Sam Lesson, partner at Slow Ventures, argues that etiquette is a critical and undervalued skill for founders in a tech landscape where trust and relationships are key differentiators.
He defines good etiquette as the ability to operate with a "low heart rate" in social and business settings, projecting an abundance mindset rather than transactional desperation.
Lesson presents a strong bearish thesis on seed-stage AI investments, citing their extreme capital intensity which leads to severe dilution for early investors, making them poor venture bets.
He believes AI is a powerful enabling tool for existing businesses but a challenging category for standalone startups, contrasting the current hype with more capital-efficient software models of the past.
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Concerns Raised
The extreme capital intensity of AI startups makes them fundamentally flawed as seed-stage venture investments due to massive dilution.
Silicon Valley culture has for too long encouraged founders to neglect etiquette, putting them at a disadvantage in building trust.
Most startups (99.9%) do not have technology so revolutionary that they can afford to ignore professional and social norms.
Opportunities Identified
Founders can gain a significant competitive edge by mastering etiquette and building strong, trust-based relationships.
Investing in companies that leverage AI to solve cultural or user-facing problems is a more viable strategy than investing in capital-intensive core AI models.
AI presents a massive opportunity as an enabling technology to improve efficiency and create value within existing businesses.