Friends of Link Ventures 2021
How AI and the Digital Consumer are Shaping the Future
We were thrilled to host our annual Friends of Link Ventures event recently. Every year feels like its own unique experience and this year was no exception.
When we look back at the context of other years we can see how this gathering has gone from a group of like-minded people getting together to compare strategies for the coming year, to this year’s group of people laser-focused on the topic at hand: the future of the digital consumer and how to solve for specific problems using AI.
The flurry to create successful internet companies is growing at an ever faster pace. As an AI-forward VC, this has always been a focus for us: if there’s any possible way for consumers to interact or transact online, our portfolio companies are already trying to figure out how to improve the experience and create better outcomes. Traditional transactions that used to take hours, days or weeks can now happen from your phone. Want to refinance your car? Buy disability insurance? Improve the accuracy of healthcare payments? These are only a few areas where our portfolio companies can help.
Thanks to our data resources and agility, we’re invariably at the forefront of consumer internet technology and trends. Our events help us focus on what’s timely.
Among the speakers were many of our CEOs and founders, who shared a lot about the ways they’re leveraging data to optimize their companies. We were able to witness first-hand the role that Link is privileged to play in their growth. We also got a lot of reinforcement that companies that improve data sets, transactions and lives are our sweet spot.
Our keynote speakers enlightened and informed us about how AI got its start, how a payment solution helped 40,000 restaurants through a pandemic and how to motivate gamers…
- Steve Papa, serial entrepreneur and first backer of Toast, opened the program at our welcome dinner and regaled us with the sometimes comical details of carefully nurturing a restaurant payments startup through COVID
- Daniela Rus, CSAIL, offered an enlightening talk about finding and encouraging the next generation of tech talent
- Bing Gordon, former Amazon, on the motivations of gamers, aligning your voice to your customer in a way that matches their own internal voice and using AI to discover what’s next in gaming
Speaker highlights from our Link Ventures portfolio CEOs and founders included:
- Kevin Bennett, Caribou CEO on transforming people’s financial relationships with their cars by using large data sets to make static experiences more dynamic
- Jose Vargas, Healthcare.com Co-founder on applying AI to fuel great customer service and support in an industry not usually known for good experiences, with the ultimate goal of making society healthy
- Rohit Mittal, Stilt CEO on using AI and machine learning to build financial services to benefit immigrants from the first moment they arrive in the U.S. — a one-trillion-dollar market in the U.S.
- Jordan Staab, SmarterTravel CEO on the importance of developing trusted relationships with consumers in order to better serve them
- Colin Nabity, Breeze CEO on the where it started versus where we are now of buying disability insurance
- Cody Barbo, Trust & Will CEO on elder millennials — many of whom are just realizing the need for a will
- Yadin Shemmer, Intrinsic CEO on harnessing the power of online conversation to replace traditional market research for health and wellness brands
- Michael Blundin, Vestmark CEO on the increasing role of AI in the fintech supply chain
- Paul Vosters, Anomaly CEO on the real need for corrections in the healthcare payment system industry
- Patrick Boyaggi, OwnUp CEO on the benefits of using AI to ensure that no borrower overpays for their mortgage
- Scott Painter, NXCR CEO on how to use AI to solve a very particular problem — in this case, how to shop for/insure/maintain a vehicle right from your phone
- David Ronick, Minded CEO on the ways that subscriptions can make a difference for 60 million Americans who take meds for mental health
- Itzik Cohen, Payzen CEO on solving the dilemma of healthcare access by addressing the affordability problem
We also heard from a formidable lineup of industry experts who spoke to the increasing role that AI is playing in their respective businesses. Data-driven decision-making is making a difference in industries across the board, from medicine to buying small businesses to scaling solopreneurs…
- Carlos Cashman, Thrasio CEO on the convergence of ecommerce and social, and the solopreneurship creation machine enabled by marketplaces like Amazon
- Sandra Campos, Project Verte CEO on the new paradigm of what innovation looks like at retail, and how AI can help reduce costs, target customers and simplify resources
- John Sharp, Harvard Medical School on the transformational moment in psychiatry that is at hand: using AI and enhanced individually-curated therapeutic experiences to target depression
AI is also proving its worth by making existing business technology even better…
- Norman de Greve, CVS health on the importance of AI at the intersection of retail and healthcare
- Jessica Knopp-Gwynn, former GM, Chewy on the importance of engaging customers to operate on your behalf within their social networks to drive transactions
- Sameena Shah, JP Morgan analyst on the creation of Reuters News Tracer and the importance of neutral AI in breaking news
- Richard Kane, Verijet CEO on the wisdom of using light jets to save operations costs, reduce carbon footprints and make travel joyful
- Neil Hunt, former Netflix on subscription models, user behavior and the importance of retention
- Davinder Pal Singh, Live Commerce CEO on the growing need for social commerce tools and the bridge between entertainment and commerce
…as well as queueing up solutions for issues that are just starting to arise…
- Nikhil Bhojwani, Managing Partner, Recon Strategy on using AI put an end to the practice of medicine being an information problem
- Valerie Mosley, Valmo Ventures CEO on compassionate capital; the importance of offering financial education and wellness as a corporate benefit
- Jim Atwood, First Republic Managing Director on programs that give the next generation a solid foundation in philanthropy
- Robin Chase, former Zipcar, Buzzcar on the second-order effects of a car-first transportation policy and the need for multimodal transport
- Barbara Waxman, Odyssey Group Coaching founder on the roles that AI will play in the shift in focus from aging to longevity
We want to thank everyone who joined us and helped the group at large become a little smarter about the solutions that data enables and the process of leveraging AI. It’s so important to keep looking at the ways that business is conducted, the ways that consumers find and obtain what they need. Startups that find their particular niche can be drivers of social good, and with the right resources and in the right market opportunity, we believe they can be world-changing.
