Lightspeed VC Michael Mignano on Why Apple’s Threats Influenced His Decision to Sell Anchor to Spotify, Why No FOMO in Venture is Good (AI Aside), & What NYC Founders Need to Realize

Investing in someone is primarily a business relationship. It doesn’t mean you don’t develop a personal affinity — it’s best when you do! — but creating an enduring bond transcends the question of founder:VC dynamics and is often not even directly correlated with economic outcome. Our participation in Anchor ( later acquired by Spotify) generated both a return and a friendship between us and the founders. Specifically I’ve had the chance to spend meaningful time over the years with Michael Mignano as he went from startup CEO to Executive/Angel Investor and now VC Partner at Lightspeed. Our conversations are always enjoyable, spanning tech, parenting and culture, so I decided to ask him Five Questions here.

Hunter Walk: You got to work with a number of different VCs on your cap table for Anchor. Who was the best one and why was it Homebrew? Seriously though, were there things you saw as a founder — or an angel investor in other people’s companies — that informed your own approach to venture now?

Michael Mignano: Throughout my time building Anchor, I met and pitched many, many VCs. And I think if you were to look at…