An Amazing New Pod: UNInvested Podcast with Sahil Seth

What’s the key to success in just about any venture?

Well, I’ve got some good news. I think I learned what the trick is.

“I think it’s people just doing things – That was one of the biggest unlocks for me… It all starts with someone just taking action.”

Sahil Seth

That’s a quote from the host of the UNInvested Podcast, Sahil Seth. 

I recently had a chance to sit down (virtually) with him to discuss his podcast and slip into a bit of the philosophy of life that tends to be more universal and less complicated than many tend to think.

UNInvested is premised on discussions about tech, startups, and venture capital. Really, though, it’s about life’s journey. That was a pleasant surprise.

Once a month, Sahil interviews a creator or someone who works in finance or startups to glean a bit of their wisdom and share that wisdom with his audience.

But how does it really come across? Well, what did I learn from listening and talking with Sahil? 

Let’s find out, shall we?

First Impressions of UNInvested

After learning that I’d be taking this one on after my VA went on sick leave and having a background in the finance world during the great recession, a podcast about venture capital wasn’t something I was chomping at the bit to take on.

Was I ever wrong.

The podcast’s tone and style is based on the format of the particular episode format, which we’ll get to in a minute, but primarily the interviews are engaging, informative, and authentic. 

The tone tends to lean conversational, and it seems like Sahil has a knack for letting the conversation flow where it will while staying within some broad topical guardrails based on the guest’s experiences.

It just draws you in. There’s a hook, and then the discussion is off to the races.

UNInvested’s Bare Bones Ninja Production Quality

The production quality of UNInvested is absolutely impeccable considering some of Sahil’s unorthodox methods.

For instance, see that microphone on the boom? The one in the photo above?

Sahil admitted that it’s not connected to anything.

He mounts his iPhone for the camera, and uses the rooms lamps like a ninja to keep the production value extremely high. 

“I basically just take the audio that I film on my phone and then I just plug into that.” – Sahil

If you’re out there thinking about starting a podcast, that’s a great life lesson. You don’t need the best technology if you’re committed to doing the work. Keep it simple.

Needless to say, after you watched the episode, I learned a thing or two about production value on the road.

Hubris on my part.

An episode that I glomed onto immediately upon hearing it was a discussion Sahil had with Sarah Pinner on burnout.

The message was so completely relatable and universal. That wasn’t a discussion I was expecting to hear on a podcast ostensibly about venture capital. That world always seems so well put together, but humans are humans.

I was all in on that.

Episode 16 is also a standout. Essential advice on how to leverage college for entrepreneurship. This is a topic we touch on quite a bit in our video discussion. 

And it dovetails so nicely with Episode 20 that is a fascinating discussion with a couple of dropouts entrepreneurs who are crushing the event planning industry.

The podcast seems well researched, especially, the 5 minute bi-weekly “Small Bite” formats. The interviews are researched, but not rigid.

The 5 minute explainers are monologues that bring you up to speed in the time it takes to grab some milk at the corner store. Sometimes the brevity is respecting your audience.

What I Learned About Sahil and the UNInvested Podcast

We met through email, so I really had no impression of who this person was until we got on camera.

Sahil is a 23 year old graduate of Northwestern University by way of Villanova University. He was attracted to Northwestern because, as most of us are when we’re just starting out, he wasn’t sure where he wanted to end up.

“And then when I was kind of lost in college, because I didn’t really think it was a feasible path. 

And that’s where I kind of discovered venture capital. 

And that’s when it’s like, OK, this is like a more professional path you can go in, right? And being an entrepreneur, which is kind of open. 

So I really researched venture capital. And what I found is a lot of people have brands when it comes to venture capital. 

So I had a co-host my show at the time. It was very similar passions to me. 

But now it’s just me. 

And basically, what I discovered is building a brand is really important, and just the network, building a network.”

Sahil Seth

Northwestern allowed him to blend liberal arts and entrepreneurship. His zeal for entrepreneurship started early. Sahil’s first venture was slinging Nike socks he’d get from the next town over to sell in his town where they weren’t available.

Supply and demand. 

The subject of building a network and personal brand came up several times and was one of my key takeaways from the interview.

Perhaps the entrepreneurial fire is more prevalent amongst the generation after mine. 

Perhaps it’s a byproduct of unemployment?

We discussed the possibility of an MBA, but that isn’t on the horizon at the moment. After all, as Sahil pointed out in our interview, anything you learn in a classroom isn’t really actionable.

As he pointed out, another takeaway is that most of what you do successfully is a byproduct of stumbling through life, trying, and just taking action. A failed action is a useful lesson.

That seems to be a thread running through many of the interviews Sahil conducts. It’s worth taking to heart.

Strengths and Weaknesses of UNInvested

The strengths of UNInvested jump through the speakers immediately.

The interviews are extremely engaging, the production is excellent, and there is wisdom you don’t always expect to find in just about every interview I’ve listened to.

The show makes the listener think and the discussions share something universal. As we discussed in our interview, it seems as though the venture capital, startup, business niche is more of a guise or a vehicle to have engaging conversations.

This show is universal.

If there is a weakness is that the publishing schedule is pretty light (which is barely a drawback, I’m just greedy). One interview a month isn’t exactly full time, so a consistency is a must to keep an audience engaged.

Which should work itself out, as consistency was one of Sahil’s new year resolutions.

“And then this past January, I was like, I really am just super passionate about it. I found it like a lot of fun. And so I really dug deep to be, I really like this year, I was like, I want to be super consistent. And I have been super consistent, like posting. I went to post basically like once, one interview a month basically.”

Sahil Seth

And if you look at the posting schedule through July, it looks like he’s on his game.

Conclusion

My overall impression of the podcast if it wasn’t already abundantly clear is that it’s fantastic. 

It’s engaging, inspiring, authentic, and well produced. It makes you think. You walk away feeling contemplative and introspective.

This is one of my new favorites and it’s more than worth your time to listen to the interviews. They run 20 – 30 minutes on average, so they’re not an enormous investment of time.

But once you listen, I’d wager you’ll be a fan.

You can see my discussion with Sahil Seth on our nascent YouTube channel. 

The show is available anywhere you get your podcasts. They’re also available as videos, so I’ll link that here.

Go spend 30 minutes and tell me in the comments what you walk away with. Smart venture capital says you’ll be pleasantly surprised. I know I was.

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