Vc Jennifer Neundorfer Explains How Founders Can Stand Out In A Crowded Ai Market

January Ventures co-founder Jennifer Neundorfer stopped by nan Equity podcast during TechCrunch Disrupt to chat astir fundraising successful this very AI-driven market.  

Founders and investors alike are obsessed with AI, and even Neundorfer said her patient is looking astatine ways to usage AI to make their activity much efficient, specified arsenic helping to do due diligence on nan marketplace and competition. As for companies being built, she has a penchant for the founders looking to create something entirely new.  

“Where I thin to get excited is erstwhile I spot personification who is utilizing AI to do thing that isn’t 10x better. It’s actually to create a full caller acquisition aliases workflow aliases behavior,” she said. “That’s what we’re looking at. Less of nan incremental changes and more totally new behaviors.” 

This is getting harder for founders because fatigue, she said, has deed arsenic much AI ideas commencement to sound nan same.

“Where I deliberation founders are breaking done is erstwhile they tin pass to investors why what they’re doing is really different than nan different dozens of startups that are doing that and why they are nan squad to spell aft that,” she said.  

Whether we are successful nan alleged AI bubble aliases not, Neundorfer says a marketplace correction is probably coming, and a batch of nan companies getting windfalls of investor money now mightiness not survive. The winners will navigate this infinitesimal building “truly category-defining companies,” capturing wherever nan tech is going next.  

“Founders who tin enactment up of that curve, build astatine nan separator of what’s imaginable today, and build for what’s coming,” she listed. “Founders who are capable to really publication nan marketplace and understand what it is their customer wants vs. conscionable building what is possible. Those are nan founders that will person an advantage.”  

Elsewhere connected nan pod, she said astir her life before venture, wherever she worked astatine YouTube and 21st Century Fox.  

“So overmuch of what I did was meet pinch group who had awesome technology,” she recalled of her clip astatine 21st Century Fox. Meeting and talking exertion pinch group was nan portion of nan occupation that gave her nan astir joy, and helped her recognize really overmuch she would astir apt emotion moving pinch early-stage founders.

But nan learning curve was steep erstwhile she decided to transition to investing. In nan early days, she said she would perpetually cheque successful pinch founders and springiness detailed input on their companies.  

“That’s appropriate for immoderate cases, but it’s really astir nan narration pinch nan founder, supporting not only weighing successful connected nan business, but supporting them arsenic a person,” she sadi.  

Now, she’s comfortable successful nan job. She serves arsenic a mentor for various organizations, specified arsenic Techstars, and has made much than 50 investments astatine January Ventures, according to Pitchbook, nabbing some exits successful nan meantime.  

Throughout nan conversation, Neundorfer said astir nan changing task market, backing levels for minorities and women, and astir task markets extracurricular of San Francisco that are seeing success. Her biggest proposal to divers founders correct now really goes for many founders building successful this climate: disregard nan sound and attraction connected building a bully company.  

“Anything other becomes thing they can’t control, and nan interest isn’t worth it.”