The rise of voice, evolution of VC, and why ads are awesome w/ Alexia and Niko Bonatsos
In our inaugural episode, we're joined by two notable investors, Alexia Bonatsos and Niko Bonatsos. Alexia is the former co-editor-in-chief of TechCrunch and founder of a new venture fund, Dream Machine, where she helps founders “turn science fiction into non-fiction.” Her husband, Niko is Managing Director at General Catalyst, a leading Silicon Valley venture firm with investments in companies like Airbnb, ClassPass, Snap, Gusto, Warby Parker and others. In this episode we talk about: The rise of voice. As Google Home, Amazon Echoes, AirPods, and other voice-enabled devices continue to proliferate, we’ll see user behavior shift – the same way touch screens have influenced young kids – and new opportunities arise for creative entrepreneurs. The corrosive nature of behavior online, in part influenced by today’s advertising model, and potential solutions. The evolution of venture capital, with the rise of micro VCs and accessibility of capital. Of course, we’ll also cover some of our favorite products that you might not know about, including an app to help end mobile phone addiction, a new anonymous social network (the next Secret done right?), and an app that reminds you that you're going to die. Products mentioned on the show: Arthena – Quantitative research in art assets Atrium – Legal services for startups, powered by ML Casper – Casper is changing the way the world sleeps Moment – Put down your phone and get back to your life Nuzzel – The super-easy way to see news from your friends October – A new social network built for anonymity Omni – On-demand itemized physical storage Rally Rd. – Invest in blue-chip classic cars like stocks SleepCycle – A bio-alarm clock that analyzes your sleep pattern Substack – Paid email newsletters made simple The Wing – Co-working and community for professional women Transit – Real-time transit data and a bot to help you commute Truebill – Find your paid subscriptions and cancel with one click WeCroak – An app to remind you of death Big thanks to our sponsors, Airtable, GE Ventures, Intercom and Stripe for their support. 😸