It’s been nearly a week since David Petraeus resigned as head of the Central Intelligence Agency. Since then, the four-star general, who served the country for more than 37 years, has effectively been declared persona non grata for having an affair with his biographer. That’s not just shoddy; it’s knuckle-headed.

It was nearly five years ago that Founders Fund — led by four entrepreneurs with deep ties to PayPal and Facebook — burst onto the venture scene, promising founders more autonomy than traditional VC firms and promising investors that it would transform its connections, including to former PayPal executives, into rich returns.

So far so good, apparently. Despite a sluggish fundraising environment, Founders Fund, which has already seen a handful of its portfolio companies acquired — CoTweet, Mint, Powerset, IronPort, and CyberTrust — announced last week that it had closed a $250 million “oversubscribed” third fund, its biggest to date.

In a wide-ranging discussion earlier today, managing directors Ken Howery and Luke Nosek talked about that new fund, along with some of the firm’s highest-profile investments; notable companies they haven’t backed; and the nerdy — and potentially lucrative — areas that interest the firm today.