EP#88: Why Most Founders Misread Their Own Traction. Vanessa Larco - Premise VC

Vanessa Larco went from shipping product at Microsoft, Twilio and Box to most of a decade as a partner at NEA, and now runs Premise VC. She assumed moving into venture meant shelving her product brain. It turned out to be her edge. Founders and investors stare at the same signals of product market fit, and they often read them in opposite directions. Her sharpest idea is product curiosity fit. AI has made it easy to sign customers who are spending experimental budget, and that revenue looks like traction right up until renewal. In this episode you will walk away knowing which signals seed investors trust, why the playbook that won you seed will lose Series A, and why constraints are an asset (with some help from Bluey). Episode outline Burning floppy disks at four: growing up in a family of founders Kinect, Facebook gaming, and the swing from pure qual to pure quant The acqui-hire that felt like a breakup, and the secret plan behind joining NEA Product curiosity fit, and why bookings stopped proving anything Seed backs the founder, Series A backs execution: every round is a new game What Bluey teaches founders about constraints and repairing conflict Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTube Vanessa Larco - https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessalarco/ Vanessa Larco is co-founder of Premise VC, backing early-stage software founders after nearly a decade as a Partner at NEA investing in category creators like Robinhood and Mejuri. Before venture, she built product at Microsoft, Disney, Twilio, and Box, the resume Premise's whole thesis is built on. Andy Walsh Three-time founder with two exits who bootstrapped to $10M ARR, now host of Startups Decoded (top 2%, 850k+ downloads) and advising founders on growth through consulting and his podcast. https://www.linkedin.com/in/anwalsh/ Access All Areas. Listen: Apple || Spotify || YouTube Subscribe: Substack Connect: LinkedIn Web: startupsdecoded.com Socials: TikTok || Instagram || X Music Credit. “Neptuno” – Phondupe (Album: Onykia) https://phondupe.bandcamp.com/album/air-conditioning-vol-2 Disclaimer. The views and opinions shared on Startups Decoded are for informational purposes only and do not constitute investment or legal advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making any financial or legal decisions.