Bain Capital Ventures

I'm taking my own advice and being more authentic in 2025 by embracing video. Imperfection, authenticity and a human voice will separate content from the over 50% (by some estimates) that is currently AI-generated. #BigIdeas2025

Are you a #machinelearning engineer looking for a Great Job? BCV's Saanya Ojha chats with EvenUp CEO Rami Karabibar to unpack how this open role offers: 🤖 an opportunity to drive machine learning for a #GenAI company 💻 a chance to work with fellow engineers determined on making the most of the technology ❣️ a unique way to help people find justice Interested in applying for this Great Job or exploring other roles? 👉 https://lnkd.in/eE3HmTKz

If you have a successful meeting with a design partner, or prospect - or better yet, have a customer who is happy with your product - ask for introductions to 5 more people who share similar problems for whom your product can help. This helpful video breaks down this concept in a simple circle diagram.

'Compute is the new Oil' We are proud at the RAISE Summit to host Chase Lochmiller, Co-Founder & CEO of Crusoe Energy, whose leadership is shaping the future of sustainable computing and innovation. Under Chase's leadership, Crusoe has transformed from a bold startup into a trailblazing force in AI infrastructure with a unique focus on Climate Compute. Recently valued at $3 billion after a $500 million fundraising round led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, Crusoe is at the forefront of the AI revolution. 'Climate Compute is the New Frontier of AI' By repurposing waste gases from oilfields to power energy-intensive computing, Crusoe is setting a new standard. With a $3.4 billion partnership with Blue Owl Capital to construct cutting-edge data centers and vast quantities of Nvidia’s coveted H100 GPUs, Crusoe is uniquely positioned to tackle both the climate crisis and the surging demand for AI infrastructure. This strategic vision and focus have cemented Crusoe as a leader in sustainable, AI-driven cloud computing solutions. Before founding Crusoe, Chase built his expertise as a quantitative researcher and trader, managing algorithmic trading strategies at Jump Trading and GETCO. His academic background includes dual degrees in math and physics from MIT and a master’s in AI from Stanford. Thanks again for the intro - Michael Lavner & Exor N.V! It was great meeting you in Turino Chase! Join us at the Carrousel du Louvre, Paris, on 8–9 July 2025 for an exclusive session with Chase as he shares his vision for a sustainable, AI-powered future.

The process for evaluating AI agents isn't the same as evaluating traditional B2B SaaS. They’re fundamentally different products. In many cases, this line of thinking is one of the first things companies jump to during our sales calls. I understand why it happens. But this thought process prevents companies from realizing the true value AI solutions have, so at Decagon, we're on a mission to help fix that. There are a lot of ways that the two differ. I'll focus on one in today's post: time to value. Here's what it looks like: Traditional B2B SaaS → Requires a long trial and onboarding process → Gives you productivity gains gradually → Has long-term ROI (12-24 months on average) → Benchmarked against software spend AI agents → Can be thrown right into production → Give you tangible results almost immediately → Have much faster ROI (I'm talking 2-3 weeks) → Benchmarked against human/services spend So, how should you approach evaluating AI agents? Put the AI agent into production with 1% of your users and measure the early results. AI should prove itself quickly if it’s a good fit. Take Decagon for example. With our customer support agent, the eval metrics are simple: 1. What percentage of conversations can it resolve automatically? 2. What’s the customer satisfaction score? These are universal benchmarks that give you clear, instant feedback on whether our solution works. And it should be like that every time. AI solutions require a different mindset—one with rapid iteration and measurable outcomes. The faster you can test and evaluate, the faster you can unlock value. Are there any other areas you've found to differ between AI products and traditional SaaS? 

In 2025, Matt Harris predicts that stablecoins will go mainstream, ushering in more use cases for crypto. Plus, new fintech startups will emerge as gen AI reaches financial services to assist with reading, writing and processing docs.

2024 was a big year for brand and communications. So, what's ahead in 2025? 1. Hacking authenticity & "human-ness" As robotically perfect AI driven content continues to proliferate, more lo-fi / authentic work will shine. Look for individual thought leaders and brands to shun high production values in favor of simple iPhone videos, banish corporate jargon in favor of real talk, and even make a mistake or two and leave it in the final to show they're human. 2. "Niche" will dominate There are lots of splashy podcasts, newsletters and brand name publications out there. We're seeing the seeds of smaller (but in many ways mightier) niche storytelling and publications having outsized influence over their highly interested reader/consumer. My media diet consisted of a lot of upstart content. Whether I was reading Eric Newcomer, who announced he's doing over $2 million a year in revenue writing about tech on Substack (!!) or listening to the podcast "Beach too Sandy, Water too Wet" where they read hilariously petty reviews aloud, there's content now for every interest big and small. One of our most popular pieces this year was penned by Slater Stich about Rust instead of C becoming the backend for Python. If people are bought in on a topic, they love to go deep and creators are there to build for their interest. 3. The phrase that pays "Founder Mode," (Paul Graham / Brian Chesky) "coffee badging" (Owl Labs) and "The Great Tech Reset" are good observations with GREAT names. The idea matters, but the wrapping is crucial. Politicians have known this for a while and brands and influencers are catching up. Look for smart content to consider catchphrases and names for trends they're seeing in order to be more deliberate about helping ideas travel in a memorable container. -- What are your predictions for the year ahead?

2024 was a big year for brand and communications. So, what's ahead in 2025? 1. Hacking authenticity & "human-ness" As robotically perfect AI driven content continues to proliferate, more lo-fi / authentic work will shine. Look for individual thought leaders and brands to shun high production values in favor of simple iPhone videos, banish corporate jargon in favor of real talk, and even make a mistake or two and leave it in the final to show they're human. 2. "Niche" will dominate There are lots of splashy podcasts, newsletters and brand name publications out there. We're seeing the seeds of smaller (but in many ways mightier) niche storytelling and publications having outsized influence over their highly interested reader/consumer. My media diet consisted of a lot of upstart content. Whether I was reading Eric Newcomer, who announced he's doing over $2 million a year in revenue writing about tech on Substack (!!) or listening to the podcast "Beach too Sandy, Water too Wet" where they read hilariously petty reviews aloud, there's content now for every interest big and small. One of our most popular pieces this year was penned by Slater Stich about Rust instead of C becoming the backend for Python. If people are bought in on a topic, they love to go deep and creators are there to build for their interest. 3. The phrase that pays "Founder Mode," (Paul Graham / Brian Chesky) "coffee badging" (Owl Labs) and "The Great Tech Reset" are good observations with GREAT names. The idea matters, but the wrapping is crucial. Politicians have known this for a while and brands and influencers are catching up. Look for smart content to consider catchphrases and names for trends they're seeing in order to be more deliberate about helping ideas travel in a memorable container. -- What are your predictions for the year ahead?

Huge congrats to an absolute animal, Alysaa Co, named VC Associate MVP (now Principal).

🙏 🙏 A HUGE thank you to everyone who joined last week’s dinner— which brought together some of Boston’s brightest minds in security! It’s always a privilege to host such an incredible group. We covered a lot of ground and had some laughs along the way. One standout takeaway is that the future of the CISO's role is shifting from technical execution to shaping company culture. Security leaders are increasingly tasked with fostering a mindset where security is everyone’s responsibility—not just an IT challenge. If you live in the Northeast and are interested in participating in future events, please let me know! Can’t wait til the next one! 💪 Mark Sutton Paul Drapeau Grant W. Ed Pedicone, MSc, CRISC William Lehmann David Rule Anton Gurov