AI-native startups will displace traditional SaaS incumbents
Melanie Nabar · Mastering Growth Equity with Melanie Nabar of Volition Capital | The Innovators & Investors Podcast · Apr 21, 2026 · at 6:11
Melanie Nabar, Principal at Volition Capital, discusses how artificial intelligence disruption is reshaping market leadership across software sectors.
0:00 / 0:30exact quote · 30.9s
720p mp4 · rendered on demand · StarZero watermark
“So that hasn't changed, but what has changed is I think we are going through a shift where there will be haves and have nots on the transition into being AI native. There will be companies that were originally, you know, a typical SaaS platform and do a great job adopting this new technology. There will also be folks who don't. And then there'll be a set of AI native companies that become leaders in industries that previously had, you know, a different player that might have been at the helm.”
quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →
More from Melanie Nabar
Large funds trap growth firms into drifting toward buyout check sizes
“I think a lot of firms fall into the trap of they're really good at a certain stage. That's why they raise funds. That's why they raise multiple funds. But then because they raise such large funds, they have to start to think about, okay, now we're actually ed…”
Excel and PowerPoint skills will become redundant within five years
“I learned skills that will be redundant, like Excel and PowerPoint. Not gonna matter in five years, but we're very helpful in the first 10 years of my career.”
Early-stage VC loss rates will exceed the past decade's average
“I think the loss rates in companies that are early stage will be higher than they have been over the last 10 years, just like they were after the dot-com boom.”
Maturing debt refinancing will drive up private equity loss rates
“And I think that given the anxiety in the market, it will be harder to Get debt facilities if you have balloon payments coming up to replace, and that will actually increase the loss rate for the private equity firms.”