I am not sure who to credit for this saying, but I love it: “pessimists sound smart, optimists make money.” Venture capital is an industry for optimists. It is about betting on the potential, on underdogs, on progress. We consider what a company can become, not simply what it is today. That requires a belief…More
The biggest beneficiary of the AI space race
Nine months ago, I gave a presentation about value capture in AI. I outlined a working hypothesis on where value would accrue and the forces at play across the application, platform, and model layers. But I left a glaring hole. The biggest beneficiary is not the compute or chip providers. Not the foundation model or…More
Consumer internet: get rich or die tryin’?
Great companies can be built serving consumers or enterprises. But there’s a different risk-reward return profile. I recently took a step back to look at the data along with my colleagues and awesome thought partners Kate Walker, Alexandra Sukin, and Jeremy Levine. We reviewed all the VC-backed public listings on the NYSE & Nasdaq worth >$1B…More
A trillion dollar opportunity
Google is the front page of the Internet. The Internet is a central hub for knowledge, information, and economic activity. And Google is its biggest gatekeeper. It is where a lot of my online life starts. I am a chronic googler. I search anything and everything that pops into my hyperactive mind. My search history…More
Thank you, Jeremy Levine
Ten years ago, I landed a college internship at Bessemer. That led to a full time job and launched my career as a venture capitalist. As I look back, I can’t imagine where I would be without people taking bets on me – from founders that said “yes” and bet on me as a young,…More
Valuing early stage companies
When presenting a term sheet, I am often asked, “how did you come up with this valuation?” I have heard VCs answer that question ambiguously by proclaiming that “valuing early stage startups is more art than science.” In my opinion, that is akin to admitting that you put your finger in the air and conjure…More
Is generative AI the next platform shift?
The global economy was once fueled by industrialization. Today it’s fueled by knowledge and information. Major technological advances and platform shifts have accelerated this transition—in the 1990s it was the Internet. The 2000s brought the era of cloud computing. The 2010s gave rise to smartphone ubiquity. What were once emergent platforms went on to broaden…More
Loss ratios in VC
Loss aversion and FOMO are powerful forces that drive VC behavior. The pendulum has swung from one extreme to the other. Both are dangerous. Companies measure dollar and logo churn rates. VCs do the same with dollar and “logo” (aka investment count) losses. Losses are part of business. According to Cambridge Associates, 20% dollar losses…More
My investment in Rupa Health
My friend Tara Viswanathan was desperate to find a treatment for her mom’s chronic skin condition. World-class doctors and dermatologists were stumped. So Tara turned to specialty testing and root cause medicine for answers. Root cause medicine is the practice of understanding the root cause of illness rather than simply slapping on band-aids or prescribing pills…More
Why meat is like a PalmPilot
I am fond of Peter Thiel’s interview question: “what is one thing you believe that most others don’t?” One of my own answers to this question is that within the next few decades, meat as we know it will be obsolete. Most of this country will be plant based or eating meat that is grown…More
Talia Goldberg 