Spent a lot of time this past year in founder rooms: pitch events, demos, and 1:1s. My role was pattern recognition and synthesis, so pulling out what felt truly differentiated, what the GTM story actually was (not just what the deck said it was), and what risks were hiding in plain sight. I love being around builders and seeing how great products get positioned, especially when the idea is early and the story isn't fully baked yet.
While exploring potential portfolio companies, I also got hands-on with AEO (answer engine optimization). It's not just traditional SEO. It's thinking in questions, entities, and how AI systems decide what to surface, cite, or summarize. I built practical checklists and small experiments to make AEO feel operational; the kind of thing you can actually run repeatedly, measure, and improve instead of treating it like a buzzword.
One thing I learned across all of these experiences: I could yap with a room full of founders for days, regardless of industry. There's just something about spiraling down a rabbit hole with someone who's genuinely obsessed with what they're building. Love it. No notes.