Consumer Software Thrives on Community Co‑Creation and Feedback
Loved hosting this off-the-record talk w/ @southpkcommons founders about what’s next in consumer software. The beauty of consumer is a community that builds w/ you—immediate feedback loops, use case evolutions, evangelism. No better time than this current period of creativity and imagination.
Let Curiosity Lead You to Meaningful Work
“Curiosity is the best guide. Your curiosity never lies, and it knows more than you do about what’s worth paying attention to.” Paul Graham on How to Do Great Work: https://t.co/Tv7W8Lqx0v
Software OS Boosts VC Firm Accountability and Transparency
The best part of building an operating system to run your VC firm is all the accountability and transparency it brings your org - all thanks to the magic of software. https://t.co/42TuNDK2Dx
Contrarian Bets Turn Impossible Ideas Into Success
Nine out of ten people might tell you you're crazy. The tenth might see what you see. This week on the Lightcone, @garrytan, @harjtaggar, @snowmaker, and @sdianahu discuss contrarian bets — the ideas that look impossible until they work. From Uber...
Kushner Brothers Leverage Billionaire Status for Tech Deals
Must be tough being a Kushner kid @JoshuaKushner - "Just raised $25B and invested in OAI, Stripe, Databricks" @jaredkushner - "Hold my beer, am heading to the Middle East"
AI-Designed Enzymes Boost Carbon Capture, Powered by LLMs
Incredible work by one of our 776 fellows, applying AI to engineer better carbon capture enzymes. Wild to see LLM's driving climate innovation already @hla_michael Check it out ⬇ https://t.co/YXyQUseoj3
Small SaaS Apps Can Yield Real Exits
Tom Ulman (@TomUlman) acquired two small SaaS tools (Text Run and Waitlist Email) that already had users, traffic, and potential. Then he did what great founders do best: executed. > Focused on paying users > Simplified the product > Improved support > Let SEO and...
Top Startups Hoard Cash, Rarely Spend Raised Funds
This is common among the most successful startups. It may seem wasteful, but it's a good idea to have some extra money in the bank as insurance against disasters, and the most successful startups have that luxury.
Zepto Secures $450M Funding, Hits $7B Valuation
Congrats to @zeptonow on the $450M round at $7B valuation! Zepto is dominating India's quick-commerce market with 1.7M daily orders (up from 500k five quarters ago). They're now operating 1,000+ dark stores across 80+ cities, with 10M+ new monthly users. https://t.co/XI4ZhfiTHd
Navigating Friend Investments and Staying Top‑of‑Mind
I've certainly had the experience of opening LinkedIn, TechCrunch, Axios, or Term Sheet, only to read that someone I know well has started a new company or raised a round that I wish I had seen. It never feels great,...
Semble AI Cuts Fire‑System Design to Five Minutes
Semble AI automates fire-system design for construction companies. It used to take billions of dollars and thousands of hours of manual drafting, building code lookups, and back-and-forth with permitting authorities. With Semble AI, it takes 5 minutes. https://t.co/fJLjwfMRYN https://t.co/qDiY9vmn4d
AI Support Engineers Boost IT Provider Speed and Margins
Everest (@_everestai) builds AI support engineers for outsourced IT providers, who service IT for 90% of SMBs. Everest helps them resolve tickets faster and increase margins. Congrats on the launch @yolandaaacao and @spenmcke! https://t.co/bnClbudy5Z https://t.co/wtB2VTMMaM
AI‑native Startup Central Raises $8.6M to Automate Back‑office
Congrats to @CentralHQX on their $8.6M seed! Central is the AI-native platform that eliminates back-office work for startups. While HR/payroll platforms give you software to figure it out, Central actually does all the work using agents and human experts across payroll, benefits,...
AI Automation Startup Achieves 326% YoY Growth
Solid AI automation startup listed on @acquiredotcom. Mind blowing 326% YoY growth! 🤯 > $2.9M TTM revenue > $961K TTM profit > 5000+ customers > Inc. 5000 ranked > $10M prior valuation Check it out here: https://t.co/YNOfwS36HJ https://t.co/6mEIjy6Wf5
Your Biggest Customer Is Your Biggest Vulnerability
While many think having a "largest customer" is an asset, it's actually a company's biggest weakness. If you can feel a single customer leave, you're in a delicate spot. If you have a customer you can't afford to lose, you're...
Automation Cuts Millions of Hours From Insurance Tasks
Healthcare staff spend millions of hours each year calling insurance companies and navigating portals. @SplendorHealth automates insurance workflows (benefits verification, prior auth monitoring, credentialing) for healthcare companies, eliminating the headaches of portal access, EDI, and AI phone calls. https://t.co/YsY0INT8ZT Congrats on the launch,...
Deel Secures $300M Funding, Valued Over $17B
Today @Bouazizalex announced that @deel have raised $300M at a $17BN+ valuation. He only did one podcast to announce the round and discuss the last 12 months. 20VC… coming on Monday 👇 https://t.co/n4ezdUmA5A
Unlock Existing ChatGPT Auth, Not New Sign‑In Layer
Huge if true. Wrote a bunch about the Sign in with ChatGPT opportunity back in April. “Today, there’s no secure way to link a ChatGPT account to another tool. No OAuth. No scoped tokens. No way to persist context responsibly. What’s needed...
AI-Powered SaaStr Instantly Confirms Fund Fit
With the next version of SaaStr AI VC, you won't wonder if you are a fit for any given fund anymore We'll just tell you. Right there, right now. https://t.co/ONomUsL4kw
Funding General Intuition to Advance AI Spatial-Temporal Reasoning
Super excited about funding @PimDeWitte on this exciting journey towards AI understanding the physical world !
Tech Deals Surge: Meta, Goldman, SoftBank Drive 2025 Venture Landscape
The only podcast you have to listen to every week. No politics. Just tech. - Thinking Machines Co-Founder Joins Meta for $3.5BN - Goldman Sachs Acquires Industry Ventures for $665M - Softbank Borrows $5BN Against ARM Holding to Invest More Into OpenAI. Spotify 👉 https://t.co/FMWC2UfrVG Youtube...
Y Combinator and A16z Dominate VC Under Stellar Leadership
Two brands in VC that are crushing right now more than any other: 1. @ycombinator: Under @garrytan leadership. Another level achieved. 👏 @t_blom is one of the greatest early stage investors right now. 2. @a16z: @martin_casado is a true OG....
Early Product Versions Mislead; Deel’s Massive Evolution Proves It
Deel added $300M in funding at a $17.3B valuation. When investing in early stage, it's a trap to judge v1 of a product. The co has evolved a ton since we invested. Here's @Bouazizalex's intro to Deel on Product Hunt, six years...
Outrageous Optimism Is Essential for Founders' Success
Huge honor being featured by @bigthink this week. We talked about why “outrageous optimism” is a required skillset for founders. Startups are built by people who believe just enough to keep going when everything says stop. When the odds are 1000...
Invest in Studio, Scale YouTube: Distribution Wins
Distribution is crucial. Founders-as-Creators trend is only gonna keep growing.
Good Cofounder Beats Solo, Bad Cofounder Hurts
Good cofounder > no cofounder > bad cofounder. This may seem obvious but a lot of people don't seem to grasp it.
New Riverside Session Delivers Startup Advice and War Stories
Just wrapped a Riverside session with the Intro folks. Cannot wait for you to hear this. Dropping all kinds of startup advice and war stories. https://t.co/9l04HG9cYC
Acquired.com Launches New Seller Insights and Analytics
New seller insights and analytics coming soon to @acquiredotcom! https://t.co/V2mQKaoOFj
Product Fit and Partnership: Keys to Seed Success
Two reasons why 99% of seed stage companies don’t make it to Series A: 1. They don’t build something people want. 2. Co-Founder breakup. Avoid these two and you are the 1%.
Boss Talk Returns, New Episodes Now Live
Boss talk is back: https://t.co/RJR1ph1oAS
Trust Intuition, Even when It Defies Explanation
This part in this piece on @JoshuaKushner really rings true to me. I'm a gut-driven, intuition-first person, so I know exactly what he's saying here: --- “My deepest insecurity is that I have these intuitions about things that I cannot explain to...
Unsexy Plumbing Profits While Others Chase Shiny Trends
"Boring" businesses print money while everyone is distracted chasing the next shiny thing. The unsexy plumbing always delivers.
AI Workforce Cuts Pre‑Construction Design Time by 30%
Structured AI (@getstructuredai) is an AI workforce for pre-construction design engineering. They save engineers 30% of their time by automating documentation and validating designs directly inside the software teams already use. Congrats on the launch, @stingrayzz22, @Green181024 and @brandonstarxel!
Woz Secures $6M to Build Trustworthy AI App Factory
Woz (@WithWoz1) has raised $6M to launch the first AI Product Factory. AI prototyping is easy. Building apps that real businesses can trust? Not so much. Woz changes that. Start building your mobile app today: https://t.co/MurBc2oV2a Congrats @BenjaminT007 & @ChefEckert on...
AI Takes 20 of Top 30 Secondary Spots
Just seen @SetterVC's latest report on the most in-demand secondaries for private companies in Q3: Top 3 Risers in the Top 30: 1. @canva up 8 places to #12 2. @CrusoeAI up 7 places to #11 3. @AnthropicAI up 2 places to #1 and...
AI-Driven Broker Automates Insurance Paperwork and Support
Fernstone is an AI-powered insurance brokerage for businesses. Their platform handles the back and forth with carriers, autonomously files paperwork, and instantly responds to customer requests. Congrats on the launch, @lukebbutton, @James_R_Chen, and @BryantLe18! https://t.co/iuDWVaTy8N
Sequoia’s Roelof Botha on Leadership, Decision-Making, Tech Outlook
This week's Uncapped guest was @roelofbotha, who runs Sequoia. We talked about his psychology leading the firm, how Sequoia makes decisions, and his views on the state of technology markets today. Unsurprisingly, I learned a ton. Hope you enjoy listening. https://t.co/07mb26KEBC
Minority Funding Still Means Investor Decision Power
Founders are often interested in minority transactions for one reason: Control. In a founder's mind, if they retain majority ownership in the company, then they'll fully control the strategic direction of the company, even if they give up a seat...
Founders Must Preserve Their Core Story Amid Metrics
Every company starts with a story that’s truer than the product. Over time, the product gets attention, the story gets diluted, and the truth that built it gets buried under metrics. The founder’s real job is to keep digging it...
10‑Year Founder Vesting Cuts Co‑Founder Conflicts in Half
If all founders started off with 10-year vesting, I suspect this would reduce and minimize like 50% of co-founder issues * It forces you to have the tough conversation up front * It protects the ones that stay from the ones that quit *...
Unreasonable Optimism: Why Top Founders Always Win
The best founders are optimistic to the point of being completely unreasonable and that’s exactly why they win.
Founder’s Playlist Curation Reveals Product‑Market Fit Signals
IC follow-up #28: "Please evaluate the founder's Spotify playlist curation process as it relates to finding product market fit."
From SaaS to AI: Keynote Tour & Meetups
Just finished keynoting at Canvas by Miro . My talk was all about transforming your company from SaaS to AI, and what a great crowd both IRL and online. Thanks to Andrey for the invite My next few events (if...
Uncovering Who's Profiting Most From the AI Boom
"Who exactly is making money in AI?" with @HarryStebbings @rodriscoll + me https://t.co/DzkGrW3qMu
FleetWorks Secures $15M Series A, Accelerates Trucking Matchmaking
Congrats to @fleetworksai on their $15M Series A! FleetWorks matches truckers with cargo faster, automating the manual coordination that bogs down small carriers. They've onboarded 10k+ carriers & dozens of brokers (incl. Uber Freight) in just 6 months. https://t.co/t2YmM7YPrM
Existing Investors Face 90% Dilution After OpenAI’s Shift
10% for all existing investors together for OpenAI feels like brutal dilution Even if the IRR and absolute gains are still epic
OURA Secures $900M Funding, Hits $11B Valuation
It's official for OURA: • $11B valuation • New $900M in funding led by Fidelity Hard-earned success for a team that's on track for $1B in revenue this year, 2x'ing for the 2nd year in a row. The vision and execution from @ouraring...
Excellent Products Resist Easy Variation and Change
Good Products Are Hard to Vary. https://t.co/5EGzOpQ9xr
