In this episode, Klara Jagosova speaks with Brian Modoff, founder and CEO of MC3 Ventures, Advisory Partner at Summit Partners, and former EVP of Corporate Strategy at Qualcomm. Brian's journey spans enlisting in the US Navy at 17, eight years of night school while working full time, 23 years as one of Wall Street's most consistently top-ranked technology analysts, a pivotal role at Qualcomm leading M&A and venture strategy, and now investing in the next generation of breakthrough companies as a venture capitalist.

From a cryptology-equipped destroyer off the coast of Iran to the boardrooms of Deutsche Bank and Qualcomm, Brian's path is a masterclass in persistence, pattern recognition, and never crawling under your desk when things go wrong.

The conversation explores:

How Brian built a 23-year career on Wall Street, outlasting an average analyst lifespan of 8 years
Spotting Qualcomm's rise before anyone else — and having the courage to put a sell rating on them first
The $30 billion conversation with Steve Mollenkopf that led to joining Qualcomm as EVP
Why the right idea matters more than the perfect founding team in early-stage investing
Why putting a CFO in charge of a tech company is an automatic sell signal
Why America's venture capital community is its most important economic asset
The one piece of advice Brian would give every young person entering the workforce today

🎙️ Watch Brian's 6G Keynote (B6GS 2025): https://ieeetv.ieee.org/channels/communications/keynote-brian-modoff-summit-partners-b6gs-2025

Key themes: venture capital, Wall Street, Qualcomm, MC3 Ventures, Summit Partners, tech investing, startup investing, innovation, persistence, leadership, AI, engineering careers, wireless technology, mosaic theory, M&A strategy.

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