Tim Schigel: Refinery Ventures

The Investor With Joel Palathinkal

In this episode, Joel Palathinkal chats with Tim Schigel of Refinery Ventures about his leadership insights and tech background. Tim discusses the importance of STEM education, his Apple experiences, and his venture capital journey. They explore his successes like founding Syntrifuse and the future of venture capital. Tim talks about the entrepreneurial experience gap, introduces the X-15 network, and explains search funds. They contrast traditional businesses with venture capital and discuss the challenges of founding ventures. Tim shares strategies for venture fund portfolio construction and the importance of growth and adversity quotients, concluding with career highlights and the power of valuing people and building relationships. (0:00) Introduction and Tim Schigel's leadership insights (1:52) Tim Schigel's background and journey in technology (6:02) The value of STEM education in tech careers (7:05) Tim's experience with Apple and venture capital transition (14:18) Tim Schigel's venture successes and founding Syntrifuse (23:00) Venture capital industry reflections and future outlook (27:46) Addressing the experiential gap in entrepreneurship (30:20) The X-15 network and the concept of search funds (33:01) Comparing traditional businesses to venture capital (34:10) Surviving the challenges of venture capital founding (35:02) Educating LPs on early stage venture benefits (35:42) Distinguishing venture capital from private equity (37:23) Strategies in venture fund portfolio construction (51:24) The growth and adversity quotients in entrepreneurship (55:22) Embracing paradoxical leadership in startups (58:23) Career highlights and imparting final advice (59:12) The power of valuing people and building relationships (1:00:18) Prioritizing meetings and effective leadership scaling