#236 | Systems of Consolidation, Modernizing Governments, & more
June 15th | The latest from Altimeter, Felicis, Pathlight, Slow, Scale, Felicis, Greylock, 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
2025 RFS: Modernizing the Machinery of State & Local Government (Pathlight)
Next-Gen Pentesting: AI Empowers the Good Guys (Malika Aubakirova, VC @ A16Z)
The Rise of Systems of Consolidation Applications (Selina Wang, VC @ Altimeter)
Six Themes for 2025 (Yoni Rechtman, Principal @ Slow)
Industry Developments & Analyses
What “Working” Means in the Era of AI Apps (Olivia Moore & Marc Andrusko, A16Z)
MCP is the new WWW (Javier Redondo, VC @ Scale)
Media 2025: AI, Agency and the Erosion of the Link Economy (Jarrod Dicker, Partner @ TCG)
Music and tech innovations have a love-hate relationship (Apoorv Agrawal, Partner @ Altimeter)
The Rise of AI-Native User Research (Sophia Luo, VC @ Greylock)
AI in Clinical Trials: Why Investors Are Watching This Space Closely (Amit Kini, VC @ Lotus Capital)
Vertical AI & the Productivity Paradox (Euclid Ventures)
Voice AI in a Box: The Future Is Talking Back (Astasia Myers, GP @ Felicis)
Guides, Case Studies, and Best Practices for Operating
Is All Micromanagement Bad? Here's How the Best Startup Leaders Balance Details and Delegation (First Round)
A Quick Start Guide for Sales Teams (Geoff Donaker, GP @ Burst Capital)
How to Build a Product-Led Growth Motion at a Sales-Led Company (Kevin Hamilton, Tidemark)
The Art of Mentorship in Seed Investing (Brian Sugar, GP @ Sugar Capital)
Maximizing GTM Efficiency with AI—Without Losing Control (Ellen LoBiondo, Director @ Bowery)
Should You Create a New Category? (Liz Christo, Partner @ Stage 2)
Additional Reads
Unlocking Unicorns: What Stanford Research Reveals About VC Portfolio Strategy (Riley Rodgers, Partner @ Valia)
In Consumer AI, Momentum Is the Moat (Bryan Kim, VC @ A16Z)
Why Venture Math is Different for Family Offices (Vickram Pradhan, VC @ Sopris)
Nothing Was The Same (Jamesin Seidel, VC @ Chapter One)
What Is An AI-Native Company? (Akash Bajwa, Principal @ Earlybird)
Patterns Across 5 Years of YC Investing (Tomasz Tunguz, MD @ Theory)
Very Bad Advice (Morgan Housel, Partner @ Collaborative Fund)
The AI companies that will survive the burn (Parul Singh, Board Partner @ Initialized)
The Burden of Proof (Kyle Harrison, GP @ Contrary)
Notes:
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