View from Seed

JANUARY 31, 2024

Each innovation wave is unique and distinct. Yet, many find it helpful to understand each wave through analogy, and I am no different. The most common analogies I’ve been considering with the current wave of generative AI are blockchain, self-driving cars, and Web 2.0. Here are some views on their similarities and differences, and how they each shape my thinking.

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Web Generative AI Houston Distribution 168

View from Seed

APRIL 2, 2024

When we started NextView back in 2012, we often used the metaphor of the beer industry to describe the evolution of the VC business. In a nutshell, the argument was that all industries go from being a cottage industry to one that is industrialized. A few big players emerge that compete on scale and scope, much like AB Inbev in the beer industry and the megafunds in venture.

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Merger Non-Compete Early Stage Venture Capital 343

View from Seed

FEBRUARY 14, 2024

As we are in the early phases of a Cambrian explosion of generative AI applications, I’ve been thinking about how to make sense of the madness. There is a huge volume of companies being started, with many more to come, and it is very difficult to separate the signal from the noise and to assess the various teams that are building in this space. The most common rubric that I’ve heard from investors is to invest in what I’ll call “heroes”.

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Generative AI Founder Technology Naming 218

View from Seed

JANUARY 24, 2024

Products, Problems, and People What’s always made us unusual as a firm is that we don’t have the typical answer to the question of “focus”. 90%+ of VC’s will tell you that their focus is either a technology or a space. For example: Technologies: AI, IOT, Cloud, Blockchain Areas: Vertical SaaS, Crypto, Security, Consumer, Deep Tech There is nothing wrong with this approach, but it has never been native for us.

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Vertical Cloud Software Technology 194

View from Seed

JANUARY 2, 2024

One of my goals in 2024 is to start blogging again. Admittedly, I stopped blogging a few years ago because of the proliferation of content around VC and startups. Also, blogs felt like an antiquated way to engage with founders vs. threads on Twitter/X. But I feel like these platforms are way to ephemeral, so I’m going to try to post at least semi-regularly and see where things go.

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Early Stage Valuation Distribution Founder 177