The firm also discussed the challenges of competing for talent in the current market, with tech giants like Google and Meta offering lucrative packages. They believe that starting with an A or A+ team is crucial, as the best people want to work with the best. Faga, who has a marketing background, also highlighted the differences in go-to-market strategies for AI companies versus traditional enterprise companies, emphasizing the importance of speed of iteration and community building.
Key takeaways:
- Felicis, a 16-year-old Bay Area-based venture firm, is known for its strong track record and global investment strategy, with early bets on companies like Notion, Canva, Adyen, Cruise, Flexport, and Shopify.
- The firm's founder, Aydin Senkut, and partner Viviana Faga, shared insights on the AI companies they are meeting and sometimes competing aggressively to land as portfolio companies, including app development company Supabase and content creation company Runway AI.
- Senkut emphasized the importance of being in the right AI companies rather than every AI company, and the need for startups to pick their market carefully, especially when competing against incumbents with strong distribution.
- Faga highlighted the brutal war for talent in the AI sector, the importance of a strong go-to-market strategy, and how marketing in the AI era is different from traditional enterprise companies, with a focus on speed of iteration and community building.