Mathilde Valin’s Post

AI isn't just for big tech companies. A new generation of startups is using it to move faster, build smarter, and compete differently. On April 23, MIT senior lecturer and serial entrepreneur Kevin D. Johnson joins us to talk about how founders across the MIT ecosystem are putting AI to work, including rethinking products and streamlining operations. What does it actually look like to build an AI-powered company from the ground up? Register here: https://buff.ly/WeY0W6X

What separates a successful startup from one that stalls in today’s crowded AI landscape? 💡 Founders know how to build, but navigating the current headwinds—from complex state-level policy shifts to the nuances of "price surveillance" regulations—requires a different playbook. 📖⚖️ Join us for our next Travel Tech Start-Up Member Meet-Up, featuring Eugenia Dunaeva, Board Advisor to TravelAI™, An UpNext Company and Partner at DVC. With deep industry expertise as an x-Expedia and x-Meta leader, Eugenia brings a unique perspective on what investors are actually looking for right now. 📈 What we’ll cover: ✅ The Fundable Startup: How investors are evaluating travel tech companies amidst the AI noise. ✅ Beyond the Hype: Where AI is genuinely creating value and which business models are gaining real traction. ✅ Strategic Growth: Moving beyond internal product focus to an ecosystem approach that builds long-term value. ✅ Navigating Headwinds: A critical look at the shifting state-level policy landscape and what’s at stake regarding "price surveillance." Whether you are managing valuation anxiety or refining your market positioning, this session will provide the clarity you need to scale effectively. 🚀 Join the conversation. Note: This is an exclusive benefit for our Start-Up Members, but we invite prospective members to attend one meet-up to experience our community firsthand. Reach out to Bethany Reitsma to get the calendar invite!

Day 2 at SOUTHSTART was my favourite. Lots of focus around marketing especially around new AI image and video tools, and how nailing your messaging is the real key to growth. The day was held at the stunning National Wine Centre of Australia (more wine teasing for me! 🤰😅) and we finished the day at an exclusive event at Mothervine, thanks to R&Dium Capital. But the highlight was hearing from Derek Sivers at his first public talk in six years! He spoke exclusively about our ultimate competitive advantage in this fast-paced tech world: Being less AI, and more human. His advice? Don't try to be so "professional." Leave the hyper-professionalism to your automations and AI. Your lived experience, your values, your personal story, and who you are- that is your edge. You can't hold AI accountable, and that's exactly why we still have people. We can't lose confidence in our roles just because AI is getting smarter. AI will handle the official stuff: the market research, the heavy lifting, the analysis. But having people behind the brand and a human touch? That's irreplaceable. People and high-touch service shouldn't be viewed as an expense- they are a profit centre. At the end of the day, we make the human decisions. Algorithms are not running our businesses. So as we navigate AI governance, client education, and scaling our businesses, let's remember to keep our humanity front and centre. What's your "human advantage" in your business? #Southstart #Humanadvantage #AI #Futureofwork #Authenticity #Startups

2026 is the year of AI-powered teams. Startups today don’t need large teams anymore: 1 marketer using AI = full marketing department 1 developer using AI = entire dev team 1 designer using AI = creative agency This is not hype it’s happening now. At AIEdgeInsights, we explore tools that are reshaping business operations globally. https://lnkd.in/dj_ffShr 🚀 Small teams. Massive output. Welcome to the AI economy. #AITools #StartupGrowth #Entrepreneurship #AIRevolution #Productivity #BusinessGrowth #AIEdgeInsights

Even just in the last two months, something subtle has changed about how we build at Tailor AI. When a customer asks for something adjacent to our core, we can deliver it in days. That used to be a forcing function. We simply couldn't say yes to everything, so the constraints did the prioritizing for us. Now we can. And that's where it gets interesting. The capabilities we're building don't just add up. They compound. But so does the complexity. For messaging, for positioning, for helping customers understand what we actually do. I don't think this is a problem unique to early stage startups. Anyone building right now is probably feeling some version of this. Ruthless prioritization used to be the answer. I'm not sure that still holds when the cost of exploration is near zero. How do you decide what not to build? How do you message a product that can do more than it used to every few weeks? How do you sell something that keeps expanding at the edges? Curious what others are seeing.

📢 New Research: How Are Early-Stage Startups Actually Using AI? Despite the buzz around AI, surprisingly little empirical evidence exists on how startups use it in practice. Our new study addresses this gap — and the findings have real implications for founders, investors, and policymakers alike. What we did: We combined qualitative interviews with early-stage IT startups with a quantitative analysis of Crunchbase data, comparing startups before and after the introduction of ChatGPT-3. What we found: 🔹 Startups primarily use Generative AI to streamline internal processes — saving time and resources during venture creation — rather than to directly shape their core product or business model. 🔹 Startups with access to GenAI tools operate with fewer employees than their pre-AI counterparts. 🔹 GenAI-enabled startups reach seed funding faster, suggesting meaningful efficiency gains at the earliest and most critical stages of company building. 🔹 Importantly, AI has not replaced human agency. Founders remain central to the entrepreneurial process — AI serves as an enabler, not a substitute. These results carry important implications: for founders benchmarking their AI adoption, for investors assessing startup efficiency, and for policymakers rethinking support structures in an AI-driven startup ecosystem. Thank you to my co-authors Timothé Crelier and Jacob Mayr! We'd love to hear your thoughts — how is AI shaping the ventures you are building or investing in? 👇 🔗 Full paper in the comments. #ArtificialIntelligence #Entrepreneurship #StartupResearch #GenerativeAI #Founders #TechnologyAdoption #IJEBR

Very happy to announce that our research has been officially published! It was a privilege to collaborate with Heiko Bergmann and Jacob Mayr on this study, now featured in the International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research. It is a real honor to see our thesis evolve into a peer-reviewed publication. The Findings: Our research proves that GenAI acts as a powerful speed and talent multiplier. Using Crunchbase data, we found that AI-enabled teams reach critical milestones faster and with a much leaner headcount (scaling output with fewer employees). From Research to Reality: I see the high-stakes version of this daily at Gartner. CIOs across France and Switzerland are walking a "Growth-Efficiency" tightrope, pressured to scale despite a persistent talent shortage. While these productivity gains are real, execution is often risky and costly. It’s incredibly rewarding to help leaders bridge this gap, ensuring that the speed and efficiency we proved in our research are actually realized in the enterprise. Check out the post below for the full summary and paper link! 👇

🚨 Passion alone won't save your startup Most founders believe passion is enough. It's not. Why passion fails in startups (and what to do instead) Passion may spark the idea, but it cannot sustain the journey. Here's why: • Product-market fit matters more than enthusiasm • Customer feedback beats founder conviction • Execution beats inspiration every time 💡 The reality check: Even the most passionate founders fail when they ignore market signals. 💬 So what's the real fuel for startup success? Adaptability, not just passion. 👉 Turn Your Bio Into an AI Consultant | dorlink.me Read More: https://lnkd.in/dzt8R6bP #AI #MachineLearning #TechNews #Innovation #ArtificialIntelligence #dorlink #AIIndia #TechTrends

Lovable, an AI-powered app-building platform, is looking to acquire more teams and startups. Anton Osika, the co-founder and CEO, said the company wants to bring in more great teams to join Lovable and emphasized the company's culture that supports founder-types. The company is facing competition from other tools and AI labs but continues to grow, reporting $400 million in annual recurring revenue. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/e-HT2aQm 📨 Subscribe to one of our AI Newsletters: https://lnkd.in/eq56P3bj #ai #artificialintelligence #ainews