How To Have Fun And Profit From Your SXSW Hustle (read)

From the Investors

Bradford Cross of Data Collective foresees that bots will go bust, deep learning goes commodity, AI is cleantech 2.0 for VCs, MLaaS dies a second death, and more in “Five AI Startup Predictions for 2017”

Elizabeth Yin of 500 Startups details how to tell if an investor is actually serious about investing or just being positive about your business in “How to Close Investors”

Nino Marakovic and Beezer Clarkson of Sapphire Ventures debate what makes for a better exit — an IPO or acquisition in “Exiting The Exit”

From the Operators

Caroline Graham of 8VC describes how she runs the turntables at 8VC to make sure our guests — advisors, CEOs, investors, friends and allies — have the most positive experiences possible in “Operations Disco at 8VC”

Jan Koum of WhatsApp reflects on the early days of building WhatsApp and his process for securing funding from Sequoia in “WhatsApp's Road to 1 Billion Users & $19 Billion Exit” (video)

Josh Carter of Brightwork finds that unless you have gone through founding a startup, you really cannot fully understand what happens or what it takes to persevere in “Being a Founder and Other Life Lessons”

John Saddington of Pinpoint talks about economics and control in term sheets with a real-life example of the recent Snapchat (Snap) IPO and Lightspeed Venture Partners in “A Snapchat IPO Story” (video)

Mikhail Ledvich of Shippo provides a detailed walkthrough on how to avoid one of the most common root causes of startup failure in "Lack of Product-Market Fit is Preventable."