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.

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.