Cold calls sometimes work!
Just after the launch of @OpenAI ‘s ChatGPT , I sat down with @edwardjhu , an ex @Microsoft researcher who had joined @openai.
The two of us (this was 3.5 years ago!) made a list of “5 things that would emerge off the AI wave” That might become areas to build and invest in”.
Among them was an “AI companion that really understood your needs” to help make decisions.
Months later, I received a cold call note from Neuroscientist Dr @iamjennyshao
with an idea to build something in this segment. Despite not having a coder : tech background; it looked to me like she might have an edge in understanding the use case and science behind “AI Understanding”.
I put her through hoops.
Opened doors and put her through hoops; I asked her to pitch to friends with high bars for recognizing talent and grit. Among them was @larsras , creator of Google Maps , and through @edwardjhu ‘s network @ChrSzegedy a renowned AI scientist. Not an easy gauntlet.
But she made it through and we jointly seeded her to build a team. Through some iterations and innovations in “AI Memory” she’s off and running with Robyn ( @meetrobyn ) !! Check it out!
Just after the launch of @OpenAI ‘s ChatGPT , I sat down with @edwardjhu , an ex @Microsoft researcher who had joined @openai.
The two of us (this was 3.5 years ago!) made a list of “5 things that would emerge off the AI wave” That might become areas to build and invest in”.
Among them was an “AI companion that really understood your needs” to help make decisions.
Months later, I received a cold call note from Neuroscientist Dr @iamjennyshao
with an idea to build something in this segment. Despite not having a coder : tech background; it looked to me like she might have an edge in understanding the use case and science behind “AI Understanding”.
I put her through hoops.
Opened doors and put her through hoops; I asked her to pitch to friends with high bars for recognizing talent and grit. Among them was @larsras , creator of Google Maps , and through @edwardjhu ‘s network @ChrSzegedy a renowned AI scientist. Not an easy gauntlet.
But she made it through and we jointly seeded her to build a team. Through some iterations and innovations in “AI Memory” she’s off and running with Robyn ( @meetrobyn ) !! Check it out!
she left @harvard surgery to build AI. she was told silicon valley would never accept her, that she would die under a bridge.
so she cold-messaged @KiteVC on linkedin because he backed canva early. he replied the next day and sent her to @SanghaCapital. one 90-minute call later, they were her first investors.
@larsras, co-founder of google maps, came in next. @amandaterry of @ACTAIVentures backed her at pre-seed. then @M13Company and @latifperacha led a $5M seed, with xAI co-founder @ChrSzegedy.
@heyrobynai just launched and ran out of invites on day one.
now her dad thinks they'll IPO in three years.
@iamjennyshao on nontechnical, episode 5.
00:00 she left her harvard surgical residency for a startup
00:46 "leave what? leave surgery? leave harvard?"
01:14 "you're gonna die under a bridge"
03:18 how do you walk away from yourself
05:03 now her dad thinks they'll IPO in three years
06:10 why melanie perkins and canva
07:02 the cold linkedin message to bill tai
07:49 one 90-minute call, then the round
08:32 why people are scared of AI
13:13 "decide who owns the complexity"
16:19 everyone gets their own jarvis
17:37 what if AI takes every job?
19:06 robyn, as in robin to your batman
19:52 "help my dog live longer"
28:45 "as a founder, no one's dying"
30:37 530 builds in one year
32:37 three kinds of surgeons
36:52 why AI forgets everything about you
37:30 three years with nobel laureate eric kandel
40:45 "it's like 50 first dates"
44:11 can AI just order my pizza?
45:19 would you give AI your credit card?
47:59 "jenny, I just need more tokens"
49:50 brian chesky lived with his users. she texts hers.View quoted post on X
