In this episode of Generative Now, Lightspeed partner Michael Mignano sits down with the former Stitch Fix COO and founder of The Yes, Julie Bornstein. They talk about Julie’s latest venture: Daydream, an AI-powered fashion discovery engine built for the LLM era. Julie shares how her decades at Nordstrom, Sephora, and Pinterest shaped her vision, why now is the moment for natural language search in shopping, and how AI will transform fashion.

Episode Chapters: 
00:00 Introduction to the Interview
01:06 Julie Bornstein's New Venture: Daydream
02:44 The Evolution of E-commerce and AI
03:28 From Nordstrom to Daydream
05:35 Technological Innovations in Fashion
12:02 The Yes: Launching During a Pandemic
15:15 Acquisition by Pinterest and Future Plans
17:49 The Vision for Daydream
22:57 Introduction to Style Passport
23:27 Iterative Shopping Experience
24:02 Bringing Brands Together
24:45 Technical Implementation of Models
25:24 Challenges with Large Models
26:12 Building Mini Models for Fashion
27:28 Competition from Large Model Providers
30:25 Video Shopping and Social Media Integration
31:43 The Role of Agents in Shopping
35:20 Future of Shopping Interfaces
37:13 Being a Serial Founder
41:48 Launch and Future Plans
43:09 Conclusion and Farewell

Stay in touch:

• www.lsvp.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/

• Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: generativenow.co

• Email: [email protected]

The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.

This week, Lightspeed Partner Mike Mignano sits down with his colleague Bucky Moore, a fellow partner at Lightspeed to explore the rapidly shifting landscape of AI and infrastructure. They unpack the evolution from hardware to cloud to AI-native architectures, the growing momentum behind open-source models, and the rise of AI agents and reinforcement learning environments. Bucky also shares how his early days at Cisco shaped his bottom-up view of enterprise software, and why embracing the new is the key to spotting trillion-dollar opportunities.

Episode Chapters: 

(00:00) Introduction to the Conversation

(00:38) Bucky Moore's Background and Early Career

(01:39) Insights from Cisco: Old World Meets New World

(03:54) Transition to Venture Capital

(08:15) The Evolution of Infrastructure Investment

(15:50) Impact of AI on Infrastructure

(24:37) Training AI Agents: Challenges and Innovations

(25:07) The Future of Reinforcement Learning Environments

(25:51) Infrastructure for AI Agents

(26:49) Emerging Opportunities in AI Infrastructure

(28:58) The Impact of Salesforce's Data Policies

(33:00) The Evolution of AI Compute

(39:47) The Role of New AI Architectures

(42:47) The Future of Venture Capital in AI

(46:44) Predicting the Next Trillion-Dollar AI Companies

Stay in touch:

• www.lsvp.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/

• Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: generativenow.co

• Email: [email protected]

The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.

This week, Lightspeed Partner Mike Mignano sits down with Moritz Baier-Lentz, Partner and Head of Gaming and Interactive Media at Lightspeed. From the world’s #1 ranked Diablo II player to Goldman Sachs banker to VC, Moritz has lived multiple lives—all shaped by a deep passion for games. In this episode, Moritz joins Michael Mignano to talk about the AI revolution in gaming: how generative tech is transforming studios, gameplay, and player experiences. They dive into what makes games work in 2025 and why the next billion-dollar games may not look like games at all. 

Episode Chapters: 

00:00 Introduction and Guest Overview

01:16 Moritz Bayer's Gaming Journey

02:53 The Economics of Gaming

06:28 Competitive Gaming and Personal Growth

09:32 Marathon Adventures and Life Philosophy

13:16 Venture Capital in Gaming

24:38 AI's Impact on Gaming

29:50 Future of Gaming and AI

39:40 Game Theory Podcast and Final Thoughts

Stay in touch:

• www.lsvp.com

• www.lsvp.com/gametheory 

• X: https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/

• Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: generativenow.com

• Email: [email protected]

The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.

What is the future of AI in the workplace? What kinds of jobs would you trust an AI to do? In this episode of Generative Now, host and Lightspeed Partner Michael Mignano explores how AI is transforming the workforce, with insights from four sharp thinkers: Semil Shah, founding general partner at Haystack and Lightspeed Venture Partners, on the risks of replacing junior talent with agents, Suno Co-founder Mikey Schulman on AI’s power to unlock creativity, Anu Atluru, founder, physician and angel investor, on how AI is reshaping medicine, and Marissa Mayer, former CEO of Yahoo and current CEO of Sunshine, on what companies must do now to adapt—or risk being left behind.

Episode Chapters

00:00 Introduction: AI and the Future of Work
00:20 Exploring AI's Impact on the Workforce
01:14 The Co-Pilot Phase of AI
02:47 AI in Investment Banking and Consulting
06:00 Artificial Super Intelligence: The Next Frontier
09:33 Mikey Shulman on AI's Role in Creativity
11:59 Anu Atluru on AI Transforming Medicine
20:18 Marissa Mayer on AI's Organizational Impact
26:56 Conclusion: Embracing AI's Potential

Stay in touch:

• www.lsvp.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/

• Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: generativenow.co

• Email: [email protected]

The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.

This week, Lightspeed Partner Mike Mignano sits down with Gabriel Stengel, founder and CEO of Rogo, to explore how AI is transforming the world of finance. Gabe shares his journey from sleepless nights as a junior investment banker at Lazard to building Rogo, a cutting-edge AI platform that automates the grueling work of benchmarking, earnings analysis, and pitch deck creation in seconds. They discuss the origins of Rogo from Gabe’s time at Princeton, the challenges of building AI tools for elite financial institutions, and why the next generation of analysts might just be digital. Gabe also unpacks the technical edge that sets Rogo apart and the ways in which financial services may look very different in the near future. 

Episode Chapters: 

(00:00) Introduction to the Interview

(00:55) Gabe Stengel's Background and Rogo's Inception

(02:44) Early Challenges and Evolution of Rogo

(07:29) The Role of AI in Finance

(12:07) Investor and Customer Reception

(13:49) Pivotal Moments and Product Market Fit

(21:53) Balancing Enterprise Security and Feature Development

(23:45) Navigating the Challenges of AI Startup Speed

(25:45) Rogo's Impact on Investment Banking Workflows

(28:34) AI's Role in Professional Services and Legal Work

(32:33) Future of Rogo and Financial Services

(37:18) Challenges and Strategies in Enterprise Sales

(42:02) Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Stay in touch:

• www.lsvp.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/

• Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: generativenow.co

• Email: [email protected]

The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.

This week, we are revisiting a conversation between Lightspeed partner Michael Mignano and Anthropic’s head of product, Mike Krieger. Mike is known for co-founding Instagram, one of the most beloved pieces of consumer technology, and now he has taken his talents to Anthropic. They discuss the challenges AI product builders face and the evolution of product innovation and draw parallels between two transformative eras: the social media revolution that gave birth to Instagram and today's AI renaissance.

Episode Chapters: 

(00:00) Introduction

(00:54) Mike Krieger's Journey to Anthropic

(03:17) Building Product Strategy at Anthropic

(07:43) Rapid Iteration and Safety

(10:58) Differentiating AI Models and User Experience

(17:57) Impact of AI on Consumer Products and Business Models

(24:39) Enterprise vs. Consumer Product Strategy

(29:19) AI in Personal Life Management

(30:15) Open Source and Claude Integrations

(33:09) AI-Assisted Product Development

(37:13) Scaling Teams and Processes at Anthropic

(42:17) Reflections on AI and Future Prospects

Stay in touch:

• www.lsvp.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/

• Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: generativenow.co

• Email: [email protected]

The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.

This week, we are revisiting a conversation between Lightspeed partner Michael Mignano and Arvind Jain, the founder and CEO of Glean about the evolution of AI-assisted enterprise search.

Arvind shares what insights helped to start Glean's journey in 2019, how the company leveraged transformer-based models early on, and how Glean developed the market for this product. They also talk about competition, the technical aspects of integrating Glean across SaaS platforms, and the monumental impact of ChatGPT on the industry.

Episode Chapters

(00:00) Introduction

(01:15) Why Arvind Created Glean to Solve Enterprise Search Problems

(03:50) Technical Foundations: Building Glean with Transformers

(09:04) Product Market Fit and Early Challenges

(12:16) The Impact of ChatGPT and Market Evolution

(13:42) Glean's Architecture and Model Integration

(17:58) The Future of AI in Enterprises

(27:52) Leadership, Competition, and Company Culture

(35:48) Reflections and Lessons from Rubrik to Glean

(41:15) Lightning Round and Closing Remarks

Stay in touch:

• www.lsvp.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/

• Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: generativenow.co

• Email: [email protected]

The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.

How can AI make meetings better? That’s the simple question that inspired Granola, a productivity tool that can tell you what was actually discussed in that meeting last week and what the real next steps are. 

In this episode of Generative Now, host Michael Mignano, partner at Lightspeed, sits down with Granola co-founders Chris Pedregal and Sam Stephenson at their headquarters in London. They talk about how they first met, their early product bets, and how they decided to focus on solving one painful problem: the chaos that follows every meeting. They share the story behind their early experiments with GPT-3 and how that eventually evolved into a tool designed especially for people who find their days filled with back-to-back meetings. 

Chris and Sam explain why they avoided flashy AI features to focus on simplicity and habit-forming design, how they quickly found their product-market fit, and what it means to adapt quickly in the age of LLMs.

Episode Chapters

00:00 Welcome and Introduction

01:15 Finding the Right Co-Founder

01:51 Tools for Thought and AI

03:24 Identifying the Problem

04:38 Building the Solution

05:07 The Evolution of AI and App Layer

07:46 Challenges and Innovations

11:20 Business Model and Future Outlook

14:24 The Launch and Early Success

17:52 Theoretical vs. Practical User Needs

18:17 Stress and Software Design

19:28 Scaling with AI

22:05 Maintaining Quality and Taste

24:10 Building a Silicon Valley Startup in London

28:03 The Future of Granola

30:27 Early Feedback and Iteration

35:09 Privacy and Data Handling

Stay in touch:

• www.lsvp.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/

• Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: generativenow.co

• Email: [email protected]

The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.

Can a pivot to AI actually save a company? In the case of Gamma, it did that and more. In this episode of Generative Now, host Michael Mignano, partner at Lightspeed, talks with Jon Noronha, the co-founder of Gamma, an AI-powered platform that helps users create interactive and engaging presentations, websites, and social media assets. 

Nearly four decades since the creation of PowerPoint, they talk about how Gamma is treading new ground in the presentation space. Jon discusses how Gamma almost failed until they made the bold decision to pivot to AI in 2023, and how that move brought them millions of new users around the world. They get into the company's initial struggle for product-market fit, the impact of generative AI models like ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion, and the strategic moves they made to adapt and thrive. Jon also shares where he thinks Gamma might go next.

Episode Chapters:

(00:00) Welcome and Introduction

(00:41) Founding Gamma and Initial Vision

(04:00) Challenges and Pivot to AI

(07:04) AI Integration and Breakthrough

(08:38) Expanding Beyond Presentations

(15:45) User Experience and Prompt Engineering

(20:11) Building Value Beyond AI

(21:14) Competing with Industry Giants

(25:03) The Future of AI Interfaces

(29:43) Voice Interaction and AI

(34:35) Gamma's Growth and Team Dynamics

(36:47) Anticipating AI Model Innovations

(39:05) Conclusion 

Stay in touch:

• www.lsvp.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/

• Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: generativenow.co

• Email: [email protected]

The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.

Exceptional AI products begin with exceptional teams, but in 2025, AI staffing has never been harder. 

In this episode of Generative Now, Lightspeed partner Michael Mignano dives into the realities of AI recruiting and team building, sharing insights from some of today’s top AI leaders. You’ll hear from:

• Demi Guo, CEO and Co-Founder of Pika

• Mati Staniszewski, CEO and Co-Founder of Eleven Labs

• Bill Dally, Chief Scientist of NVIDIA

• Dan Shipper, CEO and co-founder of Every

• Amy Anton, Vice President of Talent, AI at Lightspeed

Together, they explore what defines a strong AI team, the evolving role of creative talent, how to scale without losing culture, and why generalists may thrive in an AI-powered workforce. The episode also touches on the shift from the knowledge economy to the allocation economy, and what that means for hiring in the AI era.

Whether you're an AI founder, operator, or just thinking about your next hire, this episode unpacks what’s working (and what’s not) in AI HR, staffing, and team design.

Chapters: 

(00:00) What’s Challenging about Hiring AI Teams?

(01:25) Demi Guo and Mati Staniszewski: Creative Talent in AI

(03:36) Dan Shipper: Finding Space to Experiment 

(08:05) Scaling AI Teams: Insights from NVIDIA

(10:52) Building Strong AI Teams: Advice from Lightspeed

(16:48) Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Stay in touch:

• www.lsvp.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/

• Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: generativenow.co

• Email: [email protected]

The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.