Vanessa Larco on the Future of Consumer Tech
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
Release Date: 06/05/2025
How AI Is Shaping the Future of Sales with Doreen Pernel from Scaleway
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am thrilled to have Doreen Pernel, Chief Sales Officer at Scaleway, Europe's leading sovereign cloud provider. She's built and scaled sales teams across Meta, Dataiku, Box, and Bloomberg, navigating Sydney, New York, London, and Paris. In this conversation, Doreen Pernel, Chief Sales Officer at Scaleway, shares her insights on sales leadership, cultural adaptability, and innovative strategies in the cloud computing industry. She discusses the importance of resilience in hiring, the evolving role of cold calling, and how to motivate teams against larger competitors. She also reflects on the...
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Unlocking Subscription Success with Daniel Layfield
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am thrilled to have Daniel Layfield, who is Director of Product Management at Diligent and founder of Subscription Index, advising subscription businesses on monetisation. In this conversation, Daniel Layfield shares his journey from finance to product management, discussing his experiences at Code Academy and Diligent. He emphasises the importance of understanding churn, effective pricing strategies, and the role of AI in product management. Daniel also explores the complexities of subscription models, the significance of metrics, and the impact of price localisation on revenue. Timestamps...
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Scaling Product Organizations in the Age of AI with CallRail's Ryan Johnson
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am excited to have , who is the Chief Product Officer at CallRail, an AI-powered lead intelligence platform serving 200,000+ businesses with over $100M ARR. In this conversation, Ryan Johnson, Chief Product Officer at CallRail, shares his journey from finance to product management, discussing the evolution of CallRail from a call tracking service to a lead intelligence platform. He emphasises the importance of scaling product organisations, balancing sales and product-led growth, and navigating the challenges posed by AI disruption. Ryan also delves into pricing strategies, monetisation...
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Evolution of Pricing Strategies in Business with Gary Bailey
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am thrilled to have , founder of Strategim, a monetisation & pricing expert with a deep background in financial services, accounting, pricing, and AI. In this conversation, Gary Bailey, a monetisation and pricing expert, shares his journey from accounting to product management and pricing. He discusses the importance of pricing as a core discipline in business education, the evolving role of finance in pricing strategies, and the impact of AI on SaaS pricing models. Gary emphasizes the need for training the next generation in pricing and the role of a monetization architect in modern...
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Art of Pricing Strategies in SaaS with Naveen Mohan at Otter
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am thrilled to have Naveen Mohan, who leads monetisation at , bringing deep experience from Adobe and Loom. With a Carnegie Mellon Information Systems degree and software engineering background, he combines data science expertise with product management. In this conversation, Naveen Mohan, Product and Monetisation Lead at Otter.ai, shares his journey from data science to product management, emphasising the importance of experimentation in pricing strategies and the evolution of monetisation in tech startups. He discusses the balance between soft and hard paywalls, the rise of hybrid pricing...
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How Superlinked is building the Next Generation of AI Search with Ben Gutkovich
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am excited to have , co-founder of , helping AI engineers build information retrieval systems using vector embeddings. In this conversation, Ben Gutkovich, co-founder of Superlink, shares his journey from a software engineer to an entrepreneur in the AI space. He discusses the differences between consulting and building technology, the challenges of recruiting talent in a competitive market, and innovative strategies for business development. Ben also addresses the impact of remote work on startups, insights into M&A deals, and predictions for the future of AI. He emphasises the...
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Future of Fundraising in the Age of AI with Casey Woo of Operators Guild
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am excited to have , founder of , a community of 800+ top operators. He is also a General Partner at FOG Ventures, where he's witnessing how AI is killing the 18-month fundraising cycle, enabling 1000x returns in half the time. In this conversation, Casey Woo, founder of Operators Guild and general partner at Fog Ventures, discusses his journey from Wall Street to the startup world, the evolving landscape of fundraising, and the impact of AI on job roles and business operations. He emphasises the importance of generalists in startups, the need for effective distribution strategies, and the...
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Navigating the Crypto Landscape with Harvey Liu of Levex Exchange
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am happy to have Harvey Liu, the CEO of , where he’s building a cutting-edge platform for spot and futures trading in digital assets. In this conversation, Harvey Liu, CEO of Levex Exchange, discusses his journey from computer science to venture capital and now leading a crypto exchange. We explore misconceptions about blockchain, the psychology of trading, the challenges of asset tokenisation, and the importance of a strong team and culture in business. Harvey shares insights on investing principles, strategies for startups going global, and the dynamics of venture capital, emphasising...
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Transforming Education Through Digital Infrastructure with Shankar Maruwada from EkStep Foundation
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am excited to have , Co-Founder and CEO of EkStep Foundation, a pioneering non-profit working to improve learning outcomes for millions of children in India through technology and learner-centric platforms. Shankar has been featured in ’s ‘Policy 50’, a definitive list of the 50 leaders who are steering and shaping India’s digital economy. In this conversation, Shankar Maruwada shares his journey from corporate leadership to social impact through the Ekstep Foundation. He discusses the importance of digital infrastructure in education, the lessons learned from the Aadhaar initiative,...
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Investing in Peace with Shane Martin of B Ventures
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am excited to have —a venture capitalist who’s rewriting the playbook for what investing can look like. He’s an investor at , the first-of-its-kind global peace VC fund that backs tech founders building solutions for both profit and peace. In this conversation, Shane Ray Martin, a venture capitalist at B-Ventures, discusses his unique journey into the world of venture capital, emphasising the potential profitability of peace tech. He shares insights on the challenges of pitching peace tech to investors, common mistakes founders make in their pitches, and the balance between instincts...
info_outlineI am excited to have Vanessa Larco, who was a Partner at NEA and is now launching a fund called Premise, where she led investments in breakthrough companies like Cleo, Rocket.Chat, Mejuri, EvidentID, Greenlight Card, Feather, and Lily AI. She also served as a board observer for high-growth startups including Robinhood, Willow Pump, and OmniSci.
In this episode, Vanessa Larco, ex-Partner at NEA and founding GP of Primis, shares her journey from product management at Microsoft and Box to becoming a leading early-stage VC. Vanessa dives into how AI is reshaping product roles, what makes the next wave of consumer tech exciting, and why she believes we're entering a new era of category-defining startups. She unpacks the traits of exceptional founders, the underrated importance of TAM, and how the VC landscape is evolving with secondaries and mega-funds, and much more!
Timestamps
[04:20] – Building and shipping at Microsoft, then moving to Xbox and gaming startups.
[06:05] – Transitioning from startups to Twilio and Box, and building mobile products.
[07:50] – Pete from NEA mentoring Vanessa and convincing her to join venture.
[09:40] – Staying at NEA for 8.5 years instead of the original 2-year plan.
[10:50] – Rohit asks about the future of product management in the AI era.
[12:00] – Vanessa shares frustrations with tedious PM tasks and hopes for automation.
[15:00] – Desire for AI to handle unstructured data like tickets, reviews, and bugs.
[16:50] – Shift in mindset: From fire drills to strategic product thinking.
[18:00] – Vanessa’s bullish view on consumer tech while others are pulling back.
[20:00] – Three historical waves in consumer tech and the emergence of a fourth wave.
[22:00] – ChatGPT and LLMs as a tech unlock leading to radical behavioral change.
[24:15] – AI transforming how consumers buy and evaluate products online.
[26:00] – Rise of personal AI agents and implications for e-commerce.
[27:30] – Democratizing concierge-level services via LLMs in sectors like travel and styling.
[29:00] – Opportunity to offer top 1% experiences at 10% of the cost.
[30:30] – TAM expansion as a key to iconic company creation.
[31:30] – Discussion on multistage funds and changing venture dynamics.
[34:00] – The role of secondaries and need for different capital bases in long private cycles.
[36:00] – Common VC mistake: Underestimating TAM in consumer startups.
[37:00] – Lessons from scaling Robinhood: faster, cheaper, easier always wins.
[39:15] – Trust as the key reason consumer fintechs fail across borders.
[41:00] – Key traits Vanessa looks for in founders: obsessive learners, storytellers, and detail-oriented.
Vanessa’s Links
LDN– https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessalarco/
My Links
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YouTube: youtube.com/lifeselfmastery
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