Episode 435 of The VentureFizz Podcast features Kojo Osei, Partner at Matrix.

The venture capital industry originated back in 1946 in the Boston area, when The American Research and Development Corporation was founded by MIT president Karl Compton and Harvard professor Georges Doriot.

From that point, an industry was born, and firms were created, but very few have had the lasting impact and track record as Matrix, one of the OG firms that helped institutionalize this industry.

The firm has a tremendous track record through the years making investments in legendary companies like Apple and FedEx… plus category creators like HubSpot, Zendesk, and Oculus… or current investments like Canva, Suno, GOAT, and Flock Safety.

Matrix is investing out of its 12th fund, an $800M fund for seed and Series A investments, and the firm continues to have a strong presence on both coasts.

Kojo is a Stanford grad, who was the Head of Product at Sirona Medical, the AI operating system for radiologists, before becoming a VC. Now based in NYC, Kojo has been an investor with Matrix for over five years. Some areas of interest these days for investments include agent-driven commerce, how the software infrastructure is getting rebuilt for agents, and model application integrated companies. His investments include companies like Channel3, BoldVoice, Ampersand, and LM Studios.

Chapters:

00:00 Introducing Kojo Osei, Partner at Matrix

03:24 What is Agent Driven Commerce

09:45 Koji's background & Early Career

13:20 Joining Matrix as a VC

14:37 Advice for Aspiring Venture Capitalists

17:05 The First Year in Venture Capital

20:26 Details about Matrix's

25:01 Investment Areas of Interest for Kojo

27:48 The Art of the Cold Email to a VC

34:17 Exploring the 'Why Now' Philosophy

37:59 AI: Current State and Predictions

42:06 Common Mistakes Founders Make

44:23 GTM for Developer Products

48:11 Leveraging AI in Daily Workflow

49:23 Kojo's Recommendation & Personal Interests

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