#219 | Unbundling BPOs, AI Reshaping Security, Evolution of OTAs, & more

Feb 16th | The latest from A16Z, Madrona, Bessemer, Menlo Ventures, Sequoia, and others

SandHill.io aggregates and shares the latest investment themes, market insights, and best practices for operating and investing from 700+ VCs, analysts, and operators.

This newsletter curates a selection of posts featured on the website each week.

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Investment Themes, Theses, & 2025 Outlooks

• Unbundling the BPO: How AI Will Disrupt Outsourced Work (Kimberly Tran, Partner @ A16Z)

• AI Is Reshaping Identity Security and Opening a $55B Opportunity for Founders (Vivek Ramaswami & Rasik Parikh, Madrona Ventures)

• The Evolution of Online Travel Agencies and the Opportunity for “Headless OTAs” (Commerce Ventures Team)

• How the next iconic data infrastructure company will be born in the AI era (Janelle Teng, VP @ Bessemer)

• Lessons From NetSuite, and the Opportunity for Next-Gen ERPs (Seema Amble, Eric Zhou, and Marc Andrusko, A16Z)

Industry Developments & Analyses

• Beyond Human: The Next Frontier of Identity Security (Menlo Ventures Team)

• The Defining Challenge of the Decade: The Age of Existential Risk (Grace Penders, Adam Chadroff, & Sophia Dodd, Equal Ventures)

• Optimistic about Labor in an AI Age (Teddy Himler, MP @ Optimist Ventures)

• Integrations and the service-provider side of AI and agentic systems (Kenneth Auchenberg, Partner @ AlleyCorp)

• The rise of the agentic workforce (Tanay Jaipuria, Partner @ Wing)

• From Prompt to Product: The Rise of AI-Powered Web App Builders (A16Z Team)

• State Of AI Agents At Big Tech Companies (Rob May, GP @ Half Court Ventures)

Guides, Case Studies, and Best Practices for Operating

• The Arc PMF Terrifying Questions Framework (Sequoia Team)

• The best automated GTM plays you’re not running (Kyle Poyar, Partner @ Tremont)

• Making Sense of Revenue Metrics for Fundraising (Liz Christo, Partner @ Stage 2)

• 0-$5M: How to Nail Founder-Led Sales (First Round Review)

• The founder’s playbook for scaling to $1 million ARR (Bessemer Team)

Additional Reads

• How “Venture Capital 3.0” Impacts Founders in the AI Age (James Currier, GP @ NFX)

• Bridging Perspectives: Investment Process Lessons for Both Managers and LPs (Dan Clayton, VP @ Sapphire)

• Techno-Optimism and Horizon Expansion (Rex Woodbury, MP @ Daybreak)

• The Evolution of Perception Markets: Schelling Point Companies, Reality Ratios, & Narrative Receptacles (Michael Dempsey, GP @ Compound)

• Building Mighty Small Businesses (Kyle Harrison, GP @ Contrary)

• Pulling back the curtain on the magic of Y Combinator (Palle Broe)

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Resources & more

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