Last Monday, the impossible happened: I attended a venture capital event where I didn’t hear the terms “AI moat” or “application layer software” a single time. Instead, in between bites of sashimi and suspiciously sweet flavored water, about two dozen tech-curious influencers and self-described content creators gathered to hear pitches on aggressively non-AI-based companies, including a service that turns cherished remains into diamonds and a beverage startup.
We spend a lot of time here focused on the established voices of venture—the Sequoias, Insight Partners, and Kleiner Perkins of the world, which take a methodical approach of applying tried and true quantitative frameworks to divining the windfalls of the future. But as I spend time with the next generation of venture investors, I’m struck by their overwhelming belief that narrative and reach are just as important as the Rule of 40.
