Venture with Grace

Mek Stittri is the CTO of Stuut, an AI-driven accounts receivable automation platform backed by top VC firms like Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Khosla Ventures. ~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers. AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access.Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~Previously VP at GitLab and with deep experience from leadership roles at VMware, he is a seasoned technology executive, startup advisor, and board member who guided complex engineering transformations to enhance performance, collaboration, and efficiency. Known for aligning technology strategy with business goals, fostering high-impact global teams, and delivering results like $6M in annual savings through resource optimization at GitLab, Mek champions AI integration, operational excellence, and talent development to help companies achieve sustainable growth in competitive markets.Topics: AI-Driven Platform ScalingEngineering Org TransformationResource Optimization Strategies#AI #EngineeringLeadership #CTO #SaaS #Fintech #AIPlatforms #GitLab #VMware #Startups #VentureCapital

Javad Mostofizadeh is Partner at WilmerHale's San Francisco.~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers.AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~A corporate practice, advising top venture capital, growth equity, and private equity funds—from seed to late-stage—on fund formation, structuring, operations, investor relations, partnership agreements, tax issues, and strategic lifecycle management for US and international clients including opportunity funds, fund-of-funds, and SPVs. Returning to WilmerHale after Partner roles at Latham & Watkins (Silicon Valley) and Gunderson Dettmer (fund formation/tax), Javad brings 15+ years counseling elite Bay Area funds through market cycles with deep relationships across the innovation economy.TopicsHow top VC funds structure seed-to-late-stage vehicles amid AI infrastructure frenzyNegotiating LP terms when elite investors demand side letters and co-invest rightsOperating multi-stage funds through down markets and $100B+ follow-on rounds#VentureCapital #FundFormation #PrivateEquity #WilmerHale #VCFunds

Patrick Thompson is Co-Founder and CEO of Clarify.~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers.AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~The AI-native CRM platform automating pipeline management, outreach, and follow-ups for early-stage startups—replacing fragmented tools with autonomous agents that let sales teams focus on selling. Three-time founder who co-founded Iteratively (acquired by Amplitude for $5.4M where he became Director of Product), built Atlassian's Jira growth team as Design Manager, and led design at Syncplicity—now angel investor in 15+ startups including Warp, CoScreen (Datadog acquisition), Inflection.io, Reforge, Revefi, and Limited Partner at Madrona/Ascend.vc/Essence VC with Community Access Fund. Seattle-based lifelong learner, photographer, and yogi balancing startup life with family.Topics:How Clarify's AI agents eliminate manual CRM busywork so founders can focus on customersBuilding Iteratively from zero to Amplitude acquisition then leading product post-exitWhy early sales teams need autonomous focus not dashboards and deal stages#CRM #AIAgents #Clarify #Amplitude #Atlassian

Henry W. (Lifan Wang) is Co-Founder and COO of Kaon (prev. FlowGPT).~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators. Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers. AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The AI-native content platform backed by DCM, Goodwater, and B Capital—scaling FlowGPT.com to 5M DAU in 6 months as the world's largest prompt platform with Google/HuggingFace hackathons, FlowStudio (text-to-film engine, Product Hunt #1 & Golden Kitty nominee), and Emochi (10M+ users, fastest-growing AI content platform). Ex-Amazon Software Development Manager (5+ years), Berkeley Haas MBA, Henry drove SEO/organic growth, content supply chains, and AI infra strategy while building creator communities that turned viral prompts into billion-impression businesses.TopicsHow FlowGPT hit 5M DAU in 6 months through creator-led prompt hackathons with GoogleBuilding FlowStudio from zero to Product Hunt Golden Kitty as the first text-to-film AI engineScaling Emochi to 10M users blending paid ads with organic creator supply-demand networks#ConsumerAI #FlowGPT #AIPrompts #ProductHunt #AIContent

Byron Ling is Partner at Twelve Below.~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers. AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~Twelve Blow is an NYC seed/pre-seed VC firm ($160M AUM) backing breakthrough software-enabled businesses with high-conviction 10-15% ownership stakes—leading investments in Ro, Papa, K Health, Mirror (LULU acquisition), Italic, Osmind, Mantra Health, Odyssey Energy, Accrue Savings, Croissant, Campus, Truehold, Solstice, Health Universe, Conduit Health, Rondah AI, Barnwell Bio, VoiceOps, and Arya. NYC ecosystem veteran since Gilt Groupe operator days (2010), Byron honed thesis at Primary Venture Partners and Canaan Partners before co-founding Twelve Below with Taylor Greene (ex-Collaborative Fund/Lerer Hippeau) to nurture founders through product-market fit with hands-on strategy and networks. Wharton MBA holder focused on consumer health, healthcare infra, fintech, energy, SMB, and consumer.Topics:Why NYC remains the underrated hub for healthtech fintech and consumer startups despite SF dominanceBuilding breakthrough companies through product-market fit with hands-on networks from day zeroSpotting defensible software moats in complex markets like healthcare infrastructure and energy#SeedInvesting #VentureCapital #ConsumerHealth #HealthcareInfrastructure #EarlyStage

Brooke Motta is CEO and Co-Founder of RAD Security~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers. AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~Clawkeeper by Rad Security is a purpose-built security platform for OpenClaw AI agents that hunts down leaked secrets, weaponized skills, hidden backdoors, and supply-chain implants before attackers can hijack your agents, exfiltrate sensitive data, or turn your AI into an entry point for full-scale compromise.Topics: Why OpenClaw agents are a new attack surfaceHow Clawkeeper hardens OpenClaw by defaultContinuous defense: from static scans to runtime protection#Clawkeeper#OpenClawSecurity#AISecurity#AgentProtection#RadSecurity

Stu Smith is an Investor at Scribble.~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers. AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~The early-stage VC fund ($250M AUM) founded by OpenAI/Meta/Twitter/Instagram/a16z builders, writing $750K-$1.5M checks at Pre-Seed through Series A—after co-founding Coughdrop Capital where he backed pre-launch winners like Superhuman, Lattice, Mercury, Varda, and Magic Patterns across 100+ investments. Serial operator who co-founded/scaled Racket (Greycroft/Foundation backed audio platform to 100K+ users), led WarnerMedia's 55-person digital creator division, built Omaze's global partnerships with Disney/HBO/NBA/adidas/UNICEF, scaled Teespring's $50M+ entertainment business, and started managing Phish/Dave Matthews Band at Red Light Management—blending music industry talent-spotting with VC pattern recognition.Topics:How Scribble spots Pre-Seed winners like Coughdrop's Superhuman and Lattice before product launchWhat traditional media and music experience teach about launching and marketing digital products.How Stu evaluates and backs founders before products exist, including patterns across companies like Superhuman and Lattice.#Superhuman #Lattice #Mercury #Racket #WarnerMedia

Andy McLoughlin is Managing Partner at Uncork Capital (formerly SoftTech VC).~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers. AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~The SF seed-stage firm ($500M+ AUM) backing B2B software innovators like LaunchDarkly (unicorn), Human Interest (unicorn), Tailscale, Crossbeam, Fountain (unicorn), Coder, Mutiny, Focal Systems, Torii, Sym, Nuon, and more—focusing on unsexy productivity tools, dev infra, security, and applied AI that let every business operate like tech giants. Huddle co-founder who raised $80M+ and drove US expansion before 2017 acquisition, prolific angel in 40+ startups including Intercom, Postmates (Uber $2.65B), Pipedrive (Vista $1.5B), Calm, Bugsnag, Tray.io—plus Founders Pledge and GBx co-founder, Sheffield Economics BA, OBE honoree, Kauffman Fellow.Topics:How Andy McLoughlin helps early-stage founders grow their teams, culture, and processes while preserving startup agility.Patterns across investments in LaunchDarkly, Tailscale, Human Interest, and Crossbeam that reveal what drives durable competitive advantage. Why overlooked software infrastructure, developer tools, and operational platforms often deliver the biggest long-term returns.#VentureCapital #VC #SeedStage #B2B #DevTools

Zack Reneau-Wedeen is Head of Product at Sierra.~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers. AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~Where Zack Reneau-Wedeen builds next-generation enterprise AI agents powered by advanced context engineering and voice capabilities. Zack Reneau-Wedeen previously led product and design at CoinTracker and served as Head of Product, Crypto at Robinhood. Earlier, Zack Reneau-Wedeen spent seven years at Google as the founding PM for Google Lens and Google Podcasts, contributing across Search video, Knowledge Graph, Motion Stills, and Google Docs to help shape products used by billions. Alongside operating roles, Zack Reneau-Wedeen is Founder of Radish Workshop, prototyping open-source AI tools including Yuzu (Next.js localization), OpenZeppelin.com, and CodeSheets.com. Zack Reneau-Wedeen holds degrees in Computer Science and Economics from Yale and an MBA from Harvard, bringing a rare blend of consumer-scale product intuition and enterprise AI execution.Topics:Launching Google Lens and Podcasts from zero to billions as founding product managerAI product evaluation in production: metrics, guardrails, and continuous improvement systemsFrom Google-scale consumer products to enterprise AI: transferable product guidelines and where they break#AIAgents #SierraAI #GoogleLens #ProductManagement

Camille Moore is President and Co-Founder of Third Eye Insights Inc., ~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers. AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Toronto-based branding agency transforming service businesses, trial lawyers, surgeons, medical spas, and enterprises into unforgettable brands through strategic storytelling, digital infrastructure, and social media mastery—while hosting Art of the Brand, the #1 podcast for business owners on branding and strategy with her viral frameworks downloaded worldwide. Known as "The Internet's Favourite Branding Expert," Camille bridges boardroom decision-makers with Gen Z trends, offering 1:1 consulting, Social Media Masterclass, and free Substack/YouTube resources that turn posting into measurable brand equity for clients who want growth assets, not burdens.Topics:Lessons from branding multinational corporations down to solo practitioners with the same playbookFrom positioning to pipeline, how strong narrative architecture translates into measurable revenue impact-Signal vs. noise in social metrics: which indicators predict long-term brand equity#MarketingOps #GrowthStrategy #FounderBrand #MarketingLeadership #BrandEquity

Robert Scoble is Founder/CEO of Unaligned~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers. AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~He launched Matic Robots from his home garage while chronicling Silicon Valley's bleeding edge in robots, holodecks, BCIs, and spatial computing through his legendary Scobleizer blog—first to spotlight Tesla, Uber, Siri, Instagram, Flipboard, and Cloudera before they exploded. Tech media icon who transformed Microsoft's developer relations via Channel 9 (praised by The Economist), evangelized Rackspace through Zuckerberg/Hsieh interviews, ran Fast Company TV and PodTech's video networks, served as Infinite Retina CSO for AR/VR strategy, and authored eight books on technology's future, Robert remains the ultimate insider spotting tomorrow's unicorns today.Topics:Lessons from humanizing Microsoft at Channel9 and Rackspace through raw founder storiesWhy spatial computing with robots BCIs and holodecks will redefine human experienceBrain-computer interfaces, holodecks, and immersive interfaces: what’s real vs. hype#ArtificialIntelligence #SpatialComputing #Robotics #FutureOfWork #StartupEcosystem

Jake Stauch is Founder and CEO of Serval~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators. Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers. AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~The AI-native ITSM platform automating IT, HR, finance, and legal workflows—recently hitting $1B valuation after $75M Series B from Sequoia (total $127M raised) and 5x revenue growth. Previously, he was Director of Product at Verkada and Founder/CEO of NeuroPlus, a Forbes 30 Under 30-recognized startup creating brain-controlled video games for ADHD therapy. Jake blends deep product and AI expertise with entrepreneurial experience in building high-impact technology solutions that combine AI, human-centered design, and operational efficiency.Topics:Insights from brain-controlled games at NeuroPlus to automating enterprise helpdesks at ServalBalancing human oversight with autonomous IT decision-making.Integrating AI into complex operational workflows without disrupting legacy systems.#EnterpriseAI #Startups #Forbes30Under30 #SiliconValley #EnterpriseTech

Shay is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Greenfield-Partners.~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers. AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~Greenfield-Partners focuses on SaaS, healthcare and Ai managing over $1B across cybersecurity, AI, infrastructure, and SaaS. He leads Greenfield's investments BigPanda (AIOps), Coralogix (observability), VAST Data, Capitolis, Silverfort, Torq, Mixtiles, floLIVE, Exodigo, and exits including Avanan (Check Point acquisition) and Guardicore ($600M Akamai sale). Prior to Founding Greenfield, Shay was a senior advisor to TPG Growth. Originally from Tel Aviv and for the last 25 years in NYC, Shay spent the early years of his career operating and maturing early growth technology companies. He then joined Thylacine Capital to lead the alternative investing activity. Shay has an undergraduate degree from Fairleigh Dickenson University and an EMBA from Columbia Business School.Topics:How Greenfield Partners turns Series B startups into unicorns using the proprietary G2M growth playbookWhy AI and cybersecurity remain the hottest growth sectors despite market turbulenceLessons from leading investments in BigPanda Coralogix and VAST Data through explosive scale#AIOps #SaaS #GrowthInvesting #AI #Cybersecurity

Chris Degnan is the former Chief Revenue Officer at Snowflake.~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators. Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers. AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~ He helped scale the Data Cloud across multiple public clouds and global enterprise clients. He iis a seasoned enterprise tech executive and board advisor, with 15+ years in building and scaling go-to-market organizations. Chris Degnan co-founded Noname Security and has advised ICONIQ, Giga, Factory, Watershed, PointFive, and Clumio, guiding companies on GTM strategy, revenue scaling, and operational excellence. With deep experience in enterprise sales, product commercialization, and board governance, Chris combines hands-on execution with strategic insight for founders and leadership team plus author of MakeItSnowBook.com detailing Snowflake's playbook, Chris guides founders on sales culture, hiring grit, and durable revenue scale after prior leadership at EMC, Aveksa, Informatica, and Clumio.Topics: Why customer-obsessed GTM motions beat product hype for trillion-dollar enterprise outcomesBoard-level insights on scaling revenue teams for hypergrowth without losing operational rigor.Lessons from deploying mission-critical cloud products in regulated enterprise environments.#EnterpriseSaaS #GTMStrategy #RevenueOps #CloudScale #BoardLeadership

Anand Raghavan is the Chief Product Officer at Snorkel AI.~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators. Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers. AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~Where he leads product strategy for programmatic AI and enterprise ML systems. Previously VP of AI Products and Engineering at Cisco and co-founder/CPO of Armorblox (acquired), Anand has spent two decades building AI-native security and data platforms from zero to enterprise scale. His career spans founding engineering roles at Blue Jeans Network (acquired by Verizon), AI/ML leadership at Medallia and ThoughtSpot, and early infrastructure work at NVIDIA. Anand brings a rare end-to-end perspective on shipping production AI—from model pipelines and human-in-the-loop systems to secure enterprise GTM.Topics:Building Snorkel AI's data foundation for custom enterprise models beyond the usualArchitecting programmatic data pipelines for production-grade AI systemsHow Cisco's AI Defense and Canvas redefine secure enterprise genAI at global scale#ProductLeadership #Cybersecurity #Analytics #Founder #SiliconValley

Shay Levi is Co-Founder and CEO of Unframe.~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators. Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers. AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~The enterprise AI platform delivering turnkey solutions for observability, data extraction, intelligent agents, and modernization—enabling Fortune 500s to deploy custom AI use cases in hours without data sharing, fine-tuning, or rigid vendor lock-in, achieving millions in ARR within year one. Serial entrepreneur fresh off co-founding Noname Security as CTO, scaling it to the first API security unicorn in 18 months ($40M ARR) before Akamai's $500M acquisition—backed by LSVP, Insight, Cyberstarts—Shay built on Unit 8200 elite engineering roots, Facebook senior engineering, ironSource R&D leadership, and early exits with Meme/Vidoplay (Somoto acquisition).TopicsEngineering-driven GTM: bridging technical rigor with business scaleTranslating elite intelligence R&D into commercial cybersecurity solutionsWhat serial founders learn about AI infrastructure after perfecting API security at scale#Startups #Founder #AIAgents #Hypergrowth #UnicornExit

Fatimah Hussain is a powerhouse creator with 200M+ views, 200K followers, and 50M likes across TikTok and Instagram in the education and early-career space. She is the founder of Fatimah’s Guide, an all-in-one mentorship platform connecting top college students with ambitious high schoolers. Fatimah is an EECS student at the University of California, Berkeley and has partnered with F500s including Adobe, Notion, and Microsoft to deliver practical study, productivity, and career content.She’s currently building Finnie with Chloe Hughes, a tool that automates scholarship discovery by analyzing a user’s Common App PDF. Previously, she founded Workout Wizard, a computer-vision fitness app that won Contra Costa Shark Tank and was featured on FOX, KRON4, and AOL, as well as Perky 3D Prints, a customizable 3D-printed toys venture—demonstrating a repeat founder who builds, ships, and scales products for her generation. Her work sits at the intersection of creator-led growth, AI products, and education access at scale.Topics:Building a creator-led user acquisition engine that converts audience → product usersDesigning AI-powered mentorship platforms with strong supply-demand liquidityBalancing UC Berkeley EECS, content creation, and a startup while avoiding burnout#GenZ #CreatorEconomy #Mentorship #Startups #WomenInSTEM

Deepak Prasad is a Director at Qualcomm Ventures, leading US investments across early- to growth-stage tech companies with expertise in sourcing, deal execution, and portfolio management, drawing on over five years of investment experience. As a founding team member at GPO Fund, he drove enterprise tech deals like MapAnything (acquired by Salesforce), built on prior roles at Unilazer Ventures investing in consumer successes such as Lenskart, and positions at The Carlyle Group and Soros Fund Management. A Columbia Business School MBA graduate with a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Engineering from VJTI Mumbai, Deepak combines technical depth with investing passion, while enjoying travel, hiking, snowboarding, and tennis outside work.Topics - Qualcomm Ventures' playbook for US early-stage tech dealsWhat “long-term technical advantage” actually looks like in venture diligenceUnderwriting cloud-to-edge startups with long enterprise adoption cycles#VentureCapital #QualcommVentures #DeepTechInvesting #CloudToEdge #EnterpriseTech

Sarah Klingman is Founder and CEO of Mostest, the New York-based platform reimagining event planning with AI-powered curation, professional-grade vendor matching, transparent pricing, and end-to-end execution support that eliminates research rabbit holes and vendor ghosting for hosts, while connecting vendors to serious clients and enabling brands to scale community events effortlessly. Drawing from nearly five years at adidas—rising to Sales Director, pioneering the SPEEDFACTORY-powered Lifestyle Exclusive Creation partnership with Foot Locker to let consumers drive footwear trends, and managing Foot Locker as Key Account Manager—plus Lifestyle Key Account Manager at Under Armour, Sarah applies retail partnership mastery to make unforgettable events accessible on any budget and timeline.Topics:Building a consumer-focused product strategy with AI-powered event curation and reliable vendorsLessons from adidas and Under Armour on turning partnerships into explosive community and brand growth-Transitioning from corporate leadership to startup founder#ConsumerTech #BrandInnovation #ProductStrategy #StartupLeadership #Partnerships

Vineet Edupuganti is Co-Founder & CEO of Cogent Security, deploying generative AI to supercharge vulnerability management and risk reduction for global brands, after scaling Abnormal Security from early PM through Head of Multi-Product Platform where he grew his 30-person division 4X, launched Knowledge Base/Security Posture Management, rolled out RBAC platform capabilities, and drove PLG initiatives as ARR crossed $100M with 15X headcount growth. Ex-ML engineer at Meta (generative AI for Facebook Assistant), Stanford researcher (GANs/VAEs accelerating MRI 10X, 100+ citations at top ML conferences), New Relic (time-series forecasting), and Menlo Ventures (AI incubation), Vineet fuses hardcore AI systems with enterprise security product leadership giving him deep insight into scaling AI product strategy, engineering, and go-to-market execution.Topics:AI operational excellence: building data labeling, ML pipelines, and PM systemsHow Abnormal Security rocketed to $100M ARR with smart platform pivots and product-led growthLessons from growing teams 4X during 15X company hypergrowth while launching new products#AI #Cybersecurity #Startups #VulnerabilityManagement #ML