The Feedback Loop

Yet Another AI Voice Agent?


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1 startup founder has 60 seconds to pitch to 2 venture investors!


And today, we've got a startup founder who has been in real estate for most of his career tackling an age-old problem in for brokers in his industry: wasted leads.


It's Episode 071 of The Feedback Loop, and it's Gregory Maro pitching QalifAI!


Gregory is building an AI agent trained on years of high-performing sales calls, capable of texting, calling, following up, and updating CRM notes just like a top-notch ISA (inbound sales agent).


But is it enough to stand out when LLM-powered solutions are flooding the market? Venture capitalists hear a new AI startup pitch every 7.9 seconds (it's a fact, don't look it up though). Can Gregory tell a story about a data advantage that can hold up versus the rest of the market?


But what does it take to make an AI company truly venture‑scale?


As our panelists note, many founders are pitching GPT‑powered solutions – and investors are tired of “just another chatbot.” Gregory’s challenge is to prove a lasting competitive edge: is it the domain expertise and data, the deeper workflow integrations, or a broader vision that extends well beyond real estate?


More on our guest investor for the episode:

​Ihar Mahaniok is Managing Partner at Geek Ventures, which he founded in 2021 to support immigrant entrepreneurs building at the pre-seed and seed stage. He’s made more than 200+ investments over the past decade, and has invested early in companies like Instacart, People.ai, Chainalysis, PandaDoc, and Airbyte, to name a few.


Follow Ihar

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahaniok

X (Twitter): https://x.com/mahaniok


Follow our host, Sherveen:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherveenm

X (Twitter): https://www.x.com/sherveen


We dive into...

Training Data & Proprietary Advantage: Gregory emphasizes his mountain of real estate sales calls and messages. But will GPT’s rapid evolution make specialized datasets obsolete? Investors weigh how to build a moat in a sector evolving at breakneck speed.


AI Wrappers vs. Full Workflows: Embedding an AI agent into the full sales lifecycle might create more stickiness than a point‑solution. Is Gregory’s bigger opportunity a platform that integrates deeply with CRMs, analytics, and post‑sale follow‑up?


Venture Capital Realities: When is raising VC essential, and when might it be an overreach? Our panel tackles how founders should differentiate a potential “cash flow” business from a truly venture‑scale opportunity – especially in a market buzzing with AI hype.


Real Estate’s Scaling Potential: Gregory sees a roadmap through rentals, commercial real estate, and ancillary services like mortgage and insurance. Is that enough to entice investors searching for billion‑dollar outcomes, or should he focus on conquering one niche first?


Gregory Maro, co-founder of QalifAI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregory-maro


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The Feedback LoopBy Sherveen Mashayekhi