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Navin Chaddha, Managing Partner at Mayfield and early investor in Lyft and Poshmark, discusses the revolutionary potential of AI in the $5 trillion services sector. He highlights how startups can thrive by combining human expertise with AI, making services more accessible to small businesses. Chaddha examines the vulnerabilities of legacy firms like Accenture and McKinsey as they struggle with AI integration. He also shares insights on outcome-based pricing and the ongoing conversation around job displacement versus the creation of new roles.

In this discussion, Chris Olsen, co-founder of Drive Capital—a venture firm shaking up traditional investment norms from Columbus, Ohio—shares insights on their unique approach. He dives into why their strategy of smaller funds and geographic diversity is thriving while others falter. The conversation reveals how Silicon Valley billionaires are flocking to Columbus and highlights groundbreaking investments blending technology with traditional industries. The episode also touches on the significant shift in the venture capital landscape post-COVID and the rise of Columbus as a tech hub.

Sean Neville, co-founder of Circle and Catena Labs, is on a mission to create the first regulated AI-native financial institution. Fresh from Circle’s impressive IPO, he shares insights on 'agent-native finance' and the upcoming role of AI agents in managing payments and treasury. Neville emphasizes the importance of building regulatory trust and necessary standards for safe transactions. He discusses challenges like preventing AI hallucinations and how this venture aims to move faster than traditional banking models.

This week on StrictlyVC Download, we're bringing you to our recent event in Menlo Park. Connie Loizos was joined by Katie Haun, founder and CEO of Haun Ventures, who shared an inside look at her contrarian "harpoon strategy" that targeted distressed crypto assets during the depths of crypto winter. They explored everything from stablecoin infrastructure to tokenization of real-world assets, to the regulatory landscape shaping crypto's future. They also get into what made Katie step away from A16z to start her own venture and why she believes we're still i the early days of crypto. Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 02:58 - The harpoon strategy: investing during crypto winter 04:42 - Stablecoins and cross-border payment infrastructure 08:03 - User experience evolution and enterprise adoption 10:09 - Global investment strategy and A16z relationship 12:13 - Political influence and regulatory landscape 14:59 - The Genius Act: what Katie likes and dislikes 16:24 - Criminal use cases: a former prosecutor's perspective 18:50 - Trump family stablecoin and conflict of interest 20:53 - Tokenization of real-world assets 23:25 - Market adoption and fund updates 24:36 - How Haun Ventures differentiates itself Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charles Hudson, Founder and Managing Partner of Precursor Ventures, shares insights into early-stage investing and the evolving landscape of venture capital. He discusses his data-driven approach to portfolio management and the impact of recent market volatility on LP expectations. Hudson highlights the importance of adaptability in light of liquidity challenges and emphasizes the shift towards sustainable growth over inflated valuations. He also draws parallels between today's AI advancements and the early internet, advocating for thoughtful investment strategies.

This week on StrictlyVC Download, Alex and Connie are joined by Justin Fanelli, the Acting Chief Technology Officer for the US Navy and Technical Director of Program Executive Office Digital, where he oversees billions of dollars in IT infrastructure and cybersecurity initiatives. He's also a venture partner at NextGen Venture Partners and serves as a senior fellow for the Open Forum for AI. In this episode, they discuss the Navy's innovation adoption kit designed to bridge the "valley of death" between commercial technology and military implementation, the partnership with Defense Innovation Unit to streamline startup onboarding, and how the Navy is measuring success through new outcome-driven metrics that prioritize sailor time saved and operational resilience over traditional activity-based measurements. Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction and background 03:19 - Innovation adoption kit and valley of death solutions 05:43 - Partnership with Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) 08:27 - Onboarding non-traditional vendors and startups 13:22 - Current pain points and AI adoption challenges 15:37 - Technology modernization and team structure 17:39 - Measuring effectiveness with world class alignment metrics 21:23 - Common failure points in technology adoption 22:09 - America first policies and supply chain resilience Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elad Gil, a solo capitalist and AI investing pioneer known for backing stars like Airbnb and Stripe, dives into the evolving world of artificial intelligence. He discusses how AI is revolutionizing company scaling and enhancing team efficiency. Elad also examines the nuances of human-AI relationships, highlighting risks like bias in education. He shares insights on AI tutoring's societal implications and the need for businesses to adapt amid the competitive landscape, emphasizing the delicate balance between founder involvement and delegation.

This week on StrictlyVC Download, we're bringing you to our recent event in Athens. Connie was joined by Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who shared an inside look at how the country is positioning itself as a refreshed hub for innovation, investment, and participation from the world's technology industry. They explored everything from policy changes to new global partnerships, to Greece's startup momentum — plus they offer a peek into why founders are starting to return to the country from shores near and far. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's episode was recorded live at StrictlyVC London, host Connie Loizos sat down with Accel partner Sonali De Rycker. They discussed Europe's regulatory challenges, compares US and EU tech ecosystems, and explores venture capital's evolving exit strategies in the absence of IPOs. Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction to Strictly VC Download and Sonali de Rycker 01:48 - The "Queen of European VC" title and its origin 02:11 - Accel's 25th anniversary in Europe and early challenges 05:38 - Evaluating AI startup valuations in the current cycle 09:03 - European tech potential vs regulatory headwinds 11:37 - Impact of US-EU trade tensions on tech companies 14:22 - Defense tech investment opportunities in Europe 19:31 - Capital restructuring for founder alignment: The Kry example 21:27 - Founder liquidity and lessons from the Hopin experience 23:57 - AI talent retention and closing thoughts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we're taking you with us to our StrictlyVC event in Athens. Connie led a panel discussion with some of Greece's most notable investors about Greece's  evolving startup ecosystem. You'll hear from Panos Papadopoulos: Partner at Marathon Venture Capital, Apostolos Apostolakis: Partner at VentureFriends, Marco Veremis: Entrepreneur turned investor who founded and Upstream before co-founded Big Pi Ventures, Myrto Papathanou, Partner at Metavallon VC which invests in early stage companies; and Dimitrious Kottas: Founder of a defense tech startup who returned to Greece after working at Apple in Silicon Valley. The conversation covers everything from the current state of venture funding in Greece, the role of pension funds in the ecosystem, why ambitious founders are choosing to build in Greece, and what systemic changes could further accelerate the country's tech transformation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices