Kleiner Perkins Partner Leigh Marie Braswell discusses defensibility and competitive moats among generative AI and code generation startups.
Insight
Traditional T2D3 SaaS growth framework is obsolete in AI era
“The triple, triple, double, double, double, sass thing is like, you throw it out the window, you know, it's like, there's a new, it's like, 10 x.”
Assertion Supported
Many fast-growing AI startups currently operate with negative gross margins
“At least today, you know, there's certainly AI businesses that yes, they're growing really fast, but the margins are quite negative. And so therefore like you have to bet on them raising more venture money until they can like figure that out, whether that's fr…”
Insight
Startup founders are inaccurately pitching non-recurring revenue as ARR
“Many, many times I have heard something that is not predictable, that is not recurring, be described as error. And that, you know, historically, you know, traditionally error is, is predictable. It's recurring. It's like signed, you know, contracts, usually th…”
Insight
Braswell: Hyper-growth startups operate in chaos; calm suggests lacking PMF
“If you are not, like, feeling like you are running around all the time and everything's on fire, then, like, there's probably not a product market fit. Like, there's probably, it's not, there's not that, the only, like, hyper-growth startups, even the ones tha…”
Prediction Open · timeframe May 2028
Startups will soon jump directly from seed rounds to Series C
“Like, yes, you'll probably have to raise again, but it'll just be interesting, and I think we'll see multiple examples of, like, a company raised a seed, and then a company raised, like, a Series C.”
Opinion
Braswell: Enterprise sales remain unautomated due to complex integration requirements
“Though I do think, you know, maybe my hot take is like, if you're an enterprise business, you there, we have not automated sales yet. We've not automated enterprise sales yet. And so I do still think if you're working with enterprises where there's just like s…”