Smart Venture Podcast

Looking forward to speaking with Grace Gong on AI customer service

??? Welcome to Week 46 of Venture with Grace! Join us for another incredible lineup of conversations with global tech leaders and investors. This week's power-packed schedule: Monday, Nov 25 - 8:45 AM Farooq Abbasi from Preface Ventures shares insights on building enterprise giants and what it takes to scale globally. Wednesday, Nov 27 - 9:00 AM Raghu Ravinutala, CEO of Yellow.ai, discusses revolutionizing customer service through AI innovation and automation. Thursday, Nov 28 - 7:30 AM Amit Goldenberg, Partner at Entrée Capital, dives deep into AI investment trends and emerging opportunities. Thursday, Nov 28 - 12:00 PM David Booth, former CEO of ODF and now with Blackbird, explores building and scaling global tech communities. Friday, Nov 29 - 9:00 AM Eliot Durbin, General Partner at boldstart ventures, shares perspectives on the intersection of SaaS, Security, and AI. Don't miss these insightful conversations! Follow along and join us live for your daily dose of venture insights and founder wisdom. #VentureWithGrace #TechInvestors #StartupCommunity #VentureCapital #AI #SaaS #TechLeadership

Behind every successful startup and fund: - A mentor who answered 2am panic calls - A co-founder who complemented your weaknesses - An early investor who opened their network, not just their wallet - A spouse who believed in the vision when numbers didn't make sense - Former colleagues who became first customers - Fellow founders who shared their battle scars and wisdom The real unicorns aren't companies – they're the relationships you build along the way. #Startups #Entrepreneurship #VentureCapital #Leadership #CommunityFirst

Thankful for SF dinners this holiday season ??!

Thanks for having me Grace Gong! It was a pleasure discussing the future of AI in Sales/GTM as well as how portfolio companies like EliseAI, Rewst, Qualified, Simpplr and Yellow.ai are using the latest LLMs to bring AI-powered solutions to their customers

One of the biggest ways AI is revolutionizing the sales and GTM process? Shifting from broad, account-level targeting to precise, individual-level engagement—making sales and marketing more personalized and effective than ever. Sapphire Ventures’ Demi Obayomi joined Grace Gong live on LinkedIn earlier this week to discuss how AI is shaping sales processes and strategies, the key trends in the GTM software market, as well as his predictions for the future of GTM technologies. ?? Listen to the episode linked in the comments. #AI #GoToMarket #Sales #VentureCapital?

I just launched my first course! Breaking into VC and securing funding is hard. I get a lot of DMs about how to do both. So, I've created an exclusive course to share insider knowledge from hundreds of conversations with top minds in business and investing. Here's what you'll get: ?? Unspoken rules and critical strategies for VC and fundraising ?? Live instruction and personalized feedback What we'll cover: - Breaking into VC (even outside Silicon Valley) - Crafting investor-resonant pitches - Positioning yourself as a must-watch founder - Building investor trust without a big brand - Creating an investor-ready pitch deck - Developing an effective outreach strategy - Boosting visibility through podcasts Who it's for: - Early-stage founders seeking their first investor - Founders building credibility to attract top-tier investors and talent - Aspiring VCs looking to position themselves in the space Honored to share insights from conversations with experts at Techstars, NEA, Bessemer, Norwest, Index, Ark Invest, Bain, Greycroft, and more. #vc #startup #tech #investing #funding check first comment

?? Week 45 of Venture with Grace is Here! ?? My daily LinkedIn Live show, Venture with Grace, brings you another week of insightful conversations with top investors and innovators shaping the future of venture capital, SaaS, and AI. Here's what's coming up: Monday, Nov 18 | 11:00 AM PT ??? Brett Perlmutter, Bulletpitch ?? Revolutionizing VC Through Media & Deal Discovery Tuesday, Nov 19 | 9:00 AM PT ??? Demi Obayomi, Sapphire Ventures ?? The Evolution of Enterprise SaaS Wednesday, Nov 20 | 9:00 AM PT ??? David G. Cheng, Partner at DCM Ventures ?? Shaping SaaS, Marketplaces & Fintech Thursday, Nov 21 | 9:00 AM PT ??? Cody Ng, 01 Advisors ?? Insights on AI and Early Growth Investing Friday, Nov 22 | 9:00 AM PT ??? Eliot Durbin, GP at boldstart ventures ?? SaaS, Security, and AI ?? Don’t miss these engaging discussions on trends, strategies, and the future of tech and VC. Replay options will be available on YouTube, Spotify, and iTunes. ?? Follow me Grace Gong on LinkedIn to watch live, or search for Venture with Grace for all episodes! Which session are you most excited to join this week? Let me know in the comments! ?? #VentureCapital #SaaS #AI #Startups #TechInnovation

Excited to join Grace Gong tomorrow live on LinkedIn at 9am PT to discuss how AI is transforming how companies sell and go-to-market!

I am hosting a VC & founders dinner?next Thursday?night in SF. It was super oversubscribed within 24 hours, so my amazing co-host Christopher Kennamer and I are doing something extra special. We want to create a quick waitlist for our next dinner! If you are a founder/investor who wants to come to our future events, please put yourself on the waitlist here: (first comment) We are very thankful for the team at?CIBC?and?Fenwick & West?for making it happen! #founders?#vc?#startups