Episode #32: Is AI Coming For Your Job?, Myths About AI Native Startups, Specialist vs. Generalist Investing

In this episode we unpack three topics across the VC/Startup ecosystem: AI Is Coming for Jobs, And CEOs Are Finally Saying It: Fiverr CEO Micha Kaufman recently published one of the most candid memos we’ve seen, acknowledging AI’s very real disruption of the gig economy. We talk about what happens when leaders stop spinning AI as pure efficiency, and start confronting what’s being lost. The Myth of the AI-Native Startup: Why are so many “AI-native” companies failing to deliver meaningful results? We discuss Casey Newton’s piece on the reality of these startups, how investor FOMO is outpacing ROI, and what lessons from SaaS might apply as the hype cycle matures. Why Specialist Funds Lose Their Edge After Fund I: Nick Moran shared a sharp LP take: specialist funds often outperform early, but lose discipline as they scale. We debate whether today’s real arbitrage might be outside of AI entirely, and what long-term evolution really looks like in venture.

Fiverr CEO Memo on AI Stealing Jobs The Myth of the AI-native Startup by Casey Newton LP View of Specialist Fund I Performance by Nick Moran

(0:00) Introduction and host backgrounds (0:12) Welcome to the Learning Corner (0:45) AI's impact on gig work and CEO perspectives (5:42) AI native startups and investment expectations (11:37) Specialist VC funds and SaaS success stories (15:47) The challenge of marketing a generalist fund (16:37) Closing remarks and thanks