Sir Michael Moritz on ‘Auslander,’ Identity and Life as an Outsider

Kara Swisher (0:00)

You British types are smart, anyway.

Michael Moritz (0:03)

Well, some of them are.

SPEAKER_3 (0:04)

Yeah, some of them are, that's true.

Kara Swisher (0:06)

Fair point. Even the dumb ones are smarter than we are.

Hi everyone from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network. This is On with Kara Swisher and I'm Kara Swisher. My guest today is the investor Sir Michael Moritz. For almost two decades, he led the Silicon Valley venture firm, it was legendary, Sequoia, and turned it into one of the tech industry's leading kingmakers. He was an early investor in companies all of us know today, like Google, YouTube, PayPal, and LinkedIn. I covered all of it, including all of his investments. His keen eye for opportunity made him a legend in the valley and a billionaire a few times over.

But Moritz has a rather unconventional background in the world of venture capital. He was born in Cardiff, Wales. He's also the son of German Jewish refugees, who escaped Nazi rule as children. Before his time in venture capital, Moritz was, wait for it, a journalist for Time magazine. He was a good one and he's authored a handful of very terrific books I have to say. That journalism background informs Moritz latest book, Auslander, One Family's Story of Escape and Exile. It tells the stories of his own family, those who survived the Holocaust in exile, as well as those who did not. Auslander means outsider in German, and the book becomes a searing reflection on the ways grief and trauma are passed down through generations.

It's a bit of a surprising book and yet at the same time not. Michael compared to a lot of people in Silicon Valley is incredibly erudite. He's a student of history. Obviously, he's a beautiful writer and you will find this a pleasure to read this book, even though it's a very difficult topic. But one of the things I've always found interesting about him is he's willing to stand up. He's one of the few venture capitalists who stand up to Trump and continue to do so. At the same time, he can be more conservative. He's a complex guy and so I think it's interesting to talk to him. All right. Let's get into my interview with Michael. Our expert question comes from San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie. Don't go anywhere.

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SPEAKER_3 (2:57)

That's odoo.com/kara.

SPEAKER_4 (3:03)

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Josh Muccio (3:48)

I'm Josh Mucciio, host of The Pitch, where startup founders raise millions and listeners can invest. For our sweet Season 16, we're giving you more of what you love and less of what you don't.

Software is out. Actual cool stuff is in. We've got consumer brands, deep tech that changes the weather.

SPEAKER_6 (4:07)

Our big vision is to make it rain and snow on demand.

Josh Muccio (4:10)

We've got hardware that helps blind people see and dairy. I never imagined my life journey would be milk.

Season 16 of The Pitch is out now. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. This season is presented by NGIN.

SPEAKER_6 (4:25)

It is on.

Kara Swisher (4:27)

Michael, thank you for coming on On. I really appreciate it.

Michael Moritz (4:31)

It's very kind of you to have me. I'm flattered.

Kara Swisher (4:33)

So let me just say at the start, I texted you this last night and I was finishing up your book. You were one a very good journalist when you were one, as I was reminded. And this is a beautifully written book. You have not lost any of your skills as a journalist.