In this episode, Sasha Orloff speaks with Usman Gul, founder and CEO of Metal, about building an AI-driven operating system for fundraising backed by Y Combinator and Andreessen Horowitz that helps founders avoid wasting 80% of their investor meetings by using data-driven insights to identify the most likely investors based on historical funding patterns, industry benchmarks, and relationship intelligence across over 500,000 venture rounds.
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SPONSORS:
Notion
Boost your startup with Notion—the ultimate connected workspace trusted by thousands worldwide! From engineering specs to onboarding and fundraising, Notion keeps your team organized and efficient. For a limited time, get 6 months of Notion AI FREE to supercharge your workflow. Claim your offer now at https://notion.com/startups/puzzle
Puzzle
📈 No more waiting for month's end. No more manual reconciliations, just financials that keep up with you. Puzzle is leading a new movement with an AI first ledger, built for speed, automation, and real time decision making. Join today at https://puzzle.io/
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RECOMMENDED IN THIS EPISODE:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gulsf/
http://www.metal.so
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X/SOCIAL:
@usmangul (Usman)
@sashaorloff (Sasha)
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TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Preview
(00:44) Intro
(01:28) Meet Usman Gul from Metal
(01:59) Genesis of Metal
(04:32) Metal's AI-driven fundraising solutions
(08:08) Common fundraising mistakes and solutions
(13:24) Sponsors: Notion | Puzzle
(14:15) Importance of modern tools for startups
(21:40) Metal manifesto
(24:35) Key indicators for successful fundraising
(25:53) Telling the right story to investors
(26:44) Challenges and insights from previous ventures
(27:13) Evolution of investor targeting
(28:38) Predictive intelligence and the future of Metal
(30:41) Current state of fundraising tools
(36:53) Building Metal with minimal capital
(39:19) Advice for founders on fundraising
(47:29) Wrap
