1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator AI Investor Forum: Alex Benik, Encoded Ventures (Part 4)

Sramana Mitra: Let me ask you some of the broader trend questions and how you’re processing all this. As we discussed earlier, the market is currently in a human-in-the-loop, highly domain-specific and domain-expertise-oriented business space. The logical next step is going to be more automation, especially as agents become more active inside applications.

So how do you see that playing out on many fronts, including enterprise adoption, price structures, and so on?

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1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator AI Investor Forum: Alex Benik, Encoded Ventures (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: Let’s do a couple more of your examples of what you’ve invested in.

Alex Benik: Sure. At Battery, I was an investor in a company called Packet, which was a bare metal hosting provider. It was acquired by a large data center company Equinix. The founders Zac and Jacob Smith are twin brothers and have gone on to found a company called Datum.

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Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapped a Cybersecurity Venture with a Paycheck

Christian Geyer convinced the board of his employer to let him incubate a cybersecurity startup idea as a division of the company with an express intent of spinning it off. Now, ACTFORE has been spun out, doing almost $20M in bootstrapped annual revenue, and may soon find a lucrative exit. This is a phenomenal story for entrepreneurs considering the Bootstrapping with a Paycheck route.

Sramana Mitra: All right, Christian, let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born, raised? What kind of background?

Christian Geyer: Well, I was born and raised in Reston, Virginia. I’m almost what I would consider a homebody. So, I’ve pretty much lived in Reston, Virginia. The only time I left was for college. I’m very centrally focused on family. My business is in Reston, Virginia, just a few miles from my actual childhood home and my current home.

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Options for Private, NDA-Protected Discussions

Are there options for private, NDA-protected discussions with mentors or Sramana Mitra?

Confidential Technology

What should I do if I have a sensitive idea or confidential technology – can I discuss it safely within the program?

1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator AI Investor Forum: Alex Benik, Encoded Ventures (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: That’s refreshing to hear. Tell us what you’ve invested in. Let’s go over some case studies. Describe the situation when they came to you, what attracted you, what made you write the check, and what you saw in those deals.

IP Protection

If 1Mby1M doesn’t sign NDAs, how is my intellectual property protected during group sessions or roundtables?