Insights
Insights
Plain-language essays on building, buying, running and measuring AI-native businesses, written for founders, operators and owners.
We believe good decisions about AI start with clear questions. These essays set out how we think, what we look for, and what we would ask before committing time or capital. They begin with the thesis, then move to diligence, economics, operations and people.
Thesis
What AI-native actually means
A narrow, testable definition of AI-native, and three questions that separate it from a product with AI features.
Read articleThesis
Why AI is the foundation, not a layer
Why companies designed around AI from the start tend to differ in kind, not degree, from companies that add it later.
Read articleDiligence
Evaluating an AI business in diligence
A practical checklist for testing what an AI company really does, what it costs to run, and what could go wrong.
Read articleEconomics
The unit economics of AI products
Why inference cost, review time and pricing design decide gross margin, with a worked hypothetical.
Read articleStrategy
Data moats: what is real and what is hype
Four questions that separate durable data advantage from a large pile of data.
Read articleStrategy
Build, buy or partner for AI models
A decision framework for choosing between training your own models, renting from a provider, or partnering.
Read articleOperations
AI in private equity operations
Where AI tends to help owned businesses first: back office, pricing and service delivery, and how to sequence the work.
Read articleOperations
The first 100 days after an AI rollout
What operators should expect after launch, and a day-by-day plan for stabilizing, measuring and improving.
Read articleTalent
Hiring the first AI team in a non-tech company
Who to hire first, where to place them, and what to avoid when an established company starts building AI capability.
Read articleMeasurement
Measuring AI ROI without vanity metrics
How to measure the value of AI work with baselines, net cost and outcomes customers would pay for.
Read articleThese articles are for general information only and are not investment, legal, tax or accounting advice.
Contact
Building, running or selling an AI-native business?
Tell us a little about it. We aim to reply within two business days.