SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to the Future Ventures Podcast. Today we're joined by Sarah Romenko. Sarah is an investor at Geek Ventures where she focuses on sourcing, evaluating, and supporting early stage startups, particularly immigrant-founded companies in AI and Deep Tech. She's built her career through sheer persistence, working across multiple venture firms and startups before landing in venture full-time. She has become a recognized voice in the ecosystem with dozens of speaking engagements and mentorship roles across programs like Startup Grant and Founder Institute. Beyond investing, Sarah is known for her strong personal brand, community involvement, and mission-driven focus on democratizing access to capital. Sarah, welcome to the stage.

SPEAKER_01 0:55

Thank you so much. It's great to be here.

SPEAKER_00 0:57

I am super excited to have a conversation. I was up in preparation for the call. Obviously, I prepared my questions, did the intro, and then I looked through the profile. So it seems like I mean the intro is really accurate. It was sheer persistent. The number of venture firms you have seen from the inside is incredible. So kind of walk me through the journey of how you ended up in venture.

SPEAKER_01 1:20

Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, the way I like to see it is that when I was younger, I was always very different than my peers. I got very excited about things that people would find weird. For example, I remember in kindergarten doing my homework twice for fun because I just love to learn. And I think that's really an indication of the fact that for me, it's always been like, how do I learn? How do I improve? How do I grow? And you know, that's really how I approached venture. And, you know, early interest in venture started from watching Shark Tank at a young age. It was something that I found very fascinating, very inspiring as someone who was very different myself. So when I was younger, I ended up taking many business classes, went to my first networking event when I was only in high school. When I got to university, I, you know, continued on the path into venture, worked at several um, you know, VC firms, had some VC roles, um, you know, started an organization at my university. And, you know, after college, I just continued to work in the ecosystem. Um, I really struggled just to break in because I didn't have the background that um a lot of firms were looking for. And, you know, I think nowadays it's like, you know, this was before Chat GBT, so it was very different. But now I feel like it's there's a lot more, uh, there's a lot more VC roles, there's a lot more firms like open to people, different backgrounds. And, you know, for me it was how can I really show up and just keep showing up continuously to show that I really want to be here and just work harder than everybody else, and just that, hey, like I know this is the right career for me and I will do whatever it takes. And so that's really been my my mindset.

SPEAKER_00 2:50

Yeah. So if someone now is trying to follow in your footsteps, and and what would you advise them to the next 90 days if they want to break into venture?

SPEAKER_01 3:00

Yeah, great question. So I'd say really the first thing is just start showing up, start getting yourself in the ecosystem and start going to events. Um, you know, if you're not able to go to events in person, go online. Um, a lot of the events I went to early on in my career, like I remember I had like this really weird work schedule when I was working full time, not in venture, but in a different role. I would go to online events like after work, or maybe they were international events. So it was, you know, and it maybe it was like 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. my time, but really just show up and do the small things because those compound over time. So it may seem like you're not making a lot of progress, but you just keep doing a little bit every day. And then at some point everything blows up like in a good way, and it just feels like you've had this overnight success, but it's really because of those years of work. So going to online events, going to in-person events, sending cold outbound. I did a lot of cold outbound to reach out to people to um, you know, build relationships and really pay it forward. I think finding small ways you can help, and it doesn't matter what your experience is, whether you're a student, whether you're um, you know, you're post-grad, you know, you're an experienced professional, like there's always a way to provide value. And so I think it's just being creative with what that looks like and making sure that that value is presented um, you know, when you're doing those outreach messages.

SPEAKER_00 4:09

Would you advise that people target smaller firms or is the entry easier with smaller firms? Is the entry easier with bigger firms? Is private equity a family office easier than getting into a venture capital? Kind of like is there a strategy that you can advise people to follow?

SPEAKER_01 4:26

Yeah, I mean, that that's a great question. I think you know what I would say is that it it really depends on what your background is and what you're ultimately trying to get into. I don't know very much about you know working in private equity or working at a family office. I think it's definitely like a different strategy. Um, I do know that there are fewer like LPs than there are VCs. So just from the number, one could say it's difficult, but that that's you know, just that's that's ignoring like what it actually takes. And I'm not familiar with how to work as an LP. Um, but you know, what I would say is that I think it's you know, some people want to work at really large VC firms, some prefer small. For me, like I love working in a small firm because we're very hands-on and and I'm not only working on the investment side, I'm working on portfolio support, I'm out in the community, I'm traveling. So it feels like I am able to work on many different prospects, uh projects and still aspects of the firm. I think that, you know, a larger firm, there might be more roles, but there's also more visibility because maybe the firm is well more well known. For example, like A16Z, like everybody knows A16Z, right? So are you gonna apply um to their roles? But I think it just comes down to like what is your experience and and and how can you apply that when you're applying to the roles?

SPEAKER_00 5:34

So you you said that you prefer smaller firms. Um tell me tell me a little bit more about Geek Venture. What is the investment thesis and and why the investment thesis on immigrant founded companies? What what's special? I mean, I'm an immigrant, so I kind of probably have a sense, but I'm curious as to what you would say.

SPEAKER_01 5:52

Yeah, absolutely. So um, you know, our I guess our investment thesis. So, you know, we invest in immigrant founders of the US, focus on AI and robotics companies at pre seed and seed. We typically write 100 to 700k check sizes actively investing right now. And um, you know, for us, I think like what's really special about the way we invest is that we really try to add value to our founders beyond capital. So whether that's helping with like, you know, hiring, um, investor introductions, um, customer intros, um, you know, helping with like product feedback, feedback on the pitch deck. Um, but you know, the story behind it is that our founder managing partner, he was an immigrant to the US from Belarus. Um, he wanted to get opportunities for immigrants like himself, early angel investor uh in six unicorns at Preeseed and Seed. He also worked at Google, Meta, and a Series A AI infrastructure startup. Um, but you know, really had a vision to help back amazing founders who are very hardworking, who may not have all the resources. And I loved this vision. And I think that's what really drew me to the firm is that my background has been working with underrepresented founders. And, you know, for me, I've loved working at small firms specifically because I feel like, you know, we're able to, like I said, very hands-on, but you really get to understand all these aspects. And then when you're actually meeting with founders and they say, you know, like how can you help us right if you invest? Like I can say, well, I can close the deal, but I can also help you. So it's like you have the same person to kind of um help throughout this process. And I think like I've also just worked very closely with the um managing partners in many of my past roles, and so I've kind of learned um, you know, how to be that right-hand person. And so I think that's something that's been very rewarding for me because you really get to see firsthand, and there's also not that it doesn't really feel like there's that hierarchy, right? Like it's like you're, you know, there's there's a few people on the team, and so you know, it's it's very like, hey, I want to get this done. You you don't have to go jump through hoops, right? And so I think also just the autonomy that I have, and I I feel very grateful for that because you know, travel I get to do, the the founders I get to meet with, like I think that's also just what makes it so rewarding.

SPEAKER_00 7:55

Would you say that this is kind of like the the way that business have evolved, like that the structure has like flattened in terms of like um how organizations operate and the old hierarchy um has largely disappeared.

SPEAKER_01 8:10

Definitely. I mean, I will say it's different just from my experience because like I work at a smaller firm. So for us, it's like you know, we um you it's like we we work on you know a lot of different things together, and there's a lot of like the team aspect. I think definitely things have evolved, and also too with AI, I think there's also just smaller teams in general. But even for larger firms, and like I bring up A6CZ again because I think that they do this really well, but like I've seen that like they have separate teams based on really specific skill sets, and that's why they've been able to win so well, is they say, Well, you're really good at ecosystems, so like you specifically work on building out the ecosystem where you're really good at investments, and so like I think that's just interesting where it's like if a firm can do it well with that like hierarchy, it's great, but it's also amazing to see where if you have a smaller firm and you just are more of like a I guess more of a generalist, right? Some people are better at being generalists and some are better at being specialists.

SPEAKER_00 8:59

Yeah, I mean that's spot on because if you look at A16Z, Mark and Jason versus Ben Hoore, which is completely different personality, right? Like one of them is CEO, the other one is the public face, and then I mean the benefit they have is they have so many different funds. It's like there's a seed fund, there's a deep tech fund, like there's anything and everything with them. So it's kind of easy to have like a lot of differentiation. Um given that uh the GP for geek is Belarus, and is there a preference for any kind of like the former communist bloc countries or the Nordics? Or it's it's any immigrant that's like based at the or has founded a business in the US?

SPEAKER_01 9:35

Yeah, great question. I mean, we're open to immigrant founders from all across the world as long as they were born outside of the US and then moved to the US. Um and then more specifically, if the founder is a child of immigrants, so they were actually you know born in the US, but their parents weren't, that would fit into our exception category. Um, but you know, we we do we do meet amazing founders that, like I said, that don't meet our specific criteria, and we're more than happy to take a look at them as well.

SPEAKER_00 10:00

That's awesome. I uh uh this week I was having a conversation with portfolio companies in in the Nordics, and one thing that they learned that absolutely shocked me is that the number one country in terms of startups is Estonia. I'm like Estonia, and they're like, yeah, it has nine times more startups than Israel. I'm like, wow, that's quite a crazy statistic. Because like the conversation I was having was with uh Norwegian founders and NVCs. Um, and so Belarus is bright smack there.

SPEAKER_01 10:31

Definitely.

SPEAKER_00 10:32

Um no, I mean there's a lot of amazing companies that that they're coming out of the former uh communist block. I mean, 111 probably being one of the uh UiPad being another one. Um what what uh as you're thinking about the deal flow, you see a lot of companies that they're preaching looking for investment. What are kind of the general patterns that you're seeing at the moment and what excites you the most?

SPEAKER_01 10:56

Yeah, absolutely. So I think you know, thinking more about you know, since we invest so early, you know, we really look at the founder um themselves and I guess like what is um you know what really stands out in our past investments. And I think about some of the the companies that we've done recently and the one like the ones that we're about to announce very soon. I think a lot of it comes down to three things. So, you know, first is founder market fit. So founders that have really strong domain expertise and they really understand the industry that they're building in. Um or you know, there's like a strong passion or tie to the problem. Um, the second thing I would say is founders that know how to sell. This is really important because we want to see that founders not only know how to sell to their customers, but also sell to investors and really understand the audience, you know, like it could be that they're at a pitch event or maybe they're at an event where you're not allowed to pitch, but the purpose is building relationships and they need to know how to not sell, right? And so I think it's it really comes down to that emotional intelligence and that comes into knowing how to sell. And then the last thing is a strong why now. So, you know, I think in the case of like if you think like Uber, Airbnb, you know, it's really interesting because they came at a time where there was like this need, but the market wasn't necessarily there yet. But then the market grew over time, and so they're able to sell based on the vision of this is what it could be, even if it's not there yet. And so I think that's really important. And then that also ties back into the um, you know, founders that know how to sell because they can explain where they're currently at, why is this a good time, and then how they're going to kind of ground the idea in the current reality, but then still have that future potential. And I think that's a very rare combination when the founder can have that, um, have both of those.

SPEAKER_00 12:35

Yeah, I mean, this these are these are foundational, um it it's kind of interesting that you that you said founders that know how to sell. One of the um in order, one of the requirements is that uh or okay, a lot of the VC would have requirements for dual founders, like the technical founder plus the commercial founder, and the government would particularly provide funding for commercial founders. But um it it because I I agree, like if if even if you have the best mousetrap, if you don't know how to get it into the hands of customers, it's it's impossible to build a business. As you're thinking about kind of like the opportunities that exist at the moment, where do you see the biggest mispricing of opportunity right now? AI, robotics, space, um, kind of like what is he thinking?

SPEAKER_01 13:23

Yeah, so what I would say is, I mean, I I I think that you know, the biggest mispricing is when a founder doesn't really understand, and this goes back to like who they're who they're trying to raise from. So, you know, and this is not interesting a specific industry, but more broadly is that you know, founders, you know, whenever they're raising, they'll often say, Well, I just want this arbitrary number because it's what I see in the market, and other companies are raising at this, so I'm going to do comparables and then I can raise it that. You know, I I mean, this is like people maybe do this and because like I worked in real estate and corporate at one point and we would do market comps, right? And and I understand because of why you do that, because you have to compare the market. But in VC, it's it's really about kind of like what can you convince someone to give you? And it is there enough like interest in it. It's it's more um, you know, it's more an art than a science. And I say this because I think the important thing to consider is yes, like what you know, what should your dilution look like, but really more of how can VC make money? Because, you know, when we look at valuation, we want to understand if this company is successful, would it even make sense for us to invest? Because maybe we know the company is going to be successful, but if the valuation is too high, it wouldn't even make sense for us to even invest because we can't return enough money to our LPs. So I think founders want to like what I would say is for them to really understand what does the LP model look like and how can they, you know, price the round in a way that actually makes sense for the VCs to even be able to make money, right? Like, and then other than that is understanding, you know, what your round is like now, because if you need to raise later, making sure you don't set yourself up for a down round if you know you raise it too high now. So like that would that's how what I would say is like the biggest mispricing in terms of the valuation side, because I think it also, though, if you raise too high, it it it's it's harder to build that relationship with the investor because then they have that initial, you know, it's kind of that like that initial impression of like this is really high. Like, how are you gonna raise future rounds? So I I I think it's great when a founder is like, hey, you know, this is what we're raising at, but we're flexible, like, and this is kind of a reasoning and you negotiate. And so that's yeah, that's what I would say.

SPEAKER_00 15:27

Yeah, it it's kind of interesting. Uh the media, maybe, maybe maybe the media, maybe the founders have learned to celebrate fundraises and how big the fundraisers rather than like, is the capital coming in, giving me the ability to accelerate and do what I need to do to get to the next set of milestones.

SPEAKER_01 15:47

Definitely, definitely. And I think that's that's a really important lesson because I I tell founders all founders this all the time. I say, um, you know, you know, the fundraise does not guarantee success. Um and by the way, I think I just froze. I hopefully you can still see me and hear me. Um but yeah, it it um, you know, it doesn't guarantee success. It just means that it's giving you money to help you grow. But I think it's really important to understand what you do with the money because, you know, they're like if we look at the statistics, the number of companies that are even venture funded that fail, I think, you know, that's why I tell founders if you don't have to raise, you know, don't raise. And I think a lot of times it will shock founders if a VC is telling them that. But you know, our job as a VC is to help founders make money for LPs and also give that founders the best advice because a good investor is one that actually helps and will be honest, even if it means meeting with a founder and saying, hey, I don't think you should raise right now, and here's why. Because, you know, it that's like like don't just give, don't just take money, take money, because it can actually like if a founder is not ready for funding in the sense that they're not ready to bring on an external partner, that can kill the company. So I think it's just really important for founders to like understand what it actually means to take money versus what it looks like, you know, in the media.

SPEAKER_00 17:00

What um what are the most uh uh typical examples? So, or you know, in what cases founders shouldn't be raising VC funds, like um could like our audience is primarily comprised of founders, so kind of like when and when not.

SPEAKER_01 17:21

Yes, so what I would say when not is when you know you you're like we'll start with the obvious ones, right? So you're doing it for the wrong reasons. I think if like there's that feeling of, you know, I want that publicity for my company, I need some like quote unquote free marketing, you know, something like that. Um, you know, or oh, my my my friend is doing this and I've seen they post about it and I feel like I need to catch up. So there's that. I would say if the company is also just not a venture scalable business, you know, you could be building an amazing company, but it's not, you know, really a fit for the venture model. So that could be a lifestyle business, a company that is bringing in strong revenue, but it's not growing fast enough. And I think that's another thing, too, is that if a founder, you know, is not ready to scale very quickly and really go all in. And and and and you could still be going all in without taking funding. But when I say goal in, I mean you have to have, you know, like it ever the the growth really depends on the industry, but you need to be able to get to the point where your revenue is increasing so fast and it's getting to the point where VCs get excited and you're scaling quickly, you're able to, you know, if the VC is like, hey, you need to move faster, move quicker, you need to be ready for that. And sometimes it's better to say, hey, I'm really happy with where my business is at. It's you know, it's strong revenue, it's it's growing at a steady rate, but you know, and but I think founders have to realize like once you take that funding, that changes. It's it's no longer just your business, even the VC has has a very small equity stake. So I'd say there's that. And then I think the the last thing is um, you know, founders are not ready to take funding if they're only taking it for the money. There have been many cases where there's you know bad actors and it messes up a company where a VC will come in, they'll invest, but then they'll give bad advice, or you know, they they won't um really protect that fiduciary responsibility they have, and it ultimately ends up, you know, ruining the company. And so I think, you know, just not um not doing the proper due diligence on the on the VC, like I always tell founders, you know, we do our diligence on you, ask around your references, like you know, like I always encourage that. So just making sure that you don't just take money like really quickly, because also if a VC is willing to give you money very seemingly quickly without doing their own diligence within reason, like of course, deals move fast, right? But if there's something that seems like a red flag, then it probably is.

SPEAKER_00 19:36

So speaking of uh velocity, is it likely that gig would invest in somebody off a cold email? And kind of like, how do you advise founders to prepare for the fundraising journey? Um, what would what makes for a successful fundraising journey? Should they start building a relationship with Sarah and team like long before they're actually looking for that check?

SPEAKER_01 19:59

Yeah, there's a great question. So I mean, I'll answer this on us and then in VCs in general. So, you know, first for us, um, you know, uh I respond to cold outreach. I mean, I like what I'll say is that, you know, uh it needs to be good outreach and it needs to be relevant. So it doesn't always mean we'll take a meeting because it still needs to be relevant to our thesis. But, you know, like uh I have many founders reach out to me on LinkedIn. I receive many like inbound emails. Um, you know, we do not require warm intros. I mean, it certainly helps just, you know, psychologically. If someone says, hey, like you, you know someone and they send you the deal, you trust them, yes, it helps. But I've had some great companies reach out from from cold inbound that I've spoken to. Um, and and they just had a great email. Um, and then what I would say in more in terms of the general perspective is you know, some VCs are very like against cold, cold uh inbound because they've been burned in the past of just you know putting out their email and then founders just like you know, staying them. Um and then and then other VCs are like, you know, we want you to to get to know us before we invest, you know, we'll take cold out re cold inbound. For us, I mean, I think it really depends. Like from what I've seen, I mean, like we have invested without like a prior relationship before, um, in the sense that like it's like, okay, this is company, you know, like we we've heard about this deal, we may not know the founder super well, but we're able to invest. Whereas other firms are like, hey, we need to know them for a certain period of time, right? But you know, regardless of that, I think you need to still like if you can build the relationship earlier, it does help. Like, one thing I tell founders is, you know, if you want to build the relationship with me, a great way to do it is you reach out to me on LinkedIn, assume you're in our thesis, you say, hey, we're not raising yet, but we'd love to add you to our updates. What's your email? You know, there's no lift on my side. I I love that because it, I mean, it's a great way to just keep us updated. I don't, I can't take like hundreds of calls every week because you know, there's only so much time in the day. Um, but I think, you know, really being mindful of what the investor wants and really being respectful and asking them. Um, I think the worst thing you can do is ruin the relationship before it starts. And I think the way to even know what an investor wants is meet them in. In a you know, a non-pitch setting. So I mean, yes, maybe you could meet them at a pitch event, which is technically a pitch setting, but don't pitch them. Um, you know, if I'm at an event and a founder comes up to me and says, hey, like, you know, uh would love to get to know more about you invest. I'm a founder, but I don't want to like if a founder's like, hey, I don't want to pitch you, but I want to ask you some questions, I love that approach because I think it shows that you're really trying to build the relationship. So it's it's a lot of the little things that founders can do. I think they re they think that, you know, I should just pitch a VC because I'm I'm like this is my one chance. I see them at an event. But and the reason I say this is because being on the side of someone who wanted to work in VC, I would often do this when I would be at events. I would just go up to VCs and immediately try to like, you know, pitch myself to them, like for the firm in terms of wanting to work for them. And then I I I I realized like this is a bad approach because VCs get pitched all the time, like, you know, asking for jobs and all this, and it doesn't work, build the relationship. So that's what I would say is that you'd be surprised at how far that can go just by taking that extra step because many founders will just pitch you immediately.

SPEAKER_00 23:04

In uh it in our company, we have uh we have a concept called TTV, time to value. And it's like, how quickly can you deliver value to the person that you're meeting with? And our our advice is always you have to be the one giving value first before seeking anything in return, even if it's small. Because seemingly, if you're a founder looking for a check, that's great. But is there something that you can do for that VC? Maybe it's introduction, whatever it may be, maybe it's helping out with the next event that they have. Um, but it's time to value. How quickly can you drive value?

SPEAKER_01 23:39

Definitely.

SPEAKER_00 23:41

Um, it and and I couldn't agree more with you. Like, we we have built uh our own proprietary system called the Capital Intelligence Platform. We have 18,000 investment firms on it, but we have intentionally designed it to be like Bumble, where the investor reaches out to the to the upper for the opportunity rather than the other way around, because 18,000 investment firms on average, anywhere between three to five investors. Let's we're talking 50,000 investors, and so yes, SendGrid is plugged in. Yes, you can blitz everyone, but that's not what we want. We want kind of like your point curate, q rate, q rate, curate, narrow, narrow, narrow, narrow. Like maybe you start with a hundred perspective investors that invest in deep tech in this case, and then because on the platform we have 1400 uh deep tech investors, investment firms. But we want you if you to take these 1400 and get it down to like maybe like 30, that they're very, very curated, and then to your point, connect, connect, connect, drive the relationship, get them to or add them to your uh updates, make sure that you you show them that you're staying on on track, that you're hitting those milestones and updates. Definitely. Um yeah, no, I mean I I love your advice. Um now, how do you go about uh deal flow and sourcing sourcing deals?

SPEAKER_01 24:59

Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, really what I look for is you know, like what is kind of the best way to meet quality founders and do it at scale? And and when I say best, we mean like I I haven't mastered it, right? I think as a VC, you're always trying to figure out better ways and optimize. So what I've been doing, um, and this is helpful for founders because you know, how do you get in front of a VC? So, you know, um I reach out to founders cold. Um, this is actually a really big one. So, you know, I will find founders that are building in stealth and they have interesting backgrounds, I'll reach out. Um, you know, I will go to local events, I'll go to online events. This could be pitch events, um, it could be me speaking at these events, judging, um, you know, really any type, right? Um, hackathons, I think that's really interesting. Um, you know, we get a lot of like warm introductions. So warm intros from our portfolio founders, we get warm intros from our LPs, we will get warm intros um from people that we know. Maybe it's my boy as a company, maybe it's somebody that I know well, or maybe a founder I know just personally reaches out. Um, I, you know, see founders like posting on LinkedIn, maybe they're commenting on like LinkedIn posts, um, or they're just really active. Like they keep showing up in my feed. Like the algorithm says, hey, this person is great. I think, you know, as a founder, it is really great to post on LinkedIn. Of course, you know, prioritize building, but if you have an optimized way to like put yourself out there and build in public, I think that can be really valuable. Um, but I think the most important thing is that like when you are at these events, it's, you know, as a like a founder, you know, it's important that you're not only doing it scale, but it's relevant events and ones that VCs will actually be at. So when I think about what events that I go to, it's a very like curated approach. And I and I throw that word around a lot and I think it's so funny because it really, it really is true. I mean, I think it's like, you know, I I when I was very early in my career, I would go to every event. Like I would just, which I actually think is a good approach. I think if you're really early as a VC, you do need to go to all those events because you need to meet people, right? I mean, of course, you you need to be selective, but like for me, it was I just needed to build up that network, right? And and I think that worked well. But now it's very, very like here, you know, are there gonna be this type of founder at this event? Are there going to be certain types of investors? Is it the right type of people? So as a founder, you know, you should decide, you know, is this like who's the audience that's actually going? Because that actually can help put you in front of the VCs and help in facilitating that quality um deal flow exchange.

SPEAKER_00 27:21

No, I mean that makes sense. I mean, in addition to the curation, for me, it's like if you're gonna go to the event and it is a way to find out who's gonna be there, prepare, prepare, prepare. Like you want to be on point. And to your point, um, nobody wants to be pitched, so try to build out the relationship. Like, don't go up to the to the VCA or investor and say, hey, I'm looking for money, this is what I'm doing. Um, makes sense, makes sense. Um I love the conversations. Um, what's the difference between um kind of like where we are today versus where we were a year? Like, what has changed like in and kind of like to what to what degree have you personally adopted AI? Because you said you in ideal flow, you're constantly looking for uh the right opportunity and looking for introductions. Have you enabled like signals within your tech stack where like you talked about LinkedIn if somebody shows up in your algorithm, but like uh like what have you done to like kind of like amplify your uh um um I guess in inbound uh signals of uh of opportunities?

SPEAKER_01 28:30

Yeah, absolutely. So I mean one thing that we've done that I think has been really helpful is that you know, we so I mean we use we use Claude real like quite often, um, and I think just just helping us like in terms of um like like maybe maybe more simple things, like for example, like saying, okay, you know, there's this urgent email, right? And we need to identify it immediately, or maybe like help us find um, you know, certain types of companies. Um, I think what's been really cool is like Claude has a lot of different um platforms that it can integrate with. And so it's been really like, I mean, to be very fair, I'm very careful about like I don't actually use it with LinkedIn yet because LinkedIn is very um careful on like automation tools. So like I actually do all that, a lot of that manually. But um I think what's been been helpful is more in just personalizing outreach. Um, you know, for us, it's really important. I mean, I still think that you you need to do the research yourself, obviously, but sometimes like, hey, I want to maybe help pull some research online. Like, I see the way that AI has been working for us is it helps make us uh it optimizes the non-human parts to help us spend more time on the human parts. Because I think a good investor, you still need to spend that quality time with your founders to help them because AI can't like replace human connection. Like that's that's what it really can't do. So the way I look at it is anytime I use AI, it's how can I spend less time on the manual tasks that I shouldn't be doing and then spend more time actually talking to founders, going to events, being present. That's I think what I think a responsible AI use is. I think where it, I think, and this is an important distinction of where it becomes you know, irresponsible uses where it's let me try to have it do the things like like, I mean, I think maybe there's gonna be a point where AI is doing founder calls, and I don't know how I feel about that or what that looks like as another thing, because I've actually thought that, you know, you have AI interviewers, so maybe you'll have AI VCs doing that, right? And I'm sure there's companies doing that. But I think for me, at least my my viewpoint is I think AI is kind of like a helper, it's consistent, but um, like I'll have I'll kind of have Claude help me update stuff in our CRM, right? And and work with it side by side, but I don't let it run freely. I mean, some things it does, but I I'm very careful too on on like what it can and can't do. Because I still think even though like I'm all for new technology, there's I still have trust problems, you know. I think that's healthy.

SPEAKER_00 30:44

I agree. I agree. I mean, I couldn't agree more. Um, if even with the platform we build, we use a lot of AI and through MCP, we have plugged almost every model out there. But the problem is that the inference, the results are based on data, and it the the keys is this data current and up to date and uh accurate. So, yes, like for us, it's it's more so to give you a signal, maybe it's maybe get you to 80% uh assurance or 80% confidence. You still need the human in the middle. Like, could we do we have an agent that can make a phone call? Of course, but that's not the point. Like you like you need to be able to build up the emotional personal connection when you when you're speaking with with an investor, and nothing replaces it.

SPEAKER_01 31:34

Definitely, definitely, and that's and that's so important. Like you you have to have that human connection because if you don't, then it's you know it's really difficult to um to be able to really like move forward and build those relationships because oftentimes the the way that we even get strong deals is because we have that human connection with the founder, maybe with an investor. And so that's extremely helpful.

SPEAKER_00 31:57

How likely? Uh how much more likely are you to invest in a deal that's recommended by an ad of VC or or somebody that that you have a great amount of trust?

SPEAKER_01 32:06

Yeah, I mean, I think really likely. I mean, of course, it, you know, I mean, like it's I uh how should I phrase it? I mean like it depends, of course, on what they're building, but I think like having those signals and those the warm intros really helps because it's it does go back to human psychology. It's the same concept of like, um, and that's why I think you know, psychology is really fascinating in VC because I actually know like I remember the one VC firm, they have like a psychologist actually on the team and they're an investor. Really interesting approach, and I think it's a great idea. Um, but human psychology is like if your friend recommends you a restaurant, you know, you're really likely to try it because you trust your judgment. So I kind of think about it like that, but I also like to be mindful of the selection bias, right? And I think there's also that of, you know, if you're in the same network, you see the same things, so you have to expand your horizons. And so that's also why I think cold outbound cold inbound can be so important, is if someone's creative enough to get you to talk to them, that means there's something special, right? If they're if their message stands out above everybody else. So because I did that to people when I was trying to get a job in VC, I was creative in my approach and I was able to get in without knowing people, and then I built those relationships. So I like to try to put myself in those shoes of when I first started because everyone has to start somewhere. And I think it's a very important lesson. And like, yes, I do get a lot of cold inbound that is irrelevant, but I like to think and I like to hope that there'll be ones that are actually very strong.

SPEAKER_00 33:28

Sarah, is there a message that stands out that's kind of edged, like that was like, this is so memorable? Like a cold inbound message that you received. That or if you don't remember a specific message, is there like how do you recommend that somebody reaches out to you to to make himself um memorable?

SPEAKER_01 33:49

Yeah, great question. So what I would say, you know, and I'll kind of anonymize this because I always like to, you know, not not share the specific info out of respect for the founders, but you know, anonymizing this, the founder was like, hey Sarah, um, you know, I saw that, you know, you are uh, you know, one, I think it's really cool that you love arcades because I've you know I've been looking into what you like to do for fun. I think that's really great. Um, it had that personal touch. Um they said, you know, I saw that you you recently talked about what part of AI and robotics you guys are focused on. Well, this is why I think we'd be a fit for you specifically. Um here's my personal background doing X, Y, and Z. X, Y, and Z happened in my life and it inspired me to do this. Um, and I, because I'm like running through the message now, I was like, I don't want to actually say what they're doing. Um, but you know, that that inspired me to do this. And here's a specific description of what the company is building. This is our traction, this is why it's relevant. Here's my scheduling link. Um, you know, the company, like the fundraising valuation deck, like very like to the point where I was like, yeah, like they they know how to pitch themselves. And um, and this company, like, you know, for context, we ended up like passing on it not because of the founder, it was just a matter of like um what we were currently focusing on in terms of like sector, but it was like such a great message, and I think it's a great lesson of like I will remember this company and I will most likely share it with other people I know. Of course, because I think it's a great founder, it's it's just and this is like you know, top of mind because I think it's like, hey, like if a founder does a great outreach message, I think that should be important. And I've even told founders on call when I'm like, hey, I want to reiterate like this was good, and if something's not good, I also want to share that. Because I think, you know, you as a founder, VCs usually may not always tell you that. And so I think it's like I like I said, I can't always tell you that because it's it's very hard on what we can and can't share sometimes. But if I have the opportunity to, I will, I will try to.

SPEAKER_00 35:40

I couldn't agree more. I mean, like ultimately, just like sales, you want to make it easy for the other person across the the table for me to say yes. So if you make the messages easy, it's pie to like um for you to click a link and schedule a conversation because the the bits of information that you need are there, it's more likely to happen. If there's friction, the more friction, the less likely it's that you you're going to uh take the next step. Definitely. Sarah, what have been the biggest challenges in terms of um moving? Well, maybe you you've been in venture for a while, but kind of like what are the biggest challenges that you see in venture right now?

SPEAKER_01 36:20

Yeah, so I mean I think like um uh you know, let me let me think about this. Um, because there's many different directions like going. I'm trying to think what is most relevant, you know, for the founders. So I think one of the biggest challenges, at least for me uh as a VC, is that you know, I receive a lot of like really great deals, quality deals, but the biggest challenge is often time. And I think it's it's the aspect of, you know, how do we, I guess, know the right timing of like when to look at a deal, but also not miss it and understand when a round is going to close. And there's a lot of like complexities that go into that. And I think it's also one thing that can be helpful for founders, and and this is my advice to founders listening is um, you know, to really follow up with the VC because oftentimes like we will be talking, we're talking to many founders at once, right? And like, you know, you know, we may like something may fall through the cracks, maybe we're traveling, maybe something, you know, comes up within the firm that we that's important, or you know, something in our portfolio, and like we just may not respond. But putting that email like at the top of our inbox and just a nice follow-up, like I think that's actually a such a big thing because like I use superhuman and um you know, we we use different tools we use, but it's like there's still things that that get missed. And so I think like it seems very simple, but after seeing what my inbox looks like at the end of the week, I'm like, I just want to tell founders that because I I don't mind a follow-up. I mean, I think you know, there's a point where you follow up too much and it you get an idea of EC not interested, but like I think several follow-ups to just like keep yourself top of mind. You'd be surprised at how many founders actually don't do that. Like, I say this and I give this advice because it's what I want founders to do. I'm not just saying it of like, hey, here's some random advice I found online. No, this is what I wish you would do, so I can make sure that I get your deal as far along as possible. And and I say this because oftentimes I give this advice, founders listen, and then they take the advice, and then it makes my job easier and everybody's happy. So it's a win-win.

SPEAKER_00 38:13

I I I'm really surprised at this. I I like I mean, we we we help company uh uh raise raise capital. Um, but uh at least the the ones that we're dealing with, like everything is systemized. So we would have account on boards like okay, this isn't the status of this uh interaction, this is the status of this interaction, this is the last. So it it we're writing full CRM, but for the fundraising part, um what's um um what's the biggest challenge at the moment in terms of like um uh timing? How long would it take for uh the first check to come in? Do you guys write uh first check? You said 100 to 700k US. Um so I'm assuming that you are more on the seed stage in terms of kind of like where where you invest. Uh and do you lead a routes uh or are you co-investing primarily?

SPEAKER_01 39:05

Yeah, so we typically so 100 to 700k checks um we we typically follow. So we invest at pre-seed and seed, and our process typically takes like three to four weeks. Um, you know, of course, there's a lot of variations on that, but pretty straightforward process. So, you know, there's the first call with the founder, we uh we would discuss with our team after that, then there would be um a call with our partner, then we request a data room, final step call with our managing partner, and then at that point we make a decision. Um, you know, like we like to um make sure that it's it's um uh easily accessible for founders. And of course, we also would do additional calls throughout this process, um, you know, with maybe like the co-founder, maybe do like diligence and talk to customers. But I think it's very important that we we also like to share this up front because you know, we there are times where rounds are moving quicker and we can also speed this up if needed, but we like to just make sure we're aligned on like timing and um you know, general of like, hey, what works for the founder in terms of their process? But but yeah, I'd say it's it's pretty uh straightforward.

SPEAKER_00 40:02

Okay. Are are there red flags that that that that would be absolutely a no-go and be like, okay, we're really not too interested. Are there specific metrics that you were emphasizing and focusing on? Are there things that if you're seeing a pinch deck, it's like, no, no, like we're not even going for it?

SPEAKER_01 40:20

Yeah, so we I mean we have invested in free revenue. Um, I mean, of course, it does help to have traction, but like we don't necessarily say you need X amount of like the specific traction because it I think now in this, I mean, I think even so more now, like now with AI, though, we do want, I mean, we will invest free revenue, but it does help now just because we think it's so much easier to build given the um, you know, uh like like there. Yeah, but um, I would say like red flags in a pitch deck, I think, you know, uh, I can't understand what you're building with in the first three slides. Um, I have more, I have more like questions in terms of like like like uh what's the word? Uh limiting questions versus exciting questions. So limiting questions meaning why are they doing this? Is this actually differentiated? This doesn't make sense versus um, you know, I'd love to learn more about this this specific customer, or I'd love to know more about this team. Like I think that's kind of the difference when I think of the questions that go through my head when I look through a deck. Um, I'd say a deck that like is outdated. Um when it says, you know, we're closing, and this this happens that we're closing our fundraiser, like as of today, you know, as at the time of this recording, you know, in 2026, um, you know, I'll have a deck that'll say we're closing at the end of 2025. Um, and it's funny because like, you know, it seems like a simple thing, but it means that one, it's a signal to us you're having problems raising, but two, you need to update those key things and keep that like updated, right? I think that's that's a signal. Um and then just not putting the team, um, you know, not making it like not having any differentiation, saying you have no competitors. I mean, I think that's a really big, big one. One of the things I'll share too, and I've noticed this in pitch competitions, and then in the mini pitch competitions I've judged, the thing, the common underlying factor that many founders struggle with is the differentiation aspect. Like they'll they'll, and this is true in pitch decks, and it's so important. Founders need to focus on this is really say your differentiation, not an opinion, but make it a fact, not that our product is better, customers like it better, or you know, it's easier to use, but saying it's cheaper, here are the numbers, here are the reviews, like make it very tangible and and something where it's actually real differentiation, it's not opinion, because this is something I time and time again is not um like even in the whether it's in a student pitch competition or it's in a pitch competition at a major national conference that I've done, it's it's the same same issue.

SPEAKER_00 42:44

No, I mean it makes sense. It it shows that the founder knows the market, and so I like we expect them to have a full market map and know exactly how they fit in this market map as to like what makes them special. Like um on that point, what's what what do you what do you believe are the moats that are left for companies? Kind of like what's defensible positioning anymore?

SPEAKER_01 43:10

I'm glad you asked. And I have been thinking about this. What I think is is a really strong moat right now. I mean, yes, the technical mode is very important. I still think there is a technical moat because I think that you know, you can use the technology that exists, but there is still that aspect of founders who have deep domain expertise. I mean, that is one you know strong moat combined with their technical ability, but a really big one is their go-to-market mode. I mean, this was not really talked about much before AI. You know, it was it was discussed, but now it's what is, you know, what is your pipeline? How can you win these customers? Because ultimately, if you can build trust with your customers, it almost won't matter what everyone else is doing. Because if they're like, I just want to buy from you and you only. Um, I think like a good example of this is my go to market moat as a VC when I'm promoting. Venture capital programs is people want to join them because they saw the impact it had on me and how authentic I am. And because I post that and I promote it, people want to join. And you know, and it's different because it's not like I'm like, oh, you can't do this other program, but it's more of it's it's um they're like, hey, like I'm excited because you promoted this. And so it's it's kind of that like seal of approval in a sense. And so um I think that's a really strong load. And if the founder's like, hey, here's how we're going to win in the market, here's how you know AI cannot cannot kill this, basically, then that makes me really excited.

SPEAKER_00 44:35

Makes sense. Uh you it talked about your authenticity and and and and that's very present and prevalent. Um, and you're very active. Um so in terms of personal brand, do you do you believe that this is a prerequisite now for founders to develop a really strong personal brand?

SPEAKER_01 44:53

I would say it depends. Um, because I think it really depends on what someone is good at. Because, you know, for me, like part of the reason I developed my personal brand is that like I wasn't as technical, right? There were certain things I wasn't as good at. But there's some people who are like, well, I'm really good at this skill set, and so I'm gonna double down on that. Like, because like, you know, not all V series are necessarily posting quite often on LinkedIn, but I think it comes down to, you know, what do you want to optimize for and spend that time on? So I guess, I guess the the the kind of way to shorten this is saying, you know, it can certainly help. It it can help optimize what you already have in terms of the success. And if you think if you want to continue building and you know, build in public, yes, absolutely. But I don't think it's like it's going to prevent you from like like a VC is not gonna say, oh, and maybe maybe some VCs would. I mean, I think this might be still a debate, but they're not gonna say, oh, you know, you're not active enough on LinkedIn, so we won't invest in you. Like, I don't think that we're there yet, but I do think that as AI gets more prevalent and it's it's harder to find those unique votes, I do think that's going to be something that people might look at. I just don't think that's like a deciding factor yet.

SPEAKER_00 46:02

Thank you. Um any any last words of wisdom or any parsing thoughts for scale of founders?

SPEAKER_01 46:09

Yeah, I mean, what I would say is really do your research and understand the VC that you're reaching out to and make sure they're a fit for you. Um and not only that, but if it's a larger VC firm, that the person on the team you're reaching out to is the right fit. Because oftentimes, like, you know, I don't have a specific sector within our thesis, but at larger firms, many do. So making sure you're reaching out to the right person. Um, and then also just um being very mindful of like if I guess the second thing unrelated is if a VC does pass, be respectful, stay in touch, send them updates, and maintain that relationship for potential future investment.

SPEAKER_00 46:48

Okay, agree. Well, thank you so much, Sarah. This has been fantastic. If people want to get in touch or people want to follow you, what's the best way? Like just look you up on LinkedIn and send you a message.

SPEAKER_01 46:58

Yeah. So the best way I would say is um, you know, reach out to me on LinkedIn. I'm just Sarah Romanco. Um, you know, founders want to pitch us, um, then go to geek.bc slash pitch. Um, but you know, definitely happy to um like there's also more informal information on criteria on our website. Um, but you know, you know, always happy to take a look at great deals.

SPEAKER_00 47:19

Amazing. Well, thank you. This has been fantastic.

SPEAKER_01 47:22

Absolutely, thank you so much.