In this engaging discussion, Brianne Kimmel, founder of Worklife Ventures, shares her insights on navigating the AI-first startup landscape. She highlights why renewals are becoming essential revenue streams and the need for startups to quickly adopt multi-product strategies. Brianne also emphasizes the evolving dynamics of founder-LP relationships, strategic hiring, and her thoughts on embracing failure. With a focus on personalized venture support, she explores how modern founders are reshaping capital raising and building enduring companies.
44:18
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
insights INSIGHT
Renewals Are The New Revenue
Renewals are the new revenue for AI-first companies due to many trials and low ACV in AI mandates.
Winning requires making products sticky and building close leadership relationships amid fierce competition.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Raise Capital To Build Credibility
Encourage founders to raise substantial capital to gain credibility and fend off competition.
Strong backing reassures enterprise customers and attracts top talent in a competitive market.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Fail Quickly When Needed
Encourage companies to fail quickly rather than prolong mediocre growth without clear liquidity.
Fast failure frees founders and employees to pursue more ambitious, scalable opportunities.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
In this episode of The Data Minute, Peter Walker (Head of Insights at Carta) sits down with Brianne Kimmel, founder and managing partner at Worklife Ventures, to explore what it really takes to build enduring companies in today’s AI-first startup landscape.
They discuss the new playbook for go-to-market, why “renewals are the new revenue,” and how modern founders are raising—and deploying—capital differently. Brianne brings a tactical lens to everything from strategic hiring and secondaries to the shift toward multi-product strategies earlier in a startup’s life cycle. Plus, she shares her hot take on failure, why founder-LP relationships are more personal than ever, and how Worklife approaches DPI with intention.
Chapters: 00:00 Welcome & intro 01:22 Introducing Brianne Kimmel 03:14 AI-first GTM: What’s changed? 07:50 Raising strategically in a competitive landscape 10:46 The importance of failure—and knowing when to quit 13:12 Why companies can’t wait to go multi-product 17:00 Lean teams and smart hiring 24:22 Starting Worklife 30:00 Fund strategy and founder support 35:50 Delivering DPI the right way 42:00 Relationships with LPs 45:00 Angel investing as a community builder 48:30 The vision behind Worklife 53:10 Rethinking what VCs can do 58:05 Outro
The Data Minute