Kal Amin: Venture Studios, AI Innovation, and the Great SMB Transfer

Kal Amin is the President at 1848 Ventures, bringing 25 years of experience from companies like Google, Spotify, and Flipboard. In this conversation we explored how venture studios are evolving with AI, focusing on key topics like building defensible AI companies, the upcoming transfer of SMB ownership to a new generation, and how technology is changing the landscape for small business owners.

EPISODE LINKS:• 1848 Ventures: https://1848ventures.com

TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Intro

(02:00) What is an SMB? The $33M opportunity

(04:15) Why hasn't this been done before?

(07:23) How 1848 Ventures builds companies

(11:45) The venture studio advantage

(15:30) The great SMB transfer

(19:40) Building defensible AI companies

(23:15) Data as the new moat

(25:00) Kal's journey (AOL, Google, Spotify)

(31:45) What makes a great founder in 2024?

(36:20) Why building products isn't enough

(38:30) Finding and developing startup leaders

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