Driving Alpha

AI Meets Venture: Ben Orthlieb (Blue Moon) on Outperforming Traditional VCs

10 snips
Jun 25, 2025
Ben Orthlieb, co-founder of Blue Moon and former LinkedIn and Emergence star, is transforming venture capital with AI and behavioral science. He discusses how Blue Moon identifies top founders and predicts billion-dollar potential through innovative evaluation methods. With proprietary AI agents, they analyze thousands of startups yearly, focusing on true founder potential rather than traditional metrics. Ben outlines their unique two-meeting investment process and emphasizes the importance of small checks to foster entrepreneurial innovation.
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ANECDOTE

Blue Moon Renaming Story

  • Blue Moon was renamed from 212 to better represent their founder-first identity and broader geography beyond New York.
  • The name Blue Moon symbolizes rare, exceptional founders and evokes the spirit of creators and explorers.
INSIGHT

Rethinking VC Brand Dependence

  • Traditional seed investing heavily favors brands and leaders, making it hard for new firms to compete.
  • Blue Moon built a different AI-driven, founder-first approach because they lack a top brand today.
INSIGHT

Founder Focus & AI Sourcing

  • At Seed stage, 90% of what matters is the founders themselves, not external signals.
  • Blue Moon analyzes 9,000 teams yearly using AI, screening backgrounds and personality to focus on the top 300–400 teams.
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