Hello founders! I’ve recently learned that we have a bunch of Canadian readers, so to them, I’ll say “G’day mates”. Now here’s what we’ll talk aboot today:

• How to pitch in front of thousands of investors at an event cohosted by Stonks and a16z (that’s pronounced a-sixteen-zed if you’re Canadian)

• The most robust writeup of “How to fundraise”, but in real, modern terms.

• How AI is changing SaaS (Don’t roll your eyes!)

• Hampton — a highly vetted community of awesome founders ❤️ 

• Anonymous Poll (About failures)

Are you building with Generative AI?

Come Pitch On Stage at The Generative AI Demo Day Hosted by Stonks and a16z — June 1st at Noon in SF

We’ll have a live audience of 150 investors plus thousands online. There is no better way to put an end to the fundraising madness.

Apply Here → Generative AI Demo Day Startup Application

If you know someone building with Generative AI, please share the link above with them 🙏 

Are you building in the Gaming / Entertainment Space?

Come Pitch On Stage at Future of Gaming and Entertainment Demo Day Hosted by Stonks and a16z — June 7th at Noon in LA

We’ll have a live audience of 150 investors plus thousands online. There is no better way to put an end to the fundraising madness.

Apply Here → Gaming & Entertainment Demo Day Startup Application

If you know someone building with Generative AI, please share the link above with them 🙏 

Fundraising, FULLY Explained.

We’ve all read Twitter threads and blog posts on the startup fundraising process (and I’ve written a few of them myself), but Patrick Larsen’s “What I Learned Raising $30M in Venture Capital” is the write-up to end them all. I won’t summarize it; I’ll just say it is ROBUST, and everything else feels like cliff notes now. Sometimes you need more than just the cliff notes ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

AI in SaaS is Changing the Tech Landscape

👆️ This sounds like a snoozer of a title — due to the internet being overrun by mediocre AI content — but give this one a chance.

Vanessa Larco and Juan Mogollon at NEA put together a banger of a blog post on this subject, and it gave me a lot to think about. I’ll give you a TL;DR and just hope that you’ll be intrigued enough to dive a little deeper. It’s a much higher-quality write-up than you’ll ever get out of me.

The AI platform (Read: Chat Gee Pee Tee) shift presents both challenges and opportunities for SaaS startups. As incumbents face dilemmas related to strategic changes, reputation risk, and product cannibalization, startups have the chance to capitalize on the application layer by addressing real customer needs, leveraging strong datasets, employing thoughtful product design, accepting a new definition of quality, experimenting with compelling business models, and hiring a phenomenal team.

The integration of generative AI technologies like ChatGPT into applications poses risks for app store operators but also opens up new avenues for innovation. Success in this space will require startups to focus on solving real-world problems and optimizing cost, performance, and accuracy.

Read the Full Post Here! (It’s legit)

Hampton — By Founders, For Founders (BFFF)

Ok, I made up the tagline. If you listen to business-related podcasts or read TechCrunch, you’ve probably heard of Hampton, the new founder community recently launched by Sam Parr and Joe Speiser. It’s a space where kickass founders can get to know each other and help each other grow.

It’s AMAZING to be a small fish in a big pond 🐟️ 

Most founders will understand what I mean by this; There’s just something so awesome about being surrounded by people smarter and more talented than you. I joined Hampton a couple of weeks ago, so this should read like a testimonial. (Not a sponsor, I just feel compelled to tell you about this)

While everyone in Hampton is literally under NDA, I can say A FEW words about my experience so far: In the first 2 weeks, I’ve already had great conversations with:

• Sam Parr (Founder of The Hustle & Hampton + Host of the MyFirstMillion Podcast)

• Joe Speiser (Co-Founder of Hampton)

• Anand Sanwal (Founder of CB Insights)

• Austin Rief (Founder & CEO of Morning Brew)

  I’ve also already been invited to:

• a small dinner in Austin with Sam Parr, Shaan Puri, and Andrew Wilkinson (co-founder of Tiny.com)

• A day out on the lake in Nashville

• A 3-day Rally Car driving “retreat” in Texas

• and a Private Michelin Chef Dinner Party in NYC

So, as you can see, it’s been a pretty sweet 2 weeks. Everywhere I look, there are great conversations where the girl that just sold her company for $200m is helping the dude who just sold his company for $150m with something and vice versa. It’s honestly bananas. Small fish, BIG pond. Loving it!

I urge you to go learn more about what Hampton offers → JoinHampton.com

The Other Kind of “Growth”

Can we talk about our failures for a second? I’d love to do a segment next week with wise words from some really wise people, but I need to know what most of us are getting wrong so we can grow together.

If you’ll do me a favor and honestly answer this anonymous poll, I’ll tackle the leading subject with some experts next week!