Episode Categories:
Resources:
Join the discussion: Got something to say? Let us know here
Upcoming Episodes: Check out the upcoming Everyday AI Livestream lineup
Connect with Jordan Wilson: LinkedIn Profile
Try Our Free AI Prompting Course: Register for our free Prime, Prompt, and Polish AI Course!
The Rising Importance of Domain Expertise in Startups in the AI Era
As artificial intelligence accelerates at breakneck speed, the landscape for startups and venture capitalists is undergoing a seismic shift. The recent discussion from the "Everyday AI" podcast provides compelling insights into how domain expertise is becoming a crucial component for startups looking to flourish in the AI age.
An Ecosystem Fueled by Innovation
The startup ecosystem, traditionally characterized by rapid innovation, is now being reshaped as AI becomes more accessible. Previously, AI integration was sparse, limited to specific niches. Today, the landscape is different, with AI capabilities being sewn into the fabric of almost every new endeavor. From optimizing backend operations to enhancing customer engagement strategies, AI is more than a tool; it’s a partner in the endeavor to scale efficiently.
NVIDIA’s role in this ecosystem is multifaceted. While recognized predominantly for their GPUs, NVIDIA actively supports startups through initiatives providing AI optimization, implementation support, and computing credits, making AI resources more accessible and empowering.
Domain Expertise: The New Gold Standard
In the age of generative AI, startups must transcend mere technological adoption to truly disrupt and innovate. Domain expertise is increasingly prioritized as the differentiating factor that allows startups to harness AI's full potential. A domain expert is someone with a deep-seated understanding of specific industry problems—knowledge that is increasingly pivotal as AI democratizes access to technical capabilities.
As noted in the discussion, startups now have the capacity to address very niche problems more deeply and resonantly because personnel with domain expertise bring irreplaceable insights into customer needs and pain points.
Venture Capital: A Changing Investment Philosophy
The investment landscape is recalibrating. Where once AI novelty alone could secure funding, venture capitalists today are more discerning—emphasizing domain expertise and tangible traction post-investment. This pivot reflects a reality where AI progress eclipses mere technological novelty, urging startups to demonstrate a keen understanding of how AI solutions integrate with real-world problems.
Investment strategies are thus being refined to emphasize not just the technological innovation a startup offers, but profound problem-solving acuity and a roadmap for growth. VCs are leveraging AI tools themselves to discern trends, contributing to more strategic investment choices.
Strategic Recommendations for Startups and VCs
For startups, the takeaway is clear: cultivate a team enriched with domain expertise to guide AI integration meaningfully. This team’s insights will be paramount in building products that resonate with users and in preempting technological supersession by larger AI labs.
For venture capitalists, maintaining a forward-thinking approach is crucial—utilizing AI-driven insights to identify areas ripe for innovation while staying connected to the evolving needs and behaviors within industries.
Conclusion
As AI continues to evolve, so must the strategies of startups and VCs. The agile incorporation of domain expertise alongside technical prowess will not only differentiate companies in AI-saturated markets but ensure they thrive amidst continuing technological advancement. The insights shared in "Everyday AI" underscore a crucial evolution in business strategy—one where human expertise and AI capabilities are not merely aligned but harmoniously intertwined for success.
Topics Covered in This Episode
- Changing Landscape of AI and Startup Ecosystem
- NVIDIA's VC Alliance and Startup Support
- Role of NVIDIA Beyond GPUs
- NVIDIA Inception Program and VC Alliance
- Startup Progression to VC Alliance
- Increasing Integration of AI in Startups
- Role of Domain Experts in Startups
- Evolution from Tech-focused to Problem-focused Startups
- Challenges for VCs and Startups in Rapid AI Innovation
- Importance of Domain Expertise in AI-driven Startups
- Trends in Venture Capital and Startup Strategies with AI
Podcast Transcript
Jordan Wilson [00:00:14]:
Changing so quickly. I mean, with everything that's happening in generative AI, you know if you listen to this show, things are changing not even by the week, by the day, almost hourly. Right? So not only are the tools and the capabilities changing so quickly that startups have access to, but it also changes things on the venture capital side as well. All of these groups that are investing in these startups that so many of us use. Right? So even if you're not in the startup ecosystem, or in venture capital, I think today's conversation is going to be especially relevant because what's happening in the startup and what's happening here at NVIDIA GTC is going to be changing how we all work in the near future. Alright. I'm excited for today's conversation. I hope you are too.
Jordan Wilson [00:01:02]:
What's going on, y'all? My name is Jordan Wilson, and welcome to a special edition of Everyday AI. This is your daily livestream podcast and free daily newsletter, helping us all not just keep up with what's happening in the world of generative AI, but how we can all actually leverage it to get ahead to grow our companies and to grow our careers. So if you listen to the podcast, you might not hear anything different. But if you're on the live stream, you definitely see that we are live here at the NVIDIA GTC conference. The eyes of not just the AI world and the tech world, but I think the eyes of the business world, are on what's happening here at GTC. And we're very, happy and excited to be partnering with NVIDIA to bring you a lot of exclusive insights in interviews from industry experts. So let's just get straight into it. Speaking of industry experts and startups, that's what we're talking about today.
Jordan Wilson [00:01:49]:
So please help me welcome to the show, Alia Babool, who is the platform manager for the NVIDIA VC Alliance. Thank you so much for joining the show.
Aliya Nur Babul [00:01:58]:
Yeah. I'm glad to be here.
Jordan Wilson [00:01:59]:
Alright. So, tell me a little bit about what you do. What do you do as the, NVIDIA, or sorry, the platform manager for the VC Alliance?
Aliya Nur Babul [00:02:07]:
Yeah. So NVIDIA's VC Alliance is really our program to support VCs that are investing in the e AI ecosystem. So we work with VCs on kind of the two aspects that, you know, VCs work on. So investment and, portfolio support. So on the investment side, we are really working with VCs to bring them cool startups that we see, that they're excited about, and and potentially wanna invest in. And on the platform support side, we're kind of working with VCs to support their portfolio companies, on AI optimization, AI implementation, AI implementation, really helping them figure out, you know, how we can help their start ups scale more quickly.
Jordan Wilson [00:02:47]:
So I think, you know, when most people hear NVIDIA, you know, they think GPU. They they they think of the company that's that's powering AI, but they don't necessarily, unless you're in the space, I think a lot of people don't know everything that NVIDIA does on the VC side, on the startup side. So let's maybe start there. NVIDIA has is supporting thousands of of startups. How does this all work? Right? Because, yeah, people just think, oh, GPU chips. It would be more than that.
Aliya Nur Babul [00:03:14]:
That is definitely true. And we do have GPU. That's a lot of yeah. Yeah. That is a main part of what we do. But other than that, you know, we also have a lot of software that startups can use to, again, you know, kind of work on their AI. We have access to a lot of models. We, you know, provide access to a lot of open source models, which could be really useful for startups.
Aliya Nur Babul [00:03:38]:
So, really, there's a lot on the software side that we're doing, that, you know, startups got discounts and, you know, competing credits. So a lot of other things aside from GPUs that a startup needs to kind of run their AIs.
Jordan Wilson [00:03:52]:
Yeah. And if you've listened to the show before, we featured, some of the startups in the inception program at NVIDIA. So how does the VC alliance and the inception program, how do those two, kind of entities work together?
Aliya Nur Babul [00:04:06]:
Yeah. So the VC Alliance kind of fits, I would say, sort of, like, inside the Inception program in the sense that we specifically work with portfolio companies of VCs. So, Inception, you know, as you might know, is really a program for startups in general. They get a lot of access to support on kind of, you know, software and hardware and things like that. But we are specifically working with the portfolio of these VCs on, you know, similar type of thing. Again, support, and figuring out how they can, you know, better build their AIs. So it's kinda just like a subset of its option.
Jordan Wilson [00:04:43]:
And, you know, where does that kind of, hand off take place? Right? Because, you know, I I know there's tens of thousands, right, of of startups in the NVIDIA Inception program. You know, how do the startups in there right? Because I know we have a lot of, you know, startup founders listening to the show. Where does it get to the point where they start working more on on your side, right, versus just being in this big umbrella of support that is the NVIDIA session program?
Aliya Nur Babul [00:05:10]:
Yeah. So I would say, for a lot of startups, what can happen is their VCs will actually recommend them to us. So through us, and we're able to kind of direct them to the support that they need. So I would say if you're a startup, that wants a little bit more support from inception, what I would recommend is if you have a VC backer to get them to, you know, email us or kind of reach out to us on the VC alliance team, and we can kind of work with that startup on a more personalized level.
Jordan Wilson [00:05:39]:
Okay. So so it's it's almost like, you know, like a bring your own VC. Right? Like, like a startup, if they're in the, inception program, they can bring their their their funder, their VC, under the VC lines.
Aliya Nur Babul [00:05:52]:
Exactly. Yes. They can do that as well.
Jordan Wilson [00:05:53]:
Alright. Cool. So before we get into kind of how, you you know, venture capital and startups are changing so much right now in this concept of of domain expertise. Right? Share a little bit about your background because I think that's that's gonna be, especially, helpful for our our viewers and listeners to know because you have a PhD in AI.
Aliya Nur Babul [00:06:13]:
Yeah. Yeah. So I started off doing my PhD. I actually did it in astrophysics and AI. So basically looking at, you know, astrophysics with a lot of large data, how can we use AI to process that more quickly. So that was where I started. And then I left and I kinda joined the investment side. So I joined Market Family first, building AI models to predict the stock market.
Aliya Nur Babul [00:06:36]:
And then I left for the kind of private investment side and joined the VC space. Okay. Yeah. Now I'm here.
Jordan Wilson [00:06:42]:
Yeah. And this is such a great, right, combination of your of your background and your current role. It's pretty cool. But let's maybe hit rewind first because, I think the startup ecosystem has changed so much, right, especially, over the last year or three, but even before that. You you know, can you maybe bring us, up to date? Because, you know, as an example, yeah, five, ten years ago, there were still startups working in AI. Artificial intelligence isn't new, but now it seems like I don't know. Maybe every startup is AI powered or AI infused, AI something. You know, where are we at just in terms of kind of the the current landscape of the startup ecosystem when it comes to AI integration?
Aliya Nur Babul [00:07:22]:
Yeah. I think that's definitely true. I remember, like, back when I was doing my PhD, you would see almost no startups kind of advertising that they were using AI, and I think that maybe partly was because less people have heard of AI. So it wasn't as exciting as it is today. But yeah. Now I think, you know, AI is a lot more accessible. You know, even just if you look at, like, models, like, LLMs, they're a lot easier to use. You can kind of plug in your own data and get a lot of outputs that are very customized.
Aliya Nur Babul [00:07:51]:
So, definitely, I think a lot more accessible than they were maybe five years ago. So, yeah, I think you're seeing a lot more startups starting to use it and a lot more startups that are starting to, I think, you know, really, use it in some really interesting ways.
Jordan Wilson [00:08:05]:
Can startups really thrive if they're not, you know if if AI isn't an integral part of their operations? Like, are there still, like, you know, the equivalent of, like, offline startups?
Aliya Nur Babul [00:08:17]:
I mean, I think there definitely are. Okay. And I think I I sometimes see some of them, and we kinda have these conversations about, like, where they can use AI to, like, optimize what they're doing. So, you know, for example, there was a company that I was talking to that was in the fashion space and they were like, AI is not really applicable to us. And I was like, well, you can actually use AI to, like, optimize on the back end of what you're doing to find customers or grow your presence or, you know, even just, like, optimize your supply chain, for example. So I think there's a lot of things that, you know, like, companies can do on the AI side that even if they're not necessarily in the AI space, they can leverage it to kind of scale a lot faster than they would have maybe five years ago.
Jordan Wilson [00:09:03]:
Yeah. So I wanna get to kind of a little bit how I I opened the show and talking about this idea of of domain experts and and how, you know, AI is really changing the startup landscape. What What the heck is a domain expert, and and what is their, you know, their current and evolving role, when it comes to working in startups?
Aliya Nur Babul [00:09:23]:
Yeah. So I like to think of a domain expert as someone who really understands the problem. I don't think there has to be, you know, a specific type of expertise. Like, they don't have to necessarily be a product manager or, you know, an AI expert, but just someone who has really kind of worked in this space, and try to understand the problem that they're trying to solve. So, you know, they could be someone who's worked in sales for, you know, ten or fifteen years and has really seen kind of the space evolve, understands the problems, the pain points, all of those kinds of things. I would say, you know, they're probably a domain expert. They understand, you know, what's going on and kind of what needs to be done to make the space, you know, sort of run more smoothly. Mhmm.
Jordan Wilson [00:10:02]:
Yeah. I think, you know, I've always had this thought when you talk about startups. It's, you know, some, you know, fresh college grad, you know, in a hoodie, just, you know, coding in their back you know, coding in their dorm room. Right? Going back to, you know, kind of Facebook. Right? Like, I think that's what a lot of people think of. Have you seen this in your role so far? Have you seen this change? Right? This this concept of, you know, now domain experts are maybe more important than, you you know, the the recent, you know, Harvard, CS. Like, how many, you know, CS students from Harvard and Stanford do you have on your team?
Aliya Nur Babul [00:10:36]:
Yeah. I mean, I think you probably still need one of those, but, I have seen from a lot of conversations with VCs more recently that, like, they are looking for people who really truly deeply understand the problems that they're trying to solve. And I think that is because, as I said, AI is becoming more accessible. And I think that's really great, but that means that in order to differentiate yourself, you need to be doing something. And, that means that if you know a problem better than anyone else on there, you're probably gonna be able to solve it maybe slightly better. So that's kinda what, you know, I hear from a lot of these things these days.
Jordan Wilson [00:11:11]:
Yeah. Are you seeing, or hearing from conversations that you're, having, like, a shift toward an an emphasis on, you know, having, you know, maybe, you know, kind of, quote, unquote, mid career professionals, like, you know, powering or being a big part of, of a start up team. Like, are you seeing this shift happen?
Aliya Nur Babul [00:11:32]:
Yeah. Definitely. I think, you know, even, like, a year ago or eight months ago, everyone was just like, let's invest in AI. And then you were seeing a lot of those young grads kind of getting a lot of investment. And I think now what I'm seeing is that VCs wanna be a little bit more picky about what they're investing in, a little bit more careful. I think we've seen AI change really quickly in the last year. So, now I am seeing that they, you know, really want to be investing in people, I think, who understand the problems that they're solving.
Jordan Wilson [00:12:02]:
How much of it and, you know, maybe maybe I'm wrong here, but, I mean, how much of it, could be attributed to, large language models just becoming more capable? Right? Like, the I I mean, these models now, we talk about the commoditization of of knowledge. Right? Is that, like does that have anything to do with why domain expertise now is maybe more important than it was a year ago, three years ago just because knowledge is more and more accessible to anyone that can, you know, sit behind a chat GBT or or a cloud or something like that.
Aliya Nur Babul [00:12:34]:
Yeah. I mean, I think that's definitely true. You know, I was I was actually just recently talking to a VC that's attached to a consulting firm, and they were saying that, you know, for example, they are more and more leveraging LLMs in instead of analysts. Mhmm. But that wasn't the case for their senior managers that they still really, you know, needed those people because they they knew the problem. They knew how to solve them. They knew how to work with clients, all those, you know, skills. And so they were able to actually replace, you know, those people who really had a deeper knowledge of kind of the space that they were working in.
Aliya Nur Babul [00:13:07]:
So I think it's exactly that.
Jordan Wilson [00:13:09]:
Yeah. And, you know, you bring up a point which which I I have a lot of hot takes on, but even this concept of, like, you know, deep research. Right? You see all the all the AI labs coming out with these these deep research. Right? OpenAI and, XAI with Croc and and Google. Right? All of these, you know, a lot of and and video partners coming out of these, you know, tools that just research really at the level that, you know, an entry level management consultant might be operating at. Right? So, you know, when it comes to domain expertise, how those people right? Like, if you look at these reports that these, you know, LLMs can generate in, you know, two to thirty minutes and, you know, a domain expert looks and they're like, wow. You know, that would take me many hours or multiple days, And they're wondering, like, okay. I know that I have talents.
Jordan Wilson [00:13:56]:
I have backgrounds. Right? In in in, you know, sales or marketing or whatever it is. How can domain experts still find their way in the startup ecosystem when the tools available are becoming exponentially more powerful?
Aliya Nur Babul [00:14:09]:
Yeah. I mean, I think this kind of serves to go into, like, the esoteric, you know Yeah. AI. So what I would say is that, you know, even if, like, you know, a deep research report comes out that AI has generated, I think it still takes someone who understands that domain to kinda go back to what we were talking about to actually be able to say, like, what do I do with this information? How do I put it into action? Or how do I put it into, you know to create a start up with it that is actually able to do something useful? So I think there's still a lot of space around how do we use information. That still requires, I think, people who have had a lot of expertise, like turning, you know, what their experiences have been or what their, you know, what research they've collected into their actionable insights.
Jordan Wilson [00:14:54]:
One thing that I I I love about NVIDIA and, you know, learning, from, you know, experts at NVIDIA such as yourself is the collaborative environment at, at NVIDIA. Right? You know, if you're at one of the AI labs, you know, I think it's so super competitive. Right? But NVIDIA, you know, your partners would just allow everyone because everyone uses your technology to build their AI. So with that in mind, right, I'm I'm sure that you're working with, you know, venture capitalists and and start ups, you know, working, across many different fields in in in sectors. What are you seeing, like, common, trends? Right? You you know, whether it's on the VC side or the startup side, when it comes to AI. What's the common trends, that you're starting to see right now?
Aliya Nur Babul [00:15:36]:
Yeah. I mean, I think, you know, as you said, we kind of are sort of this node in, like, the ecosystem of start ups and and VCs. So I think we work across, like, a lot of sectors. We work across, like, a lot of different kinds of companies whether they're more on, like, the application side or, you know, on the deeper kind of AI side. But I would say, like, again, you know, I think one of the trends that I've really seen is is sort of this idea that, you're starting to see, like, startups that I think are a lot smaller and a lot more, like, kind of laser focused on, I would say, like, more narrow problems, and then they're trying to solve them more deeply.
Jordan Wilson [00:16:13]:
Mhmm. What does that mean? Like, how can startups find that that narrow application for, you know, their app or or or their SaaS? Like, how can they find that? Because I think that's so important. Yeah.
Aliya Nur Babul [00:16:25]:
Move so fast. It does move really fast. I would say, though, I think again, I think if you've kind of worked in a space and you know what the pain points are, you probably know what pain points can be easily solved by, like, an AI that might come out tomorrow, you know, or that, you know, chat g p t might build on top of or or build something that that's easily kind of replaceable versus problems that I think are a harder and maybe more complex to solve that, require, like, you know, your sort of intimate knowledge to actually go about, you know, making change.
Jordan Wilson [00:16:57]:
Yeah. And that's a great point that you bring up, because, you know, all of the big AI labs are, continually, you know, putting out new and easy to use, you know, infrastructure. You know, as an example, OpenAI just released their, you know, agents SDK. I I I believe last week. Yeah. It's it's it's hard when I do this every day. I'm like, was that last week, or was that, like, three months ago? But, I mean, how can startups even, begin to deal with the the the pace of innovation at the big AI labs. Right? Because you could spend, you know, six months, a year, eighteen months building something, and then all of a sudden, one big AI labs comes out and releases something, and you're like, that's what we've been working on.
Aliya Nur Babul [00:17:37]:
Yeah. I mean, I think, like, competition is gonna exist. I think it's part of the the world that we live in now. So I would say probably for a startup. Again, you know, I think this is this is more on on, like, my personal opinion. I think it's a matter of, you know, getting customers and kind of, again, making sure that, you know, you're really kind of solving the problems in a in a unique way. Because I think, that's really what's gonna allow you to thrive in a world where everyone is gonna come up with the same ideas in some sense.
Jordan Wilson [00:18:07]:
Yeah. What I mean, what advice, you know, because I'm sure that you hear both from, on the venture capital side and the start up side. Is it getting increased, you know, I'm I'm observing from the outside. Do you think it's getting increasingly harder for, you know, these companies not just to, you know, find product market fit, but to actually, you you know, get the, get the users get the the paying users, get the traction because of everything that's happening, right, at the big AI labs and and and just the sheer breakneck pace of of large numbers models.
Aliya Nur Babul [00:18:39]:
Yeah. I mean, I would argue, you know, to to disagree slightly. I would argue that product market market that has probably always been difficult. I don't know that I would naturally say it's more difficult today than it was five years ago. And in fact, you know, I might say that it might actually be slightly easier because I think, you know, companies are more open to the idea of using, like, innovative startups or, you know, technology to, you know, do what they're doing faster and quicker and better and all those kinds of things. But I would say it's definitely on the investment side. I do think, you know, it is becoming more difficult than it was three years ago when every VC wanted to invest in AI. And now, you know, you're not seeing that as much.
Aliya Nur Babul [00:19:18]:
So I think, you know, there's only maybe, like, a rebalancing of the ecosystem that's happening right now.
Jordan Wilson [00:19:24]:
Yeah. And and and walk me through on the VC side because I can only imagine, you know, maybe if you were, you know, 2020, '20 '20 '1, you know, investing in some early AI startups, there's probably a a decent level of confidence there. Right? Is it harder to feel confidence in large investments, you know, now in 2025 when when the pace is so fast? And, you know, maybe walk us through, you know, what a lot of, you you know, these VC groups are maybe not struggling with, but what are the challenges of of being able to keep up? Yeah. I mean,
Aliya Nur Babul [00:19:54]:
I think it's definitely harder now because we've seen, as we said, you know, startups that they've invested in, that we're doing really well. And then, you know, a big kind of AI company comes out and says, okay. We've actually, you know, done exactly what you're doing, and, you know, people are gonna more likely to use their products over a startup's product. So I think, you know, definitely, VCs, I think, are becoming a little bit more cautious, from what I've seen, which is not to say that they're less enthusiastic about AI because I think everyone knows that, you know, there's a lot of really, really exciting applications in AI, but just more, you know, cautious around which investments and so I think, you know, VCs from that from what I've heard are sort of, you know, starting to think a little bit more about how do we think about how AI is changing business models, how do we think about, you know, innovation and AI? How do we predict to what the next, you know, thing that, a big AI company is gonna come out with so that we can make sure that our startups are sort of, like, well positioned for, you know, the next five years.
Jordan Wilson [00:20:57]:
Yeah. And and, you know, I'm curious. What are you doing right now to, you know, ensure that outcome as fast as possible? Right? I mean, there's no way to predict the future, but, you you know, what are you all doing, to ensure that both the VCs and the startups, right, when we have their inception program or ones that you're working more directly with, what are those common steps that you're taking to make sure that they're as set up for success as possible?
Aliya Nur Babul [00:21:22]:
Yeah. So, you know, tomorrow, we have the AI day for VCs, which I think is, you know, one of the ways that we are trying to equip VCs to sort of have an understanding of what is happening in the AI landscape and how does it affect their investment decision making. So I think that's one thing. You know, VCs in the alliance also get access to our industry insights, which, again, is meant to sort of be, a more, like, year round, you know, information on how should they be thinking about AI, what are kind of the trends, what are the challenges, you know, what are the exciting areas that maybe are open spaces for investment. So that's kind of, I would say, on the VC side. And on the startup side, you know, again, we work with a lot of startups. I would say, you know, even startups that are not necessarily using AI right now, but maybe could be. And that could help them scale, that could help them, you know, get customers, you know, increase their customer reach.
Aliya Nur Babul [00:22:20]:
So I think those are some of the things that, you know, we're doing to kind of equip startups to succeed. And, of course, you know, when when those startups succeed and we're working with them, we also succeed. So we're very motivated to to make sure that they do well.
Jordan Wilson [00:22:33]:
Yeah. You know, getting back to this, you know, this concept of of domain experts. Right? And I always, you know, have people that I picture in my mind who are, you know, maybe in their in their forties. And, you you know, I know now, unfortunately, there's also, you know, huge layoffs going around in the tech industry. And one thing I always point out is, like, what better time, right, for someone with twenty years of experience in in sales or, you know, twenty years of experience in in in telco, right, to to be able to come in and, you know, build something from scratch. It seems like there's no better time. You know, what's your kind of, advice, to those domain experts who are maybe now looking, at at being an entrepreneur, for the first time?
Aliya Nur Babul [00:23:18]:
I mean, I would say a %. Like, if they have a really cool idea, that's I I mean, it's definitely a great time to be kind of acting on it. Again, as I said, you know, I think a lot of VCs are really looking for that. So, you know, it's almost better to be that domain expert building a company now, maybe than it was, like, two years ago where VCs were definitely more excited about. I would say, like, any of the novel AI applications, and now they're sort of shifting a little bit. So I think you may have even a better chance of kind of getting funded.
Jordan Wilson [00:23:48]:
Yeah. Yeah. And and speaking about what VCs are excited about, you know, I I I feel, you know, maybe five to ten years ago, startups were were very proud of their, like, head count. Right? They're like, oh, we've raised this much money and and, you know, we have, you know, 500 employees or, you know, 80 employees. Right? It it doesn't I I don't know. From the outside, that doesn't seem super impressive to me anymore, you know, especially with, you know, now you can go in and, you know, in the weekend and buy a code, you know, MVP. Right? And get something up and and running and working. What what do you think, you know, or or maybe talk a little bit.
Jordan Wilson [00:24:25]:
Have you seen a similar shift where people were maybe more concerned about the number of people, and now maybe what are they concerned or focused on, more, with all the recent advancements?
Aliya Nur Babul [00:24:36]:
Yeah. So I think I I mentioned this. I think kind of the VC ecosystem is sort of going through this, like, rebalancing. And I think as a result of that, VCs are trying to be a little bit more cautious, a little bit more prudent. And so I think you're seeing VCs that, you know, want to see that companies have customers or they have some, you know, traction is becoming, I think, a lot more important than it was. Again, you know, a few years ago, you could definitely have a Yeah. And I think you're seeing that a lot less often now. So I think it's important to kind of make sure that, you know, you have a product that's working, that you have customers that are using it.
Aliya Nur Babul [00:25:14]:
Those kinds of things are becoming a lot more important as metrics, which, you know, they were as well, you know, seven, ten years ago. So I think we're kind of, you know, seeing that sort of rebalance.
Jordan Wilson [00:25:24]:
Yeah. What's what's still you know, and and I'm sure the the rebalancing process is is evergreen. Right? It's it's continually, like, rebalancing. But what would you say right now in this kind of, you you know, venture capital startup ecosystem? What are the things that kind of need the most, right, rebalancing? Is it is it people that are still, you know, working, you know, as if it was five years ago and there's and there's no AI? Is it people that aren't maybe talking to customers enough? What is the, you know, in this day and age of of AI everywhere? What's the biggest part of that relationship that needs rebalanced?
Aliya Nur Babul [00:25:57]:
I think it's probably kinda trying to fuse the two things. Right? Like, how does AI sort of work with a model where we now want to have customers, we now want to see, you know, more traction than, you know, we did maybe, like, three years ago. So, I think it's a question of, like, that balance between building a product, building something that's, like, unique and interesting. You know, probably that uses AI in some way, but at the same time, still kind of taking that maybe, you know, quote, unquote, like, old school approach and actually going out and finding customers.
Jordan Wilson [00:26:30]:
Yeah. What's you know, I'm sure there's very, few few people, you know, and few companies that can, you know, sit in the position that you're in. Right? Because you have relationships with with all of these, you you know, the big companies, the small start ups. But, you know, if you were sitting across the table from someone who's who's launching an exciting start up today, what's the advice that you're giving them?
Aliya Nur Babul [00:26:55]:
So I would say that probably two things. I think one, you know, as I I sort of said, I think, you know, really understanding the problem that you're solving. And I think that is, you know, on two sides. So there's the the technology side. Right? Understanding kind of how you're building technology, and then I think there's the customer side. So understanding the customers that that technology is then serving. And I would say, like, those probably are the two really important things that I'm seeing. And so I would say, you know, you definitely wanna make sure you have both.
Aliya Nur Babul [00:27:27]:
You know, no one wants to see as often kind of the, you know, AI applications that are gonna be sort of obsolete in six months. But at the same time, you know, a really interesting AI company that doesn't know what which customer is is also not interesting. So I think, definitely, having both of those is important.
Jordan Wilson [00:27:47]:
Yeah. Similarly, on the venture capital side, because I know we have a lot of people, in the VC industry listening to the show. What would you tell them? Right? Because, you know, I can only imagine, how much more difficult their jobs are getting because it's, like, every day, there's, like, a thousand new start up that do, you know, a, b, c, and, you know, five years ago, they're not. So what would you say to someone on the VC side?
Aliya Nur Babul [00:28:11]:
So I would actually say to leverage AI as much as possible to kind of try to do some of that deeper research so that you can really stay abreast of all of the kind of AI innovations and developments that are happening. And I know there's so much information out there, which is why I say, you know, leverage AI to some extent. But I think it just kind of helps to kind of know sort of where AI is going and sort of what the challenges are and what the innovations are to be able to kind of figure out what the white spaces and kind of where you wanna be investing.
Jordan Wilson [00:28:44]:
So I'm sure there's gonna be a lot of news coming out in the next couple of days. We probably can't talk about all of it yet at this moment. But, you know, for, you know, startups, VCs that are looking at what's happening here at GTC because there's a lot you mentioned, you know, that AI day tomorrow. But, what do you think they should be looking at that's happening here at GTC?
Aliya Nur Babul [00:29:07]:
I mean, I think, you know, definitely AI day for VCs is always, you know, something that I think is gonna be super useful for start ups and for VCs. But I would say Johnson's keynote is probably and I'm sure everyone says this. But I think, you know, it's gonna be sort of a good kind of, overarching sort of, like, summary and highlight of, you know, where AI is going and also what are some of the new things that are coming out. And I think everything in that speech will be useful for both, you know, startups who are thinking about where they should be building, and VCs who are thinking about where they should be investing.
Jordan Wilson [00:29:42]:
Yeah. Yeah. It's it's always good. Right? Like, I always relisten to his keynotes, and I'm like, wait. This changes how do I think about business? Right? It changes how I think about work. So it should be, it should be exciting. But, so we we've covered a lot in today's conversation. Right? Talking about things on on on venture capital side, the start up side, you know, the the ever evolving role of of domain experts.
Jordan Wilson [00:30:04]:
But maybe as we wrap up, you know, let's just double down on that. What is your biggest takeaway from those domain experts, right, when it comes to, you know, maybe companies that should be looking at them to to hire them, whether it's looking at, you know, domain experts that are trying to build something on their own. What's your biggest takeaway for domain experts, today?
Aliya Nur Babul [00:30:25]:
Yeah. I mean, I think, you know, in the age of AI, you know, everyone is a little bit worried that, you know, the information that they provide is not as good as what an AI would provide. So I would say, you know, to those domain experts that I think they they really have something that's kind of unique in the sense that, you know, they have a lot more, I would say, practice almost processing the information from their specific domains and kind of knowing what to do with it. And I think that, is a skill that is super useful whether they're working at a company or building their own. And so I would definitely encourage them to leverage that.
Jordan Wilson [00:31:04]:
Alright. Great advice all around. So, Aliyah, thank you so much for joining the Everyday AI Show. We really appreciate it. Yeah.
Aliya Nur Babul [00:31:10]:
It was great to be here. Thank you for having me.
Jordan Wilson [00:31:12]:
Alright. We're gonna have a lot more for you this week and next week. Like I said, the entire, business world, tech world, AI world is is just looking at what's happening, this week at the NVIDIA GTC conference, and we're gonna be here bringing it to you, live from a great experts like we just heard today. So if this was helpful, I hope it was. Make sure you go to youreverydayai.com. Sign up for that free daily newsletter. We're gonna be recapping, today's conversation as well as speaking of the keynote. Right? Where as soon as that drops, we're gonna have all of the information out there for you.
Jordan Wilson [00:31:47]:
So thanks for tuning in. We hope to see you back tomorrow in every day for more everyday AI. Thanks, y'all.