This interview features 26-year-old investor Sheel Tyle on venture capital's future. He thinks the market is overheated—some startups with no product get $20-30 million valuations. He's bullish on Africa, calling it 'the last frontier,' and backs Andela (a coding school with <1% acceptance and 99% retention). He says self-driving cars are overhyped short-term and blockchain still lacks a killer app. His advice: don't raise too much money just because it's easy.
In this episode of Invest Like the Best, the host speaks with 26-year-old venture capitalist Sheel Tyle, who recently raised $100 million for his self-founded fund, Amplo, serving as its sole GP. The core argument: VCs should focus on emerging markets like Africa, using Andela as an example to illus
Sheel Tyle, a 26-year-old venture capitalist, former partner at NEA, now founder of Amplo, which raised $100 million with him as the sole GP. The main thread of this episode: VC opportunities in emerging markets (especially Africa), the current valuation bubble assessment, and differentiated views on multiple tech sectors. The most impactful judgment in the entire episode: Sheel Tyle believes that "the ICO craze was sheer madness, taking advantage of regulatory vacuums" — he bought Bitcoin at $100 and sold at $1,000, but now believes blockchain remains "a technology in search of a solution," with no killer app yet.
Sheel Tyle argues that Africa represents "the greatest investment opportunity of our generation, perhaps the last underdeveloped frontier on the planet."
Historical Context and Data Support:
Andela Mechanism Breakdown:
Valuation and Momentum Differences:
Sheel Tyle believes the present is not a good time for venture capital, telling LPs, "I've made almost no new investments in the past two years."
Valuation Data Chain:
Assessment of VC as an Asset Class:
Advice for Founders:
Sheel Tyle argues that autonomous driving "may be the most important technological change of our generation," but it is severely overhyped in the short term, with profound long-term implications.
Current state and three major obstacles:
1. Technology: Basic functions are feasible, but price points have not yet reached mass-market levels, and edge cases remain unresolved—two feet of standing water, blizzards, children suddenly darting across the road, and other "unknown unknowns."
2. Insurance: Liability allocation is undetermined—software? Hardware? Government? Vehicle owner?
3. Regulation and politics: Driving (cars/trucks/buses/taxis) is the largest profession in the U.S., employing over 3 million people, more than 1% of the population—"We have never seen such a rapid and large-scale job transition."
Positive impacts:
From a VC investment perspective:
| Sector | Call | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| VR/AR | Overvalued | Has specific use cases (gaming, sports training), but "the technology itself may be bigger than the actual solution" |
| Blockchain/ICO | Overvalued | He was an early Bitcoin bull (bought at $100, sold at $1,000), but now "four years on, still no killer app"; ICOs are "completely crazy, exploiting regulatory ambiguity" — large ICOs like Filecoin "either got lucky or lost everything" |
| Machine Learning/AI | Undervalued | "AI will affect everything, and already affects everything" — the core is using data for decision-making, with data volume, computing power, and algorithms all growing exponentially |
| Drones | Fairly Priced | Military applications are undervalued; commercial applications (photography/weddings) are fairly valued; as a delivery tool (Amazon drone delivery) may be undervalued, but three major issues remain: cost, payload, and regulation |
Sheel Tyle argues that "networks are one of the most important things," but defines them in a way that fundamentally differs from conventional understanding.
Sheel Tyle focuses on technological innovation in traditional industries, particularly public safety software.
OneConcern Case:
Mark43 Case (Best Founder Decision):
| Position | Guest Stance | Key Data |
|---|---|---|
| Andela | Bullish (invested, serves on board) | Acceptance rate <1%, student retention rate 99%; 5 vacancies per qualified developer in the U.S. |
| Robinhood | Bullish (invested, large check in 2015) | No specific data provided |
| OneConcern | Bullish (Amplo has invested) | Uses AI to help FEMA assess natural disaster losses |
| Mark43 | Bullish (Amplo has invested) | Replaces 20-30 year old legacy software in police vehicles |
| Filecoin | Neutral/Risk warning | Large ICO, "either get lucky or lose it all" |
| Coinbase | Mentioned (Marc Andreessen/Fred Wilson investment case) | Not explicitly stated |
1. "VC as an asset class is terrible" (Sheel Tyle) — Investing in an average VC fund most likely results in getting back the principal or losing money; only 10-20 top-tier funds consistently generate excess returns, with a combined AUM of only about $5 billion.
2. "When uncapped convertible notes started becoming the norm, I knew things were overheated" (Sheel Tyle) — He encountered a founder with a successful track record who, with no customers and no product, received pre-launch valuation offers of $20-30 million, and even uncapped convertible notes.
3. "Four years into blockchain, there is still no killer app" (Sheel Tyle) — He once bought Bitcoin at $100 and sold at $1,000, but now believes ICOs are "completely insane, taking advantage of regulatory ambiguity"; large ICOs like Filecoin "either got lucky or lost everything."
4. "Autonomous driving may be the most important technological change of our generation, but it is overhyped in the short term" (Sheel Tyle) — Three major obstacles: edge cases remain unresolved, insurance liability is undetermined, and political resistance from over 3 million drivers facing job loss.
5. "Real networks are not conferences and cocktail parties, but building genuine relationships with a small group of people, without any business expectations" (Sheel Tyle) — He does not attend any conferences and only hosts 1-2 dinners per year; the most powerful networks are cross-disciplinary (e.g., former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard).
6. "The best founder decisions are truly integrating into the community of the problem they are solving" (Sheel Tyle) — Mark43 founders patrolled with police at 3 a.m., risking their lives to understand the real needs of the police and the community.
7. "Africa is the biggest investment opportunity of our generation" (Sheel Tyle) — Nigeria has 190 million people, with 60% youth unemployment, yet talent is no different from Silicon Valley; Andela, with a <1% acceptance rate and 99% retention rate, proves that "talent is universal, but opportunity is not."
8. "The best VCs add 10x value while spending only one-tenth of the time" (Sheel Tyle) — Doing what founders have no time or ability to do: recruiting independent directors, writing op-eds in the New York Times to influence regulation, and calling key people.