How Benchmark Capital finds EXCEPTIONAL startups in the age of AI — A convo w/ Eric Vishria

How on earth do startup founders with zero experience in the security industry sell millions of dollars in contracts to police stations around the US?In this episode of Exceptional Startups, Garrett Langley, founder and CEO of Flock Safety, breaks down step-by-step 1) How they did it, 2) What process gave them the idea to go after crime, and 3), The biggest lessons he's learned during Flock Safety's rocket-like growth.Chapters:(00:00:00) Flock Safety's Impact on Crime Solving(00:11:05) Innovative Solutions for Crime Prevention(00:11:51) Community Safety Solutions through Innovative Technology(00:18:06) Daily Customer Engagement for Business Success(00:21:04) Strategic Management for Hardware-Enabled SaaS Businesses(00:24:48) Managing Costs for Hardware Startup Funding(00:32:48) Crime Reduction Revolution with Flock's Technology——Check out Flock Safety: https://www.flocksafety.com/Check out PELION: https://pelionvp.com/Subscribe for more!

With so many AI startups these days, how do you identify which will be home-runs and which will be flops?In this episode of the I/O Podcast, Tyler and Sterling sit down with Eric Vishria, a General Partner at the legendary Benchmark Capital, who uncovers their exact process for finding and funding some of the world's fastest-growing and most successful AI startups.Chapters:(00:07:28) Exponential Rise of AI Startups(00:10:21) Diverse Revenue Paths in AI Startups(00:14:10) LLM-enhanced Vertical AI Solutions for Industry(00:18:25) Tech Product Success through Market Awareness(00:20:05) Balancing Human Expertise with AI Automation(00:35:22) The Value of Venture Capital Partnerships(00:37:48) Founders' Partnerships in Early-Stage Investing(00:47:10) Key Questions: The Core of Investing Decisions(00:54:22) Supporting Founders in Venture Capital Industry———Learn more about Benchmark here: https://www.benchmark.com/This podcast was brought to you by Pelion Venture Partners. Have a great startup idea? Learn more about Pelion here: https://pelionvp.com/

How do you get paying customers...before you've even built your product? Time to find out!In this episode of Exceptional Startups, Tyler sits down with John Andrew Entwistle, Founder and CEO of Wander, the platform that's transforming the vacation-rental space.Tyler and John Andrew discuss waitlist tactics, how to solve the supply-and-demand problem for marketplace companies, and how to build a great employee culture.Chapters:(00:01:40) The Idea For A Efficient Vacation Rental Management Platform(00:05:42) The Business Growth Strategies at Wander(00:07:05) Solving The Supply Problem(00:11:53) Transition to Third-Party Inventory Strategy(00:20:17) Transaction vs. Subscription Revenue Models in Software(00:27:48) Visionary Hiring Culture at Wander(00:29:58) How Exceptional Service Elevates Wander's Customer ExperienceCheck out Wander: https://www.wander.com/Check out PELION: https://pelionvp.com/

In this episode of the IO Podcast, Nakul Mandan (founder of Audacious Ventures) shares his tips and tricks for recruiting top talent, the most critical assets for successful companies.He also shares his story of how he became a top investor and what every startup founder needs to know to successfully raise capital.Chapters:(00:05:12) Hustle and Networking in Venture Capital Growth(00:12:50) Mastering B2B Go-to-Market Expertise through Experience(00:15:22) Exceptional Individuals Driving Business Growth(00:18:06) Attracting Exceptional Talent for Startups(00:26:32) Tailored Hiring Approach for Role Success(00:30:24) Proactive Talent Sourcing for Startup Teams(00:41:40) Proactive Communication for Closing Top Candidates(00:45:29) Optimizing Recruitment Strategies for Successful Hiring(00:48:48) Founder-Centric Investment PlatformsAudacious Ventures: https://www.audacious.co/Check out PELION: https://pelionvp.com/

In this episode of Exceptional Startups, Brandon Rodman (founder of Weave and now Previ) breaks down how he’s quietly building a Costco for the modern workforce — one that’s already grown from 300K to 1.5M users in 3 months, all without charging employers a dime.He shares hard-earned lessons from going 0 to IPO with Weave, why he got rejected by 150 investors, and how he's self-funded Previ with a bigger vision in mind — this time, he’s not giving up control.It’s honest, tactical, and full of gold for anyone scaling something real.Chapters: 0:00 Intro 2:42 Insane Growth and Brandon's B2B2C tactics5:20 Launch of “The Drop”13:00 Clear, consistent user retention & growth beats fast acquisition 15:00 Betting on Yourself 21:51 How to Build A Winning Culture24:01 “If you only give 80%, you get 80%. That last 10–20% is where everything happens.”Check out Previ: https://previ.com/landingCheck out PELION: https://pelionvp.com/Like, Share, and Subscribe!

In this episode, Pete Kazanjy—author of Founding Sales and a veteran sales leader—joins hosts Tyler Hogge and Sterling Snow to share a crash course in founder-led sales, explaining why early-stage founders must take charge of selling before hiring sales reps. He breaks down the key mindset shifts for technical founders, how sales is like “weaponized product management,” and when it’s time to delegate lead generation.If you're a startup founder looking to master sales we highly recommend this episode. Pete's book which can be found online at foundingsales.comChapters: 06:11 Objection Handling and Sales Narrative Crafting12:48 Validation through Founder-Led Sales Approach16:55 Founder's hands-on role in scalable sales.22:09 Tailoring Outreach Strategies for Target Audiences29:49 LinkedIn Prospect Engagement for Founder Outreach Success35:15 Empathetic Approach to Sales Conversations42:10 Effective Sales Strategies for Closing Deals47:31 Hiring Early Stage Salespeople for Startups54:12 Product-Obsessed Pioneers in Organizations58:26 Packaging Tactical Solutions for Customer Pain Points

How do early-stage founders break through and build exceptional companies? In this upcoming season of the I/O Podcast, hosts Sterling Snow and Tyler Hogge unveil a new approach—combining insights from the Exceptional Startups List with tactical advice from founders actively scaling their businesses. This season, we’re setting out to be the best podcast in the world for seed and Series A founders.Episode Highlights:00:45 - The Big Change: Merging the Exceptional Startups List with the I/O PodcastWe’re bringing on founders who are actively crossing key growth milestones—sharing real-time insights before they hit the mainstream.02:35 - Solving a Major Founder Challenge: Hiring Exceptional TalentThe Exceptional Startups List started as a resource for job seekers, but it’s also helping founders attract top-tier talent.04:43 - Introducing I/O Podcast Snacks: High-Impact, Shorter EpisodesIn addition to our full-length episodes, we’re launching I/O Snacks—quick, tactical interviews with startup leaders making waves.This season is all about delivering actionable, high-quality content tailored for founders navigating their early-stage journey. If you’re looking for insights on scaling, hiring, and building a world-class startup, you won’t want to miss this.Exceptional Startups List Here: https://exceptionalstartups.com/Follow the I/O Podcast Here: x: https://x.com/IO__podcastWeb: https://www.investoroperator.io/

How do you become the best of the best—the top performer in your field? Dr. Julie Gurner, an acclaimed executive coach and once likened to Billions’ Wendy Rhoades by The Wall Street Journal, shares her insights on what it takes to excel at the highest level. In this episode, Dr. Gurner joins hosts Sterling Snow and Tyler Hogge to explore the mindsets, strategies, and leadership styles that empower people to perform at their peak.Episode Highlights:00:00 Meet Dr. Julie Gurner and her unique approach to executive performance05:47 The fine line between "good crazy" and "bad crazy" in high achievers08:44 Rule-bending: When it drives success and when it derails progress15:16 How confidence and aggression play into leadership styles18:56 Evolving roles: Adapting leadership from a startup’s early days to maturity24:18 The power of vulnerability: Why CEOs should own their weaknesses to build balanced teams27:43 Helping others lean into their unique strengths for maximum impact33:17 Identifying "great" talent vs. "good" talent: What sets true excellence apart40:23 The importance of positive self-talk and why leaders should never downplay themselves47:01 Reframing failure: How top performers see setbacks as learning, not defining momentsWhether you're a startup founder, entrepreneur, or aspiring leader, this episode is packed with actionable takeaways to help you break through personal and professional barriers. Dr. Gurner’s guidance is invaluable for anyone striving to reach the top in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment.Follow Dr. Gurner Here: X: https://x.com/drgurnerNewsletter: drgurner.substack.comWeb: drgurner.com

"Joining a company as early as possible, right after achieving product-market fit, offers the greatest career advantage." – Jack AltmanJack Altman epitomizes the true "Investor-Operator." As the co-founder and former CEO of the multi-billion-dollar startup Lattice, and now a full-time investor with his $150 million venture fund, Alt Capital, Jack has successfully navigated both sides of the entrepreneurial journey. It’s clear he excels in every aspect, and we were thrilled to have him on the show.In this episode, we delve into Jack’s career trajectory, from his early days in tech to how he gained the insight to launch Lattice. Jack shares the invaluable lessons he’s learned from building and scaling Lattice to a Series F company, and how those experiences have shaped his approach to investing.Here’s a breakdown of what we covered:1:20 – How Jack got into tech and landed at a fast-growing startup5:30 – Joining an early-stage company vs. starting your own: which provides better learning?11:30 – The launch of Lattice and pivoting to achieve product-market fit (PMF)14:14 – How to recognize when you’ve found PMF19:20 – Best practices for scaling companies: “If your product won’t be used 10 years from now, you’ll never build a lasting, valuable SaaS business.”21:15 – Jack’s early fundraising mistakes and what he’d do differently24:30 – The top three traits every founder needs30:15 – Transitioning to investing: "My hobby is other startups"39:20 – How being a founder prepares you to be an investor42:40 – How to become a Level 6 investor (Link to Tweet)46:20 – Why point solutions won’t cut it—compound startups will generate the biggest returns51:45 – Investing in AI and the rise of ‘killer apps’58:54 – Investment strategies: should you aim to create returns by incubating or seed funding?1:04:00 – Recap with Tyler & SterlingFor more on Alt Capital, visit altcap.com.Check out Jack’s hierarchy of investors on X (formerly Twitter).Discover more insights from Investor-Operators on the IO Podcast:YouTube: @IO-PodcastX: @IO__podcastTikTok: @io_podcast

In this episode, Tyler Hogge & Sterling Snow sit down with David George, General Partner at a16z, where he leads the growth investing practice. Since joining in 2019, David has been at the forefront of investments in companies like Coinbase, Databricks, Figma, Robinhood and Instacart. Prior to a16z, David was at General Atlantic, where he invested in iconic brands like Airbnb, Opendoor, Slack, Crowdstrike, and Uber. David shares his unique insights into growth investing and his predictions for the future.Chapters: 01:15 David's Path to Venture 05:30 What Makes Andreessen Horowitz Different 10:30 What He Looks For When Making Growth Investments21:15 Focus On Inputs Not Outputs29:30 How They Source Investments35:10 "On TAM, Ignore the Research Reports". Here's What To Look For Instead44:30 What It Takes To Go Public: The Three Things A Company Needs48:56 Where AI Is Going And How He's Investing1:01:23 Episode Takeaways Connect With David & a16zhttps://x.com/DavidGeorge83https://a16z.com/growth/