Nicholas Chirls has spent 15 years building what he calls the first pre-seed firm in NYC at Notation Capital and now Asylum, explicitly treating founders as artists rather than assets and seeking companies that are too early in markets that don't exist yet. He co-created the Origins podcast to interview LPs and demystify venture capital's money side, while maintaining an anti-institutional approach with small funds and direct founder relationships modeled after creative studios like A24. Nicholas Chirls has spent 15 years building what he calls the first pre-seed firm in NYC at Notation Capital and now Asylum, explicitly treating founders as artists rather than assets and seeking companies that are too early in markets that don't exist yet. He co-created the Origins podcast to interview LPs and demystify venture capital's money side, while maintaining an anti-institutional approach with small funds and direct founder relationships modeled after creative studios like A24.