Our guest this week is Itamar Novick, Founder of Recursive Ventures. Itamar is a solo capitalist with a focus on pre-seed startups built around data and AI. We talked about the opportunities and challenges that AI presents, anti-patterns to avoid in startups, winning deals, and why Itamar thinks that most VCs do NOT add value to startups. Itamar has been a founder, executive, and investor, so this was a really thoughtful, nuanced conversation.
We also covered:
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Common startup mistakes that feel smart but kill companies
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Lessons from a failed $50M strategic deal with ADT at Life360
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What actually creates defensibility in generative AI startups
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Why valuations in AI aren't a full-blown bubble—yet
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Building a solo VC firm with AI as leverage (“Portfolio GPT”)
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The new era of lean, high-output startups—and what it means for VC
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Itamar’s go-to founder question: Why will you stay ahead five years from now?
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Why most “value-add” from VCs is overhyped
Investing in Startups is hosted by Joe Magyer and produced by Seaplane Ventures.
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