Lucy Guo, a prominent entrepreneur and investor known for her role at Scale AI, shares insights from her studio in Los Angeles. She discusses the future of the creator economy, emphasizing the shift toward direct fan support and the emergence of diverse revenue streams. Lucy also highlights the decline of legacy media and the rise of independent journalism driven by trust issues. Additionally, she reveals effective fundraising strategies that helped her raise $50 million in two years, alongside her philanthropic aspirations to combat human trafficking.

Today Molly O'Shea speaks with Dan Wright, CEO of Armada, backed with $100M to date from notable investors like Trae Stephens from Founders Fund, 137 Ventures, Lux, Dragon Global, Microsoft’s M12, 8VC, Shield Capital, among others. Armada is a leading edge computing company deploying servers for advanced AI applications in remote locations. More impressively, this company barely started 2 years ago and has been out of stealth for less than a year, while achieving critical milestones like partnerships with Starlink, Skydio, Hallibutron, and more, we’ll discuss shortly. Dan is a remarkable figure in the world of data coming from key executive positions at DataRobot and AppDynamics, while Armada’s COO Jon Runyan led Okta through its IPO, and CTO Pradeep Nair was VP of MSFT Azure. This is a great sneak peek into the early innings of one of the next most important rocket ship companies in technology. Disclosure: The Fund Molly works for is an investor in Armada  -- Follow on Twitter  https://x.com/MollySOShea https://x.com/danwrightsf -- Check out Armada https://www.armada.ai/ -- Subscribe to Sourcery: https://www.sourcery.vc/  -- Sponsor: Archer Archer's Midnight is a piloted four passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights. Learn more about how Archer is set to open up a new world of opportunity for passengers by providing safe and efficient access to people, places, and events across the communities they live, visit https://www.archer.com/ –- COMPANIES MENTIONED: Founders Fund: https://www.foundersfund.com 137 Ventures: https://www.137ventures.com Starlink: https://www.starlink.com Microsoft Azure: https://azure.microsoft.com SpaceX: https://www.spacex.com DataRobot: https://www.datarobot.com AppDynamics: https://www.appdynamics.com Okta: https://www.okta.com Halliburton: https://www.halliburton.com Skydio: https://www.skydio.com Cisco: https://www.cisco.com Palantir: https://www.palantir.com Anderol: https://www.anderol.com Rippling: https://www.rippling.com Ramp: https://www.ramp.com Goldman Sachs: https://www.goldmansachs.com OpenAI: https://www.openai.com Anthropic: https://www.anthropic.com Databricks: https://www.databricks.com Cockroach Labs: https://www.cockroachlabs.com Metronome: https://www.metronome.com -- TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Introduction & Founding of Armada  (01:29) The Role of Early Investors  (02:52) Recruiting Top Talent  (04:34) Armada's Product Suite: Connect, Edge, and OpsAI  (07:55) The Galleon: Design and Engineering  (09:58) The Marketplace and Partner Ecosystem  (12:30) Building vs. Partnering for AI Applications  (14:20) Go-to-Market Strategy and Global Expansion  (16:46) The Go-to-Market Team and Hiring Philosophy  (18:24) Pitching to Public and Private Sectors  (21:01) Addressing the Market's White Space  (22:42) Key Partnerships and Building a Moat  (24:02) Sourcing Hardware and Scaling Production  (25:51) Growth Strategies Across Companies  (27:52) Capital Allocation and Milestones  (30:39) Crazy Edge Cases, Team Expansion, and Hiring Priorities  (33:33) Wrap  (34:00) Post-Interview Advertisement RECOMMENDED PODCAST: 🎙️ Unpack Pricing Dive into the dark arts of SaaS pricing with Metronome CEO Scott Woody and tech leaders. Learn how strategic pricing drives explosive revenue growth in today's biggest companies like Snowflake, Cockroach Labs, Dropbox and more.  Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1765716600  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/38DK3W1Fq1xxQalhDSueFg

Molly O'Shea talks with Joshua Browder, Founder & CEO of DoNotPay, a $200M AI champion designed to help people fight against big corporations and beat bureaucracy. Joshua shares his journey from dropping out of Stanford for a Thiel Fellowship to founding DoNotPay. To date, DoNotPay has saved consumers $100M+ on over 1.6M cases and attracted significant venture capital interest. We go deeper into the innovative features of DoNotPay, its ‘spicy’ media strategy, and the importance of building a subscription-based business model. Browder also reflects on his experiences as a Thiel Fellow and his investment philosophy as “statistically” the most active Thiel Fellow investor. Our discussion concludes with his predictions for the future of the tech market and the potential for a new tech bubble. -- Follow on Twitter  https://x.com/MollySOShea https://x.com/jbrowder1 -- Check out Do Not Pay https://donotpay.com/ -- Subscribe to Sourcery: https://www.sourcery.vc/  -- Sponsor: Archer Archer's Midnight is a piloted four passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights. Learn more about how Archer is set to open up a new world of opportunity for passengers by providing safe and efficient access to people, places, and events across the communities they live, visit https://www.archer.com/ – COMPANIES MENTIONED: DoNotPay: https://donotpay.com Google: https://google.com Meta: https://meta.com Amazon: https://amazon.com Comcast: https://xfinity.com IBM Watson: https://www.ibm.com/watson Equifax: https://www.equifax.com Harper's Magazine: https://harpers.org McDonald's: https://www.mcdonalds.com Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com Polymarket: https://polymarket.com Character AI: https://character.ai Riverside: https://riverside.fm Figma: https://www.figma.com Andreessen Horowitz: https://a16z.com Founders Fund: https://foundersfund.com Kotu Capital: https://www.kotucapital.com Index Ventures: https://www.indexventures.com Lux Capital: https://www.luxcapital.com Tribe Capital: https://tribecap.co Day One Ventures: https://www.dayoneventures.com DST Global: https://dst-global.com Owner.com: https://www.owner.com Wanda: https://www.wanda.co Robinhood: https://robinhood.com Umami Burger: https://umamiburger.com -- TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Preview (01:03) DoNotPay: Fighting Big Corporations and Bureaucracy (02:13) A Modern-Day David vs. Goliath (03:33) AI and DoNotPay: Not Just Agents, But Robots (04:20) Scale and Impact: DoNotPay's Success Stories (05:17) Key Use Cases: Free Trial Credit Card and Robo Revenge (07:10) Unexpected Allies: Warren Buffett and IBM Watson (10:50) Media Strategy: Tapping into Anger and Current Events (12:40) Supreme Court Challenge: A Million Dollar Offer (14:55) Sponsor: Archer (15:39) Enemies and Good Media Strategy (17:05)) Business Model: Subscription, Profitability, and Dividends (21:40) Investor Relations: Favorable Relationships and Strategies (23:40) Thiel Fellowship: Investing in Young Entrepreneurs (29:40) The State of Entrepreneurship: Challenges and Opportunities (33:00) Leadership: Values and Influences (35:10) 2025 Predictions: Voice AI, Tech Bubble, and M&A (37:55) Wrap -- RECOMMENDED PODCAST: 🎙️ Unpack Pricing Dive into the dark arts of SaaS pricing with Metronome CEO Scott Woody and tech leaders. Learn how strategic pricing drives explosive revenue growth in today's biggest companies like Snowflake, Cockroach Labs, Dropbox and more.  Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1765716600  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/38DK3W1Fq1xxQalhDSueFg

Molly O'Shea interviews Jason Fiedler, Managing Partner at Left Lane Capital, a $2B+ venture fund focused on consumer and internet businesses. They discuss his unique investment strategies focused on consumer goods, sports, and the evolving retail landscape, diving into specific subcategories and his portfolio companies. Jason shares insights on the importance of NPS Delta, the application of software frameworks to consumer investing, his Sims City vision, pearls & strings system, and the rapid growth of his firm. He emphasizes the significance of sourcing deals through a rigorous process, keeping track of 'crazy' ideas, and the big opportunity for innovative beverage brands in a changing market. The discussion also touches on the risks of fast growth and the future trends in consumer behavior. -- Follow on Twitter ⁠https://x.com/MollySOShea⁠ https://x.com/jfeedler -- Check out Left Lane Capital: ⁠https://www.leftlane.com/⁠ -- Subscribe to Sourcery: ⁠https://www.sourcery.vc/ ⁠ -- Sponsor: Archer Archer's Midnight is a piloted four passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights. Learn more about how Archer is set to open up a new world of opportunity for passengers by providing safe and efficient access to people, places, and events across the communities they live, visit https://www.archer.com/ -- COMPANIES MENTIONED: Investment Companies: Left Lane Capital: ⁠https://www.leftlanecap.com/⁠ Insight Partners: ⁠https://www.insightpartners.com/⁠ Left Lane Capital Portfolio Companies: Blank Street: ⁠https://www.blankstreet.com/⁠ Kings League: ⁠https://kingsleague.pro/⁠ Olipop: ⁠https://drinkolipop.com/⁠ Holy (German beverage): ⁠https://drinkholyfood.com/⁠ League One Volleyball: ⁠https://www.l1volleyball.com/⁠ Jason's Personal Investments: Farmer's Dog: ⁠https://www.thefarmersdog.com/⁠ Figs: ⁠https://www.wearfigs.com/⁠ Major Companies Referenced: Coca-Cola: ⁠https://www.coca-cola.com/⁠ Pepsi: ⁠https://www.pepsi.com/⁠ Monster Energy: ⁠https://www.monsterenergy.com/⁠ Starbucks: ⁠https://www.starbucks.com/⁠ McDonald's: ⁠https://www.mcdonalds.com/⁠ Driscoll's: ⁠https://www.driscolls.com/⁠ TCBY: ⁠https://www.tcby.com/⁠ All Birds: ⁠https://www.allbirds.com/⁠ Liquid Death: ⁠https://liquiddeath.com/⁠ Rao's: ⁠https://www.raos.com/⁠ -- TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Preview and Intro (01:50) Inspiration from Starbucks and Investment Strategy (04:07) Subcategories of Interest (05:14) Applying Frameworks from Software to Consumer (06:56) LTV to CAC and LTV to CapEx (08:43) The Sims Framework (10:35) NPS Delta(11:51) Growth and Current Stats (14:50) Sponsor: Archer (15:33) Number of Investments and Board Seats (16:15) Sourcing Deals and Thematic Approach (19:18) Identifying Breakout Companies (20:41) The App Store Influence (21:29) Risks of Rapid Growth (23:08) Olipop Investment (25:24) The Holy Investment and Powder-Based Beverages (29:25) Conviction on Sports Investments (31:51) Crazy Ideas and Future Investment Areas (34:10) The Next Big Trends (37:08) Outro and Next Steps RECOMMENDED PODCAST: 🎙️ This Won't Last Eavesdrop on Keith Rabois, Kevin Ryan, Logan Bartlett, and Zach Weinberg's monthly backchannel. They unpack their hottest takes on the future of tech, business, venture, investing, and politics. Apple Podcasts:⁠ https://podcasts.apple.com/id1765665937⁠ Spotify:⁠ https://open.spotify.com/show/2HwSNeVLL1MXy0RjFPyOSz⁠ YouTube:⁠ https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWontLastpodcast⁠

Molly O’Shea interviews Saurav Shroff, Founder & CEO of Starpath, a company developing megascale propellant production systems for lunar and Mars operations. For full show notes, visit: https://highlightai.com/share/65820d0a-9323-4de8-a526-9bb3aca1baeb -- Follow on Twitter https://x.com/MollySOShea https://x.com/SauravShroff5 -- Check out Starpath https://starpath.space/ -- Subscribe to Sourcery: https://www.sourcery.vc/ -- Sponsor: Archer Archer's Midnight is a piloted four passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights. Learn more about how Archer is set to open up a new world of opportunity for passengers by providing safe and efficient access to people, places, and events across the communities they live, visit https://www.archer.com/ -- Companies mentioned: SpaceX https://www.spacex.com/ Blue Origin https://www.blueorigin.com/ NASA https://www.nasa.gov/ Investors: 8VC https://www.8vc.com/ Fusion Fund https://fusionfund.com/ Day One Ventures https://www.dayoneventures.com/ Hummingbird https://hummingbird.vc/ -- TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Introduction and multi-planetary discussion (01:19) Starpath's mission and fundraising (02:50) Breakdown of core systems (04:50) Technical details of mining operations (08:30) Regulatory considerations for lunar mining (10:10) Energy demand and power generation (12:30) Sponsor break (13:14) Market context and SpaceX developments (15:06) Prototyping and scaling strategy (16:40) Power generation system design (21:30) Testing methodology (24:09) Lunar night survival challenges (25:40) Facility and operations (26:40) Business model and revenue strategy (28:19) Competition landscape (29:30) Founder's conviction and vision (31:00) Hiring plans and closing remarks -- RECOMMENDED PODCAST: 🎙️ This Won't Last Eavesdrop on Keith Rabois, Kevin Ryan, Logan Bartlett, and Zach Weinberg's monthly backchannel. They unpack their hottest takes on the future of tech, business, venture, investing, and politics. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/id1765665937 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2HwSNeVLL1MXy0RjFPyOSz YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWontLastpodcast

In this fascinating episode of Sourcery, host Molly O'Shea sits down with Richard Socher, founder and CEO of You.com and co-founder of AIX Ventures. Richard shares insights on building an AI-powered productivity engine, the future of AI agents, and his journey from academic researcher to successful entrepreneur and investor. Special offer for Sourcery listeners: https://www.you.com/business/sourcery For full show notes, visit: https://highlightai.com/share/43165ac6-1745-4dbb-bd68-18f13862e8db -- For key insights on the podcast, visit: https://highlightai.com/share/c297f6aa-b0d3-4c10-8c37-a862d495b0dc -- Follow on Twitter  https://x.com/MollySOShea https://x.com/RichardSocher -- Check out You.com https://you.com/ -- Subscribe to Sourcery: https://www.sourcery.vc/  -- Sponsor: Archer Archer's Midnight is a piloted four passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights. Learn more about how Archer is set to open up a new world of opportunity for passengers by providing safe and efficient access to people, places, and events across the communities they live, visit https://www.archer.com/ -- Companies mentioned: Anthropic - https://anthropic.com  OpenAI - https://openai.com  Google - https://google.com  AIX Ventures - https://aix.ventures  Salesforce - https://salesforce.com  Hugging Face - https://huggingface.co  Perplexity - https://perplexity.ai  Weights & Biases - https://wandb.ai  Whisper - https://whisper.ai  Georgian - https://georgian.io  NVIDIA - https://nvidia.com  GenDigital - https://gen.com  SBV Asia (formerly SoftBank Ventures Asia) - https://softbank.com  DuckDuckGo - https://duckduckgo.com  DayOne Ventures - https://dayoneventures.com  Minecast - https://mimecast.com  Moon Hub - https://moonhub.ai - TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Intro and Preview  (02:33) Series B Funding and Growth Plans  (08:08) User Growth and API Traffic  (09:33) Load Distribution and AI Agents  (13:32) Sponsor: Archer  (14:16) Competitive Landscape: Accuracy vs. Features and Marketing  (18:56) Ensuring Accuracy and Reliability  (25:04) Introducing Multiplayer Functionality for Teams  (31:07) Key Customers and Their Growth Potential  (34:25) The Marginal Cost of Intelligence and its Impact  (38:16) Future of You.com and AI Agents  (40:52) Richard's Journey into AI: From Research to Founding You.com  (45:26) Investing in AI Agents: Opportunity and Challenges  (51:04) AI Funding Market Landscape  (52:31) Investment Thesis and Portfolio Highlights  (53:50) Excitement for the Future of AI  (56:05) Hiring Opportunities at You.com  (56:34) Final Thoughts and Appreciation - RECOMMENDED PODCAST: 🎙️ This Won't Last Eavesdrop on Keith Rabois, Kevin Ryan, Logan Bartlett, and Zach Weinberg's monthly backchannel. They unpack their hottest takes on the future of tech, business, venture, investing, and politics. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/id1765665937 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2HwSNeVLL1MXy0RjFPyOSz YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWontLastpodcast

Jeff Morris Jr, GP of Chapter One, shares his insights as a former VP at Tinder and seed investor in 13 unicorns. He tackles the harsh realities facing emerging venture funds amidst consolidation and competitiveness. JMJ candidly discusses the evolving landscape of VC, emphasizing adaptability and innovation. He explores the significance of location in venture capital, advocating for LA's thriving ecosystem. This engaging conversation provides a roadmap for future fund managers striving to innovate and succeed in a challenging environment.

Molly O’Shea is joined by Alex Kolicich, Founding Partner of 8VC. Before his venture capital career, Alex was an engineer and early product advisor at companies like Clarium, Palantir, and Google. In this discussion, Alex talks about the current investment landscape citing the "AI capabilities gap," the potential for a "trough of AI disillusionment," and highlights the tension between AI's promise and its current limitations. Why is Silicon Valley suddenly embracing the Pentagon? Alex explains how defense has transformed from a controversial investment to a sought-after opportunity, citing successes like Anduril, Palantir, and SpaceX, and details 8VC’s approach to investing in defense startups, including their "build program" and shares resources for government engagement. Alex and 8VC were early investors in defense technology companies when it was not a popular area for venture capital. Some of their investments include Anduril, Saronic, Epirus, and Chaos Industries. 8VC has a "build program" where they incubate and co-found defense technology companies, providing resources like capital, government relations expertise, and shared infrastructure. -- Follow on Twitter https://x.com/MollySOShea https://x.com/alexkolicich -- Check out 8VC: https://www.8vc.com/ -- Subscribe to Sourcery: https://www.sourcery.vc/ -- Sponsor: Archer Archer's Midnight is a piloted four passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights. Learn more about how Archer is set to open up a new world of opportunity for passengers by providing safe and efficient access to people, places, and events across the communities they live, visit https://www.archer.com/ -- Companies mentioned: OpenAI: https://openai.com/ Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com/ Anthropic: https://www.anthropic.com/ Google: https://www.google.com/ Nvidia: https://www.nvidia.com/ Amazon (AWS): https://aws.amazon.com/ Palantir: https://www.palantir.com/ SpaceX: https://www.spacex.com/ Anduril: https://www.anduril.com/ Inflection AI: https://inflection.ai/ Adept AI: https://www.adept.ai/ Raytheon: https://www.rtx.com/ Epirus: https://www.epirusinc.com/ Saronic: https://www.saronic.com/ Case Text: https://casetext.com/ Sequoia Capital: https://www.sequoiacap.com/ Kleiner Perkins: https://www.kleinerperkins.com/ Character AI: https://beta.character.ai/ CRV (Charles River Ventures): https://www.crv.com/ Founder's Fund: https://foundersfund.com/ xAI: https://x.ai/ -- TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Preview and Intro (01:01) AI Optimism & Uncertainty (06:51) Public & Private Market Dynamics (12:34) Sustainable Multiples & Oversupply of Capital (13:49) Sponsor: Archer (14:33) Risk & Returns of Mega Checks (22:35) Opportunities Within the Gap (27:18) The Exit Environment & Acquihires (31:14) The Defense Wave (40:26) Resources for Defense Startups (46:42) Startup Advice for Defense (46:51) Technical Excellence, Government Relations & Fundraising (49:23) Surprises & Changes in H1 2024 (49:55) Shifting Views on Application Layer & OpenAI (52:44) Wrap -- RECOMMENDED PODCAST: 🎙️ This Won't LastEavesdrop on Keith Rabois, Kevin Ryan, Logan Bartlett, and Zach Weinberg's monthly backchannel. They unpack their hottest takes on the future of tech, business, venture, investing, and politics. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/id1765665937 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2HwSNeVLL1MXy0RjFPyOSz YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWontLastpodcast

Molly O'Shea talks to Sam D’Amico, founder of Impulse Labs which has created one of the highest quality battery-powered induction stoves, offering unparalleled power, precision, and energy storage. Following a strong career in consumer electronics, including work at Google Glass and Oculus, Sam envisions a future where distributed battery storage in appliances could help balance grid load and reduce the need for grid infrastructure upgrades. All the while, delivering a premium performance cooktop fit for Michelin-star chefs to pancake fanatics.  Sam discusses the evolution of battery technology, particularly the advancements made by the U.S. and Tesla to Chinese manufacturers in lithium iron phosphate batteries. Going deeper into the ongoing shifts in global battery manufacturing and the potential for increased U.S. production. Learn how Impulse Labs, which has raised a $20 million Series A round led by Josh Wolfe of Lux Capital in 2022, aims to be a "Trojan horse" for decentralized battery-powered homes, potentially revolutionizing home energy management and grid stability.  -- Follow on Twitter  https://x.com/MollySOShea https://x.com/sdamico -- Check out Impulse Labs:  https://www.impulselabs.com/ -- Subscribe to Sourcery: https://www.sourcery.vc/  -- Sponsor: Archer Archer's Midnight is a piloted four passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights. Learn more about how Archer is set to open up a new world of opportunity for passengers by providing safe and efficient access to people, places, and events across the communities they live, visit https://www.archer.com/ -- Companies mentioned: Lux Capital - https://www.luxcapital.com/ Tesla - https://www.tesla.com/ Google - https://www.google.com/ Oculus - https://www.meta.com/quest/ Meta - https://about.meta.com/ Bosch - https://www.bosch-home.com/ Thermador - https://www.thermador.com/ Gaggenau - https://www.gaggenau.com/ Samsung - https://www.samsung.com/ LG - https://www.lg.com/ Viking - https://www.vikingrange.com/ Fisker - https://www.fiskerinc.com/ CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited) - https://www.catl.com/en/ BYD (Build Your Dreams) - https://www.byd.com/ Gotion - https://www.gotion.com.cn/en/ Ford - https://www.ford.com/ Restoration Hardware (RH) - https://rh.com/ TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Intro  (01:04) Sam's Journey: From Pizza Ovens to Battery-Powered Homes (02:22) Early Influences: Oculus & Google Glass (08:14) Funding & the Landscape of Home Energy Usage (10:20) Energy Usage Trends & Appliance Distribution (12:08) Innovation in the Stove: Power, Precision, and Efficiency (15:13) The Advantage of Battery Integration: Faster Cooking & Efficiency (19:34) Sponsor: Archer (20:18) Integrating Battery-Powered Stoves into Homes (22:54) Pricing & Market Positioning: Premium Performance & Incentives (27:47) The Science of Pancakes: Temperature Control & UI/UX (31:08) The 20-Year Vision: Decentralized Energy & Home Self-Sufficiency (34:57) Decentralized Grid & Emergency Power Solutions (38:39) Marketing & Distribution: Targeting Various Markets (41:12) The Battery Revolution: Technological Advancements & China's Influence (48:03) Lithium Mining & the Future of Battery Manufacturing (52:57) A New Economy & the Everyday Appliance Revolution (53:54) The Path Ahead: Shipping the Product & Scaling the Vision (54:29) Looking Ahead: Exciting Times for Impulse Labs (55:07) Wrap RECOMMENDED PODCAST: 🎙️ This Won't Last Eavesdrop on Keith Rabois, Kevin Ryan, Logan Bartlett, and Zach Weinberg's monthly backchannel. They unpack their hottest takes on the future of tech, business, venture, investing, and politics. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/id1765665937 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2HwSNeVLL1MXy0RjFPyOSz YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWontLastpodcast

Molly O'Shea talks to Molly Alter, Partner at Northzone, a $1.2 billion fund with around $4 billion AUM and discusses her successful investments (Frame.io’s $1.2B exit to Adobe), founder qualities, VC biases and decision-making, as well as the firm's global approach to identifying opportunities. Alter believes in the potential of Europe's tech ecosystem, citing higher net IRR for European VC funds compared to North American ones over 10-15 year horizons. She shares perspectives on US and European VC landscapes, successful investments, and emerging opportunities in vertical AI and software for hardware. Focusing on meritocracy and founder-friendliness with a balanced approach between US and European investments, Alter also explains why she's bullish on workflow SaaS and vertical AI, despite changing market conditions and valuation multiples. -- Follow on Twitter https://x.com/MollySOShea -- Check out Northzone: https://northzone.com/ -- Subscribe to Sourcery: https://www.sourcery.vc/ -- Sponsor: Archer Archer's Midnight is a piloted four passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights. Learn more about how Archer is set to open up a new world of opportunity for passengers by providing safe and efficient access to people, places, and events across the communities they live, visit https://www.archer.com/ -- Companies mentioned: Frame.io - https://frame.io/ Glia - https://www.glia.com/ Wayve - https://wayve.ai/ Spotify - https://www.spotify.com/ Klarna - https://www.klarna.com/ Spring Health - https://www.springhealth.com/ Adobe - https://www.adobe.com/ Mistral AI - https://mistral.ai/ -- TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Intro and Preview (03:07) Molly Alter’s Career Journey (07:26) Insights from Working in Different VC Firms (11:38) Investment Focus and Thesis (14:13) Sponsor: Archer (15:28) Impactful Investments: Frame.io and Glia (18:54) Qualities of World-Class CEOs and Founders (22:17) Northzone: History, Strategy, and Values (26:06) Global Reach and US-Europe Investment Split (29:13) Defending European Tech Ecosystem (32:27) Innovation from Restrictions in Europe (35:35) Software for Hardware: Opportunities and Challenges (42:08) Specific Areas of Interest in Software for Hardware (45:05) The Future of SaaS and Hybrid SaaS Models (47:30) Example of Hybrid SaaS: GovDash (50:26) Wrap – Recommended Podcast: 🎙️ This Won't Last - Eavesdrop on Keith Rabois, Kevin Ryan, Logan Bartlett, and Zach Weinberg's monthly backchannel. They unpack their hottest takes on the future of tech, business, venture, investing, and politics. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-wont-last-with-keith-rabois-kevin-ryan-logan/id1765665937 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2HwSNeVLL1MXy0RjFPyOSz YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxmO9C_PEjbMf0Z8lYjwT7Q