Coming to you the first Wednesday of every month the Yard Call is your monthly update on what we’re up to at Rock Yard Ventures — podcasts, perspectives, events, investments, you name it!

If you’re building something great or investing in the same spaces, reach out to Daniel or Ryan - we’d love to chat!

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This Month’s Headlines:

• The Dart Board — Episode 23: South Park Commons’ Finn Meeks talks company building, community, and identity!

• Rock Yard Reads is Back!: A history of the world’s most strategic resource — and what it means for AI.

• Rock Yard Travel: A quiet August and a busier September — see you in Santa Barbara & SF

🚨If you have something you want featured next month — let us know!

The Dart Board Episode 23: Finn Meeks | South Park Commons

On going from -1 to 0, finding world class community, and redefining your identity

Meet Finn Meeks, partner at South Park Commons (SPC), one of the most unique communities and funds in VC. In this conversation, we dig into how SPC supports technologists so early, they call it the 'minus one' stage, and they mean it. From being surrounded by the best people, to putting bad ideas to rest, their approach is unlike any other early-stage ecosystem out there.

We also learn how Finn's journey from rowing at the highest level, to having to start over from nothing, helps paint his approach to supporting founders, and why empathy is something everyone can use a bit more of.

🎧 Where you can listen…

Spotify Podcasts - listen here

Apple Podcasts - listen here

Rock Yard Reads - The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, & Power

This month we read Daniel Yergin’s, The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power

Quick Summary: A massive narrative recounting the history of the global oil industry, tracing its origins from wildcatters in Pennsylvania’s backwoods to its current position as one of the world’s largest, and most strategically impactful industries. The book explores how oil shaped modern capitalism, warfare, and international relations, becoming the world’s most strategic commodity.

Our Take: Readers of The Prize will notice two recurring themes: Firstly, recurring cycles between boom and bust, driven by overproduction and subsequent supply shortages. And secondly, repeated (often unsuccessful) efforts to stabilize prices and supply through agreements or regulation. These themes map well to the recent history of tech and the private markets — The Dot Com Bubble, the recent reckoning in VC, and now the immense optimism and investment in AI.

I’m not in any way saying we should expect another bust, but The Prize makes one think about what collaborative role the AI giants and regulators can play in preventing the overdevelopment of AI infrastructure and maintaining margins with some uncertainty around medium- and long-term demand. Working in tech, we have a bias toward action, to build fast and break things. But with something as valuable as AI and its accompanying infrastructure (i.e., today’s oil equivalent), the right approach may be somewhere in the middle.

Spare Parts

Interesting odds and ends from the last month.

Where You Can Find Us

Here’s the latest info on where the team will be traveling in the coming months. If you’re around hit us up!

• September 7-16 / Santa Barbara & San Francisco

  • Daniel will be in town for some meetings.

Reach out to Daniel or Ryan - we’d love to chat!

That’s it for now! ‘til next time.

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