08: From the CIA to Google to 400+ pre-seed investments, first and early to define pre-seed - Charles Hudson, Precursor

Hailing from Michigan, Charles developed an early obsession with the public markets in high school. Charles Hudson is now the Managing Partner at Precursor Ventures, a pre-seed venture fund that has defined and has become synonymous with “pre-seed”. Charles is known for his ability to identify and mentor early-stage companies that have the potential to disrupt their industries - first and early - including companies like the Athletic (acquired by the NY Times for $550M), Bobbie (recently raised a $70M Series C), Carrot Fertility (recently raised $75M Series C) and Pair Eyewear (recently raised $75M Series C). Charles writes checks of $250k - $500k at Pre-seed and Seed. He is a Generalist with a focus on digital health, media, and software. Highlights: The boomerang back to VC: Charles shares his unique path from Michigan to Silicon Valley, starting in VC, then moving to Google and various startups before returning to VC.Founding Precursor Ventures: Charles spotted an opportunity to invest in non-obvious founders pre-product and pre-revenue while other firms moved upstream in 2015. This made him one of the first in a second wave of pre-seed firms to launch, and 10 years later, he’s become the go-to first funder.Evaluating Founders vs. Ideas: Charles is a founder-first investor (founder 70%, idea 30%). He shares his criteria for assessing talent and reveals indicators of success that have generated alpha in his portfolio.Investment Strategy over Trends: Even in the face of trends like crypto, AI, and the economic downturn, Charles stays steady and focused on people and his definition of pre-seed, not morphing with industry shifts. Links:Follow Charles Hudson on Twitter: @chudsonRead Charles’ blog on SubstackLearn more about Precursor Ventures: Precursor VenturesConnect with Charles Hudson on LinkedIn: Charles Hudson Connect with Us:Follow the First Funders PodcastNewsletter with behind-the-scenes access and key takeawaysTwitter/X: @shaherose | @aviraniEmail us with feedback and suggestions on topics and guests Disclaimer: This is for information purposes only. This is not investment advice. (00:00) - Intro (00:52) - Early Days and Building Community (03:09) - Interning at Smith Barney to the CIA's Venture firm (08:59) - Embracing Risk and Independent Thinking defines a solo GP (11:05) - Operating Experience As Product Manager, then Business Development at Google and a Return to VC (16:50) - Charles' first role as an advisor surprisingly had a $300M acquisition by Paypal (19:55) - Joining Softech (now Uncorked) in 2010 when Seed investors were known as Super Angels (21:10) - Launching Precursor to fill the gap created by Super Angel Funds going upstream and defining a new category - "pre-seed" (23:50) - First Investments: the role of macro tailwinds and headwinds (27:57) - Evaluating Founders 70% and Ideas 30% (31:03) - The Role of Business Model Innovation in Generating Alpha (33:25) - Learning from Challenging Investments: If you don't know its ok, but say something (38:01) - Staying True to Your Investment Strategy (40:44) - Charles' best investment: The Athletic, acquired by the New York Times for $525M (45:55) - How he Decides: Evaluating Founders and Their Potential, Weird Patterns, Product Velocity, Remote Teams (51:38) - Current Investment Strategies, Focus Areas and Check Sizes (53:25) - Following High-Potential Talent vs. Investing Theses: People vs. Market vs. Product Evaluations (57:00) - Speed Round