Bill Janeway, investor/economic theorist

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This week on CUTalks we are talking to Bill Janeway, an active growth equity investor, senior advisor and managing director of Warburg Pincus, as well as economic theorist. He co-founded and is a member of the Governing Board of the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET), and a member of the Board of Managers of the Cambridge Endowment for Research in Finance (CERF). Following publication in November 2012, his book Doing Capitalism in the Innovation Economy: Markets Speculation and the State (Cambridge University Press) became a classic. This episode is an exciting collaboration with the Venture Capital/Private Equity society at Cambridge, and we welcome the president of the society Shelby Newsad as a guest co-host. 


This episode was sponsored by DesignSpark: design tools and resources for engineers to help make their ideas happen. The podcast was produced by Carl Homer, Cambridge TV.


Jump to the following topics:

  1. Bill’s background - 1:24

  2. Top criteria for investing - 4:05

  3. ‘The biotech paradox’ - 7:02

  4. Investor experience vs economic theory - 12:05

  5. Persistence in the returns of super-angels/VCs - 19:38

  6. Rise of super-carry in the PE space - 35:12

  7. European and Asian sectors in innovation growth equity - 36:03

  8. European’s negative interest rates’ impact on innovation economy - 38:27

  9. Founders seeking funding - 44:15

Recommendations from Bill:

  • Has Persistence Persisted in Private Equity?

  • Tom Nicholas - VC: An American History 

  • Tom Britton - Syndicate Room

  • Josh Lerner (HBS), Antoinette Schoar (MIT) - tracking angel syndicates

  • Fred Adler - ‘corporate happiness is positive cash flow’

  • Jennifer Pahlka - Code for America

  • Ramana Nanda - ‘reduced cost of experimentation’ 

CUTECComment