Storm Ventures
fund on 4 shows · 19 statements across 5 episodes · said 35 times in 14 episodes since 2016
the Neon Show 13 
Top Founders 10 
the Official SaaStr Podcast 6 
20VC 6
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the Neon Show 13Top Founders 1020VC 6the Official SaaStr Podcast 6
2026 11 mentions in 1 episode
2023 2 mentions in 2 episodes 1 per episode
2022 5 mentions in 2 episodes 3 per episode
- 20VC: Why the Traditional Seed Fund Model No Longer Works, Why Multi-Stage Funds Investing at Seed Bring Signaling Risk but also Less Pressure, The One Criteria All Potential Sales Hires Need to Have and The Clear Signs of 10x Sales Hires with Jason Lemki
- How Metadata grew 700% to $15m in Revenue in 24 months while switching from high burn to profitable
- every mention in 2022, scene by scene →
2021 3 mentions in 1 episode
2020 4 mentions in 3 episodes 1 per episode
2019 1 mention in 1 episode
2018 2 mentions in 1 episode
2017 6 mentions in 2 episodes 3 per episode
every mention on every show, scene by scene, with the transcript →
19 statements about Storm Ventures, every show
Ahluwalia: Tekion has over $300M ARR and $4B+ valuation
“And the company today is more than three hundred million in AR last valued at more than four billion.”
Penmetsa: Deferrable enterprise problems will not rank in buyer's top priorities
“And when we think about urgency, we think of it more as, is the problem something that needs to be solved today? Or can I wait six to 12 months? Because if you can wait, Yes, if it's a great solution, I'll still buy it, but it's not truly urgent. It's probably…”
Penmetsa: Vast majority of Storm deals backed unknown first-time founders
“I would say historically the vast majority of our deals are sort of first-time founders we've never met before.”
Storm Ventures: 3 to 4 weeks from first meeting to term sheet
“From first mean term sheet, I tell them three to four weeks, right? Yes, some deals have moved faster. I don't think deals have really taken much. I mean, there are definitely companies we've met once. We haven't invested. We reconnected four months later, and…”
Penmetsa: Storm Ventures typically makes six to eight investments per year
“We typically do I want to say six to eight a year.”
Penmetsa: Storm Ventures advances 30 to 40 out of 1,000 initial pitches
“So, 30 to 40 out of a thousand.”
Penmetsa: Mid-market and enterprise software startups must establish US presence
“I think in general, you have to be in the market you're selling in. So it is rare, I think, that a team can be fully based, let's say in India, and then sell into the US. You can maybe for some kind of products, but in general, if you, as you get to like mid-s…”
Penmetsa: Early founder-led sales traction rarely repeats in the broader market
“The founders can often get
traction that's not repeatable, right?
Because, you know, the founders, obviously, they have the passion.
They know the space.
They know the product.
They can say, we'll build this for you.
And when you, when you're selling at that …”
Penmetsa: Storm Ventures backed convenience retail startup Tote at zero revenue
“In that case, we did zero revenue. Again, Shyam is a second-time founder, so it breaks the mold a little bit in terms of maybe the question you're asking”
Penmetsa: Storm Ventures typically targets startups with $500K to $2M ARR
“Gosh, like half a million to like two million is like, let's say the range, but like everything, there's exceptions to that.”
Penmetsa: AI products see faster customer adoption but face much higher churn
“The pace at which you can get a buyer and potentially even churn is much higher, right? Because the AI products, one of the benefits of that is it is easier to build, but also I think it is easier to put it in and replace it, right?”
Penmetsa: Owning the stack between AI models and UI creates defensibility
“Companies really need to think about how are you building that full stack between the model layer and the UI. Like, you need to own that entire thing, because if you own the entire thing, at least in some verticals, It is a lot of work to rip you out. And seco…”
Penmetsa: Convenience Retail SaaS Must Run the Entire Store from Day One
“The lift is heavy, right? Because you can't build a small module and say deploy because you have to run the entire store. So the zero to one is a big step. It's not like we can get five K, 10 K, ARR, and scale from that.”
Lemkin: Five of First Six Venture Investments Became Unicorns
“The first four investments eventually became unicorns, five out of the first six”
Lemkin: Five of my first six venture investments became unicorns
“Like, you know, the first four investments eventually became unicorns, five out of the first six.”
Workato raised $17M backed by Salesforce, Workday, and Storm Ventures
“We've raised about seventeen million total, about ten million from ourselves, and about you know, the, you know, the number one and two SaaS companies, Salesforce, and Workday are investors, and so is a longtime Silicon Valley we see, called Storm Ventures.”
Lemkin: His only investment with an inferior CEO was his worst performer
“I've made eight institutional investments and 12 as a seed investor, 20. Only one of them was the CEO not as good as me, and it's my worst investment.”