{"podcast":{"title":"Fund/Build/Scale","slug":"fund-build-scale-6723964","podcast_index_feed_id":6723964,"rss_url":"https://feed.podbean.com/fundbuildscale/feed.xml","website_url":"https://fundbuildscale.substack.com","image_url":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/17670315/new_FBS_1400_x_1400_tile_ggrhbt.jpg","author":"Walter Thompson","episode_count":120,"summary":"After working for years in early-stage startups and as a journalist, here are three hard truths I’ve learned: 1. Success in Silicon Valley hinges on connections, hard work and luck. 2. Startups often fail because founders lack fundamental business knowledge. 3. Real, actionable advice comes from those who’ve actually done it. There’s no such thing as “founder DNA.” If you’re willing to take on risk and invest years of your life in something that has maybe a 10% chance of paying off — less if you’re a woman or person of color — you can be a startup founder. Here’s why I founded Fund/Build/Scale: 1. To help founders make fewer mistakes. 2. To share successful strategies that can accelerate your go-to-market journey. 3. To inspire more people to see themselves as potential founders. There’s a lot of overlooked talent out there, and we are missing out. This podcast is for anyone who’s interested in learning the basic skills required to launch a startup, secure initial funding and transform an idea into a sustainable business. I’m talking to guests about everything: finding a co-founder, conducting customer discovery, recruiting early employees, developing a PLG strategy, fundraising w…","last_synced_at":"2026-07-07T10:21:25.778921+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/fund-build-scale-6723964"},"episode":{"title":"Selling Unproven AI to Skeptical Enterprise Buyers","slug":"selling-unproven-ai-to-skeptical-enterprise-buyers","published_at":"2026-02-04T22:11:52+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/fund-build-scale-6723964/selling-unproven-ai-to-skeptical-enterprise-buyers","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/fund-build-scale-6723964","url":"https://fundbuildscale.podbean.com/e/selling-unproven-ai-to-skeptical-enterprise-buyers/","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/bfrq7i4467736kap/Selling_Unproven_AI_to_Skeptical_Enterprise_Buyers81xrj.mp3","summary":"Building an early-stage startup isn’t just about the technology — it’s about earning trust before the proof exists. In this episode of Fund/Build/Scale, I’m joined by Jeff Smith, CEO and co-founder of 2nd Set AI, a startup building generative image and video tools for media, entertainment, and sports organizations. Jeff is a repeat founder navigating a familiar but uncomfortable phase: selling complex, unproven AI into large enterprise organizations that are curious about generative technology — and deeply wary of it at the same time. We talk about why his team pivoted away from an early market that wasn’t ready, how they earned investor trust without product-market fit, and what it actually takes to sell AI into organizations where legal, brand, and compliance concerns can stop a deal cold. This conversation isn’t about overnight success. It’s about iteration discipline, founder-investor trust, and the realities of selling emerging technology to skeptical enterprise buyers. RUNTIME 31:28 EPISODE BREAKDOWN (2:10) What is 2nd Set AI? (2:53) How/why the company pivoted from fashion to entertainment (8:34) How 2nd Set AI landed its first paid engagement (12:15) Effective product education helps overcome sales objections (16:45) Founders beware: enterprise AI adoption gets bogged down by compliance issues (19:25) “I’m not sure I believe in a lot of moats right now.” (25:47) How Jeff measures progress toward PMF LINKS Jeff Smith Saurav Pandit 2nd Set AI 2nd Set AI Launches to Help Entertainment, Media and Sports Enterprises Create and Deliver Generative Images and Video for Global Audiences - While Protecting IP and Elevating Brands, 8/13/2025 SUBSCRIBE 📥 Get the Fund/Build/Scale newsletter on Beehiiv: https://fundbuildscale.beehiiv.com/ 📸 Follow Fund/Build/Scale on Instagr…","meta_description":"Building an early-stage startup isn’t just about the technology — it’s about earning trust before the proof exists. In this episode of Fund/Build/Scale, I…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1888,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/fund-build-scale-6723964/episodes/selling-unproven-ai-to-skeptical-enterprise-buyers/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/fund-build-scale-6723964/selling-unproven-ai-to-skeptical-enterprise-buyers.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}