Infinite Games – Macro Thinkers, Investing in Human Capital, and Why Financial Innovation Will Save the World with Ben Savage of Clocktower Ventures

“When we're looking at single founders, there probably is one variable that rises a little bit and that we spent a great deal of time thinking about which is, are they an attractor? Can they attract the things they need to be successful?” – Ben Savage

Ben is General Partner at Clocktower Technology Ventures, a leading venture capital firm focused on investing in financial innovation. He is also Lead Partner for the private sector of Clocktower Group, a global macro investment firm. Before joining Clocktower, Ben co-founded Artivest and spent years working in the public markets at firms like Bridgewater Associates, Gjelina Group, and Bellfoundry Advisors.

Chapters in this interview:

• 00:00:06 – Ben’s background and experience before Clocktower Group
• 00:03:02 – Ben’s learnings from the culture at Bridgewater Associates
• 00:12:35 – Clocktower Group and investing at the macro level
• 00:24:18 – Investing in human capital
• 00:31:36 – Focusing on fintech investing
• 00:35:16 – How fintech will save the world
• 00:43:53 – Why Clocktower does not invest in crypto
• 00:51:31 – Choosing not to lead deals gives Clocktower an edge
• 00:56:32 – On weaknesses and clear communication

For more, explore the transcript of this episode.

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Links from the Episode

• Connect with Ben Savage: LinkedIn | Clocktower Technology Ventures | Clocktower Group
• Wasserstein Perella & Co.
• Stanford Graduate School of Business
• Bridgewater Associates
• Steve Drobny 
• Microsoft
• Vanguard
• Richard Feynman
• Airbnb
• Bank of America
• Nordstrom
• Uniswap

Terminology

• Fintech
• Private market investing
• S&P
• NFTs
• Bitcoin
• Blockchain
• Crypto

Key Takeaway

We loved Ben’s take on just how important feedback is for improving your results—and why you should always view it as a gift.

“The really remarkable thing about feedback is that it's the only useful way you can improve. If you're not sitting and looking at results, looking at outcomes, and looking in particular at how those results were generated and critiquing that process, you can't actually change the results.”

“It's very challenging for us as human beings to actually accept critical feedback. The hard part, I think for most of us anyway, although certainly for me, but I think for many other people is trusting that the feedback is coming from a good place.”