The Full Ratchet
The Full Ratchet is a Chicago-based, privately held podcast media company founded in 2014 that produces weekly interviews with venture capital and angel investors. Hosted by Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, it serves VCs, founders, and aspiring venture professionals through free audio content and sponsorships.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What The Full Ratchet does
The Full Ratchet is a privately held podcast media company founded in May 2014 and based in Chicago, Illinois. It produces a weekly interview-format podcast focused on venture capital and angel investing, hosted by Nick Moran — General Partner of New Stack Ventures — with Brenna Kyper serving as executive producer. The show is positioned as the first podcast dedicated to demystifying venture capital and features long-form interviews with investors from firms including Andreessen Horowitz, Emergence Capital, Volition Capital, Premji Invest, and Acadian Ventures, plus a recurring "Investor Stories" segment aggregating multiple investor perspectives on themed topics such as anti-portfolios, founder traits, and conflict resolution.
The platform has produced 514+ episodes across its main show and the Investor Stories format, with archives dating back to 2014. Distribution occurs exclusively through digital channels — Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and the fullratchet.net website — with no physical product or proprietary technology disclosed. An adjacent free tool, VC-Rank, extends the platform by helping founders identify relevant investors based on business descriptions.
The business model is sponsorship-driven: content is free to listeners, and revenue is generated through advertising and sponsored segments (Ramp is explicitly named as a partner). The company operates with a lean team of 1–10, has no disclosed external funding, no parent company, and serves a horizontally segmented audience of active VCs/angels, startup founders, and aspiring venture professionals. The podcast also functions as a deal-flow and credibility asset for New Stack Ventures through the host's GP role.
The Full Ratchet firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Full Ratchet
- Legal name
- The Full Ratchet
- Website
- https://fullratchet.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The Full Ratchet is a Chicago-based, privately held podcast media company founded in 2014 that produces weekly interviews with venture capital and angel investors. Hosted by Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, it serves VCs, founders, and aspiring venture professionals through free audio content and sponsorships.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Full Ratchet industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital Media
- akta.pro primary industry
- Podcast Discovery & Recommendation Apps (MPACAKAF)
Keywords
Where The Full Ratchet is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
The Full Ratchet business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
Revenue model
- Sponsorships and Advertising: The podcast generates revenue through sponsored content and advertising partnerships. The show explicitly mentions partnerships with sponsors like Ramp, featuring promotional messages within episodes such as 'We're proud to partner with Ramp, the modern finance automation platform.'
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
The Full Ratchet product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Full Ratchet is a podcast that interviews VC and angel investing experts to demystify startup fundraising and venture capital. It features main episodes with individual expert conversations and "Investor Stories" segments featuring multiple investors on specific themes. The show also operates VC-Rank, a free tool that connects founders with potential investors through personalized matching lists.
Product overview
The Full Ratchet is a venture capital and startup investing podcast featuring interviews with VC & Angel experts. The primary offering is the main podcast show hosted by Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, with a special segment called 'Investor Stories' that brings multiple investors together for themed discussions. An associated free tool called VC-Rank helps founders find and connect with appropriate investors. The show publishes episodes regularly covering topics like defense tech, AI investing, founder lessons, and venture industry trends.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- The Full Ratchet Podcast A long-running interview-format podcast featuring conversations with VC and angel investing experts to demystify startup fundraising. Targeted at founders, investors, and aspiring venture professionals.
- Investor Stories
Companies that use The Full Ratchet
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
The Full Ratchet technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
The Full Ratchet partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- RampminorRamp, a modern finance automation platform, sponsors The Full Ratchet podcast. The partnership includes promotional mentions within episodes and visible logo placement on the website. Ramp offers a $150 signup bonus for listeners who book a demo through the podcast link.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
The Full Ratchet competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- This Week in Startups: Jason Calacanis's long-running podcast covering startup news, founder interviews, and venture capital. Direct competitor in the VC/startup podcast space with similar format and audience targeting, and significantly larger scale.
- Acquired: Long-form podcast covering technology companies and investments, with a large audience among tech operators and investors. Comparable interview-driven media format, sponsorship business model, and evergreen archive value proposition.
- The Twenty Minute VC: Harry Stebbings' venture capital interview podcast, one of the most established and direct competitors in the VC-focused podcast category. Directly comparable format (interview-based, weekly cadence) and overlapping audience of VC professionals and founders.
- The Pitch (Gimlet/Spotify): Podcast where startup founders pitch real investors live on air, serving the startup fundraising audience directly. Compares as a venture/startup podcast production, originally from Gimlet Media and now under Spotify's podcast network.
- Village Global (Venture Stories): Venture-focused podcast network backed by Village Global featuring interviews with VCs and founders. Directly comparable in targeting the early-stage investor and founder audience, often with the same type of guests as The Full Ratchet.
- Invest Like the Best: Patrick O'Shaughnessy's interview podcast focused on investing broadly including venture capital. Comparable interview-based format targeting sophisticated investors and operators, with comparable sponsorship-driven media business model.
Broad incumbents
- a16z Podcast: Andreessen Horowitz's flagship podcast covering technology, startups, and venture capital from the perspective of a top-tier firm. Compares as a VC-focused content platform but with the reach, resources, and institutional backing of a major fund, making it a broad incumbent rather than direct niche competitor.
- Masters of Scale: Reid Hoffman's podcast on entrepreneurship and scaling companies, with strong overlap in the founder/investor audience. Compares as a content platform serving the startup ecosystem but operates at significantly larger scale with media-company distribution.
- Y Combinator Podcast: Y Combinator's podcast featuring interviews with founders and investors from the YC ecosystem. Comparable founder/investor audience focus but operates with the distribution and credibility of a top-tier accelerator.
Emerging players
- Startup Funding Podcast (Sramana Mitra): Founder-focused podcast and media platform covering startup funding strategies and entrepreneur interviews. Comparable niche focus on fundraising education and direct founder-investor storytelling format.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
The Full Ratchet social profiles
Digital presenceThe Full Ratchet financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Full Ratchet leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
The Full Ratchet funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Full Ratchet M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Full Ratchet
What does The Full Ratchet do?
The Full Ratchet is a podcast that interviews VC and angel investing experts to demystify startup fundraising and venture capital. It features main episodes with individual expert conversations and "Investor Stories" segments featuring multiple investors on specific themes. The show also operates VC-Rank, a free tool that connects founders with potential investors through personalized matching lists.
Is The Full Ratchet a public or private company?
The Full Ratchet is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was The Full Ratchet founded?
The Full Ratchet was founded in 2014. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is The Full Ratchet based?
The Full Ratchet is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Full Ratchet make money?
One revenue line is on record: sponsorships and Advertising.
Who are The Full Ratchet's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are This Week in Startups, Acquired, The Twenty Minute VC, The Pitch (Gimlet/Spotify), Village Global (Venture Stories) and Invest Like the Best. Broad incumbents are a16z Podcast, Masters of Scale and Y Combinator Podcast. Startup Funding Podcast (Sramana Mitra) is listed as an emerging player.
Does The Full Ratchet have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Full Ratchet.
What industry is The Full Ratchet in?
The Full Ratchet's product category is Venture Capital Media. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPACAKAF, Podcast Discovery & Recommendation Apps.