In this episode of Verticals, Luke and Nic sit down with Dave Pandullo and Scott Hoch, General Partners at Frontier Growth and founders of AQL Growth, to unpack where defensibility, and returns, are really coming from in vertical SaaS.

The conversation centres on why being a system of record is no longer enough, and how the next wave of value is being created by systems of action, platforms that don’t just store data, but drive decisions, workflows, and execution.

Dave and Scott share how they think about:

They also go inside how they’re using AI internally to rethink sourcing, diligence, and decision-making, including building an internal system that encodes investment judgment at scale.

If you’re a founder, operator, or investor building in vertical SaaS or vertical AI, this episode breaks down what’s changing, what still matters, and where the next layer of value is being created.