#230 | AI for Security Services, & more
May 4th | The latest from Felicis, Dawn, Bain Capital, F-Prime, Madrona, and others
SandHill.io aggregates and shares the latest investment themes, market insights, and best practices for operating and investing from 700+ VCs, analysts, and operators.
This newsletter curates a selection of posts featured on the website each week.
Investment Themes & Theses
AI is here to transform security services (Dan Bartus, Jake Storm, & Nancy Wang, Felicis)
Vibe-coding and the future of software agencies (Dawn Capital Team)
Industry Developments & Analyses
Tariffs, Tech Cycles, and a New Economic Reality (Evan O'Donnell, GP @ Timespan)
A Primer on Digital Advertising (Eric Flaningam, VC @ Felicis)
Agentic Payments Deep Dive (Abdul Abdirahman, Principal @ F-Prime)
Made in America: The Price Tag of Patriotism (Jeff Morris Jr, GP @ Chapter One)
From Hustle to High Gear: How AI is Unlocking Scale for SMBs (Meera Clark, Partner @ Redpoint)
The Top 50 AI Startups in Real Estate (Nima Wedlake, VC @ Thomvest)
Cybersecurity's Role in Defending Critical Infrastructure (Anson MacKinney, VC @ Energize)
The State of Startup Media (Kyle Harrison, GP @ Contrary)
Guides, Case Studies, and Best Practices for Operating
Winning the Wedge: The Flywheels for Durable AI-Native Companies (Matt McIlwain, MD @ Madrona)
How to price AI: The cheat sheet for B2B founders (Peter Giordano, Scale)
The Advisor Trap: Stop Paying for Name-Dropping Rights (Brian Sugar, GP @ Sugar Capital)
Mastering the Human Side of Engineering: Lessons from Apple, Palantir and Slack (First Round Review)
Additional Reads
What’s Old Is New: AI Apps Go Back to the Future (Ajay Agarwal, Partner @ BCV)
Swiss Cheese & Vertical Software (Euclid Ventures)
There are only two stages (Yoni Rechtman, Principal @ Slow)
ARR or ERR? (Geoff Donaker, GP @ Burst Capital)
Intelligence per Watt (Eric Koziol, Partner at HalfCourt Ventures)
These Aren’t Your Grandma’s Incumbents (Saanya Ojha, Partner @ BCV)
How to Crack the IC (Investment Committee) (Dhruv Sane, VC @ Malpani Ventures)
Models move fast. Moats compound. (Parul Singh, Board Partner @ Initialized)
Searching for Product-Market Fit. (Jamesin Seidel, VC @ Chapter One)
Notes:
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