David Hornik & Eric Carlborg: Why Silicon Valley's Biggest VCs Have Lost Their Way

Is venture capital still about backing great entrepreneurs—or has it become a giant money-moving machine?

This week on Forged in America, Ravin Gandhi and Al Goldstein sit down with David Hornik and Eric Carlborg of Lobby Capital, veteran venture capitalists who have spent decades investing in startups, navigating market crashes, and competing against Silicon Valley's biggest firms.

Hornik doesn't hold back. He argues that mega-funds like Andreessen Horowitz have fundamentally changed the venture capital business, questions whether today's AI leaders are using fear to protect their competitive advantages, and reveals why he turned down investments in Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Palantir, and Datadog.

The conversation also gets personal. Hornik and Carlborg recount how they offered to back Al with $50 million before Avant even existed, what happened when the fintech boom collapsed, and how decisive leadership helped the company survive.

In this episode:

• Venture capital's identity crisis: Why Hornik believes Silicon Valley's largest funds are no longer practicing traditional venture capital.

• The investments that got away: How Hornik passed on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Palantir, and Datadog—and why he stands by those decisions.

• The $50 million bet on Al Goldstein: How two investors backed an entrepreneur before he even had his next business idea.

• Surviving the startup death spiral: Why founders must act decisively when capital disappears—and why incremental layoffs can destroy a company.

• AI hype and regulatory capture: Hornik's provocative argument that some of AI's loudest warnings come from the people with the most to gain.

• The future of education: What AI means for students, universities, and the skills that will matter most.

• Small versus giant VC funds: How Lobby Capital competes with Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia by prioritizing relationships over assets under management.

• What makes a great founder: Why obsession, resilience, intellectual honesty, and problem-solving matter more than chasing a billion-dollar valuation.

From billion-dollar exits to painful missed opportunities, this conversation offers an unfiltered look at how Silicon Valley really works—and why the best investors sometimes succeed by refusing to follow the crowd.

About the guests

David Hornik is a longtime venture capitalist, early pioneer of VC blogging and podcasting, and investor at Lobby Capital. He has also taught entrepreneurship and venture capital at Stanford and Harvard.

Eric Carlborg is a veteran investor at Lobby Capital and former partner at August Capital. He has backed numerous technology companies, including Al Goldstein's Avant, and brings extensive experience in finance, governance, and helping startups navigate difficult markets.

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