EP 79: The “Why Now” Test for AI Startups | Vanessa Larco, VC & Formerly NEA Partner

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Vanessa Larco has sat on both sides of the table. She built products at Microsoft, Disney, Twilio, and Box, then led investments at NEA, including Mejuri and Kindred, and watched Robinhood scale to its IPO as a board observer. Sam and Mac talk with her about what actually holds up once the pitch deck closes. Topics covered: Why a founder’s roadmap, and what’s missing from it, shows how they make decisions Skill, luck, and the dynamics no investor can predict Product market pull: users who would be upset if you took the product away Why enterprise AI gets the capital, and where consumer AI is still open The hybrid go-to-market challenge of selling AI to small businesses AI-native companies…