Venture with Grace

Grace Gong
  • 4.8 (22)
  • INVESTING
  • UPDATED DAILY

I host a top VC podcast called Smart Venture Podcast (SVPpro.com). Past guests include C-level/VPs of Google, Meta, Amazon, Sephora, Dunkin' Donuts, Chipotle, Pepsi, Instagram, Deloitte, Reddit, Lyft, etc. Managing Partners of top funds (many were featured on the Forbes Midas List) and unicorn founders (founders of Craigslist, Square, Loom, Cruise, etc.) Venture with Grace is my new spin-off series that features top LPs, GPs, solo GPs, Angel Investors, top AI founders, and other experts in tech and business to cover specific domain expertise. Watch this Live on LinkedIn/ YouTube: Grace Gong

  1. 3D AGO

    Brooke Motta & Jimmy Mesta, RAD Security Founders on Open Claw Security

    Brooke Motta is CEO and Co-Founder of RAD Security~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers. AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~Clawkeeper by Rad Security is a purpose-built security platform for OpenClaw AI agents that hunts down leaked secrets, weaponized skills, hidden backdoors, and supply-chain implants before attackers can hijack your agents, exfiltrate sensitive data, or turn your AI into an entry point for full-scale compromise.Topics: Why OpenClaw agents are a new attack surfaceHow Clawkeeper hardens OpenClaw by defaultContinuous defense: from static scans to runtime protection#Clawkeeper#OpenClawSecurity#AISecurity#AgentProtection#RadSecurity

    1h 6m

  2. 3D AGO

    Stu Smith, Scribble, Investor on Creator-Tech Seed Investing & Growth

    Stu Smith is an Investor at Scribble.~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers. AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~The early-stage VC fund ($250M AUM) founded by OpenAI/Meta/Twitter/Instagram/a16z builders, writing $750K-$1.5M checks at Pre-Seed through Series A—after co-founding Coughdrop Capital where he backed pre-launch winners like Superhuman, Lattice, Mercury, Varda, and Magic Patterns across 100+ investments. Serial operator who co-founded/scaled Racket (Greycroft/Foundation backed audio platform to 100K+ users), led WarnerMedia's 55-person digital creator division, built Omaze's global partnerships with Disney/HBO/NBA/adidas/UNICEF, scaled Teespring's $50M+ entertainment business, and started managing Phish/Dave Matthews Band at Red Light Management—blending music industry talent-spotting with VC pattern recognition.Topics: How Scribble spots Pre-Seed winners like Coughdrop's Superhuman and Lattice before product launchWhat traditional media and music experience teach about launching and marketing digital products.How Stu evaluates and backs founders before products exist, including patterns across companies like Superhuman and Lattice.#Superhuman #Lattice #Mercury #Racket #WarnerMedia

    58 min

  3. 3D AGO

    Andy McLoughlin, Uncork Capital, Managing Partner on B2B Seed Investing

    Andy McLoughlin is Managing Partner at Uncork Capital (formerly SoftTech VC).~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers. AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~The SF seed-stage firm ($500M+ AUM) backing B2B software innovators like LaunchDarkly (unicorn), Human Interest (unicorn), Tailscale, Crossbeam, Fountain (unicorn), Coder, Mutiny, Focal Systems, Torii, Sym, Nuon, and more—focusing on unsexy productivity tools, dev infra, security, and applied AI that let every business operate like tech giants. Huddle co-founder who raised $80M+ and drove US expansion before 2017 acquisition, prolific angel in 40+ startups including Intercom, Postmates (Uber $2.65B), Pipedrive (Vista $1.5B), Calm, Bugsnag, Tray.io—plus Founders Pledge and GBx co-founder, Sheffield Economics BA, OBE honoree, Kauffman Fellow.Topics: How Andy McLoughlin helps early-stage founders grow their teams, culture, and processes while preserving startup agility.Patterns across investments in LaunchDarkly, Tailscale, Human Interest, and Crossbeam that reveal what drives durable competitive advantage. Why overlooked software infrastructure, developer tools, and operational platforms often deliver the biggest long-term returns.#VentureCapital #VC #SeedStage #B2B #DevTools

    1h 1m

  4. 4D AGO

    Zack Reneau-Wedeen, Sierra Head of Product on Enterprise AI Agents.

    Zack Reneau-Wedeen is Head of Product at Sierra.~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers. AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~Where Zack Reneau-Wedeen builds next-generation enterprise AI agents powered by advanced context engineering and voice capabilities. Zack Reneau-Wedeen previously led product and design at CoinTracker and served as Head of Product, Crypto at Robinhood. Earlier, Zack Reneau-Wedeen spent seven years at Google as the founding PM for Google Lens and Google Podcasts, contributing across Search video, Knowledge Graph, Motion Stills, and Google Docs to help shape products used by billions. Alongside operating roles, Zack Reneau-Wedeen is Founder of Radish Workshop, prototyping open-source AI tools including Yuzu (Next.js localization), OpenZeppelin.com, and CodeSheets.com. Zack Reneau-Wedeen holds degrees in Computer Science and Economics from Yale and an MBA from Harvard, bringing a rare blend of consumer-scale product intuition and enterprise AI execution.Topics: Launching Google Lens and Podcasts from zero to billions as founding product managerAI product evaluation in production: metrics, guardrails, and continuous improvement systemsFrom Google-scale consumer products to enterprise AI: transferable product guidelines and where they break#AIAgents #SierraAI #GoogleLens #ProductManagement

    1h 3m

  5. 4D AGO

    Camille Moore, Third Eye Insights, President & Co-Founder on Branding

    Camille Moore is President and Co-Founder of Third Eye Insights Inc., ~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers. AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Toronto-based branding agency transforming service businesses, trial lawyers, surgeons, medical spas, and enterprises into unforgettable brands through strategic storytelling, digital infrastructure, and social media mastery—while hosting Art of the Brand, the #1 podcast for business owners on branding and strategy with her viral frameworks downloaded worldwide. Known as "The Internet's Favourite Branding Expert," Camille bridges boardroom decision-makers with Gen Z trends, offering 1:1 consulting, Social Media Masterclass, and free Substack/YouTube resources that turn posting into measurable brand equity for clients who want growth assets, not burdens.Topics: Lessons from branding multinational corporations down to solo practitioners with the same playbookFrom positioning to pipeline, how strong narrative architecture translates into measurable revenue impact-Signal vs. noise in social metrics: which indicators predict long-term brand equity#MarketingOps #GrowthStrategy #FounderBrand #MarketingLeadership #BrandEquity

    1h 8m

  6. FEB 25

    Robert Scoble, Unaligned Founder/CEO on Spatial AI & Robotics

    Robert Scoble is Founder/CEO of Unaligned~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers. AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~He launched Matic Robots from his home garage while chronicling Silicon Valley's bleeding edge in robots, holodecks, BCIs, and spatial computing through his legendary Scobleizer blog—first to spotlight Tesla, Uber, Siri, Instagram, Flipboard, and Cloudera before they exploded. Tech media icon who transformed Microsoft's developer relations via Channel 9 (praised by The Economist), evangelized Rackspace through Zuckerberg/Hsieh interviews, ran Fast Company TV and PodTech's video networks, served as Infinite Retina CSO for AR/VR strategy, and authored eight books on technology's future, Robert remains the ultimate insider spotting tomorrow's unicorns today.Topics: Lessons from humanizing Microsoft at Channel9 and Rackspace through raw founder storiesWhy spatial computing with robots BCIs and holodecks will redefine human experienceBrain-computer interfaces, holodecks, and immersive interfaces: what’s real vs. hype#ArtificialIntelligence #SpatialComputing #Robotics #FutureOfWork #StartupEcosystem

    1h 17m

  7. FEB 23

    Jake Stauch, Serval CEO on AI Agents for IT Ops & Automation

    Jake Stauch is Founder and CEO of Serval~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators. Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers. AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~The AI-native ITSM platform automating IT, HR, finance, and legal workflows—recently hitting $1B valuation after $75M Series B from Sequoia (total $127M raised) and 5x revenue growth. Previously, he was Director of Product at Verkada and Founder/CEO of NeuroPlus, a Forbes 30 Under 30-recognized startup creating brain-controlled video games for ADHD therapy. Jake blends deep product and AI expertise with entrepreneurial experience in building high-impact technology solutions that combine AI, human-centered design, and operational efficiency.Topics: Insights from brain-controlled games at NeuroPlus to automating enterprise helpdesks at ServalBalancing human oversight with autonomous IT decision-making.Integrating AI into complex operational workflows without disrupting legacy systems.#EnterpriseAI #Startups #Forbes30Under30 #SiliconValley #EnterpriseTech

    1h 3m

  8. FEB 23

    Shay Grinfeld, Greenfield Partners Co-Founder on AI & SaaS Investing

    Shay is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Greenfield-Partners.~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers. AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~Greenfield-Partners focuses on SaaS, healthcare and Ai managing over $1B across cybersecurity, AI, infrastructure, and SaaS. He leads Greenfield's investments BigPanda (AIOps), Coralogix (observability), VAST Data, Capitolis, Silverfort, Torq, Mixtiles, floLIVE, Exodigo, and exits including Avanan (Check Point acquisition) and Guardicore ($600M Akamai sale). Prior to Founding Greenfield, Shay was a senior advisor to TPG Growth. Originally from Tel Aviv and for the last 25 years in NYC, Shay spent the early years of his career operating and maturing early growth technology companies. He then joined Thylacine Capital to lead the alternative investing activity. Shay has an undergraduate degree from Fairleigh Dickenson University and an EMBA from Columbia Business School.Topics: How Greenfield Partners turns Series B startups into unicorns using the proprietary G2M growth playbookWhy AI and cybersecurity remain the hottest growth sectors despite market turbulenceLessons from leading investments in BigPanda Coralogix and VAST Data through explosive scale#AIOps #SaaS #GrowthInvesting #AI #Cybersecurity

    1h 8m
See All (541)

4.8
out of 5
22 Ratings

About

I host a top VC podcast called Smart Venture Podcast (SVPpro.com). Past guests include C-level/VPs of Google, Meta, Amazon, Sephora, Dunkin' Donuts, Chipotle, Pepsi, Instagram, Deloitte, Reddit, Lyft, etc. Managing Partners of top funds (many were featured on the Forbes Midas List) and unicorn founders (founders of Craigslist, Square, Loom, Cruise, etc.) Venture with Grace is my new spin-off series that features top LPs, GPs, solo GPs, Angel Investors, top AI founders, and other experts in tech and business to cover specific domain expertise. Watch this Live on LinkedIn/ YouTube: Grace Gong

Information

  • Creator
    Grace Gong
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    541
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Grace Gong
  • Show Website
    Venture with Grace