SF AI Events Recap, My Personal Finance Journey, and Why Selling to Other Startups is Dead - Read Now!
Stretch Four Volume 55
Happy Monday,
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I highlight the crazy AI revolution that is happening right now in San Francisco and include Elad Gil's and Eric Newcomer's events, personal updates on health & performance and personal finance, and a book excerpt review of Stephen A. Smith's memoir, Straight Shooter.
Let’s get to this week’s newsletter.
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Quote of the Week:
“You don't have the right to hold somebody accountable for standards you refuse to apply to yourself.” ― Stephen A. Smith, Straight Shooter
Chart of the Week:
Tweet of the Week:
Elad Gil x Clement Delangue Interview at Stripe
The most energetic week in San Francisco regarding AI yet kicked off with the Elad Gil event at Stripe HQ. Clement highlighted the need for more builders in the AI space and building the "Github of AI modeling." The event was another sell-out, with standing-room-only space and all the food gone in 30 minutes.
Inside the event
As a busy founder, father, husband, and Substacker ; ) I don't have time to attend every event happening in San Francisco right now. However, the Elad Gil events are pretty special. I typically go alone and meet 2-3 amazing people. After two events, I can confirm that there is a growing focus on AI among founders and investors. I met machine learning engineers from places like YouTube who are looking to start AI companies in various fields, such as biotech and gaming. Additionally, there are new AI-focused investors who are fully committed to the AI space. Allegedly, Stripe has experienced difficulty attracting people to its $500 million office in South San Francisco, but the events with Elad Gil have been a bright spot.
Links
Fireside Chat w/ Clement Delangue
AI Safety Technology vs. Species Threats
Eric Newcomer x Volley hosts Cerebral Valley AI Summit
I also had the pleasure to attend another invite-only AI-focused event in San Francisco where there were conversations with new media creatives, venture capitalists, early-stage founders, and established CEOs. The event had a mix of people from all walks of the AI community, from new people just getting started to OGs like Ron Conway, who made sure to let folks know he made his first investment in AI almost 30 years ago. There were lots of backroom conversations happening at the event, and I expect to hear big announcements in the coming months from conversations that may have started there.
Links
Personal Finance
This week, I take a look at my progress toward my personal finance goals. As of March 2023, I haven't yet reached my monthly income goal of $15,000, but I'm grateful for my wife's stable job — as I am not currently taking a salary with my company.
I want to tackle deeper questions around personal finance as it relates to founders because in the past six years, I feel I have seen how it works well and how it can go south. Last week, I interviewed Cody Barbo, the CEO of Trust and Will, and we discussed personal finance as a founder, his move from California to Texas, and his views on health, wellness, and family. We also talked about his experiences running a venture-backed company while raising a family in an expensive city.
For more content like this, check out my newsletter for venture-backed startup founders and related groups such as investors, employees, operators, and aspiring founders, and listen to my podcast.
On Selling to Startups
My perspective
Selling to startups may not be the most reliable source of opportunity right now. Many companies are struggling to raise funds and are downsizing their teams and spending. Founders and early-stage teams are trying to survive by cutting costs and focusing, so they are less likely to be interested in a new product for their business. Instead, founders should focus on larger companies with 200+ employees.
Two Founder Learnings from Selling to Startups in the Current Climate
After struggling to sell to startups, I have decided to pivot my focus completely to mid-market and enterprise companies. In this segment, I will share my learnings from trying to sell to startups and why I believe it's important for founders to focus on larger companies.
Selling to startups is not a reliable source of opportunity
Churn is high
Although AI is being rapidly adopted, in-person meetings have become more prominent in industry events than trade shows and content. Conferences primarily allow companies and vendors access to executives and decision-makers, with panels and presentations from leaders of established firms like JPM and Goldman Sachs, as well as up-and-coming companies. The Fintech Meetup focused heavily on meetings, with attendees advised to request meetings with 96 other attendees to fill their 24 allotted meetings over two days. No content was provided during the meeting hours, which led to a 100% show-up rate on the 14 meetings I booked. As a founder, the second biggest value of conferences is sales and tracking each interaction, turning them into valuable investments, contracts, or partnerships.
Many companies are struggling to raise funds and are downsizing their teams and expenses
Lastly, I also like conferences that involve startups because you get to see who is hot. This week, I learned about a company that is hot. Every VC wants to invest, even during a time when many VCs are staying on the sidelines. I told the founder to raise as much as they can with the highest valuation because being the hot company may only happen once.
Book Excerpt or Review
My takeaway from Stephen A Smith’s new Memoir — Straight Shooter
This week's newsletter includes a book review of Stephen A Smith's memoir, Straight Shooter. I enjoyed the book overall but was troubled by the way Smith spoke about his father throughout the book. Since my father passed away when I was four months I am often triggered when I hear successful black celebrities and media moguls often talk about how bad their fathers were at being dads. Apart from that, the book gave me a new impression of the amount of work Stephen A has put in to be at the top of sports media. I would give it a 7/10, to check out more of what I read go here, and I am always open to recommendations.
Thanks for subscribing and do not miss out on more insights on the performance, happenings, event recaps, and more for venture-backed founders. Thanks to Elad Gil, Eric Newcomer, and more for inviting me to their events.
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Back to the trenches.