Venture with Grace

Shawn Razek is the Co-Founder and CEO of Matterhaul.~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers.AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~Where he leads the development of AI agents that automate distribution and manufacturing workflows. Matterhaul’s platform empowers teams to streamline complex processes, reduce friction, and accelerate operations without requiring new software systems. Prior to Matterhaul, Shawn co-founded Xoba, a B2B SaaS startup focused on workplace information discovery, growing the product from 0→1 with paying customers within six months and successfully exiting in 2023. He also served as Product Lead and Product Manager at Stripe, Verkada, and Cisco Meraki, driving full-stack product strategy, cloud platform development, and SaaS licensing models that scaled to millions of users and $30M+ in revenue gains. Shawn blends technical product expertise with startup leadership, helping teams design scalable solutions, launch products globally, and optimize operational efficiency.Topics

• How Matterhaul's AI agents cut distributor costs by automating procurement chaos
• Scaling Stripe Terminal and Verkada sensors through enterprise GTM motions
• Building Xoba from zero to exit while PM-ing at Verkada full-time

#AI #SupplyChain #Matterhaul #StartupLeadership #B2BTech

Dr. Chenxi Wang is Founder and Managing General Partner of Rain Capital~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers.AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~A cybersecurity thought leader, investor, and board director, backing early-stage security startups including Claroty, ProjectDiscovery, Ox Security, and JupiterOne. Chenxi has held senior strategy roles at Intel Security and served as Chief Strategy Officer at Palo Alto Networks (Twistlock). She currently serves on boards including MDU Resources Group, advises Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science, and founded the Forte Group to advance women in cybersecurity.Topics:

• ​​Evaluating cybersecurity startups: signals that predict enterprise adoption
• Why cybersecurity VC thrives amid market chaos with unbreakable enterprise demand
• Designing AI & ML security products for reliability and market fit

#VentureCapital #VC #Cybersecurity #AI #WomenInTech

Belsasar (Bel) Lepe is Co-Founder and CEO of Cerby~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers.AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~Where he drives identity security innovation by extending SSO and lifecycle management to nonstandard apps, eliminating password managers and enabling passwordless auth for 100+ global customers with 10x growth post-$40M Series B in 2025. Previously Head of Product at Impira, he led product lifecycle, support, and marketing to deliver 4x revenue growth while pivoting from DAM strategy; before that, as Co-Founder/CTO at Ooyala, he oversaw global tech/product strategy, led 300+ teams across 5 countries managing $70M+ revenue lines in 170+ countries, integrated acquisitions, and achieved $440M+ exits including Telstra's $420M buyout. Starting as a Google Software Engineer on enterprise collaboration and Stanford CS alum, Lepe transitioned from engineering to founder/operator roles, advising Yalo/Impira and investing in LatAm startups.Topics

• How Cerby extends identity security to shadow IT apps without manual offboarding or password sprawl
• Growing Ooyala to $420M Telstra exit during late-stage scaling at $440M+ total valuation
• How workforce identity platforms are becoming the central control layer for enterprise applications.

#Cybersecurity #IdentitySecurity #EnterpriseSaaS #Founders #StartupLeadership

Nicole LeBlanc is a Partner at Woven Capital, based in Tokyo, where she invests in climate technology and mobility transformation across Europe and North America, with a thesis focused on sustainability, urban innovation, and the industrial transition toward a decarbonized economy. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers.AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~She leads investments in companies such as Corvus Energy, Eleven Labs, Intuition Robotics, and WeaveGrid, and serves on multiple boards supporting the scale-up of next-generation energy and mobility infrastructure. Prior to Woven Capital, she held leadership roles at 2150, Sidewalk Labs (Alphabet’s urban innovation initiative), and BDC Capital, where she built deep expertise in early-stage investing, corporate venture strategy, and portfolio development. Nicole is also a founder and investor in sandpiper.vc, a women-led venture fund, and holds a CPA designation, bringing a disciplined financial lens to her climate-focused investment work.Topics

• How Woven Capital accelerates climate mobility without fragmented supply chains
• Scaling Sidewalk Labs urban innovation through Alphabet ecosystem partnerships
• Decarbonization readiness with Toyota infrastructure at Partner portfolio scale

#UrbanInnovation #Hypergrowth #Partner #RenewableEnergy #DeepTech

John Forbes is General Manager of Deep Checks, the world's largest deep tech founder-investor matching platform facilitating $10s of millions and 1000s of meetings—and Principal at Julian Capital writing $750K first checks for deep tech founders (chips, robotics, energy, medtech).~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers.AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~Prior to venture, John operated across sales, product, and early-stage growth, helping companies reach product-market fit. Through Deep Checks, he has built one of the largest deeptech deal flow networks, enabling thousands of founder–investor connections and accelerating capital formation in highly technical markets.Topics

• How Deep Checks matches deep tech founders without scattered investor outreach
• Scaling Julian Capital $750K first checks through proprietary deal flow advantage
• Proving market pull in deeptech through switching costs and sales signals

#DeepTech #VentureCapital #Startups #Fundraising #SeedStage

Shamin Walsh is a Managing Director at BAM Ventures and a longtime angel investor with over 17 years of experience backing breakout consumer companies like Sweetgreen, Flexport, and Sir Kensington’s. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers.AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~With a background spanning venture investing, operations, and law, she brings a full-stack perspective to early-stage consumer businesses—combining insight into supply chain infrastructure, manufacturing, and brand building. Previously a partner at an early-stage firm with deep exposure to logistics and fulfillment, she has managed portfolios, served on boards, and helped shape fund strategy, drawing on her foundation as a transactional attorney.Topics

• How BAM Ventures scales consumer startups without supply chain bottlenecks
• Growing portfolio companies through 3PL manufacturing operational support
• Consumer readiness with legal-operational diligence at MD portfolio scale

#ConsumerVC #Investing #Brands #SupplyChain #EarlyStage

Pedro Paulino is Founder and CEO of Tavrn.~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers.AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~Delivering AI-powered medical record retrieval, chronologies, and demand letters streamlining legal/insurance workflows—after Product Manager at PearPop and Kalshi (regulated prediction market); Harvard University alumnus with product expertise scaling complex user acquisition and data workflows across social commerce and fintech.Topics

• How Tavrn automates PI case prep from records to demands without manual paralegal workflows
• Scaling Tavrn Series A $15M through 45-state adoption at contingency fee firms
• Replacing manual workflows with AI-native legal automation at $3B VC market scale

#LegalTech #Tavrn #MedTech #LegalAI #Startups #Product

Alysaa Co is an early-stage investor backing world-class founders building the next generation of healthcare and AI products. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers.AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~She focuses on partnering at the earliest stages with teams creating category-defining, best-in-class solutions, and plays a key role in leading healthcare investments across companies like Tandem, Silna, Charta, Loyal, Simile, and MagicSchool. Before venture, Alysaa built and scaled a multi-million-dollar consumer food business during her college years—an experience that shaped her perspective on founder grit and execution. She also writes Cracking the Codes, a Substack exploring themes like scaling student-led businesses and navigating the evolving AI landscape in healthcare.Topic

• How BCV backs fintech category leaders without crowded seed competition

• Healthcare tech readiness with Charta Health partnerships at Partner scale

Growing multi-million college business during student entrepreneurship phase - AI landscape in healthcare#FintechVC #HealthcareTech #Startups #VC #EnterpriseSaaS

Sandhya Venkatachalam is the Founder of Axiom Partners, an early-stage venture firm backing AI-native, category-defining startups before they become obvious. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers.AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~A former Partner at Khosla Ventures, she has invested in companies like Groq, Fireflies.ai, Forethought, and Helm.ai, and raised a $52M debut fund to double down on high-conviction, non-consensus bets. Known for her contrarian approach, Sandhya focuses on founders with unique visions of how AI will reshape industries—combining deep technical insight with a willingness to move early, often ahead of market consensus.Topics

• How Axiom Partners finds category-defining AI without crowded infrastructure/application consensus
• Scaling Groq inference leadership through earliest Khosla Ventures infrastructure conviction
• Growing Fireflies.ai board tenure during enterprise meeting intelligence expansion

#AIVC #Startups #VC #EarlyStage #CapacityCrunch #Hypergrowth

Iren Reznikov is a Partner at Vintage Investment Partners~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers.AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~Specializing in enterprise infrastructure and cybersecurity. She previously led Corporate Development and Venture Investments at SentinelOne, managing its $100M venture arm across Israel and EMEA, and held investment roles at Cisco and YL Ventures. Her portfolio includes category-defining companies like Medigate, Axonius, Vulcan Cyber, and Guardz. Recognized by Fortune and Forbes Israel, Iren brings deep expertise in identifying and scaling high-impact startups across cybersecurity, AI, and enterprise software.Topics

• How Vintage accelerates cyber/AI startups without fragmented LP-GP alignment
• Scaling SentinelOne $100M venture arm through Israel EMEA infrastructure bets
• Enterprise cyber readiness with M&A expertise at Vintage $4B portfolio scale

#CyberVC #Startups #VC #Cybersecurity #EnterpriseAI #HypergrowthHow this was made