Jim Curry is the co-founder and CEO of BuildGroup, a venture firm based in Austin that has raised $330 million since its founding in 2015 and backed companies like Anaconda, Vidmob, DigniFi, and Benefitfocus. He brings more than two decades of experience in product, strategy, and corporate development from roles at Rackspace and Dell, and he co-founded OpenStack, one of the most widely used open source cloud computing platforms. Jim serves on the boards of Generation Serve and the University of Texas School of Undergraduate Studies. He holds degrees from UT Austin and Harvard Business School.

In this conversation, we discuss:

Jim’s journey from Rackspace to launching BuildGroup and why he believes in “longer, slower capital” to support mission-driven founders
How his experience co-founding OpenStack shaped his thinking on community-driven innovation and open-source software
What AI startups can learn from the cloud era—and why infrastructure still matters in the age of foundation models
Why Jim believes VCs often push startups to scale too fast and what sustainable growth looks like in practice
The impact of AI on venture capital and how BuildGroup thinks about investing in software companies that solve real problems
How founders can balance product vision with pragmatism, especially when building in volatile markets

Resources:

Party for Two - Lithium-ion battery risks - The Blacklock's report - Blue Jays & Maple Leafs