TechCrunch Disrupt(ed) my Thinking on A.I., Mentorship, and Silicon Valley Itself
TechCrunch Disrupt is a premier event in the early-stage tech world. As an investor, I enjoy meeting enthusiastic founders who are passionate about their companies and how they’re going to change the way we live and work. I share that passion as the founder of Sensai.
Convening with other entrepreneurs who deal with the emotional and intellectual challenges of growing sustainable businesses sparks new ideas for how Sensai can move forward further and faster. It also helps me identify other ways to anticipate and respond to customers’ demand.
It’s also great to reconnect in person with acquaintances at this event. It was nice to have a moment to catch up with Mike Butcher — the longtime TechCrunch Editor and clever MC of Disrupt — and other friends from the UK and Europe at the Greylock opening event. In some ways, Mike’s career epitomizes the spirit of many tech entrepreneurs who want to advance the lives of others and not just look for a quick, big exit or liquidity pop. He has spent most of his time finding ways to use technology to improve the lives of vets and refugees.
Techcrunch Disrupt is also a great opportunity for first-time entrepreneurs to meet investors face-to-face. Networking with VCs and other entrepreneurs helps with fundraising later if you can build a sense of familiarity or name recognition. However, I don’t recommend fundraising at the event. Those conversations are best in other forums.
Most investors are not there to find their next investment, but to share wisdom to help the industry grow, maintain their profile as successful investors and the profile of their portfolio, connect with people, and get a sense of what entrepreneurs are most excited and worried about. They’re often not in the mindset to receive an overzealous pitch in public.
A majority of the presentations and panels at Disrupt focus on early-stage startups and the latest applications for popular software. But, they also touch on the human element of tech, personal stories, and what it means to be a good and responsible citizen of the world. As I rushed from session to session in between calls and emails, I had the opportunity to form and absorb some insights. Here’s some of what I observed:
A.I. is Nothing to Fear, and Companies are Catching on Quickly
In my last blog post recapping VentureBeat’s Transform A.I. summit, I noted how artificial intelligence is having a serious moment. I added that in some circles A.I. has once again overtaken blockchain as the technology that everyone is talking about.
Additionally, attitudes on A.I. have improved. Last year, Dr. Kai-Fu Lee, CEO and chairman of China-based venture firm, Sinovation, made some dire predictions for A.I. in The New York Times.
Lee posited that “AI is poised to bring about a wide-scale decimation of jobs — mostly lower-paying jobs, but some higher-paying ones, too.” Other experts have made this prediction as well. But I only partially agree. Artificial intelligence will also help retain and retrain workers, and in some cases, improve their satisfaction.
Thanks to the innovative use of A.I., the benefits have outweighed the costs. Several large companies — including Salesforce and Xiaomi — have announced that they’ll use A.I. to improve their respective workforces’ workflows and processes, thus improving employee retention.
The power and practical applications of A.I. were also on full display at Disrupt. Several sessions and workshops explored how A.I. can be used to improve customer experiences, improve workflows, and drive better business results for companies.
In fact, Lockheed Martin announced that they’re working with Drone Racing League to launch a project to improve commercial drone flyers. The project will challenge teams to use A.I. to make drones autonomous. I took my family to Big Sur over the holiday weekend, and I certainly would have appreciated an autonomous drone that would avoid getting in the way of otherwise beautiful photos of gorgeous scenery (although the thought of invisible autonomous drones is worrying). Lockheed Martin is using their drone project as a way to identify other applications for A.I.
“At Lockheed Martin, we are working to pioneer state-of-the-art, AI-enabled technologies that can help solve some of the world’s most complex challenges — from fighting wildfires and saving lives during natural disasters to exploring the farthest reaches of deep space,” said Chief Technology Officer Keoki Jackson in a TechCrunch report.
It’s likely that they’ll also use this technology for military purposes. So it’s not all about directly saving lives.
Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Clinc — an enterprise conversational A.I. platform — also made an impressive showing at Disrupt.
The company’s CEO, Jason Mars, took the stage to explain how their A.I. platform stands out in a crowded field of other A.I. companies.
“In a market [artificial intelligence] where there’s a lot of noise, we had to solve a real problem and create a solution that you can experience [and] see beyond the Alexa you’re comfortable with, and the Google assistant that you’ve come to know,” explained Mars.
With that said, Mars began to demo vertical Clinc — conversational A.I. for any experience behind any platform, not just enterprise. This means that the A.I. can assist you with a range of tasks.
During the demo, Mars shows how the sophisticated conversational A.I. clearly understood commands such as, “Tell me how much gas I need to go on a road trip?”; “How much money do I have in my bank account?”; or “Can you open a credit card for me?”
The demo was virtually seamless — which was a success because demoing a new voice assistant live can always be a gamble — and received a warm reception from the audience. Responses were contextual, clear, and returned correct results.
I felt a swell of pride for this Michigan-based business and look forward to seeing what’s next for Clinc.
Overall, as the CEO of a company that provides an A.I.-powered service, I’m encouraged by the industry’s embrace of this technology. When used responsibly — rather than nefarious purposes — the applications for A.I. are endless, and companies have caught on so much that some misuse the term to describe relatively basic or more sophisticated data science.
BMW’s Intelligent Personal Assistant Could Rival KITT from Knight Rider
I recently sold one of my ventures to Ford. Over the last 10 years, I’ve developed a handful of Smart Mobility ventures — many of which will be highlighted at the TechStars Mobility Demo Day, where I serve as a mentor.
Ford recently announced the centralization of many of its Smart Mobility initiatives in my hometown of Detroit, in an area called Corktown which is the city’s oldest neighborhood. I have been campaigning since 2010 for this Smart Mobility hub to help redefine the bankrupt city into the epicenter of the future of mobility, building on its legacy of bringing mobility in the form of cars to the masses.
Over the years, working with Bosch and others to bring some of these new concepts to life, I’ve been impressed with the positive global environmental impact some companies might make.
While Smart Mobility is much more than moving from point-to-point in vehicles, connected cars never fail to pique my interest. Several automakers have rolled out their vision for connected or A.I.-powered vehicles. This year, BMW took the stage at Disrupt to share how they’re advancing not only the way we drive our cars, but the way we communicate with our cars.
The German automaker announced that they’ll roll out a new in-car Intelligent Personal Assistant in March 2019. The assistant will be activated with a simple “Hey BMW” and will respond to commands. It will adapt over time as it gathers more information about your routines and habits. This is similar to how Sensai learns more about what attracts and engages your social media followers and customers over time.
Dieter May, the Senior Vice President of Digital Products and Services, gave this example during his presentation on the Disrupt main stage: “Imagine you’re on your way home after you have had a stressful day. Just a ‘Hey BMW, I’m tired,’ and he will start your personal relaxation program playing your preferred music. He will adjust the interior settings depending on your car’s capabilities such as seating, or your favorite ambient light.” (I might have offered the example of BMW tuning into heavy metal, full freeze mode AC, or “allow me to drive for you” rather than catering to your desire to “crash,” so to speak.)
BMW is also working on understanding tone, intonation, and inflection so when you have an important query — depending on the tone of your voice — the personal assistant will answer, or you’ll be connected with a BMW representative. During this presentation, I thought about all the excitement of voice chat bots discussed at VentureBeat Transform.
After this presentation, I immediately thought of Silicon Garage in Detroit and how the talent in that area is developing technology like this. Silicon Garage is a community vision for economic transformation in Detroit and the surrounding area. I see it as the economic engine where entrepreneurs, automotive manufacturers, and policymakers unite to ignite growth.
Engineering and creative talent abound in Detroit, but other cities poach much of that talent.
The people of Detroit have incredibly deep domain expertise and knowledge in the engineering, transportation, and creative fields, and companies like BMW benefit from working with this talent pool.
Detroit needs to retain its talent as well as attract talent from elsewhere for it to eclipse its former glory. That’s why I’m headed back along with other Detroit diaspora to Homecoming to re-invest in the homeland.
Silicon Valley is Not the Only Place to Recruit Talent
The subject of recruiting in the Bay Area and Silicon Valley was front and center of the Venture Capital in 2018 panel discussion. The panel included Aileen Lee from Cowboy Ventures, Megan Quinn from Spark Capital, and Sarah Tavel from Benchmark Capital.
The Economist published an article recently on why startups are leaving Silicon Valley, which became the impetus for the conversation about the size of funding and recruiting in Silicon Valley.
If you haven’t read the article, it asserts that the astronomical cost of living in the Bay Area has made it very difficult for talent to live in Silicon Valley and businesses to thrive.
“It’s common for all of us around boardrooms to talk about hiring challenges in the Bay Area,” said Aileen Lee.
“When companies get to a certain size, it often comes up that they’re thinking about moving or opening up a second office because it’s too expensive to live here,” Lee concluded.
Sarah Tavel echoed that sentiment. “I used to believe very strongly that if you want to build a multi-billion dollar company, you had to be based here [Bay Area],” she said.
“In the last couple of years, I’ve stopped believing that, because it is just amazing how competitive it is for talent here and how expensive it has become for talent, especially when you’re competing against the big incumbents like Facebook,” Tavel concluded.
Having recruited a highly talented team here in San Francisco, I can assure you this challenge is real. The key is to attract talent who want to make a name for themselves by having a demonstrative impact on a business and enjoy the autonomy and little company culture in doing so.
It’s a struggle to build a business in the most expensive city in the world, and the battle for talent is difficult. That’s why I believe in my vision for Detroit’s Silicon Garage. We seem to be at a tipping point where some startups and talent won’t have to move to create and grow new technology businesses.
In places like Detroit, you can have a great standard of living at a much lower startup salary. What’s more, if you’re part of a fast-growth tech company with stellar leadership — like Dug Song at DuoSecurity — then the equity you have might become meaningful during a liquidity event. Then you can travel to enjoy California for fun and not have to deal with high taxes and cost of living.
Dating App Takes a Professional Turn
One fun part of Disrupt was the Bumble activation. Not only did they have this fantastic poster up, but they also offered career coaching sessions as well as headshots complete with a quick makeover from the Glamsquad.
It was a fun idea that also provided a lot of value — especially to those looking for an updated headshot.
It’s was also great to see Eric Reis, the creator of The Lean Startup Method. We apply a lot of his principles at Sensai by constantly testing, iterating, and listening to customers. Any startup would be remiss not paying close attention to him.
Don’t Underestimate The Power of Mentorship
One of the more inspiring talks came from Founders Fund Partner Cyan Banister. She took to the main stage during Disrupt to discuss her harrowing story of going from homeless teen to venture capitalist.
She is also well-known for her cannabis legal reform work — as an investor in Eaze, this is of interest to me — which could support many of the ventures covered in the cannabis market scan found in the Radicle Reports (produced by one of our Prehype ventures).
However, she didn’t touch on that. Banister told us about her teen years that were spent looking for her next meal and a safe place to sleep on the streets of Arizona.
While she didn’t go into great detail about what led her to be homeless, Banister explained how mentorship and self-determination enabled her to lift herself out of a desperate situation.
Having squatted in a derelict mansion, dumpster diving with a group of proud self-proclaimed “Detroit dykes,” living off income from a brutal sleep deprivation study, I could relate on some level.
I didn’t have mentors at that time, but I wish I did. I now look to create mentorship moments in most of my personal and professional relationships even with people I only meet briefly at conferences like Disrupt. Sometimes sharing an authentic story can be that light bulb moment of inspiration or information that provides much-needed clarity for someone or for yourself.
I ask for feedback and ideas and I share mine when asked. I try not to hide the embarrassing bits. These are usually the best learning moments or at least an opportunity to provide levity through laughter in the stressful life of a fellow entrepreneur.
As Banister described her journey and the people along the way that helped her, I began to relate to her story of mentorship and how the right people at the right time, can facilitate an upward career trajectory even if only being catalysts for self awareness. Her story also reminded me of the ever impressive Arlan Hamilton — of Backstage Capital — who I met at SXSW last year when we were both speakers.
Hamilton also had an improbable rise from homeless to successful VC, too. You can read about her story here.
Banister said it best: “Mentorship isn’t something that needs to be formal… you can help people without spending much time at all. It’s all about how you approach life and who you give opportunities to, if in a position to do so. And face it: Every single person in this room is in a position to give someone help and advice.“
She’s right. As an investor and entrepreneur, I’m in a position to mentor and offer opportunities for personal and professional advancement to the people that I work with or encounter outside of my job — and I’m inspired to do more of that.
I’m still digesting all of the sessions I attended during TechCrunch Disrupt. What did you take away?
