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Why startups should ‘be more concerned’ about competition in VCs’ portfolios l Best of Build Mode

This week on Build Mode, we’re diving back into the archives for a special best-of episode all about venture capital. Host Isabelle Johannesen and producer Maggie Nye revisit conversations from past seasons to give founders a glimpse behind the VC curtain and a better understanding of what investors are really looking for. From choosing the…

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This week on Build Mode, we’re diving back into the archives for a special best-of episode all about venture capital. Host Isabelle Johannesen and producer Maggie Nye revisit conversations from past seasons to give founders a glimpse behind the VC curtain and a better understanding of what investors are really looking for.

From choosing the right investors to building a differentiated go-to-market strategy, these venture capitalists and founder-turned-investors share hard-earned lessons on fundraising, portfolio dynamics, investor-founder relationships, and what separates the companies that successfully raise their next round from those that don’t.

In this episode, you’ll hear from:
⁠Yuri Sagalov, managing director at General Catalyst⁠
⁠Ross Fubini, managing partner at XYZ Venture Capital⁠ and Leslie Feinzaig, founder and general partner at Graham & Walker⁠
⁠Paul Irving, partner at GTMfund⁠
⁠Leah Solivan, founder of TaskRabbit and founder of Precedent VC⁠

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:19 Yuri Sagalov (General Catalyst): The three types of investors and who founders should avoid
03:29 Ross Fubini (XYZ VC) & Leslie Feinzaig (Graham & Walker): What great investors actually bring to the table
08:36 Paul Irving (GTMfund): The go-to-market signals investors look for
12:30 Leah Solivan (TaskRabbit / Precedent VC): Understanding the competition inside your investors’ portfolios
14:30 Outro

Subscribe to Build Mode on⁠ ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠,⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠⁠, or⁠ ⁠wherever you like to listen⁠⁠. And watch the full videos on⁠ ⁠YouTube⁠⁠. New episodes of⁠ ⁠Build Mode⁠⁠ drop every Thursday. Hosted by Isabelle Johannessen. Produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience development led by Morgan Little. Special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.

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1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. @stepheninscoe1707

    June 19, 2026 at 2:26 am

    Not complicated. The VC model is a form of gambling, like the horse races. The VCs read form (what have you done up to this point). They look at the ground conditions (market and competition), they look at the potential prize (size of market, exit valuations and number of exits/odds). Then they decide how much money to place on that bet, if anything. One difference is that for some bets they also need to guess the probability of other gamblers join the bet later on and probably on worse odds (valuation). The VCs want their horse to win, but the reality is they are meeting on several horses in several races and only need some of them to win. They are not all in on one horse.

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CNET

Google DeepMind Demos Gemini Robotics 2 Doing Household Chores, and We Can’t Wait for the Future!

Google DeepMind released a series of videos demonstrating Gemini Robotics 2 utilizing the Apptronik Apollo 2 Humanoid Robot working alongside the Franka F3 Duo Dual-Arm System robot, and it looks like I won’t be doing too many household chores in the near future. You can read more about Google DeepMind on CNET.com Google DeepMind Will…

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July 30, 2026

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Google DeepMind released a series of videos demonstrating Gemini Robotics 2 utilizing the Apptronik Apollo 2 Humanoid Robot working alongside the Franka F3 Duo Dual-Arm System robot, and it looks like I won’t be doing too many household chores in the near future.

You can read more about Google DeepMind on CNET.com
Google DeepMind Will Train AI Models on the MMORPG Eve Online

0:00 Apollo Intro
0:07 Apollo putting away items in specific places
0:56 Gemini Robotics 2 Multi-Robot Collaboration
1:07 Duo’s Dual-Arm System putting away tools
2:04 Apollo’s Intelligent Whole Body Control
3:34 Apollo’s Advanced Dexterity

Video Credits
Producer/Editor: Stephen Beacham
Source:

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#google #ai #googledeepmind #robot #robotics #machinelearning

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Science & Technology

Why SeatGeek walked away from going public with Jack Groetzinger

SeatGeek didn’t become one of the biggest names in ticketing by following the playbook. It started as a simple ticket search engine on the TechCrunch 50 stage () (now known as TechCrunch Battlefield) and took on the industry’s massive incumbents by expanding its vision, surviving industry-defining challenges, and convincing investors that even a monopoly could…

Published

18 hours ago

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July 30, 2026

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SeatGeek didn’t become one of the biggest names in ticketing by following the playbook. It started as a simple ticket search engine on the TechCrunch 50 stage () (now known as TechCrunch Battlefield) and took on the industry’s massive incumbents by expanding its vision, surviving industry-defining challenges, and convincing investors that even a monopoly could be disrupted.

In this episode of Build Mode () , host and Startup Battlefield lead Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Jack Groetzinger, co-founder and CEO of SeatGeek, to unpack the company’s 17-year journey from startup to industry leader. Jack shares how SeatGeek raised nearly $400 million in venture capital, why he believes founders should think about expanding rather than pivoting, what it was like fundraising during the COVID-19 shutdown of live events, and why the company ultimately walked away from its planned SPAC. () He also explains how founders can convince investors to back them against an entrenched incumbent, why your first hires define your company’s future, and how AI is reshaping the future of live entertainment and ticketing.

They get into:

•

Why SeatGeek chose to compete with Ticketmaster and how investors evaluated that opportunity

•

How SeatGeek survived COVID and closed its hardest fundraising round during the pandemic

•

Why passionate customers can become your best fundraising asset

•

The hiring mistakes Jack wishes he could undo and why your first employees shape company culture

•

How AI is transforming ticketing, live entertainment, and the fan experience

•

Jack Groetzinger’s advice for founders building companies that challenge established incumbents

Subscribe to Build Mode on⁠ () Apple Podcasts⁠ () , ⁠Spotify⁠ () , or⁠ () wherever you like to listen⁠ () . And watch the full videos on⁠ () YouTube⁠ () . New episodes of ⁠Build Mode⁠ () drop every Thursday. 

Chapters:

•

00:00 – Intro: How Startups Enter Nvidia’s Orbit

•

01:20 – Meet Sydney Sykes: From NEA to Lightspeed to Nvidia

•

03:18 – What Sydney Does as Nvidia’s VC Alliances Lead

•

04:20 – The AI Trends Nvidia Is Watching Across Verticals

•

07:47 – How Startups Can Enter the Nvidia Orbit

•

10:34 – What Nvidia’s “Stamp of Approval” Actually Looks Like

•

12:56 – How Startups Get Noticed by Corporates (Beyond Nvidia)

•

15:18 – Does a Corporate Stamp Move VCs to Write Checks?

•

19:41 – Access, Black VC, and Gatekeeping in Venture Capital

•

30:20 – Procurement vs. Corporate VC vs. Traditional VC, Explained

•

38:28 – Final Advice for Founders Chasing Corporate Partnerships

Hosted by Isabelle Johannessen. Produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience development led by Morgan Little. Special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams. 

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Science & Technology

SeatGeek Beat the Odds: Raising $400M, Surviving COVID & Competing with Ticketmaster l Build Mode

SeatGeek didn’t become one of the biggest names in ticketing by following the playbook. It started as a simple ticket search engine on the TechCrunch 50 stage (now known as TechCrunch Battlefield) and took on the industry’s massive incumbents by expanding its vision, surviving industry-defining challenges, and convincing investors that even a monopoly could be…

Published

18 hours ago

on

July 30, 2026

By

SeatGeek didn’t become one of the biggest names in ticketing by following the playbook. It started as a simple ticket search engine on the TechCrunch 50 stage (now known as TechCrunch Battlefield) and took on the industry’s massive incumbents by expanding its vision, surviving industry-defining challenges, and convincing investors that even a monopoly could be disrupted.

In this episode of Build Mode, host and Startup Battlefield lead Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Jack Groetzinger, co-founder and CEO of SeatGeek, to unpack the company’s 17-year journey from startup to industry leader. Jack shares how SeatGeek raised nearly $400 million in venture capital, why he believes founders should think about expanding rather than pivoting, what it was like fundraising during the COVID-19 shutdown of live events, and why the company ultimately walked away from its planned SPAC. He also explains how founders can convince investors to back them against an entrenched incumbent, why your first hires define your company’s future, and how AI is reshaping the future of live entertainment and ticketing.

Chapters:
00:00 – Intro: How SeatGeek Took on Ticketmaster
01:09 – From Startup Battlefield to Building SeatGeek
04:03 – Finding Product-Market Fit in a Broken Ticketing Industry
05:54 – Why SeatGeek Expanded Instead of Pivoting
07:14 – Raising Nearly $400M and Surviving the Hardest Fundraise During COVID
10:46 – Why SeatGeek Walked Away from Its SPAC IPO
13:57 – How to Raise Money Against a Monopoly Like Ticketmaster
17:02 – The Hiring Mistakes That Nearly Hurt SeatGeek’s Culture
19:08 – How AI Will Transform Live Entertainment and Ticketing
22:19 – Regulation, Competition, and Jack Groetzinger’s Advice for Founders

Hosted by Isabelle Johannessen. Produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience development led by Morgan Little. Special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.

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