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Jan 25, 2016 · 18m · 20vc

20VC: Bryan Johnson @ OS Fund & Braintree on Investing In The Operating Systems Of Life & Why VC Should All Be Open Source

Bryan Johnson · 10m spoken Harry Stebbings · 5m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

In this episode of The 20 Minute VC, host Harry Stebbings interviews Bryan Johnson, founder of Braintree and OS Fund, about his journey into venture capital and his mission to fund breakthrough science that rewrites the fundamental operating systems of human life. Johnson discusses his long-term investment philosophy, open-sourcing deep tech investment frameworks, and strategies for accelerating global scientific innovation.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Harry holds 32% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Harry as informed peer 2.6 Guest teaching 3.0 Guest disagreement 0.4 Harry pushing back 0.8
05100:0010:002:00–4:32 · Harry as informed peer 1/10 Bryan Johnson's Origin Story and Founding OS Fund Harry asks broad, friendly background questions to set up Bryan's origin story. Bryan lays out his core worldview that modern technology allows humans to program existence, establishing a high-level philosophical framework without any friction from the host.4:32–7:28 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Four Major Problem Areas and Societal Initiatives Bryan outlines his four major focus areas for humanity. Harry interrupts briefly to ask if his children's initiative is EdTech, which Bryan gently reframes by explaining his focus on writing books to shift aspirations.7:32–12:23 · Harry as informed peer 4/10 Balancing Social Impact with Venture Capital Returns Harry asks insightful questions about VC returns versus social impact and open-sourcing due diligence playbooks. Bryan educates the host on how OS Fund uses decision analysis models from Big Pharma and Big Oil to evaluate complex scientific investments.12:23–15:56 · Harry as informed peer 4/10 Investment Philosophy, Portfolio Areas, and Co-Investors Harry demonstrates familiarity with venture operations by asking about CTO positions versus expert networks and referencing established co-investor funds. Bryan enthusiastically details their multidisciplinary expert advisory process.15:56–17:37 · Harry as informed peer 2/10 Quickfire Q&A and Feedback The segment covers a standard quickfire question format. At the conclusion, Bryan offers unsolicited praise for Harry's warm and accessible interviewing style.2:00–4:32 · Guest teaching 3/10 Bryan Johnson's Origin Story and Founding OS Fund Harry asks broad, friendly background questions to set up Bryan's origin story. Bryan lays out his core worldview that modern technology allows humans to program existence, establishing a high-level philosophical framework without any friction from the host.4:32–7:28 · Guest teaching 3/10 Four Major Problem Areas and Societal Initiatives Bryan outlines his four major focus areas for humanity. Harry interrupts briefly to ask if his children's initiative is EdTech, which Bryan gently reframes by explaining his focus on writing books to shift aspirations.7:32–12:23 · Guest teaching 4/10 Balancing Social Impact with Venture Capital Returns Harry asks insightful questions about VC returns versus social impact and open-sourcing due diligence playbooks. Bryan educates the host on how OS Fund uses decision analysis models from Big Pharma and Big Oil to evaluate complex scientific investments.12:23–15:56 · Guest teaching 3/10 Investment Philosophy, Portfolio Areas, and Co-Investors Harry demonstrates familiarity with venture operations by asking about CTO positions versus expert networks and referencing established co-investor funds. Bryan enthusiastically details their multidisciplinary expert advisory process.15:56–17:37 · Guest teaching 2/10 Quickfire Q&A and Feedback The segment covers a standard quickfire question format. At the conclusion, Bryan offers unsolicited praise for Harry's warm and accessible interviewing style.2:00–4:32 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Bryan Johnson's Origin Story and Founding OS Fund Harry asks broad, friendly background questions to set up Bryan's origin story. Bryan lays out his core worldview that modern technology allows humans to program existence, establishing a high-level philosophical framework without any friction from the host.4:32–7:28 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Four Major Problem Areas and Societal Initiatives Bryan outlines his four major focus areas for humanity. Harry interrupts briefly to ask if his children's initiative is EdTech, which Bryan gently reframes by explaining his focus on writing books to shift aspirations.7:32–12:23 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Balancing Social Impact with Venture Capital Returns Harry asks insightful questions about VC returns versus social impact and open-sourcing due diligence playbooks. Bryan educates the host on how OS Fund uses decision analysis models from Big Pharma and Big Oil to evaluate complex scientific investments.12:23–15:56 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Investment Philosophy, Portfolio Areas, and Co-Investors Harry demonstrates familiarity with venture operations by asking about CTO positions versus expert networks and referencing established co-investor funds. Bryan enthusiastically details their multidisciplinary expert advisory process.15:56–17:37 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Quickfire Q&A and Feedback The segment covers a standard quickfire question format. At the conclusion, Bryan offers unsolicited praise for Harry's warm and accessible interviewing style.2:00–4:32 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Bryan Johnson's Origin Story and Founding OS Fund Harry asks broad, friendly background questions to set up Bryan's origin story. Bryan lays out his core worldview that modern technology allows humans to program existence, establishing a high-level philosophical framework without any friction from the host.4:32–7:28 · Harry pushing back 1/10 Four Major Problem Areas and Societal Initiatives Bryan outlines his four major focus areas for humanity. Harry interrupts briefly to ask if his children's initiative is EdTech, which Bryan gently reframes by explaining his focus on writing books to shift aspirations.7:32–12:23 · Harry pushing back 2/10 Balancing Social Impact with Venture Capital Returns Harry asks insightful questions about VC returns versus social impact and open-sourcing due diligence playbooks. Bryan educates the host on how OS Fund uses decision analysis models from Big Pharma and Big Oil to evaluate complex scientific investments.12:23–15:56 · Harry pushing back 1/10 Investment Philosophy, Portfolio Areas, and Co-Investors Harry demonstrates familiarity with venture operations by asking about CTO positions versus expert networks and referencing established co-investor funds. Bryan enthusiastically details their multidisciplinary expert advisory process.15:56–17:37 · Harry pushing back 0/10 Quickfire Q&A and Feedback The segment covers a standard quickfire question format. At the conclusion, Bryan offers unsolicited praise for Harry's warm and accessible interviewing style.

speaking balance: gold is Harry, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Harry 73.4% · guest 26.6%0:00 · Harry 73.4% · guest 26.6%3:00 · Harry 7.1% · guest 92.9%3:00 · Harry 7.1% · guest 92.9%6:00 · Harry 15.7% · guest 84.3%6:00 · Harry 15.7% · guest 84.3%9:00 · Harry 20.7% · guest 79.3%9:00 · Harry 20.7% · guest 79.3%12:00 · Harry 24.5% · guest 75.5%12:00 · Harry 24.5% · guest 75.5%15:00 · Harry 45.9% · guest 54.1%15:00 · Harry 45.9% · guest 54.1%18:00 · Harry 100% · guest 0%18:00 · Harry 100% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 5:58 Mild reframe on EdTech definition

In an extraordinarily polite interview, Bryan offers the mildest pushback by clarifying 'Well, so I wrote a children's book' when Harry attempts to label his youth initiative as traditional EdTech.

 Hardest push from Harry ▶ 11:14 Probing on open-source due diligence trends

Harry presses Bryan on whether open-sourcing due diligence is becoming common, noting that OS Fund is uniquely transparent compared to typical VCs.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 9:40 Decision analysis adaptation from heavy industry

Bryan explains how non-scientist investors can evaluate breakthrough science by borrowing decision analysis frameworks from Big Pharma and Big Oil.

 Harry holds his own ▶ 11:14 Demonstrating VC domain knowledge

Harry highlights his understanding of venture industry norms by observing how rare OS Fund's open-source playbook approach is compared to traditional funds.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicHarry as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementHarry pushing backWhy
Bryan Johnson's Origin Story and Founding OS Fund 1300 Harry asks broad, friendly background questions to set up Bryan's origin story. Bryan lays out his core worldview that modern technology allows humans to program existence, establishing a high-level philosophical framework without any friction from the host.
Four Major Problem Areas and Societal Initiatives 2311 Bryan outlines his four major focus areas for humanity. Harry interrupts briefly to ask if his children's initiative is EdTech, which Bryan gently reframes by explaining his focus on writing books to shift aspirations.
Balancing Social Impact with Venture Capital Returns 4412 Harry asks insightful questions about VC returns versus social impact and open-sourcing due diligence playbooks. Bryan educates the host on how OS Fund uses decision analysis models from Big Pharma and Big Oil to evaluate complex scientific investments.
Investment Philosophy, Portfolio Areas, and Co-Investors 4301 Harry demonstrates familiarity with venture operations by asking about CTO positions versus expert networks and referencing established co-investor funds. Bryan enthusiastically details their multidisciplinary expert advisory process.
Quickfire Q&A and Feedback 2200 The segment covers a standard quickfire question format. At the conclusion, Bryan offers unsolicited praise for Harry's warm and accessible interviewing style.

Statements from this episode (10)

Assertion Supported
Bryan Johnson launched OS Fund in 2014 with $100M of personal capital
“Brian launched OS Fund following that in 2014 with a hundred million dollars of his personal capital to support inventors and scientists who aim to benefit humanity by rewriting the operating systems of life.”
Harry Stebbings Jan 25, 2016 ▶ 0:35
Insight
Bryan Johnson: Modern technology allows humanity to program its own existence
“I spent, during that time, a lot of, spent a lot of time reading science and technology and trying to figure out where the human race was going, and I came to, like, was one realization that changed my outlook and my understanding forever, my relationship with…”
Bryan Johnson Jan 25, 2016 ▶ 2:59
Disclosure
Bryan Johnson focuses OS Fund on capitalistic, return-driven venture investments
“So at this point in my life, I've decided to use to pursue capitalistic models where I can invest in something, it can make money, and then it can also return a greater sum to me.”
Bryan Johnson Jan 25, 2016 ▶ 8:06
Opinion
Bryan Johnson: Hard science VC is less competitive than software investing
“I found it to be less competitive and less cutthroat and Then say, for example, you find the behavior and investing in a particular app or software company where you have, you know, dozens and dozens of companies that could are viable capital sources. There's …”
Bryan Johnson Jan 25, 2016 ▶ 8:41
Disclosure
Bryan Johnson: OS Fund built science investment frameworks using Big Pharma practices
“So we used we went out and analyzed a number of different decision-making processes for Big Pharma and Big Oil, how they actually gather data, process data, and make decisions. So we used decision analysis and created a model that helped guide us through what …”
Bryan Johnson Jan 25, 2016 ▶ 10:14
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Bryan Johnson: OS Fund invests on multi-decade horizons for transformative returns
“My benchmark of is the goal is to benefit the lives of billions of people for generations to come. It's like rewrite the major operating systems of our society. And so if a company can do that and they can make money doing it, Then I don't really care what the…”
Bryan Johnson Jan 25, 2016 ▶ 12:59
Disclosure
Bryan Johnson: OS Fund prioritizes synthetic biology and material science
“We've been mostly in synthetic biology and genomics, done some space and AI. But material science is an area that's very interesting to us.”
Bryan Johnson Jan 25, 2016 ▶ 13:47
Opinion
Bryan Johnson: Blockchain's societal impact is as unpredictable as the printing press
“I love it. It's a fantastic technology. It's that, I mean, I guess I kind of think of it like, I mean, the blockchain technology, I kind of think of it like the printing press, where when we figured out how we could, someone could write words, and it could be …”
Bryan Johnson Jan 25, 2016 ▶ 14:46
Disclosure
Bryan Johnson: OS Fund frequently co-invests with Founders Fund and Lux Capital
“Yeah, we, so quite a few. Like we like DC, VC, Founders Fund, Lux Capital. There's like, there's probably like a dozen or so we love that we love working with. They again are just Great people, good processes, smart minds, and very collaborative.”
Bryan Johnson Jan 25, 2016 ▶ 15:35
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Bryan Johnson: Ginkgo Bioworks making biology programmable will transform Earth
“Ginkgo Bioworks, because they are making biology a predictable programming language, which will radically transform planet Earth.”
Bryan Johnson Jan 25, 2016 ▶ 17:10
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