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Are you curious about the future of psychedelic medicine and the role of venture capital in funding its development? Look no further than our guest today, Brom Rector. As the founder of Empath Ventures, a VC fund dedicated to psychedelic medicine, Brom is at the forefront of a burgeoning industry with enormous potential to revolutionize mental health treatment. Raised in a military family, Brom’s personal experience with psychedelics has given him a unique perspective on their therapeutic benefits. In this 90-minute interview, Brom discusses the science, culture, and investing opportunities of the psychedelic industry. He shares his personal journey, the challenges facing startups in the space, and the exciting projects Empath Ventures is working on. If you’re interested in learning about the intersection of psychedelics and medicine, this is an episode you won’t want to miss. Stick around until the end to hear Brom’s advice for those interested in pursuing a similar career path or starting a psychedelic startup.
Brom links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bromrector/
PODCAST INFO:
The Learning With Lowell show is a series for the everyday mammal. In this show we’ll learn about leadership, science, and people building their change into the world. The goal is to dig deeply into people who most of us wouldn’t normally ever get to hear. The Host of the show – Lowell Thompson- is a lifelong autodidact, serial problem solver, and founder of startups.
LINKS
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzri06unR-lMXbl6sqWP_-Q
Youtube clips: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-B5x371AzTGgK-_q3U_KfA
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lowell-thompson-2227b074
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LWThompson5
Website: https://www.learningwithlowell.com/
Timestamps / chapters
00:00 Intro Brom Rector
0045 Eragon series
01:15 Psychedelics in real life
03:09 Personal experiences with psychedelics
03:48 Experiment on venture capitalist (VCs)
05:17 Wolfy VCs
07:07 Psychedelics and religion
11:15 Illegal psychedelics
14:30 Changing thoughts on psychedelics
16:05 Veterans, metnal health, sexaul assalt
17:36 Drug abuse
18:30 Science research
19:23 Psychedelics category breakdown
21:28 Invest before regulatory approval
22:16 VC vs startup founder
23:22 Jeff Bezos vs Joseph Stalin
24:00 Life in a hedge fund
25:45 Raising a VC fund
26:21 Time horizon
26:55 Machine learning background on investing
30:06 Traits to look for
31:02 Discerning fact from fiction
31:41 Lux Capital, where to get in early
35:55 Switzerland
36:27 Research tools
37:00 Twitter under Elon Musk, Youtube, and shadow ban
39:39 Beyond – Place in mexico that does psychedelic therapy
41:14 Opioid epidemic /sacklers/ fines
42:43 Empath ventures after 10 years
44:55 Mental health impact
46:00 Why mental health and psychedelics
48:33 Hard work, luckier you get
51:21 Leaving hedge fund
53:20 Difficulty in knowing if on right path
54:00 Lesser fun parts of fun
54:45 Honey pot investors
55:54 Investors taking time
57:50 Not losing knowledge
59:5 Platform vs specific
1:02:30 False marketing for startups
1:03:50 psychedelics defensibility
1:05:17 Brom during freetime
1:05:54 Making friends in 30s
1:06:55 Dating/friendship
1:07:46 Untapped potential with psychedelics
1:10:13 psychedelics for learning
1:12:00 Billion
1:13:07 Billions tv show and change
1:14:23 books!
1:17:01 Currently learning
1:18:45 Newsletter podcast
1:18:19 Keeping investors happy
1:21:21 Problem he needs help with