Esha Joshi

Some context from the #Founder perspective. As liberal as Seattle is as a city with policy and politics, it's incredibly conservative from an investment standpoint. One of the reasons you may not hear big "home-run" type pitches or pitches with sizzle, is simply because investors in Seattle don't like those types of pitches and Founders have been ingrained to not present in that manner. They may say they do, but ask any Founder and they'll tell you how they have been told to size down their pitch or talk about MVPs, first customer, first revenue, etc. or how what matters more is what you can do first couple years rather than the home run. Those early metrics are important by the way, but different from the big home run. Do you know who is receptive to homerun pitches? Investors in the Bay, NYC, Miami, Hong Kong. Seattle is not great for early-stage Founders with many prioritizing raising outside the city. We will be raising capital in the fall and as of now, have no plans of reaching out to Seattle-based VCs. I should also add that our company has a blockchain component and sadly Seattle VCs have not embraced crypto or blockchain. Welcome to #Seattle, Kyle Lui! Hopefully, you can help change the narrative! GeekWire

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I highly recommend SF local founders check out a free "Founder-Led Sales" lecture Peter Kazanjy is giving on Wednesday Dec 11th. The single biggest mistake I see founders make is abstracting themselves from sales prematurely. It hemorrhages cash, runway and founder and employee equity. They think the moment they leave their accelerator or raise capital that's the signal for others to take the reigns of sales sleigh. #error Pete demystifies much of what it takes get founder-led sales right. Book your place using the link in the comments. #sales #saas #startups #GTMdebt #venturecapital

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AI toolsets are evolving at breakneck speeds allowing the power of LLMs to be leveraged by your SMEs and taking some of the mystique out of building powerful AI applications for business. The article below from Gusto parallels what I am seeing in AI's ever evolving state and is very exciting. Thoughts?!

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It's easy to get caught up in the AI hype based on what's possible in the future. Michael Stone was a refreshing guest to have because: 1. He has 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 experience with real issues surrounding AI and it's use cases. 2. He could speak to the exact reason why we don't have the advancements in healthcare that we want. 3. He's in T𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 regulated industry that has to get AI right in order to have it be effective. The entire interview is great, with talks about getting Nvidia AI chips, to why you can't really trust AI. I highly recommend this episode.

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Recently, I had the privilege of hosting a workshop for founders and entrepreneurs at my alma mater, the University of Southern California, in collaboration with VentureSpark and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. It was a fantastic opportunity to reflect on the early days of Supportiv and those intense months leading up to launching the company. Back in 2016-2017, platforms like Ginger.io (now part of Headspace) were experimenting with predictive well-being models—one of the first examples of #AI in #mentalhealth. At the same time, 7 Cups of Tea (a Y Combinator graduate) was tackling #peersupport with some incredible #growthhacking - before most people even knew what that term meant! To my surprise during the workshop, a couple of students raised their hands and mentioned they had served as "listeners" on 7 Cups. One student, only 19 at the time, shared that she had been connected to an adult going through a divorce—with zero formal training on how to help. She had no idea what to do! It hit home how much was at stake with these early models. In fact, the platform’s shortcomings were so pronounced that someone even wrote a book about it: The Ugly Truth About 7 Cups: https://a.co/d/bxesyEh This was exactly the gap Supportiv set out to fill. Back then, 7 Cups’ version of peer support was pairing people who had nothing in common. Supportiv flipped the script. We redefined #peersupport by using advanced #AI to match users with others who were going through similar struggles. Connections are now meaningful with an instant sense of belonging. But we didn’t stop there. Supportiv’s human moderators go through over 100 days of testing and training before they ever interact with users, and their education doesn’t end there. Continuous monitoring, supervision, and ongoing clinical oversight ensure that the support provided is not only real-time and 24/7, but also reliable and high-quality. But we didn’t stop there either... there's so much more to share about how we’ve pushed boundaries and redefined what’s possible. But this post is long enough already, so stay tuned for the next episode!

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Keep Learning New Things... Indeed, the path to efficiency requires discipline, consistency, and sacrifice. I can't believe that it is already the 3rd week of the Headstarter Fellowship! To be honest, I felt quite lazy throughout this week, with low dopamine levels. However, I'm getting back on track and am ready for the next week of the fellowship. During the previous week, I had the opportunity to work on some exciting projects: - The Pantry App Project: I focused on the Firebase backend, learning how to integrate features such as authentication, analytics, and database CRUD operations. Live: https://lnkd.in/dCGFCiH5 Github: https://lnkd.in/dWpHgc4y Pathway to Tech Event 2: Here's My Key Takeaways: Dennis Crowley: Founder of Foursquare ($150M Revenue) When asked about the ideal tech stack, He emphasized the importance of being "willing to fill in gaps." It's not just about knowing specific technologies but being able to and ready to learn. His experience on failures "People quit on themselves or quit on their startup.", reminding me to stay resilient and never quit Tariq Afaq: First Engineer at AppLovin ($30Bn IPO) Tariq's talk was packed with valuable information. when he mentioned that this field is more than just coding, like being an engineer we can solve problems under pressure and get things back on track He also mentioned that you don't need to be super intelligent to succeed. Instead, focus on creating in-depth products, being quick and responsive, and working hard. Julian Alvarez: Ex-Meta, CEO of Wisdolia ($20K+ MRR) The most energetic speaker at this event! , His thoughts on how startup founders stick to their ideas rather than believing in their team's capabilities become the reason for their failure something exceptional and new for me to learn. His startup Wisdolia— is truly something. It generates flashcards for you from any YouTube video, blog, article, or PDF. I can already see it becoming a vital part of my learning routine! Hamza Ali - CEO of Olostep I was deeply inspired by Hamza Ali's vision for Olostep, which is enabling APIs to interact with the web as humans do. It's truly a brilliant idea that showcases his commitment to shaping the future of tech. 🔗 Here's the link to the recording: https://lnkd.in/dzX6Saaz

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If you haven't already watched the Atlassian Team '24 Founders' Keynote Highlights - you should. "Unleash the potential of every team in this building." Mike Cannon-Brookes "Fostering shared goals, shared knowledge, and shared progress." Anu Bharadwaj "We help you to discovery new ideas, how to build and ship new products and services, and keep them running at all times." Scott Farquhar Powerful sentiment and powerful statements. Highlights: https://lnkd.in/gJms_gJM Full Keynote: https://lnkd.in/gNzt82sF --- Atlassian Confluence Trello Jira Service Management Atlassian Jira Atlassian Jira Align

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Ascend just released this new interview about why I love investing in Seattle/Pacific Northwest (PNW) startups at Ubiquity Ventures. Ascend is the most active pre-seed investor in the Pacific Northwest (Seattle, Portland, and more) and is run by Kirby Winfield. Thanks to Ascend's Nate Bek for the interview! Check it out the full interview: https://lnkd.in/giU2Wy3V A few snippets of what I said: ⭐️ On investing in Seattle (vs the Bay Area) "Companies like Auth0, Esper, Remitly, and others have demonstrated that they can start, grow, and thrive in Seattle. This is thanks to the continuous growth of hometown giants like Amazon and Microsoft, whose employees might outgrow the cultures at those companies." ⭐️ Why I fell in love with VC "First is about following new trends, nerding out on technologies, and getting inspired by new ideas .. resonates with the nerd engineer and the 5-year-old in me that used to love reading about new technologies ... [Next is] the innards of how companies are run, being in those pivotal meetings and discussions that change the direction of a company. These hard conversations about pivots, understanding metrics, and trying to separate the storytelling around startups from internal operations. That was the meat of building an exciting startup, which is quite different from just nerding out on cool new technologies. " And thank you to all the Pacific Northwest startups I've been privileged to invest in and work with: Eugenio P. and Jon Gelsey at Auth0 by Okta, Yadhu Gopalan at Esper, Fredrik Rydén at Olis Robotics, Claire Watts at ThruWave Inc., Adam Schoenfeld & Aviel Ginzburg at Simply Measured, Milkana Brace at Jargon, Yuriy Bulygin & Alex Bazhaniuk at Eclypsium, Inc. #seattle #seattletech #pacificnorthwest #pnwtech #portland

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So, my last post about tools and vendors blew up! The CMO of Gusto reacted and commented (kudos to the big companies that care about small businesses) and the post itself skyrocketed to 10k+ views. Just last week a fellow UCLA Anderson School of Management alumna randomly asked about platforms/systems business owners use. So, I thought it's about time to do a Part 2. Here we go: 1. KnowBe4 - great platform for security training at scale. Phishing tests, educational videos, reporting, etc. A bit weird pricing model when you use multiple products from them. For example, you need to align billing cycles and can't just add a solution off-cycle. 2. Mentimeter - a tiny tool we use at Distillery for company-wide quarterly All-Hands. Excels in collecting on-the-fly feedback on the presentation, gathering questions, and live reactions. Great example of the right tool for the job. 3. 1Password - simply saves time during rotations and increases security. Tell me if you NEVER reused your password? (and be honest about it :) ) 4. TargetRecruit - replacing the outgoing Bullhorn. I'm not saying anything bad about the latter, but our source of truth is Salesforce (aka necessary evil), and TargetRecruit is simply better integrated. 5.-ish One question - if your team uses LinkedIn Recruiter - how happy are your recruiters? Are we in the monopoly market with no available alternative?

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Awesome new initiative Aviel Ginzburg!! When Sean Sternbach and I launched Venture Out, Aviel and Pablo Brown-Rodriguez were silent cofounders. Aviel freely shared his words of wisdom from years of building community in Seattle. He and Chris DeVore were the first money into our community, followed quickly by Flying Fish Partners, Liquid 2 Ventures, M12, Microsoft's Venture Fund, and a huge list of Seattle angels. After growing to 1200+ members in <3 years, running multiple pre-preseed accelerators, a few learnings about building great community and the Seattle Founder Ecosystem: In the early days, no one knows what they are doing. Seek outside advice and guidance from people just ahead of you. Unicorn founders and tech moguls have great stories, but the woman who left amazon six months ago, launched an MVP, and crashed through her first 2 dozen investor discussions will have golden advice. Be open, honest, and vulnerable. Our best events and discussions happened when people let their guard down. No one will spend their life (which a startup requires) to build your idea. They might build something similar and tackle the same problem, but only your life experience and decision-making will make the difference. Share ideas often. Give first. As a ~10 year Techstars mentor, I saw this as the best part of the community. In my opinion, they have lost this completely. Don't come into a community and take. Give all you can, even when it feels counterproductive. Something might eventually come back that changes your life and direction. Even if it never does, you will 1000% feel great about the decision. Play long-term games with long-term people. Naval Ravikant was the first person I heard say this. Surround yourself with committed doers, makers, and visionaries. There are a lot of want-entrepreneurs in the world (which is a good thing; we need more people to take risks), but spend the most time with people in the ring, putting their time behind what they are doing. Learn how to give advice and direction without being evangelical, condescending, or a jerk. Learn to be direct but helpful. It's what you want on your journey, so invest in being a great thought partner for others. A final few notes: 1) No, you likely will never get paid the same amount or make as much money as a founder as you would as an L7/L8 at Amazon. If that is why you are starting a company, you're already in trouble. But knowing Aviel, he is already filtering for this 😂 2) You will likely learn in 6-18 months in the ring as a founder, than the rest of your life combined. Start to write, share your experience, find a therapist, and get ready to unpack a LOT as you go. The only way to make space for new information is to process it, store it, and then let it go. 3) The relationships are the most important part of the journey. I will always remember meetings with Matt Ehrlichman, Asha Sharma, Kyle Sandburg, and Matthew Neagle and the rest of the Porch Group team. Go Aviel!!!

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Last night's Technology Association of Oregon panel discussion on raising capital for AI ventures was full of interesting takeaways. The event brought together leading PNW VCs, CEOs, and funders to share their perspectives and best practices. Here's what you need to know: ➡ The AI/ML space is rapidly evolving, presenting huge opportunities for startups tackling real business problems. VCs are actively seeking out the most ambitious and disruptive companies in this domain. ➡ Having an "unfair advantage" is key - whether that's proprietary data sets, unique domain expertise, or unparalleled access to customers. AI ventures need strong differentiation to stand out. ➡ Build relationships early with VCs, even before you're ready to raise. Their insights and connections can accelerate your journey. The PNW venture ecosystem is highly collaborative and accessible. ➡ Don't be deterred by the perceived lack of local funding. Great companies with compelling visions will get funded, period. Leverage the PNW's strengths in developer/engineering talent. ➡ Recognize and proactively address the potential downsides of AI - from data privacy to model bias. Building responsibly is both an obligation and an opportunity. ➡ Move fast, be bold. Raising capital is always hard, but fortune favors the brave in this space. With the right team, tech and traction, you can build a world-changing business here in the PNW. Thanks to the fantastic panelists Diane Fraiman (Voyager Capital), Geoff Harris (Flying Fish), Jon Maroney (OVF), Chris Sestito (Hidden Layer), Jon Turow (Madrona) for sharing their insights, and to Kristy Edwards for moderating!

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Want to talk GTM? Join us on October 2nd at Gasworks Brewing for another round of Seattle Founders GTM. #founders #entrepreneurs #startups #gtm Sign up with the link below.

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I think that over 90% of technologists are still having serious problems thinking about AI and other digital tools as socio-technical systems. Just saying there is a "human in the loop" or they're using "responsible AI" approaches is more often than not just outright ethics washing or the path to failure. But hey, keep hiring only technologists and sooner or later they'll learn when things fall apart. While I'm happy to see the interest in QA labs for healthcare AI and have plans in the works to create one, issues like fairness are more ethico-political and your fairness application in MLOps is a start but not the final answer. Happy to see a CEO recognize that thinking beyond the code is every bit as important as good code. Bravo. https://lnkd.in/eiyzM8gy

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CA/WA/OR state & federal legislators (and voters!) need to be aware of food security and rural economic vitality challenges. Case in point - the 'acreage exodus' in CA is real - From 1997 to 2022, USDA Census data show that California lost 4.6 M ag acres (16% of the total) and 24,857 farms (28% of the total). Straight line these numbers for another 30 years and the numbers go to 9 M acres lost and 45,300 farms lost for 55 years – 32% of acreage and 52% of farms. Other western states - WA & OR - also need to pay close attention to policies that are negatively impacting farming. Labor laws, overtime, L&I, real estate values. It's amazing how much we're seeing ag production moving to LatAm and other areas that are much less expensive to farm. Walt Duflock

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There's a big problem in ND: there aren't enough people. Automation is the solution. The state is now supporting businesses to integrate automation - including AI - through their Automate ND grant program. I'm going to share how to use AI to take advantage of the program in a webinar next week. Find link in the comments! Learn how: 1. Primary sector businesses are integrating AI 2. How to apply for the grant using AI 3. How tools like Chipp could qualify for the grant so you can start automating Send me a dm if you have questions!

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Enjoyed this conversation with Patrick O'Shaughnessy on the Airtable journey over the past 10 years, and how AI, enterprise, and no code converge in the coming years :). https://lnkd.in/gpx8dUbu

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Great essay by Omar El-Ayat and Nic Poulos. If you are a domain expert founder building vertical software, I highly recommend checking out Euclid Ventures as a first-check/ preseed investor.

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If you're running a data or AI-focused startup, connect with Stephan Goupille and his team! When three of the industry's brightest data minds join forces to back your venture, you get more than just funding – you gain invaluable operator expertise. They understand the challenges and opportunities you face because they've been there themselves.

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"If you're relying on AI not becoming 100X better, you're about to get steamrolled." -- Jason Warner, ex-CTO of Github and CEO of poolside How we code and build software is being rapidly transformed with AI. Sitting down with Jason the future looks clearer. Over the next 5 years: 🌏 All 7 billion people can code 🏗️ Search bars will spit out software 🔋 AI will generate its way out of data scarcity 🌩️ Foundation models to become cloud companies I unpack the 5 year frontier of software development in Future of Code: AI-led Software Development https://lnkd.in/gze2QSbu #AI #Software #Code

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