Vertex Ventures

It isn't about business frameworks  — it’s about human psychology!

🤝 Unlock the power of warm introductions to boost your enterprise growth. In my latest blog post, I share best practices for leveraging your investor network to connect with key decision-makers and accelerate your sales pipeline. Check it out for practical tips and strategies, and let me know what you think! #startups #networking #startupadvice #founders

Parent by day, AI explorer by... also day! 🤹♀️ Snuck away from the end-of-school madness to attend Google Cloud's AI Startup Trailblazers event in NYC. 🗽 Takeaways: - Move fast, but know where you're going 🏃♀️➡️👑 - AI is making tech accessible for all 🌍🤖 - People are still key (phew!) 🙌👩💻 - Google Cloud's startup support is 🔑🚀 Full scoop in my latest article. Building something cool in AI? Let's chat! 💬✨ TY: Tobias Citron (Primary Venture Partners) Julia Maltby (Flybridge) Megan Reynolds (Vertex Ventures US) Samantha Rodriguez (Google) #AI #Startups #NYCTech #GoogleCloud

Yesterday was a great event featuring early-stage founders, VCs, engineers, partners and the local community at Google about building with AI. Highlights included how AI is revolutionizing industries including manufacturing, home decor, automotive and renewable energy Here are some key takeaways for founders and anyone interested in AI: Transparency is Key: -Own and communicate risks openly -Be upfront about challenges and potential limitations -Transparency builds trust with investors and customers Start with a 'wedge' product: -Focus on a simple, easy-to-adopt product that can quickly establish customer relationships -This allows for initial traction before scaling to more complex solutions Data Security & Regulations: -Implement data security measures from the beginning -Adhere to relevant regulations to maintain compliance Think Beyond Software: -Explore how AI can revolutionize industries where much of the data is still offline -Combine public and private data sets to unlock new insights and solutions. -Think about the way you work, your process and the common frustrations you have in your industry Understand Risks: -Be aware of security vulnerabilities, prompt injection risks, and data privacy concerns -Consider potential attack vectors and data security challenges -Implement proper silos for internal RAG systems to protect information Focus on Building a Vision: -Communicate your vision for the future of your application or platform -Clearly articulate how generative AI can address specific needs and solve problems Overall generative AI has completely transformed the SAAS landscape and how to think about building and supporting a product whether it is internally or externally.  While so much emphasis is placed on home run bets with the assumption that most (over 90%) of startups will fail, it is still early and moving fast. There will be thousands of micro apps, new emerging industries, a faster pace to profit and greater collaboration. For that I would add that IRL community, network effects, iterations, partnerships, sustainability and storytelling are going to be the key differentiators and far more important for founders and adopters at organizations willing to step into the AI arena AND go the distance.  It takes a tremendous amount of resources, energy, commitment and dedication as an organization to support all of these aspects at scale with different touch points. Thank you to Google for hosting these events and for all the participants who traveled or gave up their time to attend! 😎 Samantha Rodriguez, Julia Maltby, Megan Reynolds, Tobias Citron, Karthik Dinakar, Eric M., Jason Hatala, Roshan Kothari, Santiago Gonzalez-Boneta, Will Ruben, Akash Sharma, Patrick Haggerty, Gabe Weiss, Karl Weinmeister, Elyas Tecle, Lukasz Bulik, Donald Hanson II, Leslie Asanga, Sam Mudzingwa, Richard Rabbat, Nathaniel Wice, Brad Miro, Billy Jacobson, Dan Romuald Mbanga Featured companies included Pienso, Workmate Labs, Vellum.ai