After 200+ investor conversations, one thing surprised me
Over the last couple of weeks while building VIDI solo, I’ve had a large number of conversations across AI, SaaS, and infrastructure.
What’s been most interesting wasn’t really the AI discussion itself.
It was hearing experienced people share stories, lessons, and perspectives from companies they’ve built, scaled, advised, or invested in over the years.
Some of those conversations also reshaped how I think about VIDI.
Still extremely early obviously.
But recently, a few conversations started feeling increasingly aligned around the longer-term direction.
Currently continuing conversations around the pre-seed round. At this point, there’s already interest from a potential follow-on investor - the main focus now is finding the right lead investor fit.
For now, continuing to build, refine the product, and learn every week.
Also recently launched subscriptions:
TRENCHLINE → 30% off Starter
NANOMACHINE → 20% off Growth
Still early obviously, but one thing I didn’t expect from fundraising was how many conversations would turn into broader discussions around company building, positioning, and long-term thinking rather than just the product itself.
that sounds really good, do you mind me asking what kind of product you offer and where you promote them?
Mostly LinkedIn, email outreach, and a few other platforms right now.
WOW That sounds nice, i guessed you might be doing well there, you're having sales ?
Makes sense. Sometimes the most valuable part of these conversations is seeing how experienced people think through markets, timing, and company building over years, not just product features.
Exactly. Seeing how experienced people think over long periods of time has probably been the most valuable part.
Yeah, that long-term perspective is underrated - most people focus on tactics, but patterns over time matter way more. Same thing in business and especially in startups too, even if the context is a bit different.
Exactly. A lot of the important stuff only becomes obvious over longer periods of time.
Probably the moment someone asked 'Who loses if your product disappears tomorrow?' I was giving the standard answer about productivity and speed. Then someone asked me to name a specific person who'd be genuinely worse off. When I said 'someone with RSI who types all day' the whole conversation changed. The market I thought I was building for and the one that actually needed me were different places. That one question rewired 6 months of positioning.
Interesting perspective, but I think sometimes markets also evolve because of how products are positioned and executed over time.
Did 200+ raises and now sit on the other side of the table at Henson Venture Partners. The thing nobody tells founders: most investor 'advice' is not about your company. It is about the last company that investor missed. Useful, but worth filtering. The conversations that actually reshape your thinking come from operators who have shipped, not just allocators. Question for you: of the 200, how many came from warm intros vs cold? And which group changed your mind more?
Mostly cold through LinkedIn and email outreach.
And yeah, after enough conversations you start understanding how to filter different perspectives depending on where they’re coming from. Some of the most useful insights came from people who’ve actually built and operated things themselves.
The car sales analogy is actually perfect. Even the best reps on the floor couldn't move inventory when the model year felt long in the tooth -- the market sets a ceiling that pure skill can't push through.
What I've taken from that pattern building Genie 007: being early to a market feels almost identical to being in a market with no demand. From inside the pitch, the conversation looks the same either way.
Partially agree, but I think execution and adaptation can change a lot more than people expect.
The conversations reshaping how you think about the product is the genuinely useful part of fundraising that nobody talks about. I've had the same experience on the BD side -- walked into partnership calls pitching and walked out with a completely different read on my own positioning.
200+ conversations across AI, SaaS, and infra is also a serious market research project if you treat it that way. The patterns in what people ask you about, what they skip over, what makes them lean forward -- that's signal most founders don't capture systematically.
What was the single question from those conversations that most changed how you think about VIDI?
It’s difficult to share specific ones publicly, but one example I can say is how much things ultimately depend on the market itself (like in car sales - even a great product still depends on how much demand exists overall).
This resonates deeply — what most investors are really sniffing for is whether the business can compound without the founder as the linchpin. One thing that often surprises founders: 2026 M&A multiples are very different from 2021. The compression hit most, but businesses with clean ARR, sub-2% monthly churn, and a team that can run without the founder are still commanding strong multiples. Worth understanding where your business sits before you're deep in those conversations.
Definitely. A lot of people underestimate how much operational durability matters long term.
Really cool to hear how those convos gave you perspective beyond just the AI talk. As someone not deep in the investor world, I’m curious did any of those stories change how you’re thinking about building VIDI itself, or more about the fundraising side?
A bit of both honestly, but still keeping most of those details private while things are early.
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It's fascinating that conversations with experienced individuals had a significant impact on your perspective of VIDI, highlighting the value of seeking outside advice and insights when building a company. I'd love to know more about how these conversations specifically reshaped your thinking and if there were any common themes or threads that emerged from these discussions. Were there any particular lessons or perspectives that you found particularly influential in refining your vision for VIDI?
Appreciate it. A lot of useful perspectives came up, but keeping the deeper details private for now while things are still early.
It's great that you've been having conversations with experienced individuals who can share valuable insights and lessons learned from their own experiences, and I'm curious to know how specifically these conversations reshaped your thinking about VIDI. Were there any particular pain points or areas of your business that these conversations helped clarify or solve? Did you find that these conversations influenced your product development roadmap or go-to-market strategy in any significant way?
A few conversations definitely changed parts of my perspective, but still too early to speak in detail publicly.
Right now mostly focused on building, testing, and learning.
It's interesting that the conversations that had the most impact on your thinking about VIDI weren't necessarily about the specifics of AI, but rather the broader lessons and perspectives shared by experienced individuals. This highlights the importance of seeking out diverse viewpoints and experiences when building a startup. Can you elaborate on how these conversations specifically reshaped your thinking about VIDI and what changes you've made as a result?
Appreciate it. Still very early, so keeping most of it private for now, but definitely learned a lot from those conversations.
Still building and refining every week.
the pattern recognition from experienced people is the underrated part
they've seen 50 versions of your company already
the feedback that stings is usually the most accurate
congrats on the pre-seed interest . what was the single most surprising thing you heard across those 200 conversations?
Can’t really go deeper publicly yet, but a few conversations genuinely shifted my perspective.
Hi! Tell us more about your experience in promoting your product, where you looked for investors, and what problems you encountered?
Still figuring a lot of that out honestly, so probably too early for me to give useful advice publicly. Most of it has just been experimenting, conversations, and learning in real time while building.
Excited to see the subscription launch!How has feedback from early users influenced your product tweak so far?
Hard to talk about specifics publicly right now, but a lot of the product direction has definitely come from repeated user behavior and conversations.
Interesting how fundraising conversations often end up being more about long-term thinking, positioning, and judgment than the actual product itself. That part usually doesn’t get talked about enough.
Appreciate that. That part surprised me much more than I expected honestly.
Good that you picked up on that.
Yeah, most people only see the surface - the real game is in those longer-term decisions and judgment calls.
Yeah, definitely starting to realize that more now.
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