Podcasts about Accel

Jacob Lauritzen serves as the CTO at Legora, the fastest growing B2B enterprise company in history; hitting $100 million in ARR in just 18 months . Legora boasts a valuation of $5.6BN and has raised a total of $866 million in funding. Legora's investors include the likes of Accel, Benchmark, and Bessemer Venture Partners, alongside strategic tech giants NVIDIA (NVentures) and Salesforce Ventures. AGENDA:  05:01 - How to Hire the Best Product Talent in 2026 06:21 - The New Product Bottleneck: Shifting Beyond Code Creation 09:24 - System Design vs. Code Creation: The Future Role of the Engineer 14:04 - The Evolving Software Development Lifecycle & The Death of the Design Phase 22:23 - Will Product and Engineering Fully Converge? 29:16 - Scalability and UX: Designing for 10x vs. 100x Spikes 38:15 - Scaling the Organization: What Breaks with a 250 Person Product Team 47:05 - Quick-Fire Round: Hyper-Growth Tactics & Out-Working the Giants  

In today's Tech3 from Moneycontrol, Accel begins work on a new India-focused fund worth up to $700 million, signalling continued investor confidence in the startup ecosystem. We also break down why AI funding in India is shifting sharply toward seed and Series A startups even as overall funding slows. Plus, the government explores using AI to draft tenders and procurement documents, and Anthropic opens access to its cybersecurity-focused Mythos AI model for organisations in India. From venture capital to AI policy and cyber defence, here are the top startup and tech stories shaping the day.

Patrick Forquer is the Chief Revenue Officer at Legora, the fastest growing enterprise business to ever hit $100M in ARR and now on track to hit over $250M in ARR by the end of the year. They recently raised a $550 million Series D at a $5.55 billion valuation, led by Accel, note 20VC did participate and is an investor in the company.  AGENDA: 0:00 – How Jude Law Generated $50 Million in Qualified Pipeline 4:00 – Why Implementation is Your Secret Weapon to Win in AI 5:50 – Why AI Enterprise Sales Require "Legal Engineers" 7:45 – The 6-Figure Rule: When Should Humans Control Sales 12:55 – Is Legora Vastly Overvalued at $5.5BN?  15:45 – How to do global expansion in a world of AI 18:00 – How to Win Supremely Competitive Markets 24:45 – Why Giving Your Product Away for Free is a Death Sentence 33:55 – Legora's Onboarding and Training Playbook for Sales Teams 38:25 – Spotting Red Flags: How to Know if a Sales Rep Will Fail in 45 Days 46:30 – How to Structure Sales Commissions in a World of AI 49:40 – How to do Revenue Forecasting in a World of AI 1:00:30 – Will companies vibe code solutions and no longer buy a SaaS products?    

In today's Tech3 from Moneycontrol, Infosys leans into AI as a growth driver while tightening deal discipline. Dreamteam, founded by former Freshworks executives, lines up a $40 million round. Big Tech players like Meta and Alphabet reshape operations around AI, and Cars24 sees back-to-back founder exits ahead of its planned IPO.

Meu Deus do céu, já foram 30 anos! A franquia trintou e todos nós temos muita história com Resident Evil, por isso nos reunimos para celebrar essa grande saga e compartilhar os momentos que tivemos com a franquia: como ela nos marcou, como conhecemos os jogos, formas que ela acabou nos conectando e o que esperamos para o futuro. Felipe Turesso conduz a conversa enquanto Fred Hiro, Steven, Mathias, Dry, Gusta, Accel, Joe (EvilHazard), Nico e Lilith (RE:Project) contam como conheceram Resident Evil. Aqui tá mais cheio que Raccoon City, então abram a porta com cuidado, e entrem no mundo do survival horror… APRESENTAÇÃO: Felipe Turesso PARTICIPANTES: Accel Dry Portes (Um Player e Meio) Fred Hiro Gusta (Pixel do Gusta) Joe Wesker Lilith Borges (RE: Project) Mathias Cavalcanti Nico “Heisenberg” Carmo (RE: Project) Steven Andrade EDIÇÃO: Fer Vinhas

GARAGISTI TECH: OpenAI vale 852 miliardi, Anthropic vola nel B2B e Tu non possiedi più niente.

Vercel isn't a household name like OpenAI or Google, but it's a crucial vendor for some of the world's biggest brands, including Under Armour, Stripe and Sonos, who use Vercel to host their digital infrastructures. (One of the most popular ways to view the Epstein Files, an interface called Jmail that mimics a Gmail inbox, is hosted on Vercel.) In September, the company raised $300 million, co-led by blueblood venture firm Accel and GIC, one of Singapore's sovereign wealth funds. The fundraising round lifted the startup's valuation to $9.3 billion, up from $3.25 billion the year before. The influx of cash also makes Rauch, an Argentine immigrant, a billionaire, worth at least $2.1 billion, according to Forbes estimates. Vercel is certainly benefiting from its ties to Claude Code. It's not because of any sort of commercial relationship. Instead, it's Vercel's popularity in the developer ecosystem that has organically turned it into a go-to web hosting tool for Claude. One of the most popular ways to build websites is through an open source framework called Next.js, a tool built and maintained by Vercel. As a result, language models like Claude have become very good at writing Next.js code, thanks to the training data fed into the models. So when a user vibe codes an app, Vercel becomes the natural tool for Claude to suggest when it comes time to deploy. “LLMs seem to love Vercel, and we love them back,” says Accel partner Dan Levine, an early Vercel backer.  It's early, but the boost from Claude Code is taking shape. Vercel clients that use Claude represent a little over 1% of users, but they generate almost 15% of overall Vercel deployments. More broadly, Vercel deployments that come from apps vibe coded by AI agents — everything from to-do list apps to customer service bots — have grown too, from almost 5% in June 2025 to more than 21% in February. Of those deployments made by agents, almost 70% of them come from Claude Code. The boom from AI coding has helped to spike sales for Vercel. Run-rate GAAP revenue hit $340 million at the end of February, up 86% year over year, the company told Forbes.  By Richard Nieva, Senior Writer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's Tech3 from Moneycontrol, Oracle's large-scale layoffs signal the cost of its AI push, with deep cuts across its India workforce. Sarvam's $200–250 million raise sees investor shifts as Bessemer joins talks and Accel exits. The government's crypto discussion paper is put on hold amid RBI concerns, even as the digital rupee gains focus. And finally, how creators are using AI tools like ChatGPT to automate finances, from invoices to GST filings.

Let's stop pretending. Most AI strategies are just a collection of pilots that nobody had the courage to kill. The data this period is brutal: 95% of genAI pilots stall. Only 11% reach production in financial services. Microsoft — the biggest company in the world, with the best distribution on the planet — just reorganized Copilot because nobody internally could agree on what it was supposed to be. And while enterprises burn cycles debating governance frameworks, a new class of startups is quietly replacing entire job functions. Not assisting. Replacing. The gap between the people who get this and everyone else isn't a skills gap. It's a courage gap. This edition is about which side you're on.What You'll Learn in This EditionThis edition confronts the uncomfortable reality that most AI investments are producing demos, not outcomes — and the structural reasons why.*

In this episode, Manu Nair, Co-Founder and CEO of EtherealX, breaks down the engineering breakthroughs, fundraising battles, and geopolitical forces reshaping the future of space tech in India and beyond. Over 85% of the world's commercial satellite launches depend on a single rocket from a single country. That's not a monopoly - it's a dependency, and Manu Nair believes it is one of the most dangerous structural flaws in global space infrastructure today. Manu is the Co-Founder and CEO of EtherealX, the Bengaluru-based deep tech startup building the Razor Crest Mk-1 - India's first fully reusable medium-lift launch vehicle that recovers both its booster and upper stage. In a conversation with host Akshay Datt, Manu traces the journey from bootstrapping on personal savings and a loan from his father, to closing a $20.5 million Series A co-led by TDK Ventures and Accel, to signing binding launch agreements with Japanese, Taiwanese, and European space agencies. He reveals the proprietary rocket engine cycle EtherealX developed, the first new feed cycle in six decades of rocketry, which harnesses re-entry plasma heat as a thermodynamic resource rather than fighting it with heavy ceramic shields. He also shares why the economics of partial reusability are a dead end, why super-heavy rockets make no commercial sense for everyday satellite deployment, and why EtherealX's long-term roadmap extends from orbital launch vehicles all the way to small modular nuclear reactors. A candid, technically rich, and deeply inspiring episode at the intersection of space tech, deep tech investing, India's policy renaissance, and civilisational ambition. Key Highlights

In today's Tech3 from Moneycontrol, Sarvam is in talks to raise up to $250 million from Nvidia, Accel and HCLTech, marking a major moment for India's AI ecosystem. We also track rising investor interest in instant home services startups like Snabbit and Pronto. UPI continues its rapid growth toward 240 billion transactions, even as subsidy concerns persist. And finally, India's media and entertainment industry crosses Rs 2.7 lakh crore, led by digital.

The White House rolls out its AI legislative framework. The FBI warns Iranian actors are using Telegram for command and control, while Russian operators phish Signal users. Authorities dismantle a massive fake CSAM network, Tycoon 2FA rebounds after disruption, VoidStealer debuts a stealthy Chrome key-theft trick, QNAP patches Pwn2Own flaws, and CISA orders urgent fixes for a critical Cisco firewall bug. Plus, our Monday business breakdown. Brandon Karpf and Maria Varmazis ponder the practicality of orbital data centers. One radio to rule the range.  Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you'll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest Today, N2K CyberWire's Dave BIttner and Maria Varmazis are joined by Brandon Karpf to discuss the practicality of orbital data centers. Selected Reading President Donald J. Trump Unveils National AI Legislative Framework (The White House) FBI warns of Handala hackers using Telegram in malware attacks (Bleeping Computer) Russian hackers target Signal users in phishing campaign, FBI and CISA warn (Cybernews) Police Shut Down 373,000 Dark Web Sites in Single-Operator CSAM Network (Hackread) Tycoon 2FA Fully Operational Despite Law Enforcement Takedown (SecurityWeek) VoidStealer Steals Chrome Secrets Without Injection or Privilege Escalation (GB Hackers) QNAP Patches Four Vulnerabilities Exploited at Pwn2Own (SecurityWeek) CISA Orders US Government to Patch Maximum Severity Cisco Flaw (Infosecurity Magazine) Surf AI has emerged from stealth with $57 million in funding led by Accel. (N2K Pro Business Briefing) Military ‘Smartphone': Comms, Jammer, Drone Control And More In One (Forbes) Share your feedback. What do you think about CyberWire Daily? Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey. Thank you for helping us continue to improve our show.  Want to hear your company in the show? N2K CyberWire helps you reach the industry's most influential leaders and operators, while building visibility, authority, and connectivity across the cybersecurity community. Learn more at sponsor.thecyberwire.com. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Helen was a software engineer who noticed a massive problem: accounting software for startups was broken, manual, and weeks out of date. Instead of just building a shiny new dashboard on top of legacy platforms, she decided to completely replace the offshore accounting model with AI.In this episode, Helen breaks down how she raised a $4.7M seed round pre-product as a solo founder and why she chose to build an AI-enabled service instead of pure software. She reveals the exact user research playbook she used across 200 interviews, how to rebuild a monopoly like QuickBooks, why hitting product-market fit actually forced her to stop taking new customers, and how she raised a $15M Series A.Why You Should ListenHow to raise a $4.7M seed round as a solo founder with zero revenue.Why building an AI-enabled service beats selling pure SaaS.Why saying "yes" to too many customers will destroy your growth.How to conduct 200 user interviews before writing a single line of code.Why rebuilding a legacy monopoly is no longer a crazy idea.Keywordsstartup podcast, startup podcast for founders, product market fit, AI enabled services, fintech startup, user research, solo founder, raising seed round, B2B SaaS, finding pmf00:00:00 Intro00:02:13 The Origin Story00:05:31 Doing 200 User Interviews Before Building00:11:49 The "Magic Wand" Framework for User Research00:14:33 Raising a $4.7M Seed as a Solo Founder00:22:27 Why AI-Enabled Services Beat Pure SaaS00:28:50 Rebuilding QuickBooks from Scratch00:39:34 The Public Launch and PR Strategy00:50:06 Why Saying "Yes" to Customers Hurt Growth00:53:46 The Moment of True Product Market FitSend me a message to let me know what you think!

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Эксклюзив: питч-деки стартапа стоимостью $1.3 млрд В этом выпуске мы вместе с Алексом Машрабовым - фаундером и CEO Higgsfield, AI-стартапа с оценкой $1.3 млрд и инвестициями $130 млн - говорим о том, как на самом деле строятся единороги и что происходит по ту сторону громких раундов. Разбираем закулисье Кремниевой долины: как убеждать топ-фонды вроде Accel, почему инвесторы могут манипулировать, как конкуренты воруют фичи в день релиза и что решает исход fundraising. Обсуждаем реальные питч деки - от Seed до Series A - ошибки GTM, продуктовую стратегию Higgsfield и амбиции конкурировать с Adobe и Meta. Говорим о реакции на хейт, роли команды из Казахстана и о том, как строится компания мирового уровня в эпоху генеративного AI. Эпизод будет интересен фаундерам, продактам и разработчикам, маркетологам, которые хотят понять механику венчурного рынка, стратегии роста AI-продуктов,, медиа и новых единорогов из Центральной Азии. Арман Сулейменов: https://www.instagram.com/armansu/ Алекс Машрабов: https://www.instagram.com/amashrabov/ Продюсер и режиссёр - Данияр Ахметжанов: https://www.instagram.com/good.years/ Монтаж - Бота Мусина: https://www.instagram.com/bo.rya Наш Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nfactorialpodcast/ Стань частью команды Higgsfield. Твое резюме ждем в Telegram: https://t.me/higgsfieldcareers

Canopii's robotic farms can autonomously grow 40,000 pounds of herbs and leafy greens a year while being the size of a basketball court. Also, Legora, an AI platform for lawyers, is now valued at $5.55 billion following a $550 million Series D led by Accel to fuel its growth in the U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From the earliest days of executive search to shaping the leadership of companies like Netflix, Facebook, Google, and Spotify, few people have seen more of Silicon Valley's hiring successes—and failures—than Jeff Markowitz and Peter Clarke.In this exclusive episode of Truth Works, host Jessica Neal sits down with two of her closest professional allies and heavyweights in the world of venture capital and executive talent. Together, the three share over 30 years of experience navigating the highest-stakes hiring environments in the tech world.Jeff Markowitz, currently an advisor at Greylock Partners, shares the incredible story of being hand-picked by Google CEO Sundar Pichai to reshape senior leadership at Alphabet. Peter Clarke, a Talent Partner at Accel for over 13 years, opens up about the evolution of search and his role as a "fifth Beatle" in the founding of True Search.This conversation goes beyond standard interview advice. The trio pulls back the curtain on:Why most companies get hiring wrong, even today.The dangers of "war for talent" thinking vs. relationship building.The specific simulation techniques the best leaders use to interview.The critical, and often missing, step of referencing as a management playbook.How great CEOs, like Scott Dietzen (formerly of Pure Storage), learn the job before they even make the hire.The one question Jessica asks to immediately identify a truly great recruiter.Whether you're a founder looking to make your first executive hire, a leader struggling to build a balanced team, or a recruiter looking to level up from "salesy" to strategic, this is a masterclass you cannot afford to miss.Timestamps: – Intro: Reconnecting with friends. – Peter Clarke's unique career path: Graphic design to software engineer to executive search. – Accel's unique investing approach and portfolio impact. – Jeff Markowitz's journey: CPA to opening the Silicon Valley office to Greylock. – The call from Sundar Pichai: Mapping out the senior talent role at Google/Alphabet. – Why hiring is still so hard (and wrong) in 2026. – The flaw in prioritizing "diligence" over assessment. – The true cost of a bad hire (and why it's not what you think). – Moving beyond standard questions to "unfiltered conversations." – How to simulate working together during the interview process. – The best CEOs get this one thing right (Pure Storage example). – How can CEOs really identify great recruiting talent? – Closing thoughts on friendship and mutual career impact.

Miles Clements is a Partner @ Accel where he helps to lead their growth fund. At Accel, Miles has led or invested in Atlassian, Cursor, Linear, and more.  AGENDA:  03:38 Where is True Alpha and Value in a World of AI  05:10 Why it is Total BS that Cursor is Dead 07:55 Why Cursor Were Not Wrong to Build Their Own Models 09:38 What is the Upside When Investing in Cursor at $27BN? 15:12 Do Sub $10BN Outcomes Even Matter to a Fund the Size of Accel? 17:07 Losing ServiceTitan: Investing Lesson Learned… 19:55 Missing Rippling: What We Learned 27:20 What is Accel's Win Rate 30:22 How VCs Approach Ownership Has Changed 35:09 Does Miles Feel Happier or Sadder to be an Anthropic Investor Post Pentagon Debacle 36:45 What Happens to Companies Like Miro and Snyk with High Prices to Live Upto? 38:05 Why it is a Great Time to Be Thoma Bravo and Vista  38:36 Why Founder-Led Companies Are Always Better 41:12 Why Would Any Founder Go Public Today 43:48 When is the Right Time to Take Chips Off The Table? 45:24 Should VC Firms Have Evergreen Funds and Be Responsible for Public Positions 50:28 You Can Pick Any VC to Join Accel, Who Does Miles Choose…     

In this episode of the Wharton FinTech Podcast, Bobby Ma sits down with Kyle Mack, CEO & Co-Founder of Middesk, a Series B company. Kyle shares his experience building Middesk, the leading business identify platform modernizing business verification, risk evaluation, and compliance. Its fast, frictionless APIs support KYB, credit assessment, and tax registration use cases, with data updated in days, not months. More than 500 customers trust Middesk to verify, underwrite, and grow with confidence. The company has raised over $70 million in funding and is backed by top-tier investors including Accel, Sequoia, and Insight Partners. We discuss: - Kyle's journey building Middesk starting from developing proprietary data pipelines to creating a leading business identity platform - The value proposition of KYB and how it is fundamentally more complex than KYC - How Middesk serves and plugs into its customers' decisioning workflows -The future of business identity as it evolves with AI and other technology trends

The startup -- with backing from Accel -- is building a financial layer that handles the authentication and micro-payments required for AI agents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fibr AI replaces marketing agency– and engineering-heavy website personalization with autonomous systems designed for enterprise scale. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dans cet épisode, je reçois Clara, multi-expatriée, experte en communication tech, entrepreneure et coach de haute performance.Ancienne cadre chez Google, PayPal/iZettle et Accel, diplômée de Brown University et de Sciences Po, Clara a conseillé certaines des plus grandes entreprises technologiques mondiales, dont Netflix, 500 Startups, Atomico et PayPal. Elle est aujourd'hui fondatrice de ThirdEyeMedia, une agence internationale de communication spécialisée dans les scale-ups et le venture capital.On explore son parcours : études aux États-Unis, carrière dans la tech globale, expatriations successives et transition vers le coaching de fondateurs et dirigeants.Un échange profond sur la croissance professionnelle à l'international, le leadership, la résilience entrepreneuriale et la capacité à évoluer entre plusieurs identités professionnelles.On parle de :• construire une carrière dans la tech mondiale• accompagner la croissance des scale-ups• leadership et haute performance• expatriation et transitions de vie• pivot professionnel et développement personnel• résilience des fondateursUn épisode pour celles et ceux qui veulent bâtir une trajectoire internationale ambitieuse sans perdre leur équilibre.Hébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

The FBI warns of Kimsuky quishing. Singapore warns of a critical vulnerability in Advantech IoT management platforms. Russia's Fancy Bear targets energy research, defense collaboration, and government communications. Malaysia and Indonesia suspend access to X. Researchers warn a large-scale fraud operation is using AI-generated personas to trap mobile users in a social engineering scam. BreachForums gets breached. The NSA names a new Deputy Director. Monday Biz Brief. Our guest is Sasha Ingber, host of the International Spy Museum's SpyCast podcast. The commuter who hacked his scooter.  Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you'll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest Today we are joined by Sasha Ingber, host of the International Spy Museum's SpyCast podcast, on the return of SpyCast to the N2K CyberWire network. Selected Reading North Korea–linked APT Kimsuky behind quishing attacks, FBI warns (Security Affairs)  Advantech patches maximum-severity SQL injection flaw in IoT products (Beyond Machines) Russia's APT28 Targeting Energy Research, Defense Collaboration Entities (SecurityWeek) Malaysia and Indonesia block X over deepfake smut (The Register) New OPCOPRO Scam Uses AI and Fake WhatsApp Groups to Defraud Victim (Hackread) BreachForums hacking forum database leaked, exposing 324,000 accounts (Bleeping Computer) Former NSA insider Kosiba brought back as spy agency's No. 2 (The Record) Vega raises $120 million in a Series B round led by Accel. Reverse engineering my cloud-connected e-scooter and finding the master key to unlock all scooters (Rasmus Moorats) Share your feedback. What do you think about CyberWire Daily? Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey. Thank you for helping us continue to improve our show. Want to hear your company in the show? N2K CyberWire helps you reach the industry's most influential leaders and operators, while building visibility, authority, and connectivity across the cybersecurity community. Learn more at sponsor.thecyberwire.com. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Surojit Chatterjee is CEO of Ema, an agent platform build AI employees. They have raised $61M in funding from Accel, Section 32, and others. Before Ema, he was the chief product officer at Coinbase. And before that, a VP at Google. Surojit's favorite book: Man's Search for Meaning (Author: Viktor Frankl)(00:01) Welcome(00:07) Defining the “AI Employee”(02:23) Lessons from Google: Building for Scale(06:59) Coinbase CPO: Hypergrowth & Product Leadership(09:24) Market Framing: Why “AI Employee” vs Copilot(14:29) Platform Building Blocks (Agents, Orchestrator, Fusion, Governance)(19:26) Trust, Security, and On-Prem Deployment(23:11) Model of Models: How Fusion Picks & Combines LLMs(29:10) What Infra Is Still Missing (Eval at Scale, Speed)(32:10) Rapid Fire Round--------Where to find Surojit Chatterjee: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/surojitchatterjee/--------Where to find Prateek Joshi: Website: https://prateekj.com Research Column: https://www.infrastartups.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prateek-joshi-infiniteX: https://x.com/prateekj

In this episode, we speak with Ilan Peleg, co-founder and CEO of Lightrun Some founders jump in fast. Ilan Peleg plays the long game. Before launching Lightrun, Ilan had already built deep roots in cybersecurity and engineering leadership. A former national middle-distance champion, he was trained to move with speed - but only when the moment is right. Lightrun, the startup he co-founded with Leonid Blouvshtein, is now backed by Accel and Insight Partners with $70M raised, and is redefining how developers debug in production environments. But behind the company's technical edge is a methodical, thoughtful story of timing, discipline, and trust. In this conversation, we explore: The startup lifecycle, broken down by phase. Ilan outlines the specific goals-and dangers-of each chapter: Years 0–2: Product-market fit. “You may come up with an amazing product… but is it delightful enough that people and organizations truly love it?” Years 2-4: Go-to-market fit. “You've proven value, now can you sell it repeatedly?” Years 4–6: Scaling. “This is where it gets really hard-it demands consistency, leadership maturity, and real operational backbone.” Why founders must resist the urge to scale too soon. Each stage brings its own pressures, and Ilan shares why timing is a competitive advantage few talk about. Vision vs. credibility: how to pitch like a founder who knows both. “Some investors want you to pitch a $100B story or they'll say you're not crazy enough. But you can't just sell the dream-you need believable milestones.” The power of deep domain expertise. Ilan and his co-founder Leonid weren't startup tourists-they deliberately delayed founding Lightrun until they'd spent years gaining firsthand experience with the problem space. “Once we came up with an idea in the domain we lived by, things moved magnitudes faster.” They moved fast because they'd waited to move. A co-founder story rooted in long-term alignment. Their partnership wasn't born in a hackathon. It was built over years of shared conversations and career moves with the goal of someday launching something together. “Leonid wasn't optimizing for salary-he was optimizing for being better skilled for what we'd eventually build.” Why good ideas come with a clock. “If the opportunity's big enough, others will feel it too. You don't have unlimited time to act.” How mentorship and networks compound growth. Ilan reflects on the exponential value of getting the right advice-and surrounding yourself with people who've failed and succeeded. It's what helps turn lessons into leverage. Why founders must imagine more than just their company-they must imagine the market. “It's not only about what you're building-it's how the market will evolve by the time you get there.” This episode is for anyone who's still getting ready-who's learning, building experience, and wondering when it's their time to start. Listen in if you want to see what preparation really looks like-and what happens when long-game thinking meets the right idea.

Google and Accel will jointly invest up to $2 million in each startup through their new partnership. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In today's Tech3 from Moneycontrol, we break down the biggest stories shaping India's startup and tech ecosystem. Startups rush to look IPO-ready with profitability, the IT industry is bracing for cost bumps under new labour codes, Maharashtra's new policy to challenge southern states in the GCC race, and Accel's new AI partnership with Google.

For years, there was a formula for raising money from VC's: perfect your pitch deck, polish your twelve slides, practice the elevator pitch, and hope someone in the limited VC circle gives you a shot.  But that formula worked in a different era, when venture capital was still a close knit club and the same 1,200 people decided which ideas got funded. Those limited rules don't apply anymore. And this shift is not only relevant in VC but also when pitching angel investors.  What Robert Harary has lived firsthand is that the investors who matter today aren't looking for perfect companies. They're looking for founders who are honest, self-aware, and willing to build in the open. The people who win now aren't necessarily the most connected; they're the ones who are real, transparent, and building relationships instead of performances. Robert's story is a perfect example of that shift. He raised his first million at 17 with zero network, went on to back more than 300 startups as a VC, and is now building Raisi.ai, a platform that automatically connects founders and investors, no warm intros required.  In this conversation, we talk about why the old "pitch-only based" era of fundraising is over, what he sees as a new partnership-driven model, and how authenticity has quietly replaced access as the most valuable currency in venture capital.   Topics Covered; Why the old fundraising playbook stopped working, and what replaced it How to raise capital without a network, connections, or pedigree What investors now value most in founders (and why "perfect" is a red flag) How to shift from perfect pitch-based to partnership-based fundraising The rise of platforms like Raisi.ai and what they signal about the future of venture How transparency and imperfection can actually strengthen investor trust What the post-2021 "venture reset" means for early-stage founders How founders can build investor relationships months before raising a round The subtle red flags that turn investors off before a single slide is shown   Guest Bio Robert Harary is an early-stage VC investor, founder, and lifelong believer that access to capital shouldn't depend on who you know. He found his first deal while sitting in high school detention and has spent the decade since working to make fundraising more transparent, efficient, and equitable. Today, Robert is the #2 at Evolution VC Partners, a leading firm with 300+ portfolio companies in the Culture Tech space. Robert co-founded Raisi, a platform that automatically connects founders and investors, matching great ideas with the right capital every eight minutes. Raisi is built on a simple belief: founders shouldn't have to rely on elite networks or endless introductions to get funded. The company is redefining how startups raise money by making investor access smarter, faster, and more inclusive. Collectively, the companies Robert has worked with have raised more than $1.2 billion from firms like Sequoia, a16z, Accel, YC, and Village Global.  Sign up for https://raisi.ai/ and mention The Seed Money Podcast to get a discount.  Connect with Robert on LinkedIn.  About Your Host Jayla Siciliano, Shark Tank entrepreneur turned real estate investor, excels in building brands, teams, and products. CEO of a bi-coastal luxury short-term rental company, she also hosts the Seed Money Podcast, where she's on a mission to help early-stage entrepreneurs turn their ideas into reality!    Connect: Website: https://seedmoneypodcast.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaylasiciliano/ Subscribe and watch on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@seedmoneypodcast/    Please rate, follow, and review the podcast on https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/seed-money/id1740815877 and https://open.spotify.com/show/0VkQECosb1spTFsUhu6uFY?si=5417351fb73a4ea1/! Hearing your comments and questions helps me come up with the best topics for the show!   Disclaimer The information in this podcast is educational and general in nature and does not take into consideration the listener's personal circumstances. Therefore, it is not intended to be a substitute for specific, individualized financial, legal, or tax advice.  

Gamma co-founder and CEO Grant Lee and lead series A investor Vas Natarajan of Accel are building one of the fastest-growing creative-tools startups in tech. With 70 million users, 100M ARR and just 50 employees, Gamma has become the “anti-PowerPoint”—a visual communication platform for the AI generation.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The U.S. is far ahead of Europe in the race for large AI models, at least in funding. But the picture is different for the application layer, global VC firm Accel highlighted in its 2025 Globalscape report. Also, Australia's intelligence chief warned that Chinese hackers are trying to break into its networks, sometimes successfully, to "pre-position" for sabotage ahead of an anticipated invasion of Taiwan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, Chetna explains how new automation strategies are evolving not only productivity, but the role of the CIO. Chetna emphasizes the importance of data quality and security when scaling a fast-growing company, as well as transparency and partnership in vendor relationships. About the Guest: Chetna is an award winning CIO, board member, and VC advisor with over 25 years of experience working in the Fortune 100 and serving as a 3X CIO for hyper-growth SaaS businesses. Chetna currently serves as CIO of Webflow, a hyper-growth Website Experience Platform SaaS company. Previously, she served as CDIO at Amplitude and ZoomInfo.Chetna is an advisor to prominent VC firms including Sequoia Capital, Accel, Ridge Ventures, and Mayfield and serves on the Customer Advisory Board (CAB) at Veza and, Productiv and was formerly at Snowflake and Google Cloud Platform CAB. She served on the Tech Committee with Carlyle and Thoma Bravo, and on the Advisory Board of Ninja Focus and Women & AI.She was a finalist and nominee for the Bay Area ORBIE, CIO award, a finalist for “2019 Markie's Cultivator Award for Best Lead Management Program,” a recipient of the Delta Dental Women in Business Stevie Award of Excellence in Healthcare Transformation, and a Boeing Spirit of Excellence Award recipient. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, hiking, and skiing and has a passion for exploring different cultures.Timestamps:01:41 - About Chetna04:53 - Automation as a starting point07:16 - Employee productivity and the CIO11:25 - Discovering new AI tools13:44 - Evolving revenue systems22:47 - How will the CIO role evolve?28:37 - Lightning roundGuest Highlight:“ AI has really taken productivity at a whole different level now. It has really helped us drive the pace in productivity we couldn't have fathomed before the event of the content generation. It's not just content generation anymore. It's way beyond that. The velocity at which we are innovating on the product is huge.”Get Connected:Chetna Mahajan on LinkedInYousuf Kahn on LinkedInIan Faison on LinkedInHungry for more tech talk? Check out past episodes at ciopod.com: Ep 62 - Running IT Like a Growth EngineEp 61 - What Manufacturing Can Teach You About Scaling Enterprise AIEp 60 - Why the Smartest CIOs Are Becoming Business StrategistsLearn more about Caspian Studios: caspianstudios.comOur Sponsor:This episode was brought to you by Blitzy, the Enterprise Autonomous Software Development Platform with Infinite Code Context.Blitzy uses thousands of specialized AI agents that think for hours to understand enterprise scale codebases with millions of lines of code. Enterprise Engineering leaders start every development sprint with the Blitzy platform, bringing in their development requirements. The Blitzy platform provides a plan, then generates and pre-compiles code for each task. Blitzy delivers 80%+ of the development work autonomously, while providing a guide for the final 20% of human development work required to complete the sprint.Public companies are achieving a 5x engineering velocity increase when incorporating Blitzy as their Pre-IDE development tool, pairing it with their coding co-pilot of choice to bring an AI-Native SDLC into their org.Visit Blitzy.com and press book demo to learn how Blitzy transforms your SDLC from AI Assisted to AI Native. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In today's Tech3 from Moneycontrol, venture investors finally see liquidity worth $1.5 billion as Indian startups like Groww, Lenskart, and Pine Labs hit the IPO street. Zoho's WhatsApp rival Arattai slips out of the charts after a brief viral moment, even as Zoho Mail nears $100 million in annual revenue. OpenAI's Srinivas Narayanan shares how the company plans to woo Indian developers, and Lenskart's IPO smashes expectations with 28x subscription and Groww saw robust subscription on the first day of share sale.

Flint raised a $5 million seed round led by Accel, with participation from Sheryl Sandberg's fund, Sandberg Bernthal Venture Partners, and prior investor Neo. Also, Coco Robotics is working toward automating its fleet of delivery robots using its millions of miles of collected data. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Polars, the Amsterdam-based company behind the popular open source project of the same name, has raised about $21 million in a Series A round led by Accel, with participation from Bain Capital Partners and angel investors. But while raising this kind of money is the dream of many developers, its creator Ritchie Vink didn't set out to do so. Also, making democracy work isn't easy, as recent events have made clear. Some critics would argue that technology is making it worse. But one startup is hoping that AI could help bridge some differences instead of widen them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On average, I get asked 2x a week for fractional CFO recommendations.And on average, I get complaints 3x a week about someone's current setup.Today we investigate the booming fractional CFO market, and my checklist to making sure you get a good one.This week's podcast is brought to you by Campfire (www.campfire.ai)We've all used legacy ERPs. Painful migrations, endless consulting fees, and even after you're live, getting simple answers still means hours in spreadsheets.Campfire fixes that. It's the AI-first ERP built for modern finance and accounting teams. It's helping mid-market and enterprise teams close faster, unlock insights instantly, and scale smarter - without the additional headcount.I use Campfire myself, and it's been a game changer for our finance workflow. The interface is intuitive, migration was quick & painless, and it's freed us up to focus on strategic work.They just raised $35 million from Accel to further reimagine ERP. That's not easy to do.I'm excited to see how they keep reimagining this space – and you should be too.Check them out at www.campfire.ai This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mostlymetrics.com

Anton Osika is the Co-Founder and CEO @ Lovable, the fastest growing company on the planet. In just 7 months, they have scaled from $0 to $120M in ARR. They have raised over $200M in funding from some of the best including Accel, Creandum and 20VC. Their latest round priced the company at a whopping $2BN.  Agenda for Today: 00:00 – Is AI an Arms Race… Or Just a Talent War? 03:45 – How Does Anton Compete with Zuck's $100M Packages for Talent 07:30 – Founder Mode vs. Structure: Can Chaos Scale? 10:15 – The Brutal Truth About Defensibility in AI Startups 13:20 – Unit Economics: Are AI Companies Doomed to Bleed Cash? 17:00 – GPT-5: Game-Changer or Overhyped Disappointment? 20:10 – How Lovable Hit $100M ARR in Just 7 Months? 25:15 – Replit, Figma, Bolt: Which Competitor is the Best? 30:00 – The Security Bombshells No One Talks About 36:40 – Should Anyone Still Study Computer Science? 40:30 – Work-Life Balance Is Dead: Inside Anton's 10x Culture 56:00 – OpenAI, Anthropic, or Grok: Who Wins the AI Wars?    

What matters more: Your company performance, or market conditions?Stubhub is preparing to go public (again) after initially pulling the plug back in March of 2025. A lot has changed since then. The market is up. And their performance is down. We analyze what's going on in the capital markets, and how to think about what matters most when you're preparing to go public.(Read: Stubhub's original S1 breakdown on Mostlymetrics.com)This week's podcast is brought to you by Campfire (www.campfire.ai)We've all used legacy ERPs. Painful migrations, endless consulting fees, and even after you're live, getting simple answers still means hours in spreadsheets.Campfire fixes that. It's the AI-first ERP built for modern finance and accounting teams. It's helping mid-market and enterprise teams close faster, unlock insights instantly, and scale smarter - without the additional headcount.I use Campfire myself, and it's been a game changer for our finance workflow. The interface is intuitive, migration was quick & painless, and it's freed us up to focus on strategic work.They just raised $35 million from Accel to further reimagine ERP. That's not easy to do.I'm excited to see how they keep reimagining this space – and you should be too.Check them out at www.campfire.ai This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mostlymetrics.com

What do Whitey Bulger, FBI Agent John Connolly, AI and Venture Capitalists have in common? In today's episode we explore an unholy alliance between two forces that need each other—massive capital piles and foundational model companies that can actually absorb that capital.This week's podcast is brought to you by Campfire (www.campfire.ai)We've all used legacy ERPs. Painful migrations, endless consulting fees, and even after you're live, getting simple answers still means hours in spreadsheets.Campfire fixes that. It's the AI-first ERP built for modern finance and accounting teams. It's helping mid-market and enterprise teams close faster, unlock insights instantly, and scale smarter - without the additional headcount.I use Campfire myself, and it's been a game changer for our finance workflow. The interface is intuitive, migration was quick & painless, and it's freed us up to focus on strategic work.They just raised $35 million from Accel to further reimagine ERP. That's not easy to do.I'm excited to see how they keep reimagining this space – and you should be too.Check them out at www.campfire.ai This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mostlymetrics.com

Today we're reviewing the state of the private markets using the NEW benchmarks released by Mostly Metrics. We surveyed our readers to see how their company's are doing… And it's tough to be a company between $5M and $25M in revenue right now.Three other things that stood out from the benchmarks this quarter:1️⃣ CAC Payback is up across the board. It's taking longer to earn back customer acquisition costs. AI is disrupting traditional search channels, and companies are building internal tooling instead of buying when it makes sense.2️⃣ Revenue is coming from existing bases. Net Dollar Retention is doing the heavy lifting — especially beyond $25M ARR. Expansion efficiency is becoming the key growth lever.3️⃣ Burn multiples keep falling. In reaction to expensive growth, capital efficiency is trending up. Even companies under $25M ARR are showing discipline.Get the whole 33 page report hereThis week's podcast is brought to you by Campfire (www.campfire.ai)We've all used legacy ERPs. Painful migrations, endless consulting fees, and even after you're live, getting simple answers still means hours in spreadsheets.Campfire fixes that. It's the AI-first ERP built for modern finance and accounting teams. It's helping mid-market and enterprise teams close faster, unlock insights instantly, and scale smarter - without the additional headcount.I use Campfire myself, and it's been a game changer for our finance workflow. The interface is intuitive, migration was quick & painless, and it's freed us up to focus on strategic work.They just raised $35 million from Accel to further reimagine ERP. That's not easy to do.I'm excited to see how they keep reimagining this space – and you should be too.Check them out at www.campfire.ai This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mostlymetrics.com

Cory Kennedy - High Performance Coach - joins us for the 109th episode of MTN. On this episode of the podcast, we discuss the way that Cory and his staff in Sacramento broke down players by archetype, the ratios of accel to decel based on those archetypes, and the ways in which they viewed the developmental process and moving athletes along the spectrum. This was an incredibly in-depth episode and we were lucky that Cory took the time to dive in with usFind Cory on social media @coryksandcFollow and find us on social media @mtn_perform and check back each Wednesday for a new episodeBig Thanks to our sponsor Lumin Sports:Lumin continues to change the game within the AMS realm and recently launched their new strength builder platform. Head on over to luminsports.com - and mention Move the Needle at Check out to receive 20% off your first full year.& a huge Thank You to our sponsor, Hawkin Dynamics: Hawkin is the world leader in force measuring, and continues to put forth the tools for high-performance practitioners to be exactly that, high performers. If you haven't yet checked out Hawkins - head over to their website at: https://www.hawkindynamics.com/ and check out everything they have to offerMake sure to check out our sponsor, Samson Equipment: Samson is a leader in manufacturing elite weight room equipment (and have been for nearly 50 years). Founded by Dave and Linda Schroeder, Samson is weight room equipment made by coaches for coaches. Check them out at samsonequipment.com for more informationShoutout to our sponsor, 1080 Motion. The 1080 Sprint is the single best piece of training equipment in the world & has continually changed the game for training speed, strength, and power. Go to 1080motion.com to learn more.

Pricing and packaging has undergone a radical transformation since the early 1950s. And the clear through line is a changing unit of value and how it's tracked.Historically, the tech industry has undergone six waves of change.* Hardware + Software sold together* Software Sold for Hardware* Application Service Providers* Outsourced Infrastructure + SaaS* Usage Based Pricing* HybridWe'll walk through each evolution, and leave you with some tips for overcoming common pricing challenges in the age of AI.This week's podcast is brought to you by Campfire (www.campfire.ai)We've all used legacy ERPs. Painful migrations, endless consulting fees, and even after you're live, getting simple answers still means hours in spreadsheets.Campfire fixes that. It's the AI-first ERP built for modern finance and accounting teams. It's helping mid-market and enterprise teams close faster, unlock insights instantly, and scale smarter - without the additional headcount.I use Campfire myself, and it's been a game changer for our finance workflow. The interface is intuitive, migration was quick & painless, and it's freed us up to focus on strategic work.They just raised $35 million from Accel to further reimagine ERP. That's not easy to do.I'm excited to see how they keep reimagining this space – and you should be too.Check them out at www.campfire.ai.Referenced on podcast:* Jason Kap's expert pricing consultancy: https://bluerocket.io/ Get full access to Mostly metrics at www.mostlymetrics.com/subscribe

Today we're talking about capital allocation, and how it's one of the most powerful, yet least discussed, skills a CEO needs to learn.Every CEO has three core jobs:* Run a good company (Operations)* Tell a good story (Investor Relations)* Deploy capital effectively (Capital Allocation)Most CEOs focus 80% of their time on the first two. Yet it's the third, capital allocation, that often has the highest leverage and the least guidance.You can read more about this topic at lookingforleverage.comThis week's podcast is brought to you by Campfire (www.campfire.ai)We've all used legacy ERPs. Painful migrations, endless consulting fees, and even after you're live, getting simple answers still means hours in spreadsheets.Campfire fixes that. It's the AI-first ERP built for modern finance and accounting teams. It's helping mid-market and enterprise teams close faster, unlock insights instantly, and scale smarter - without the additional headcount.I use Campfire myself, and it's been a game changer for our finance workflow. The interface is intuitive, migration was quick & painless, and it's freed us up to focus on strategic work.They just raised $35 million from Accel to further reimagine ERP. That's not easy to do.I'm excited to see how they keep reimagining this space – and you should be too.Check them out at www.campfire.ai. Get full access to Mostly metrics at www.mostlymetrics.com/subscribe

In this episode, Sasha Orloff talks with John Glasgow, CEO & CFO of Campfire, about building an AI-native ERP system that streamlines finance workflows through automation and faster month-end close. Fresh from raising $35 million, John shares insights on modernizing legacy systems, the challenges of building complex financial software, and why now is the right time to innovate in accounting tech. -- SPONSORS: Notion Boost your startup with Notion—the ultimate connected workspace trusted by thousands worldwide! From engineering specs to onboarding and fundraising, Notion keeps your team organized and efficient. For a limited time, get 6 months of Notion AI FREE to supercharge your workflow. Claim your offer now at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://notion.com/startups/puzzle⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Puzzle

Over the past 30 years, the number of publicly traded companies in the U.S. has been sliced in half, falling from a peak of ~8,000 in the late '90s to just ~4,000 today.That stat shocked me. I knew IPOs were a slow drip, but I didn't realize that the number of companies being taken private was far out pacing the number joining the NYSE and NASDAQ ranks.Today we discuss:* Three structural changes in the capital markets that brought us to this point* The rise of private credit* How companies staying private changes your job as an operator or CFOThis week's podcast is brought to you by Campfire (www.campfire.ai)We've all used legacy ERPs. Painful migrations, endless consulting fees, and even after you're live, getting simple answers still means hours in spreadsheets.Campfire fixes that. It's the AI-first ERP built for modern finance and accounting teams. It's helping mid-market and enterprise teams close faster, unlock insights instantly, and scale smarter - without the additional headcount.I use Campfire myself, and it's been a game changer for our finance workflow. The interface is intuitive, migration was quick & painless, and it's freed us up to focus on strategic work.They just raised $35 million from Accel to further reimagine ERP. That's not easy to do.I'm excited to see how they keep reimagining this space – and you should be too.Check them out at www.campfire.ai. Get full access to Mostly metrics at www.mostlymetrics.com/subscribe

Figma Figma just raised the bar for IPOs in 2025.Today we break down their revenue, margins, retention, and potential valuation in the public markets.You can find the full analysis in written form at:https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/figma-ipo-s1-breakdownThis week's podcast is brought to you by Campfire (www.campfire.ai)We've all used legacy ERPs. Painful migrations, endless consulting fees, and even after you're live, getting simple answers still means hours in spreadsheets.Campfire fixes that. It's the AI-first ERP built for modern finance and accounting teams. It's helping mid-market and enterprise teams close faster, unlock insights instantly, and scale smarter - without the additional headcount.I use Campfire myself, and it's been a game changer for our finance workflow. The interface is intuitive, migration was quick & painless, and it's freed us up to focus on strategic work.They just raised $35 million from Accel to further reimagine ERP. That's not easy to do.I'm excited to see how they keep reimagining this space – and you should be too.Check them out at www.campfire.ai. Get full access to Mostly metrics at www.mostlymetrics.com/subscribe

With Chicagoland racing on the decline, Fairmount Park near St. Louis has become the one track in Illinois where the sport is on the rise. This week the Collinsville venue plays host for this on-the-road episode of the Ron Flatter Racing Pod. Vince Gabbert, a former executive at Keeneland, talks about his decision to run Fairmount Park since it was bought last year by the publicly traded gaming company Accel. He also discusses the recent opening of a casino inside the 100-year-old site, making it the first racetrack in Illinois to take advantage of that revenue stream. Jim Watkins, the president of the Illinois Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, discusses the challenges facing owners and trainers like him who continue to race their horses at both Fairmount and at Hawthorne in suburban Chicago. He also expresses his optimism about the potential expansion of racing at Fairmount beyond its current Tuesday-and-Saturday schedule. With the Saratoga summer getting an early start, handicapper Ed DeRosa offers tips for the Saturday's card highlighted by the Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational. He also has analysis for other races from the holiday-weekend menu across the country. Fairmount track announcer Keith Nelson fills in for John Cherwa as this week's co-host. The Ron Flatter Racing Pod via Horse Racing Nation is available via free subscription from Apple, Firefox, iHeart and Spotify as well as HorseRacingNation.com.

It's our annual tradition—venture capitalists and startup founders share the books that shaped them. From sci-fi and civil rights to artificial intelligence and management, this year's reading list offers insight into the minds of Silicon Valley's most thoughtful leaders.Highlights include:Master of the Senate by Robert Caro, recommended by Casber Wang of Sapphire Ventures for its deep exploration of power and politicsTraffic by Ben Smith, cited by Joe Alalou of Daring Ventures as essential reading on how the social web shaped our modern worldThe Sentence by Louise Erdrich, praised by Initiate Ventures' Jessica Owens for its emotional depth and powerful storytellingRead Write Own by Chris Dixon, a pick from Bobby Franklin of the NVCA to better understand the potential of blockchain beyond cryptoEven Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins, a personal favorite of Wharton's Lori Rosenkopf for its message on turning perceived flaws into strengthsMindset by Carol Dweck, currently on Larry Gadea's reading listThe Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov, a longtime source of inspiration for Imvaria's Joshua ReicherHigh Output Management by Intel legend Andy Grove, recommended by Avery Pennarun of TailscaleTomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, the book Amit Kumar of Accel is gifting to friendsPrediction Machines by Ajay Agrawal, a favorite of Terry Doyle from TELUS Ventures for making AI approachable—even for his 89-year-old motherAnd anything by Isaac Asimov, says James Joaquin of Obvious Ventures, who's now funding a factory that grows diamondsMore than just a beach read list, these titles reflect the philosophies and obsessions of today's investors. Dive into the full episode of Sand Hill Road for all the recommendations—and check our archives for past years' picks.Sand Hill Road is produced by Andrew Mendez under the leadership of Sara Bueno and Stephanie Adrouny

AI investments hit $110 billion in 2024, and the funding landscape in 2025 is more competitive than ever. For early-stage startups, that means more money in the market but also more pressure to stand out. At TechCrunch Sessions: AI, Rebecca Bellan sat down with three experienced investors: Jill Chase, Partner at CapitalG; Kanu Gulati, Partner at Khosla Ventures; and Sara Ittelson, Partner at Accel. They broke down what they are really looking for when evaluating AI startups from seed through Series C. Their message to founders? Forget the perfect pitch. Focus on building trust, surviving the hype cycle, and being ready for copycats the moment you find product-market fit. Listen to the full episode of Equity to hear about: Why VCs say founders are over-indexing on pitch decks instead of relationships What it takes to go up against big incumbents without getting crushed Why consumer focus (and speed) still win, even in B2B AI How agents and automation are already reshaping the startup playbook Equity will be back Friday with our weekly news roundup, so stay tuned. Equity is TechCrunch's flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here. Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We'd also like to thank TechCrunch's audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it take to drive product innovation in industries that aren't traditionally product-led?Heather Samarin and Vidya Dinamani sit down with Rahul Nath, CPO at Accel, who brings rich experience from Google, Drip Capital, and McKinsey. Rahul shares how he builds product in non-product-led spaces, from redefining onboarding in trade finance to leveraging AI in venture capital. Hear Rahul's practical lessons on stakeholder alignment, scrappy experimentation, data-driven decision-making, and why he believes “if there's no clear strategy—write one.” A must-listen for product leaders navigating ambiguity and driving bold transformation.

Rami Tamir is no stranger to the startup world. A seasoned entrepreneur with multiple successful exits, he has honed his ability to build, scale, and navigate acquisitions like a veteran baseball player hitting home runs with each venture. Rami's latest venture, Salto, has attracted funding from top-tier investors like Bessemer Venture Partners, Accel, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Salesforce Ventures.