Fund/Build/Scale

I interviewed Laura Bisesto (global head of policy and privacy at Nextdoor) in January 2024 to get her advice for AI startups that are just starting out. We talked about compliance, how to recognize when you need in-house help, and the overall importance of planning for worst case scenarios. She also had some thoughts for rolling out new AI-powered features, creating user advisory boards, and navigating a patchwork of state, federal and international laws. Here’s a breakdown of our conversation: “You don’t have to be an ethicist to start an AI ethics program..” (2:44) don’t wait for lawyers: work on safety and trust from Day 1 (4:44) how Nextdoor developed and launched its generative AI principles (7:21) evaluate and reduce risk before rolling out AI-powered features (9:05) why product teams should oversee risk management (10:54) "the regulatory environment is evolving" (12:25) the Biden administration's October 2023 executive order on AI (15:04) how to position your startup for compliance with future regulation (18:32) trickery and a lack of transparency can lead to expensive mistakes (22:22) be careful when sharing user data between different jurisdictions (23:45) the most common trust, safety and compliance mistakes AI founders make (25:23) Fund/Build/Scale is sponsored by Mayfield and Securiti.

For episode 5, I interviewed Maria Latushkin, GVP of Technology and Engineering at Albertsons, the second-largest grocery chain in America, and Jack Berkowitz, Chief Data Officer at Securiti (previously with ADP), to get their insider's perspective on how enterprise-level customers buy software and services from AI startups.   The most surprising thing I learned came early in the chat: spinning up a pilot program or a partnership creates tangible risks for enterprise customers, which means they can only afford to work with a few startups at a time.   Maria and Jack each have startup experience, but their time as C-level execs inside public companies gives them a unique perspective on breaking into enterprise sales.    In this episode, we'll talk about sales strategies, navigating the procurement process, how to run a proof of concept or pilot program, and other essential topics.   Here’s a full breakdown:   The challenges and rewards of being an early-stage company's first customer (3:00) What one former Fortune 250 software buyer thinks about your GTM strategy (5:52) How to keep the whale you landed from pulling your boat under (7:33) What it looks like when a pilot, POC or partnership goes south (8:49) Customer discovery: “you can talk to me, but don’t sell to me.” (10:55) Enterprise software buyers already know your tech isn’t “bulletproof” (12:59) Red flag: don’t talk to customers like they’re investors! (14:21) “How can I get that domain expertise before I show up to that buyer?” (16:56) Partnerships, intellectual property, and procurement for AI startups (20:23) Turning a pilot program into a long-term contract (23:26) Proof of concept, opportunity costs, land-and-expand strategies (27:09) Managing pilot programs and prioritizing one-off feature requests (29:18) Common mistakes founders make while spinning up their sales motion (31:33) How success fee agreements work (35:50)   For my next episode, I spoke to Laura Bisesto, global head of policy and privacy at Nextdoor.    We talked about the regulatory landscape facing AI startups in 2024, and how small companies should start the work of developing their own ethical frameworks. We got into how to recognize when you need legal help, recapped some data governance best practices, and also talked about why it's so important to create a buttoned-down process for rolling out new AI features.   Fund/Build/Scale is sponsored by Mayfield and Securiti.

Jorge Torres (CEO, co-founder, MindsDB) and Vijay Reddy (AI Start investor, Mayfield) were the first two people I interviewed for Fund/Build/Scale.    We met up at Jorge's office in San Francisco's Mission District on a rainy Friday afternoon in November 2023. We spent time discussing the ins and outs of pitch tactics and investor outreach, but we also talked about the criteria VCs use to evaluate zero-day investments, which red flags investors and founders both need to look out for, and how to find a VC to partner with for the next decade (not just the next funding round).    Jorge has been through the fundraising process three times and Vijay is an experienced seed investor, so I was glad to talk to them both about fundraising from both sides of the table.   Here's a breakdown of our conversation: How Jorge and Vijay assess team quality (2:28) Vijay: "We don't do spray-and-pray." (4:06) Founders need to de-risk themselves before pitching (5:21) Jorge's three key questions for early-stage teams (7:14) Why you don't need a demo, customers or revenue to pitch (9:59) Founder red flags that turn off investors (14:12) How to recognize seed-stage investors who actually add value (15:55) When it comes to accepting early funds, be strategic (18:43) Don't focus on TAM, just find clear pain points in large markets (22:03) "If you're close to something that makes sense... don't wait too long to show it to an investor." (23:41) How early-stage AI startups can avoid extinction-level events (25:44) You can't build a strategic moat without real-world data (27:55) Technical founders should team up with nontechnical co-founders (29:56) Closing a seed round: how long should it take? (31:32) How much runway does an AI startup need? (34:05)   Links: Jorge Torres, CEO, co-founder, MindsDB Vijay Reddy, AI Start investor, Mayfield MindsDB AI Collective, San Francisco, CA Mayfield AI Start Seed Fund aistart@mayfield.com   Fund/Build/Scale is sponsored by Mayfield and Securiti.

I wanted to learn more about how inception-stage AI founders can tap into developer ecosystems, so I spoke to Ozzy Johnson, Director of Solutions Engineering for NVIDIA Developer Programs. In his role, he leads a global product team that accelerates its own work by interacting with outside developers who use the company’s technology. Johnson also works with NVIDIA’s Inception program, a virtual accelerator for AI and deep-learning startups. “It's kind of necessary to know the shape of the world to have a sense of where things are headed,” he said. “We ideally want to see around corners, we want to try to get there first, or at least, meet developers where they are.” Here’s what we talked about: Why more AI founders should focus on fundamentals (1:50) How AI is leveling the playing field for non-technical founders (4:28) How to (and not to) recruit talent from the developer community (7:26) The dangers of digging your moat too early (9:41) Finding scalable problems customers want solved (11:30) Prioritize early spending on "saleable differentiation" (14:36) Top traits of successful AI founders (17:21) Benefits of NVIDIA’s Inception program (22:11) Balancing customer feature requests with roadmap control (25:21) Why the rise of Gen AI is a transformational moment (28:21) Ozzy’s advice for anyone interviewing at an AI startup (31:36) Thanks for listening! Fund/Build/Scale on LinkedIn Fund/Build/Scale on Substack

Rodrigo Liang, CEO of SambaNova Systems, discusses AI in enterprise environments, customer profiling, marketing strategies, product development alignment, creating features for customers, transparency in sharing product roadmap, AI adoption challenges, and delivering quick value to customers in a podcast focused on AI startup growth strategies.

Navin Chaddha, Managing Partner at Mayfield, discusses the importance of trust between founders and investors, the elements of a fundable idea, challenges in AI investing, and building strong founder teams. He also emphasizes the value of inception-stage entrepreneurs with 'half-baked' ideas and the societal impact of responsible innovation.

Learn how to create an AI startup from scratch with insider strategies on fundraising, product development, regulations, and more. Gain valuable insights from entrepreneurs, VCs, academics, and policy experts in this competitive and rapidly evolving tech sector.