Differentiation and Depth in AI Application Builders

Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape.

Welcome back to another episode of Venture Unlocked, the podcast that takes you behind the scenes of the business of venture capital.

Today, I sat down with Rob Go, Co-Founder and Partner at NextView, to discuss the shift in seed-stage investing and what seed funds need to consider to remain viable. The conversation was sparked by a series of Posts Rob wrote, the first of which was called a Crisis Moment in Seed. We spent a lot of time talking about what inspired the post and how seed managers should adapt to the shifted market. For anyone investing at seed, this is a must listen as Rob shared so many insightful views.

Thanks for listening to another episode of Venture Unlocked. We hope you enjoyed our conversation with Rob. If you’d like to get Venture Unlocked content straight to your inbox, go to ventureunlocked.substack.com and sign up, or go to Apple Podcasts or Spotify and subscribe. Thanks again for listening

About Rob Go

Rob Go is the co-founder and partner of NextView Ventures, a thematic seed-stage venture capital firm focused on investing in founders solving meaningful problems for everyday people. Before launching NextView, Rob was a venture capitalist at Spark Capital, where he focused on the intersection of media, technology, and entertainment.

Earlier in his career, Rob led the “Finding” business unit at eBay, where he helped design and launch over 20 products that transformed the platform’s search and merchandising experience. He also worked in strategy consulting at The Parthenon Group, focusing on consumer and retail industries, and held product management roles at Fidelity Investments and BzzAgent.

Rob holds a B.S. in Economics from Duke University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Beyond venture, he’s a founding member of Highrock Church in Brookline, MA, and a dedicated husband and father who values family and faith as deeply as entrepreneurship.

NextView Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2010, with offices in New York, Boston, and San Francisco. They focus on seed-stage investments, typically ranging from around $250K to $4M, in companies building consumer, fintech, digital health, and B2B SaaS solutions that reshape what they call the everyday economy The firm has backed a number of notable companies, including ThredUp, Grove Collaborative, WHOOP, and TripleLift, all of which have achieved significant exits or growth milestones. Their hands-on, founder-first approach and thematic focus have helped them build a strong track record in seed investing.

During the conversation, we discussed:

* The Venture Landscape’s Evolution Since 2011 (3:27)

* The Entry of Accelerators Like YC and Mega Funds (6:21)

* The Role of YC’s Offer Structure in the Seed Market (9:14)

* Mega Funds and the Influence of the Power Law (12:21)

* AI’s Market Impact and Opportunities for Seed Investors (15:18)

* Defensibility and Differentiation in AI Applications (18:17)

* The Importance of Distinct Strategies for Seed Funds (21:37)

* Super Compounder Versus Classic Venture Approaches (24:26)

* Adjusting Capital Allocation for Non-Consensus Companies (27:26)

* The Role of Optionality in Navigating Downstream Capital (30:35)

* NextView’s Tactical Shift Toward Data and AI Tools (33:27)

* Lessons on Discipline, Dogmatism, and Missed Opportunities (36:22)

I’d love to know what you took away from this conversation with Rob. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you’d like to be considered as a guest or have someone you’d like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on X.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com