Philip ZENG

Co-founder at 18VC Podcast

[Official18VC @Official18VC]

Most apps are built to keep you scrolling. This founder is building one to make you put the phone down and sleep. 😴

In Ep 12 of 18VC Podcast, we sat down with Andy @zinzazilin , founder of Lullaby, an AI sleep companion that talks you toward sleep, then gets out of the way.

What stuck with us:
→ It started at 2 AM and a boyfriend's improvised bedtime story beat Calm, Headspace, melatonin & magnesium.
→ She posted it on Reddit. Top comment: "Protect that man at all cost." That was the signal.
→ North Star = the opposite of every companion app: take you "from scrolling your phone to turning off your phone."
→ If ChatGPT & Claude Voice already sound human, what's the moat? Her answer: "sleep intelligence."
→ The ICP: overstimulated achievers who can sleep but can't turn their brain off.

▶️ YouTube: https://t.co/smprRQAFl4
🎧 Spotify: https://t.co/02MVQoRWGY

#AI #sleeptech

[Steve Li @st3v3li]

Thank you @Official18VC for hosting this awesome sharing event with @SjiangSijia @huang74540 @Tonyhaoyu & Alex! Wonderful audience full of inspiring interactions!

[Official18VC @Official18VC]

Ep #10 Why Korean Startups MUST Go Global NOW!

The Korean market isn't large enough for sustainable startup growth. Learn why success hinges on a repeatable formula for global expansion.

#18VC #TheVentures #StartupGrowth #GlobalExpansion #KoreanTech #BusinessStrategy #startups #founders #venturecapital #earlystage #AI #youngfounders #buildinpublic #startuplife #techpodcast #entrepreneurship

[Official18VC @Official18VC]

Ep #10 Raise Your First Fund: Beat AI Trend & Nail Your Thesis!

Emerging fund managers: Stand out to investors. Challenge trends, show true differentiation. Your unique edge is the key to securing that first funding round.

#18VC #TheVentures #VentureCapital #StartupFunding #StudentStartups #InvestmentTips #startups #founders #venturecapital #earlystage #AI #youngfounders #buildinpublic #startuplife #techpodcast #entrepreneurship

[Official18VC @Official18VC]

Ep #10 Attention is GOLD! Why Influencers Now Rule Venture Capital

In the age of AI, authentic attention is the ultimate currency. Discover how 'influencer VCs' leverage credibility to attract top talent in this evolving landscape.

#AttentionEconomy #AIContent #InfluencerVCs #Credibility #startups #founders #venturecapital #earlystage #AI #youngfounders #buildinpublic #startuplife #techpodcast #entrepreneurship

[Official18VC @Official18VC]

At 15 he ran a 200%-margin snack "dark market" out of his dorm – until the principal shut it down. 🍜

Ep. #11 of 18VC is live with Barry (@BarryLi5936), founder of OMNIAPATH, an AI-native entrepreneurship school for young founders, and Wov3, a sportstech company developing recovery footwear and customized insoles using 3D printing. Barry is also an advisor to Hacker Dojo's first accelerator cohort.

What stuck with us:
→ He killed a profitable $100K business the moment he saw ChatGPT 3.5.
→ His AI survival rule: be super well-rounded, or go absurdly deep. "Medium deep" gets replaced.
→ The "one-person company" is coming – solo founders are the default future of work.
→ 5 ventures. 40 partners come and go. He's the one who stayed.

▶️ YouTube: https://t.co/G2B194RLQn
🎧 Spotify: https://t.co/2BO8DvYPZh

#startups #venturecapital #youngfounders #AI #entrepreneurship #18VC #OMNIAPATH #WOV3

[Official18VC @Official18VC]

A founder sends a flawless, AI-polished deck. Clean narrative, perfect grammar, every box ticked.

It's the fastest way to get a "no." 🧵👇

New 18VC episode — with Ethan Cho, CIO of TheVentures, one of Korea's earliest accelerators-turned-VCs, now across 14 countries.

First, the scale: up to 3,000 pitches a year. They built their own AI agent, "Vicky," just to filter them.

So a sharper AI-written pitch should be the edge, right? Opposite.

The second the Q&A starts, AI stops mattering. Seasoned investors "disarm you from that clean sentence."

He'd rather hear a broken sentence from your own mouth than a perfect one from a model.

What he's really testing is three questions: "Why this? Why now? Why you?"

And from there:
→ Attention is becoming the asset — as AI slop floods the world, capital follows familiar, believable faces.
→ His #1 career regret: not founding a startup in his 20s. Want into VC? Build first – failure is reversible, the lesson isn't.
→ On co-founders: "You will fight. It's only a matter of when, not whether."
→ The one thing AI can never mass-produce: your instinct to try something new.

The throughline: in a sea of AI polish, the unfakeable human signal is worth more than ever.

Special thanks to @duckduckhero for making this episode possible!!!

Full episode
▶️YouTube:https://t.co/EAqL4YL0Nj
🎧Spotify:https://t.co/d5jbZ9pYhB
#venturecapital #startups