Nabeel Hyatt, Venture Partner at Spark Capital, explains why Spark uses a bottoms-up investment strategy rather than relying on top-down thesis models.
0:00 / 0:18exact quote · 18.1s
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“But that's not something you could have ever modeled your way into before we made that investment, right? Like, virtual reality was dead, and it'd been dead for, like, 15 years plus until, you know, Brendan and Palmer and Nate walk in and give you a demo, and you suddenly realize that the time for that market is, is now.”
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More from Nabeel Hyatt
Opinion
Hyatt: Junior VCs prioritize quick markups from later-stage firms for promotions
“Well, that means if I want to get a promotion and I'm inside of schmooby schmooby VC firm, then I need markups. So if I need markups, how do I quickly get markups? I figure out what the guy one stage after me is interested in. And so my job is not really to go…”
Nabeel HyattFeb 3, 2025▶ 8:28Nabeel Hyatt, GP @ Spark Capital: To Win in AI, Investors Need to Change Their Approach | E1255 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Insight
Hyatt: VC principals care about internal promotions, not startup exits
“A principal is not actually waiting for an exit. They just want a promotion, man.”
Nabeel HyattFeb 3, 2025▶ 8:04Nabeel Hyatt, GP @ Spark Capital: To Win in AI, Investors Need to Change Their Approach | E1255 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Opinion
Hyatt: Founders churn out short-term arbitrage projects just to raise seed
“We are in the industrialization of startups playbook land where everybody's trying to churn out some piece of ridiculous arbitrage every week in order to get through the end of their incubator and raise their seed round.”
Nabeel HyattFeb 3, 2025▶ 46:58Nabeel Hyatt, GP @ Spark Capital: To Win in AI, Investors Need to Change Their Approach | E1255 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
PredictionNot checkable as stated
Hyatt: Rapid-growth AI startups reaching $10M ARR will die in two years
“That will probably be dead in two years.”
Nabeel HyattFeb 3, 2025▶ 6:58Nabeel Hyatt, GP @ Spark Capital: To Win in AI, Investors Need to Change Their Approach | E1255 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Opinion
Hyatt: Most AI agent startups are near-term arbitrage risking market collapse
“I think most of them fall into, if you just really think through the second order effects of it, fall into kind of like near-term arbitrage, which might just take that whole market to zero, especially if you are meeting the market where it is today with the mo…”
Nabeel HyattFeb 3, 2025▶ 54:51Nabeel Hyatt, GP @ Spark Capital: To Win in AI, Investors Need to Change Their Approach | E1255 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Opinion
Hyatt: AI startup founders must build in San Francisco to minimize risk
“And so if that's true, and you're trying to risk mitigate all the things that are going to kill you, and it's the age of AI, I don't know why you're not in San Francisco.”
Nabeel HyattFeb 3, 2025▶ 1:00:36Nabeel Hyatt, GP @ Spark Capital: To Win in AI, Investors Need to Change Their Approach | E1255 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
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