Sidekick FM - Brighteye

Brighteye
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Sidekick is a weekly catch-up with David & Rhys exploring the HumanOS and what’s happening across Learning & Work. We share the market signals, deals, founder stories and conversations that catch our attention. Think of it as a coffee with the Brighteye team, sharing what we’re seeing and hearing from founders. Powered by Brighteye, Europe’s leading early-stage VC fund for Learning & Work. www.brighteyevc.com/sidekick

  1. 5d ago

    Flourish: The school rebuilding K-12 around 1-on-1 learning

    Timestamps‍ 0:00 Cold open: mics in every classroom & AI superpowers 1:57 Welcome to Sidekick: introducing John Danner & Flourish 2:15 From ad tech to education: John's career journey 4:15 why Flourish exists: existing schools won't change on their own 4:55 the two big ideas: 1-on-01 learning & AI teaching academics 8:55 AI improvement loops: digital students & automated bug fixing 13:17 What becomes of the teacher? people skills over content expertise 16:55 AI-generated interventions: teacher guides & worksheets 18:32 Curriculum, assessment & map testing in the Flourish model 20:10 Sci-fi measurement: mics in classrooms & scoring 24 superpowers 24:29 The future of Flourish in 2036 & new venture investment category 31:23 Advice for the next generation: agency, curiosity & ai fluency‍ Can a school finally deliver one-on-one learning at scale? John Danner, founder of Rocketship and now Flourish, joins David and Rhys to explain how AI now teaches the academics well enough for the middle of the class, freeing teachers to work with individual kids. He shares how Flourish measures curiosity and agency from classroom transcripts, why its AI finds and fixes its own product bugs, and why he believes school networks, not software, are the next venture growth category. Useful listening for founders building in K-12 and AI in learning.‍ Follow John on Substack for weekly updates: https://dunce.substack.com/ Links: https://www.flourishschools.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jwdanner/

  2. Sep 22

    We’re betting on the HumanOS. Introducing Fund III.

    In this special episode, Ben, Izzy, Rhys and David sit down following the first close of Fund III to reflect on how Brighteye’s thinking has evolved since 2018. They discuss how AI is reshaping learning and work, why the thesis has expanded into the HumanOS, what they have learnt as investors, what makes them lean forward today, and where their views have changed. They also share how Brighteye is evolving its platform and what they are looking for in the next generation of founders: pre-seed and seed companies built in Europe with global ambition. ** Timestamps ** 0:00 "Building is the new reading": AI’s biggest unlock 1:08 Welcome to Sidekick: a special Fund III episode 1:52 What has changed since 2018: from edtech SaaS to AI 4:13 Lessons learnt: good product is not enough, and the Series A bar is rising 7:00 Staying optimistic on AI: Jiro Dreams of Sushi and job creation 8:41 The HumanOS thesis: augmentation over automation 10:58 What makes us lean forward: fresh perspectives and deep domain knowledge 13:06 Changed minds: personalised learning and data annotation 16:37 "Learning in the flow of life" 19:06 Levelling up the platform: productising the founder experience 21:16 What Fund III is funding: European pre-seed and seed founders with global ambition 23:24 Izzy on combining the physical world and AI ** Get in touch ** Ben: bwirz@brighteyevc.com Izzy: iv@brighteyevc.com David: dg@brighteyevc.com Rhys: rs@brighteyevc.com More on Fund III: www.brighteyevc.com/sidekick-posts/brighteye-secures-72m-in-fund-iii-first-close

  3. Sep 17

    Imagi: Building the education layer for kids in the AI era, starting with Lovable + lessons from an a16z scout

    Schools are racing to ban AI but what if that's the lazy way out? This week on Sidekick, we sit down with Dora, co-founder and CEO of Imagi, one of Brighteye's portfolio company building a safety and responsibility layer between K12 students and the real-world AI tools they'll increasingly use. Dora shares why Imagi pivoted from coding education to AI literacy, how schools can hold two realities at once (embracing AI in some contexts and excluding it in others!) and why personalised learning, finally possible thanks to AI, should be celebrated rather than feared.We also go beyond the product. Shee opens up about the hardest parts of being a founder (hint: there's no "A for effort"), what she learned writing 10+ checks as an A16Z scout, and why the best advice she can give fellow founders is to walk your own path imperfectly rather than someone else's perfectly. ** Timestamps ** 0:59 - Welcome to Sidekick + introduction to Dora 2:06 - The genesis of Imagi: where the idea came from 3:14 - The grand vision: where Dora wants to take Imagi 4:35 - Schools delaying AI adoption: Dora’s reflections 6:56 - “Banning AI is the lazy way out”: intentional use vs. bans 8:40 - Personalised learning is finally possible, so why are we scared? 9:54 - Founder lesson: there’s no “A for effort” in entrepreneurship 13:14 - What she learnt as an a16z scout, and how it shaped her as a founder 15:44 - One piece of advice: walk your own path, imperfectly‍ Links: Imagi: https://imagilabs.com/ Why we invested in Imagi: https://www.brighteyevc.com/sidekick-posts/why-we-invested-in-imagi Dora's a16z portfolio: https://vibeinvesting.lovable.app/

  4. Sep 8

    The bar for raising has never been higher. Blame AI.

    The fundraising bar has moved. In this episode, we unpack what investors now expect at Pre-seed, Seed, and Series A and why traction alone won't get you funded anymore. We break down the shifting benchmarks across each stage, what "de-risked" really means in today's market, and share a simple framework to help founders answer the hardest question: is it time to raise, or keep building? Whether you're pre-revenue or pre-Series A, this conversation will help you pressure-test your readiness before you pitch. **Timestamps** 1:00 What does it actually take to raise in 2026? 2:07 AI lowered the cost of building but raised the cost of differentiation 9:30 Round preemption: how VCs are moving earlier and more aggressively 12:09 Conviction-led vs. momentum-led investors and why founders should know the difference 14:27 The fundraising proof framework: Insight -> Pull -> Repeatability 14:55 Pre-seed: "Can you see something others don't?" 16:17 Series A in 2026: why it feels like Mission Impossible (and one company doing it anyway) 17:24 Why the gap between pre-seed and seed has widened significantly 25:25 Are you ready to raise? A simple decision tree for founders 26:29 Three questions every founder must ask: AI defensibility, distribution advantage, and does your product get better with every use? Read piece (see fundraising decision tree): www.brighteyevc.com/sidekick-posts/the-fundraising-bar-has-moved-heres-how-to-know-if-youre-ready

  5. Sep 3

    What the new Series A bar means for your seed round in 2026

    The Series A ladder hasn't disappeared, it's just moved: founders raising seed today are expected to hit traction that used to define a Series A. David and Rhys unpack why the bar has risen so sharply: seed rounds now behave like the old Series A, pre-seed to seed can mean €5-11M raised before founders even reach "Series A territory", and AI-first companies are bending the sequence entirely. The takeaway: stop planning around an 18-24 month Series A timeline after your seed, stay lean, and raise on your terms, not under pressure. Timestamps: 0:00 - Even a 6X YoY growth company faces a tough Series A today. 1:05 - Investors expect companies much further along by Series A now. 7:35 - Companies can do more with less: smaller teams, faster iteration, AI acceleration. 7:53 - Cheaper to build means higher investor expectations for what you've built. 8:36 - Fundraising ladder compressing: pre-seed/seed/growth -> Series A looks like old Series B. 11:41 - Don't assume a Series A will arrive 18-30 months after your seed. 12:00 - Stay lean, protect cash, avoid overstaffing before growth materializes. 12:52 - Build a plan that doesn't require a Series A: raise on your terms, not cornered. Links: LinkedIn post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-7492849503104901120-lFup/ in Plain Sight - Do doctors still need 6 years of training to qualify?: https://www.brighteyevc.com/sidekick-posts/do-doctors-still-need-a-decade-to-qualify

    What the new Series A bar means for your seed round in 2026

  6. Aug 19

    From paper wealth to real wealth: Redesigning Employees' Equity in 2026

    Time to IPO has stretched from 4 to 15 years so when does employee equity actually become real? In this episode, we unpack why the traditional "join, wait, exit" model is broken and what founders should (probably) be doing instead. We dig into building liquidity schedules tied to real milestones, making equity tangible instead of theoretical, and why the biggest founder fear (that cashing out means checking out) is actually a myth. Plus: how secondaries recycle entrepreneurial talent into the next generation of founders and angels, and why controlled liquidity might be the unlock Europe's startup ecosystem has been waiting for. **Timestamps** 0:16 Time to IPO stretched from 4 to 15 years: old equity model is broken 2:56 Build a liquidity schedule from day one tied to real milestones 5:42 Make equity tangible: show what it's worth, not just percentages 6:28 Base liquidity on company conditions, not just funding rounds 7:08 Controlled liquidity: enough to stay, not enough to leave 11:57 "Cash out = check out" is a myth; done right, it boosts commitment 14:38 Secondaries recycle talent: alumni become founders and angels 16:41 A secondary gives personal runway to start your own company Links: 1. The rising tide of employee secondaries: https://www.brighteyevc.com/sidekick-posts/the-rising-tide-of-employee-secondaries 2. Secondaries as retention (podcast): https://www.brighteyevc.com/sidekick-posts/secondaries-as-retention-relief-money-not-retirement-money-and-why-we-invested-in-gyver 3. How to Grant Equity to Employees (podcast + simulator): https://www.brighteyevc.com/sidekick-posts/how-to-grant-equity-to-employees

    From paper wealth to real wealth: Redesigning Employees' Equity in 2026

  7. Aug 12

    Universities still treat careers like the small print

    Careers are the last thing university course pages think about, described in job titles that stop meaning anything within a couple of years. David and Rhys dig into why the traditional university deal is breaking down, and sketch out what might replace it: a membership model for higher education, paid for over decades rather than once, and tied to your actual career. For founders building in higher education, this is the wedge worth watching: the market for staying relevant, not just qualifying. **Timestamps** 0:51 Careers are treated as small print; they should be front and center 0:57 Job titles decay fast; AI moves markets faster than curricula 4:13 Lower-ranked schools sell careers harder: product positioning lesson 8:02 Expensive degrees only pencil if brand + network are elite 10:41 Career doors don’t have to be opened by university 11:52 OneDay’s asymmetric bet: startup upside, MBA floor 13:37 Cheaper + more practical + shared cohort ambition wins as an alternative 15:00 Learning-by-doing is the durable higher-ed fix beyond business 16:09 Activate alumni as mentors while students are still enrolled 19:41 Membership model: continuous, work-tied learning for 20-30 years **Read OpEd**: https://www.brighteyevc.com/sidekick-posts/in-plain-sight-01-universities-still-treat-careers-like-the-small-print

    Universities still treat careers like the small print

  8. Jul 22

    Half Year Funding Report reveals what learning and work founders build next

    Rhys sat down to build our H1 Learning & Work funding report expecting more of the same. Instead, he found the pyramid had flipped: for the first time, more later-stage deals than early-stage ones in European learning and work funding. The lesson isn't about deal stages. It's about what gets funded at all: measurable business outcomes, not standalone learning experiences. If you're building in learning and work, this is worth sitting with: are you selling learning, or a result someone can measure? The market seems to be rewarding the second. **Timestamps‍** 1.46  Investors back high-value workflows (legal, HR) where ROI is measurable and status quo is entrenched 2:28  Optimize for business outcomes, not learning experiences 3:45  Series C+ deals now outnumber Series A+B -the market is maturing 5:27  3 of the top 10 deals are legal AI - target knowledge-heavy, documentation-rich workflows 7:33  76% of funding went to just 10 deals. Capital is concentrating in category leaders 8:27  Enterprises buy Multiverse for AI adoption speed, not learning. Sell the outcome! 9:11  Learning is the mechanism. Productivity, performance, retention are what buyers actually purchase 10:34  Every industry will get its own verticalized OS. Context and sector-specific data wins 14:10  SaaS will recentralize as teams rein in fragmented AI tooling 14:24  Learning will become invisible, embedded in workflows. Build for performance, not learning Download report: https://www.brighteyevc.com/sidekick

    Half Year Funding Report reveals what learning and work founders build next
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About

Sidekick is a weekly catch-up with David & Rhys exploring the HumanOS and what’s happening across Learning & Work. We share the market signals, deals, founder stories and conversations that catch our attention. Think of it as a coffee with the Brighteye team, sharing what we’re seeing and hearing from founders. Powered by Brighteye, Europe’s leading early-stage VC fund for Learning & Work. www.brighteyevc.com/sidekick

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