M13

Interested in breaking into VC? Top 10 MBA programs and consulting firms may no longer provide the direct path they once did. In 2025, as the race to back the next big thing in #AI heats up, VC hiring is poised to focus much more on technical skills and less on the “traditional” career paths. "The technology is just getting really sophisticated," shares M13 Partner & Head  Matt Hoffman. "You need to have enough sophistication to be able to understand the tech you are assessing. The traditional MBA background will not be sufficient for the best investors going forward." Read more from Ben Bergman and Melia Russell at Business Insider: https://lnkd.in/eEDSBzdQ 📸: Matt moderating a panel on the talent of tomorrow, featuring Shavar Jeffries and Channing Martin

🎁 Our gift to founders this year: A library of free, expert-written RocketGuides to running your business. These masterclasses in startup-building share tips from operators, founders, and investors who have been there before. Dig in for proven tactics to: 📊 Write an investor-impressing early-stage pitch deck 🤝 Make the most of the conference circuit 🖋️ Craft the investor updates your stakeholders actually want to read 📰 Make a splash with PR strategies specifically for early-stage companies 🤖 Automate your day-to-day workflows with vetted AI tools, from marketing to fundraising to operations 🌟 Onboard your first hires to set up successful teams. And more to come in 2025! Library here: https://lnkd.in/eeEsh2cA Many thanks to our authors: Karl Alomar, Anna Barber, W. Christine Choi, Julia Daniel, Lizzie Francis, Matt Hoffman, Samantha Hughes, Mary Lara, Sarah Levine, Emma Miller, Brent Murri, Zachary Naglieri, Carter Reum, Rob Smith, Abigail Snodgrass, Amelia Zack

There’s arguably no technology more hyped than AI right now. And where there are hype cycles, there’s plenty of opinions, distractions, and misinformation. That doesn’t mean it’s not a great time to be investing in AI (we think it is) or that AI isn’t a fundamental shift that will transform our lives (again, we think it will)—but it does mean there’s a lot of noise in the space.  Our founders, partners, and collaborators are cutting through that noise. From Union Square Ventures co-founder Brad Burnham’s take that AI agents will kill traditional advertising, to M13 co-founder Carter Reum’s belief that investing in AI technology alone doesn’t work, our community’s perspectives challenge hype cycle thinking and highlight how AI could reshape the ways we work, connect, and build. Check out thoughts from Brad, Carter, Julie Samuels, Anna Barber, Rob Smith, Scott Belsky, Sami Shalabi, Karl Alomar, Morgan Blumberg, and W. Christine Choi at https://lnkd.in/exSibiMF

The other night in SoHo… We had a great time with our founders, friends, and fellow investors at our annual NYC holiday party! The magic of NYC, big ideas, and sparkling connections always makes for a memorable night. Thank you to all of our attendees for wrapping up the year with us! Michael Chime and Miranda Lee (Prepared), Parth Shah (Polimorphic), Kanishka Rao (Carenostics), Alex Marcus (Mento), Elizabeth Stark (Lightning Labs), David Bromberg 🏮 (Lantern), Everett Cook (Rho), Bassam Chaptini (Avantos.ai), Michael Burke, Roger Ehrenberg, Ben Lerer, Molly Fowler, Octavius Moore, Peter Boyce II, iqram magdon-ismail, Channing Martin, Jenifer Willig, Andrea Sullivan, Marisa Ricciardi, Kathryn Minshew, Alicia Bassuk, Jonathan Basker, Jason Badeaux, Charisse Jones, Eric Newcomer, Sara Castellanos, Kathryn Dill, Kerry Flynn, Miguel Armaza, Joey Grassia (Shef), Marguerite Gallorini

Shining brighter together! M13 co-founder Carter Reum and entrepreneur and cultural icon Paris Hilton sit down with Wall Street Journal’s Ryan Knutson to discuss work, life, leading their businesses, and how AI is changing it all.

Max Retail founder Melodie van der Baan’s journey began as an independent retailer, where she saw the challenges of digital marketing and customer acquisition in an increasingly crowded #ecommerce landscape. It led her to identify a critical industry problem: the disconnect between physical retailers with excess inventory and successful online marketplaces seeking to minimize unsold inventory. “I founded Max Retail at the perfect moment to bridge the gap between these two needs,” she told Dina Aletra at Authority Magazine. “Our company’s success stems from being in the right place at the right time, while leveraging my retail background and market insights to create a solution that benefits both traditional retailers and e-commerce giants.” Read about lessons Melodie has learned through founding and building Max Retail, how her company leverages platforms like Amazon and eBay, challenges working with ecommerce giants, what she sees as the future of ecommerce, and more: https://lnkd.in/gmtJGYQA 📸 : Melodie and the Max Retail team with M13 partners Lizzie Francis and Anna Barber

Few industries are experiencing AI’s immediate impacts as much as advertising. AI is upending today’s media landscape, from the way people consume content to the methods merchants use to catch their attention. The good news: Marketers are adaptable to change. Here, M13 partner Brent Murri and investor Whitney Hazard dive into the ways AI is transforming advertising, how consumers are changing buying habits in an AI-first world, and how merchants are adapting to meet them there: https://lnkd.in/eQETjp_w Special thanks to the industry veterans across advertising and marketing who spoke with us for this article! Thank you to Emily Allen and Michael Carney at Google, Saket Mehta at Block, Tom Triscari at Quo Vadis, Nate Yu at Butter, and Jon Zacharias at GR0. #Advertising #AI #FutureOfMarketing

Thoughts on how to address #AI skepticism in your organization, from Maven AGI CEO Jonathan Corbin ⬇️

“Understand what you’re building and why you’ll win," M13 partner Karl Alomar advises founders hoping to break into the world of #venturecapital. "If you don't have competitors, you should question whether there's real opportunity in the space." Karl's advice for founders, thoughts on Miami's tech scene, and more in Refresh Miami from Riley Kaminer: https://lnkd.in/eiaH2qQV #FounderAdvice