Huge core point that in AI it's easy to raise but daunting to sustain, and I totally agree that it's about the relationships and client-led product development. The LLM tech is already amazing and growing, so the value-opportunity is everywhere -- there's just so much work to be done in bringing it to non-tech companies and immediately making it useful for them. I think there's a huge tech gap in all production I see, and Gen Z is the best suited for this learning and adapting to bridging the 99% of companies forward
I had a great time last weekend moderating the Gen Z meets Gen AI panel for Asian Founders Club, featuring AI enterprise SaaS founders Rushabh Mehta of Pontus and Saumya Rawat of Pharmesol. Even though AI is one of the easiest industries to raise money from, it's extremely difficult to stay in the game because we’re in such a technically nascent space. Like every other hype cycle, I believe there will be very few winners and that we'll see a wide-scale rollup of AI startups - which is why I wanted chat with founders who have already seen substantial traction, despite being only 2-3 years out of college. Here are the standout takeaways from the session: 1. In the world of B2B enterprise sales, relationships are key, but as Gen Z founders, we don’t have the 10, 20 years of industry connections. Both founders emphasized how they’ve had to hustle for introductions and push through long sales cycles to build credibility from scratch. Putting yourself out there is absolutely necessary to break in, and that’s especially important if you’re in older, highly regulated industries such as healthcare and finance. 2. What truly sets successful AI companies apart? While many companies use AI as a buzzword, the truth is the vast majority of companies are nowhere near 100% of the way there. The real differentiator is delivering solutions that actually solve pain points to the 99th percentile of accuracy and reliability. Both founders shared that their biggest wins came from proving the value of their technology by solving actual problems, not just selling hype. Thank you to ACE NextGen for including us in your conference, and I can't wait to host more panels like this! If you're a young founder & would like to join AFC, I've included a link to apply in the comments below. #founder #nyc #aapi #ai