AI may be venture’s shiny object, but explosive valuations could leave investors with minimal multiples.
Laurel Mintz and Frank Mastronuzzi, partners at Fabric VC, bring experience from Elevate’s 500+ brands and Punch Financial, which Frank sold to Capita.
They discuss:
Why Fabric wants roughly $40K MRR or clear traction toward it before moving forward.
Why founders must prove they can sell to a “perfect stranger,” not just people already in their network.
Why some startups are wasting time and capital calling themselves AI-native instead of integrating existing AI.
How Punch and Elevate create “continuous due diligence” before Fabric ever writes a check.
Why founders should “go ugly early” with investors, but arrive with proposed solutions.
Why hiring experienced operators outside your existing circle can determine whether hypergrowth compounds or breaks the company.
“I wanna be the dumbest person in the room.”
Should seed investors require $40K MRR, or does that filter out too many exceptional early companies?
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