you know, hip-hop, that's a different story.

19:57But Six Flags Great Adventure, it was awesome, right?

20:01And then also getting my first pair of Jordans and flexing on my guys as I was playing hoops, you go Nike and you go Six Flags.

20:07Yeah, it was fun.

20:09But I think back at my childhood as well.

20:11And I was like you, Vaughn, right, coming up in Philly, going to Lincoln High School, and you wanted those Jordans.

20:15And I had a summer, I had a job at Whole Foods, right?

20:18So I would go Whole Foods collect, but I really wish I would have put it back in the stock.

20:23I wish, now I didn't have a history teacher teaching us like you did, but I really wish now today in business I would have went back and kind of done it.

20:31And when you think about that moment and you look at where you are today, what lesson did you learn back then that you apply today, especially when it comes to money?

20:39Yeah, it's never too late to invest.

20:41Like that is like the core message.

20:44And that, you're right, that history teacher, I think his name was Mr. Tram, he had us read the Wall Street Journal like every morning.

20:52And Nike was a pick, right?

20:55And whatever it was trading at back then, oh, it's too expensive, right?

21:00Or is it too late, right?

21:02The reality is you're never too late to invest.

21:07I think we oftentimes feel like we're running out of time and we lose a lot of patience.

21:11But the lesson learned back then is if I had put money with Nike, if I had bought the stock of Six Flags when we went public, where would that $500 that I earned at Life Camp be today?

21:23It's just like, don't be afraid.

21:25Kind of like face your fears and do it anyway.

21:28Take some risks.

21:29And it's never too late to get involved in investing in the public markets, the private markets, et cetera.

21:34Yeah.

21:34And in 1998, you go off to Colgate University.

21:38Coming out of college, right?

21:39Who's Vaughn Crow?

21:40Who are you at this point?

21:41After you've done college, right?

21:42You had your fun, right?

21:44Do all of the things that you do in college, right?

21:46But who are you coming out?

21:47And I only ask because you have a lot of kids today, a lot of students who can't find jobs.

21:52They can't find their place in our economy coming out of school.

21:55Here they are.

21:56They invest all this time.

21:58They get out and they don't have any idea what to do, who to call, AI taking jobs.

22:02Like who's Vaughn Crow coming out of college?

22:04What trait did you use to jumpstart your career?

22:08I appreciate that question because my college experience was also one that was full of an interesting time.

22:15I would say that Vaughn Crow coming out of college in 2002 demonstrated pivot and flexibility.

22:23I went to Colgate to play football and it was an amazing experience cut short due to injury.

22:29Became a student.

22:312002 was a terrible time in the market to get a job.

22:35Fortunate enough to have landed in the insurance business.

22:38And at every moment along the way, one, I was surrounded by great friends and love.

22:42I'm a big believer in that.

22:44But then the second part was like deep down in yourself, as my dad would say, man, you've got to play the hand you're dealt.

22:52Football goes away, pivot, go and become a student.

22:55Job market crazy, pivot, take what you can get.

22:57And so that flexibility, that grit, that desire to win is like a trait that I entered Colgate with from Week Wake High School to a trait that I left Colgate with.

23:09And those are traits that I carry with me today as a father, as a husband, as a son, and as an investor.

23:17Yeah.

23:17When you look at it, you know, again, you left from insurance and then you get into the investment business because you end up at Ray Chambers' family office, right?

23:24And Ray Chambers, local businessman in New Jersey.

23:27Very low key.

23:27It's very hard to find a lot of stuff on Ray Chambers, but very low key.

23:30But here you are in his family office helping run his investments.

23:33How do you get that job and what are you learning?

23:35Not a lot of folks get this story, but I started my career, as you mentioned, at Chubb Insurance Company, and all of my buddies were what I thought having these amazing jobs in private equity, making a boatload of money.

23:51And I was like, man, I think I'm just as smart as these guys.

23:53And when we go out to dinner, they're footing the bill and I'm counting the pennies, you know?

23:57So I called Ray Chambers, who I had known because I was Boys and Girls Club, New Jersey Youth of the Year, and he was a benefactor to the organization.

24:06And I said, hey, I want to do something a little different.

24:08And I'll never forget these words at the Pierre Hotel on the Midtown East.

24:14He said, come work for me.

24:16And I said, Ray, what would I do?

24:18He said, I don't know, but you have some skills I think we can all use.

24:22Do it for a year, and we'll reconsider what your next steps look like.

24:28Well, one year turned into 15, a balance of philanthropy, doing good, as well as investing, which is doing well.

24:38And so it was learning from one of the best private equity professionals of his day, often catalyzed the industry.

24:45I took a chance, a little risk, to go and learn from one of the best.

24:51He's a native of Newark.

24:52He went to public school in Newark, a lot of the things that I can relate to.

24:56So I cut my teeth there on a cold, outbound phone call to a very influential guy who said, I don't know, but you got some skills that I can use.

25:12And one year turned to 15, and then that gave me the courage, that experience, to go and launch MVP Capital with my partner, Dan.

25:19And what skills do you think he was looking for that you revealed?

25:22He hasn't answered that question yet.

25:24But whatever they were.

25:25What do you think it is?

25:26Yeah.

25:26You are the guy.

25:27You're right.

25:28You know, I think, you know, this ability to, you may have heard this before, to connect dots, to understand people, to do things with a level of excellence.

25:38And that is everything from managing card stock of your thank you notes.

25:43Something as simple as that is a real lesson to going deep in scrutiny and evaluating an investment.

25:49And remember what I said to you earlier, Jabari, about what does, you know, the history class with Mr. Tram, what did that teach me?

25:58It's never too late and take some risks.

26:01That lesson kind of manifested itself in what I demonstrated with Ray.

26:05It's like, yeah, I'm willing to take risks.

26:06I've taken it all my life.

26:08It's like, what do I have to lose?

26:09I think I can, I'm candid, I'm direct, I'm confident.

26:13And any other thing I can learn, at least I think I can.

26:15I'm going to make some mistakes along the way, but as long as you're willing to stick with me, we'll have a good time.

26:22And I think that's what he saw, but at some point we should ask him.

26:25Now, listen, it might be your confidence.

26:27I mean, not too many people pick up the phone nowadays and call.

26:31And I always tell young kids, closed mouths don't get fed.

26:33That's right.

26:33You have to ask.

26:35People who don't ask, don't get.

26:37That's right.

26:37And so the fact that you made that call, you think that was probably what impressed him, too?

26:41Because I don't know how many people will call Ray Chambers and say, I want a job.

26:44Can you hire me?

26:44Well, the other reality is that maybe this is the power of it.

26:47I didn't call asking for a job.

26:49I called asking for insight and advice.

26:51I'm at this, I was 25 at the time, and I was looking to pivot.

26:56And so engaging with a guy of that stature to just say, I want some advice.

27:01Here's my vision.

27:02Here's what I want to do.

27:03To reach out to him, knowing my history and background, I'm not sure how that would have gone had I called saying, you know, I want a job.

27:13I want to work directly for you.

27:15It's a related, like, in today's world, and he's big on this, and something that I've learned from both my father and from Ray, relationships do matter.

27:23Candor, humanized people.

27:25And so I'm not sure if that relationship would have brought itself to bear had I called looking for something specific.

27:36Now, there are points in life where specificity and clarity and directness matters, but there is a beauty of living in the ambiguous, which I've learned along the way.

27:47Your partner, Dan, he calls you the connector, right?

27:51When we were talking in your office, right, and he said he's the connector.

27:55Why do they call you the connector?

27:59Well, one, Dan, he's right in his observation because I love it, right?

28:06And I do believe that there is power in human connectivity.

28:11It's just, you know, again, AI gets all the headlines, but when he and I joined forces, it was whiteboards.

28:19It was computers of saying, like, hey, how do we make one plus one equal three and, like, double down on a relationship that I had from 15 years ago, and let's see if we can bring that alive.

28:32It's probably likened to my dad.

28:36He was a connector.

28:37And so it's a skill set, hard to quantify sometimes, but I love it.

28:43I think it's important.

28:46And he's watched us now make investments and raise capital, leveraging our equal superpowers, and that being perhaps one of mine.

28:55Yeah, that's your connector.

28:56I think so.

28:57Yeah.

28:57I think so.

28:58And I think it's beyond Dan, who's a great barometer because he's now been together for five years and before that playing a bunch of golf, et cetera.

29:05But if you ask our founders who are the part of the portfolio that I have some direct responsibility for, they, too, would say, this guy will plug you in where he can.

29:18What good is having a network in these relationships and you don't unlock them?

29:23You know, like, it has happened for me over time.

29:27So what good is it for me not to try to make one plus one equal more than two for founders, for friends, for family members?

29:36You know, that's what, you know, my real-life story over the weekend, Jabari.

29:40You know, my nephew, he's 15 months, my great-nephew, my niece is his mother, had some challenges, like some real challenges, family crying.

29:51I called this person, that person.

29:55You got to use it for your good, right?

29:57And that's family.

29:58And I would do the same for my founders.

30:00I would do the same for those who are close to me.

30:01If you have it and you trust what you're using it for, it can be a powerful tool.

30:09Yeah.

30:09Well, listen, you guys are also giving money, but those founders, those entrepreneurs, right, who you connect, you also have to say yes, right?

30:17If you have this entrepreneur with a great company, has all these VCs competing to get some of that equity to put money in, and he says,

30:26Vaughn, why should I take your money?

30:28What do you tell this great founder with this phenomenal startup AI enterprise software?

30:33Yeah.

30:34So, one, they should understand that we're investing in them, right?

30:39We have obligations, and we're in this thing together.

30:43And so, when they see Vaughn, first they got to connect with me.

30:46Like, is he a good vibe?

30:49You know, is he, do we share, are we aligned on the interest of this business?

30:55And that founder is also probably saying, is he aligned with me?

31:00So, taking the extra time to get to know the founder is part of my personal process and evaluating the founder.

31:06And then it is, once you understand that person, you understand the company, you understand the market and the product that he or she are building,

31:17then the mind map starts to work, and you start to demonstrate that early on in the process.

31:23You're building a financial services.

31:24Well, let me introduce you to these four people.

31:28And, oh, okay, Vaughn, thanks.

31:29But then you do it.

31:31And it's the light bulb.

31:33Some of these founders are like, oh, like, this guy is actually doing what he said he would do.

31:38You know, there are a lot of sophisticated investors out there,

31:41but sometimes at the core, Jabari, of winning a founder is just doing, making your word your bond.

31:48Just doing what you say.

31:50We have capital.

31:51We have expertise.

31:52But what you do, here's the help I need, Vaughn.

31:54I can help you.

31:56Then help me.

31:57Then do it.

31:58Bring the network to bear.

31:59And we do that as often as we possibly can.

32:02And the more we do it for our founders, that word will continue to spread that when a founder is talking to another founder,

32:10you should go talk to Vaughn.

32:12He wants to be helpful.

32:13You should go talk to MVP Capital.

32:15They've got this galaxy.

32:17They bring it to bear.

32:18They do what they say they'll do.

32:20Oh, and, yeah, they got money.

32:21They got a great set of LPs.

32:23They get the model.

32:24They're aligned with our interests.

32:25But those guys care.

32:27Those guys want to make money.

32:28They want to do well.

32:29They want to do good, and they'll do anything within their power to unlock that value for you, the founder.

32:36That is the message we want folks to have and understand about me and about what we are doing at MVP Capital.

32:43Yeah.

32:43Just make sure you emphasize we have money.

32:47Just emphasize that.

32:48And don't tell them you're a Cowboys fan like me, right?

32:50They might get off the off-ramp, right?

32:52No.

32:52Listen, we all make choices.

32:54We all make sure we had a good run.

32:56You see that?

32:5696.

32:57Yeah.

32:57Last time we won the Super Bowl.

32:58That's right.

32:5996 was an amazing year.

33:01If we were betting, you would have put the $500 on the Cowboys, right?

33:04If allowed bets back then, right?

33:06That's true.

33:07I probably wouldn't have done that.

33:09But I would continue.

33:1196 was a big year.

33:13Yeah, most definitely, man.

33:14Well, listen, get you out of here on some fun stuff.

33:16Million-dollar question.

33:17I'm sure you made a million dollars before.

33:18You're an investor.

33:19How did you spend a million dollars?

33:21Well, I'm a big family guy.

33:30I've got five siblings, ten nephews and nieces, two stepkids, and a wife.

33:36So whatever capital that comes in to the Crow household, the Vaughn and Cecily Crow household,

33:43there's a redistribution over time to my family.

33:48And so everything from giving cars to my nephews, to supporting scholarships, to sending kids to camp,

33:56and then there are personal interests that I have, like golf, right?

34:01Like sporting events.

34:02And buying Jordans.

34:03Like amazing things.

34:04My Jordans, I've traded the Jordans for some other things, largely because, you know, like,

34:11I give the Jordans now to my nieces and nephews.

34:13But I still have a pair of retro scissors in the closet that I wear every now and then.

34:18It's a million-dollar family.

34:19I mean, obviously, and the student loans, all that.

34:20It adds up.

34:21It does.

34:21Right?

34:22Yeah.

34:22When everybody has a problem, he calls Uncle Vaughn, right?

34:24Uncle Vaughn is going to take care of him.

34:26And that's a burden.

34:28It is.

34:29But I accept it.

34:30Yeah.

34:30I accept it.

34:31I mean, on Veterans Day, I was reminded last night at this event that my grandfather fought in World War I.

34:39Right?

34:40And so, and I've never met him.

34:42Never met him.

34:43But the only thing I can judge him on is the source of my existence, which is, who is Doris Crow?

34:50Man was special.

34:51If I have to judge him based on my mom.

34:54So I'm standing on the shoulders of folks' family, who I've never met.

34:58So I gladly accept the burden of taking 2 a.m. calls to help my great-nephew, to send the kids to camp, and giving back to the community.

35:07That is a lesson that I've learned from my parents, amplified by what I've been given, and then that experience with Ray and his family office, and even what we're doing today, where we have money to invest.

35:23We're going to generate returns, and we include the community in our carried interest to make sure that we are giving back to the community, as I think many of us have done and should continue to do.

35:35Yeah.

35:36AI apps, right?

35:37Because you're into AI software.

35:39So if you had to give me Vaughn's top three AI apps that you use daily, right?

35:44What are those top three AI apps?

35:46Yeah, so I use the platforms.

35:48I'm an OpenAI, ChatGPT person.

35:51Gemini is embedded into my email system.

35:53I use Granola, which takes notes for me on a regular basis, and there are probably a couple more that I've yet to activate, but for now, those are the ones that I use.

36:05And then I have an agent that I've used.

36:08I use Chat, OpenAI, and others to create an agent.

36:12So those are my go-tos that when I need information real-time, super helpful.

36:18Yeah, while we're here, anything that anybody's not talking about or not enough people are talking about on the AI front that still is keeping Vaughn Crowe and Dan and the MVP team up at night?

36:28It goes back to what's happening in particular verticals, legal, manufacturing, industrial.

36:37I think we're going to watch the power of AI create enormous efficiencies in this space.

36:43We were, not to promote my own book, but we were early in that, in this investment called Upwell, which is using AI to manage account receivables for the trucking business.

36:54Very early on, like 22 or 23, 22, where we went in and saw this vertical being wildly disrupted.

37:00So if I am the sophisticated investor or if I am, you know, my nephews and nieces, look at what I see by verticals.

37:09Look at the legal industry.

37:10Look at the health care industry.

37:12Look at sports.

37:14Look at particular sectors and industries that you're interested in and just watch what's happening.

37:20But don't be a passive watcher.

37:23Be an active participant.

37:25You know, the resources are so available to us that you have to just use them.

37:34And so that's what I'm curious.

37:36When I look at the parallels to what Dan and I are building, industries that are legacy that will be disrupted.

37:44And those are the industries that we should all be paying attention to.

37:47Yeah.

37:48Well, listen, I get you out of here on this, right?

37:49The difference between a good AI app and a great one.

37:53Off of my favorite book, Jim Collins, Good to be Great.

37:56What's the difference?

37:56Vaughn Crowe's difference between a good AI startup company and a great one.

38:03Are you doing the work and asking yourself the question, are you solving a real problem?

38:11Or are you following an ordinary trend?

38:13The founders who are taking the time to say this is a real problem and it can be upended by what I'm building.

38:21Here's why.

38:22I would like them to also be responsible AI builders, which is important.

38:26But if I can spend some time with a founder doing that, doing the work, doing the research, testing, et cetera, has an earned secret into a particular space, that person or those people will be great in building the next AI company.

38:46The person who may generate a return or no return is following a trend, like, hey, manufacturing shoelaces, using AI, I think this can be done.

39:01I think this is needed.

39:02It's like, yeah, help me understand that.

39:03Market size, why you?

39:05Why are you the right person to go and do this?

39:07And you have to prove that out.

39:08So I think the person that we're looking for and who we equate to having the potential to be great and build big companies, they are just fearless.

39:20They are wild.

39:22They don't take themselves too seriously, but they want to build a massive company.

39:26And they understand that they're building a company that will solve a real pain point responsibly that has enormous upside.

39:34That's who I think will win in this space.

39:38And on their break, they're not afraid to watch Woody Woodpecker with Vaughn.

39:42You know what?

39:43I might end up having a founder offsite.

39:45Yes.

39:46And we're going to start.

39:47Watch Woody Woodpecker episodes.

39:48Woody Woodpecker, like create an image of like Woody Woodpecker and a pair of Jordan 11s listening to Reasonable Doubt.

39:55There you go.