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Sure Shot Entrepreneur Newsletter

Recursive, Mayfield, Ava: The Sure Shot Entrepreneur Newsletter

Published 5 months ago • 2 min read

Hello Reader,

This September, I had the pleasure of interviewing Oren Zeev at the Counterpart Ventures annual conference for corporate VCs. We discussed his notably independent thinking and penchant for making bold, contrarian bets. Just last week, one of the companies where he was the very first investor, Navan, went public at a spectacular $6.2 billion valuation. You can see my Linkedin post highlighting both Oren’s and the startup's incredible success.

My latest podcast episode features another VC with roots in Israel: Itamar Novak. His recent Linkedin post offers a spicy and contrarian take on Y Combinator’s, arguing why the accelerator might not be the ideal path for all founders. Tune into the engaging conversation for this zinger and many more insightful points.

– Gopi Rangan, Host of the The Sure Shot Entrepreneur podcast​

Startup Corner: Ava

Fintech startup Ava just raised $15.5 million to deliver a fresh approach to credit-building in the U.S. debt-laden economy. According to a recent press release, Ava is targeting millions of Americans stuck in cyclical and opaque credit systems by providing transparent, tech-enabled credit tools that report to all three major credit bureaus and focus on everyday financial behaviours rather than just credit history. In a sector crowded with legacy models, AVA’s strategy is about speed, fairness and accessibility, not just more of the same.

New Podcast: Artificial Intelligence is Becoming Service-First

​My guest in Episode 177 is Itamar Novick, founder of Recursive Ventures. A successful founder turned investor, Itamar believes the next wave of AI will be defined by service-first, data-defended applications rather than headline algorithms. He draws from 25 years in startups (including executive roles at Gigya and Life360) to explain how founders can position themselves for meaningful value creation: by owning first-party data, tightly aligning with customer outcomes, and treating AI as a service rather than a product.

Connected Insights: Why AI Needs to Solve Real Workflows

​In Episode 139, Vijay Reddy of Mayfield Fund was my guest. Vijay offers a deeply grounded perspective on AI investing—one that complements Itamar Novick’s “service-first” thesis. Vijay argues that too many AI startups begin with the technology and then go hunting for a use case. Instead, founders should start with a broken workflow they understand intimately and build AI that rescues time, improves precision, and frees humans to focus on higher-value work.

As a former engineer and product leader, Vijay stresses that great AI companies don’t sell algorithms—they sell outcomes. The best founders obsess over integration, adoption, and measurable results, not demo-day wow factor. He notes that enterprise buyers don’t want another dashboard—they want fewer clicks, clearer data, and a workflow that just works.

Both Vijay and Itamar echo the same principle: the next generation of AI success stories will come from empathetic builders who treat AI as a service to people, not an abstract technology. AI that listens, learns, and serves will outlast AI that simply dazzles.

Community Involvement: Anti‑Defamation League (ADL)

Itamar Novick supports the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as part of his broader commitment to giving back. The ADL, founded in 1913, is a U.S.-based civil-rights organization dedicated to combating antisemitism, bigotry and hate in all forms. Its work includes education, advocacy, and online safety efforts—ensuring that innovation is matched by inclusion and justice. For Itamar, supporting ADL is not an afterthought—it’s aligned with the ethos of service and ethical purpose that he applies to both venture capital and tech.

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Sure Shot Entrepreneur Newsletter

Gopi Rangan

Enable Peace of Mind for all. We believe in mission-driven entrepreneurs at the earliest stages before the rest of the world realizes the impact of their visionary ideas. This newsletter pairs well with our podcast that shares all the funders and founders' knowledge to startup and scale your ideas. All the best, Gopi

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