Alexander Garcia-Tobar

#Imagine inviting friends over for dinner and giving them a ridged diagram of the allowable conversation paths for the evening – that would be insane! So, why do companies do it to their fans / customers? Today, the ASAPP team released #GenerativeAgent to solve that nonsense! Their team of #AI #Scientists is well known for publishing peer reviewed AI #Research papers like Gold Records, so the below statement doesn't seem hyperbole. "GenerativeAgent isn't just groundbreaking—it's revolutionary, redefining what we thought was possible in what is likely the largest automation opportunity in the world today," said Gustavo Sapoznik, ASAPP's #Founder and #CEO. Thanking Amazon Web Services (AWS), EY, PTP, Infosys, Cisco, Genesys, and Avaya and many of the world's most #iconicbrands for helping to drive the #transformation. I love #investing in #extraordinary #founders!

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Nic Poulos and I wrote an essay for Euclid Ventures, "An Era for Vertical Software." The TL;DR is that vertical SaaS is a distinct, enduring discipline that we believe is poised to dominate the software landscape over the next decade.   "2024 will represent a turning point, perhaps even a new era for venture capital. While the fog feels like it’s lifting, the path forward isn’t yet clear. One includes a soft landing for the US economy and the continuing recovery of software multiples, with ZIRP-era behaviors continuing around hot themes. Another sees a recessionary period in which VC capital inflows remain stagnant and startup funding the year dips below $100B. Either way, a more measured VC market in 2024 is a certainty. For many investors, that will come with a rude awakening as their strategy becomes more difficult to execute or their thesis of choice is negatively impacted by tightening markets.    We see this reversion of the venture ecosystem to its mean as a strong tailwind for Euclid and vertical software. As a category, Vertical SaaS is uniquely well suited to thrive in volatile market conditions and produce fund-returning outcomes. The sections below aim to answer the question: why is vertical software different? Our answer discusses the factors driving the natural market resilience we see in vertical software as a category–resilience that will help them thrive in 2024 and beyond."

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Chatbots spewing hate speech is a problem for engineers and security teams alike. Building safe and reliable AI systems is a problem that runs deep! Check out my latest blog to learn about how we got here and what you can do to deploy AI that you can trust. I’ve even drawn up some illustrations to keep you entertained on the way: 

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BforeAI is a novel approach to stopping threats outside your borders. It’s worth checking out if you ever find the need for brand protection, takedowns, or just want some the best advance notice threat intel to empower your security operations.

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Very impressed with the Wevo Energy story and I share those feelings. It is never easy facing all challenges and complexities. #Podcast #StartupJourney #SolarEnergy #Entrepreneurship #WEVO #SolarEdge #Acquisition

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In this week's episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast, I discuss the American Privacy Rights Act (APRA) and its potential impact on the digital ecosystem with Alan Chapell, a lawyer and digital privacy expert. To listen, search for "Mobile Dev Memo" in your podcast platform of choice.

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118 VCs (one hundred eighteen!) are gathering in San Diego next week - to meet with 30 SD startups. But it's so MUCH bigger than just those 30 co's. It brings VCs back - when they see quality companies. It helps those who are next-in-line and adjacent. It enables us to send deal flow all year 'round. It attracts talent and other companies. It inspires entrepreneurship. Connect is working for SD. Together, we're building the best damn innovation ecosystem on the planet. Year over year. Five.Ten.Thirty.

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An interesting article below, that demonstrates out how San Diego is punching above its weight.  And how Connect's strategy and execution over time, contintues to be central to that success. The article describes the current state of the market in Seattle.  (And i love Seattle.) It's a market that we tend to track with relative to venture fundings.  They used to kick our butts, we outraised them each of the last three years.  This despite the fact they have 3x as many funds there, and 9x the amount of resident capital there. (per pitchbook) Some key takeaways:  * They continue to compare themselves to SIlicon Valley. Instead, we leverage our proximity. *They whine there's not enough local investors (see note above - they have more than us). We bring over 200 VCs to SD annually! * They say founders are not connected with one another. We bring CEOs together regularly, in a variety of ways - private dinners and through our Springboard program. * They say they need to elevate their image on a national & international stage. Why we created and continue to build Five.Ten.Thirty (aka Inno Day).  * And the last paragraph - they need to concentrate on making their region a great place to live. Our mantra: "It's about Better, not Bigger." (See XEO, TL Fund). THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT. WE ARE ON A MISSION TOGETHER!!!  (Comments, whining, suggestions on SD always welcome.) https://lnkd.in/g6Rq_f2Y

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Introducing Stephan Little, a pioneer in entrepreneurship, investment, and mergers and acquisitions, who will be joining the AI Panel at the California Investment Forum in Anaheim, CA, on May 8-11. Steve's journey as a serial entrepreneur began at a young age, and he has since scaled six startups to private nine-figure acquisitions and raised over $2 billion in startup and growth funding for businesses across various industries. As the founder and managing director of Zero Limits Ventures and Zero Limits Capital, Steve has become renowned for generating accelerated value growth and delivering extraordinary acquisition value multiples for his portfolio companies and clients. With a keen eye for unique opportunities and a track record of identifying untapped potential, Steve has mastered the art of spotting valuation growth where others may not. In this introduction video, Steve highlighted the transformative power of AI in three distinct areas. Firstly, he touched on the creation and development of AI and generative tools, which are reshaping industries. Secondly, he delved into AI's practical applications within enterprises, emphasizing how integrating AI can dramatically enhance productivity and growth, ultimately increasing value for entrepreneurs. The third area Steve discussed was the middle ground of AI implementation, which presents an exciting opportunity for companies lacking in-house expertise. This gap in the market suggests a burgeoning demand for external AI knowledge and solutions, which can rapidly propel a company forward. AI is accelerating at an extraordinary pace and significantly impacting market dynamics. As an "older statesman" in the tech world, Steve expressed his excitement about being part of this "big bubble" of innovation. Join us at the California Investment Forum to hear Steve's insights and expertise on AI deployment, bridging the gap between generic AI models and task-specific enterprise applications. Learn how we can harness the power of AI to drive competitiveness, efficiency, and growth, improve productivity, and enhance business values in the next decade. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from one of the industry's most respected visionaries and game-changers. #AI #CIF Daniel Sieu Darlene Bryant (Chiu)

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Thrilled to announce the launch of our inaugural edition of Beyond Benchmarks at Emergence Capital. This comprehensive report dives deep into the metrics and trends shaping the early-stage enterprise cloud market. A huge thank you to our VC partners and contributors for making this possible! Here's a sneak peek of our findings: --> 60% of companies have already integrated GenAI into their service offerings, with another 20% planning to do so this year. --> While most companies use OpenAI as their primary LLM, many are experimenting with multiple models. We’re seeing a trend toward intelligently routing GenAI inference requests based on cost, performance, and security. --> Companies that have implemented GenAI are showing promising results, with a 7% higher NDR compared to those that haven’t. Beyond Benchmarks goes further with more GenAI trends, insights on the current fundraising environment, and key performance metrics. Our goal is to provide founders and their teams with valuable benchmarks to help them make better-informed decisions. At Emergence Capital, we're committed to helping founders build iconic companies. Dive into the full report here: https://lnkd.in/g6bnvAZM

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𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆-𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀! We're conducting a benchmarking study to define success metrics specifically for vertical software companies. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: Existing SaaS benchmarks just don't cut it for your unique industry needs. This research will provide the data-driven insights to measure and optimize your vertical software business. 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽? A few minutes of your time can make a big difference.

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"Innovation is often just improvisation." "Even things that seem new are likely not actually new." Philip Brittan made these two points (and many others) in his keynote at a summit here in #Bozeman yesterday. I thought he was spot on, and his talk took my mind to the importance of leaning on experienced advisors when you're a #startup #founder. I've always felt that problems are really just opportunities for value creation. I also believe that as we grow in our careers, we assemble a history of crafty solutions which ended up facilitating new value. Many of the best examples happen on the fly, where the consequence of moving slowly can be existential. Founders have no shortage of problems to solve and breakages to fix. And I think too many of us go at it alone. I think it's critical to align with experienced advisors who carry with them diverse backgrounds. Folks who have been there before and provide a range of perspective and experience dealing with a broader set of challenges. This collective knowledge base creates leverage for founders solving problems - and creating value - in the here and now. #VentureStudios do this. So do good #VCs.

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I had an absolute blast with Michel Gagnon and the Stun and Awe crew - THANKS again for having me... Sneak peek of the substance below: > Micro SaaS companies can be just as safe and stable as larger businesses, offering lower valuations and less competition from institutional players. > Founder-product fit is crucial, as founders solving their own problems often create useful products with great retention. > Founder burnout can be a buying signal, indicating a solid business with a founder ready to move on. > The first 90 days post-acquisition should focus on visibility, documentation, transition, and validating diligence assumptions before pursuing growth. > Building transparently and maintaining open communication with users post-acquisition helps preserve the human element and avoid the pitfall of going silent. > Simplicity equals mastery - if it takes a complex explanation to justify an acquisition, you probably don't fully understand the business. > Establishing reasonable incremental growth goals based on baseline performance (systems over goals) is more effective than setting arbitrary targets. > Fostering a culture of care and respect enables honest feedback and allows teams to move faster through a shared commitment to truth-seeking.

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Ray Rike had a great analysis of the Net Revenue Retention Rate (combining public data from Jamin Ball and private company data from Benchmarkit for private companies). We continue to see NRR drop, and as pointed out in Ray's post, this means real enterprise value decreases for companies that can't fix the leaky buckets. Read his entire piece linked in the comment below, including 7 great tips to increase NRR.

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I believe two of the big winners over the next 10 years in the SMB category will be PE who are rolling up the businesses and GenAI powered software that makes running these businesses significantly more turnkey and/or profitable. Thanks for having me on Jay Kapoor. If you want spicy takes fast forward to 25 min mark. If you want to get deep in market analysis buckle in for the whole thing. https://lnkd.in/d8M7Jyrx

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Asana is probably one of the earliest adopters of Bazel + Typescript. I sat down with Eric Rafalovsky to discuss how they manage the builds with Bazel. Listen to the full podcast episode at: https://lnkd.in/gDFTrnjn Bazel: - Adopting Bazel and TypeScript has brought benefits in terms of performance, correctness, and unified tooling. - Maintaining state with tools like Bazel can be challenging, especially when using incremental modes. - Remote caching is surprisingly easy to manage using Bazel DevEx: - Shadowing product engineers is a valuable exercise to understand their experience and identify pain points. - "Build for developers as the customer." - Key metrics for developer experience include cycle time, local iteration time, and crash rate. - A good platform engineer needs empathy and a continuous learning mindset. #bazel #developerexperience #developerproductivity

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Earlier this year, we surveyed our fellow Los Angeles-based GPs to get a pulse check on the LA venture ecosystem. Here’s what we found: 💗 Deal flow is healthy, and most LA venture investors (68%) are seeing the same or more deal flow YoY. ✈ LA investors are spending time in a variety of markets, with NYC, Austin, and SF following closely on LA’s heels. 🔍 Innovation is concentrated in AI and machine learning, space, and commerce. 💸 Funding is happening, but it’s barbell-shaped, with deals concentrated at the early and late stages. Funding post-Series A has been challenging. 🚩 LA is differentiated, but not without its challenges. Key difficulties include not attracting enough AI talent (despite having the largest number of engineers graduating from our region over any other in the United States); talent relocated to more tax-friendly or less expensive locations; and the great SoCal / NoCal divide 🙏 Thank you to all our many respondents! I’m so glad to be part of a venture ecosystem that includes great minds like Anna Barber, Brent Murri, W. Christine Choi, Sarah Tomolonius, Rob Smith, Win Chevapravatdumrong, John Tabis, Jill Royster, Jesse Draper, Ashley Balla, Britt Danneman, Tram Lai, Carmen Palafox, Elaine Russell, Deborah Benton Amanda Schutzbank, Brian Lee, Petra Griffith, Minnie Ingersoll, Shamin Walsh, Gabe Greenbaum...wow, this list could go on forever...plus too many other exceptional humans to name. You know who you are! Explore our findings more deeply with our survey dashboard: https://bit.ly/3JsaLaB

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This is quite a piece on accusations of unethical pay-to-play within the #cyber #VC ecosystem. -Guaranteed first-year sales for portfolio companies -Formal loyalty program for CISOs -Points awarded within the program for CISO commitment level to portfolio companies (meetings, PoCs, product purchases) -Share of GP fees for CISOs in the loyalty program https://lnkd.in/gDta7Gp7

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