Connect Ventures

We don’t just invest. We connect and amplify.

[Connect Ventures @ConnectVentures]

Today @sekaiapp announces their Series B, barely 5 months after their Series A

[Nicole Quinn @Nik_Quinn]

Connect Ventures is thrilled to be an earlier investor in Sekai, which we describe as the future of joy AND the future of work.

They've grown 25x in 6 months with >40m apps created on their platform. 🚀

Lucky is one of the most brilliant product and technical founders in the Valley. Sold his 1st company to Apple, 2nd to TikTok and this is the big one.

[Connect Ventures @ConnectVentures]

Snapshot of Connect Ventures in the wild. #LATechWeek, GP @Nik_Quinn joined a super-star panel with @manatt: "The New Hollywood Stack: AI, Creators & the Future of Media" We discussed what makes a creator business venture-backable. And what stays scarce when content gets cheap.

[Connect Ventures @ConnectVentures]

In our latest newsletter, @nik_quinn interviews legendary VC @jeremysliew, investor in Snapchat, Affirm, GIPHY, The Honest Company, Bonobos... and now @ConnectVentures as an LP. Welcome Jeremy!

Jeremy Liew Q&A ➡️ https://t.co/0QSAFmzmxw

[Connect Ventures @ConnectVentures]

🧵 Summarizing the latest data on Consumer AI from @GoldmanSachs, @MorganStanley, @PitchBook, @a16z, @MenloVentures, @ForerunnerVC, @WillVentures, @Itamar_Novick and @USV

[Nicole Quinn @Nik_Quinn]

1/ What do GS, MS, USV, Forerunner and Menlo all have in common?

Many different sources (a couple of which are unbiased), all pointing to the same view that Consumer and Prosumer AI is now the place to invest.
🧵Thread Here 👇

[Ryan Hoover @rrhoover]

Last day to apply :)

[Connect Ventures @ConnectVentures]

@Nik_Quinn Sekai $20M Series A co-led by Khosla Ventures and Connect Ventures https://t.co/9MRR7MjeLN

[Nicole Quinn @Nik_Quinn]

Most products fight for 5 minutes of consumer attention. 📱

Sekai customers are spending well over an HOUR/day creating AI apps…. and 15 million apps have been created since they launched 5 months ago.

That's the signal we hunt for at @ConnectVentures. Thrilled to co-lead the Series A with Khosla. The future of joy. 🚀

h/t @kerrymflynn / Axios

[Connect Ventures @ConnectVentures]

Our newsletter, The Greats, interviews extraordinary individuals who have human-career fit and reveals their blueprint for success. In this edition, @ConnectVentures @Nik_Quinn and @mblank interview #CAA Bryan Lourd and Jim Burtson. https://t.co/XPcXirjSiJ

[Nicole Quinn @Nik_Quinn]

5/ LPs Need Exposure to Consumer Now.

The power law doesn't care about consensus.

You have a 7-10 year window to capture 90% of the value.

That window is now.

[Nicole Quinn @Nik_Quinn]

4/ 6 of the Mag 7 launched as Consumer companies.
AAPL. 
AMZN. 
GOOGL. 
META. 
MSFT. 
TSLA.

Buyers today have leverage in Consumer
•Better entry prices. 
•Better terms. 
•Less deal competition

[Nicole Quinn @Nik_Quinn]

3/ VC is governed by the power law and nowhere is this more true than in Consumer. 

In Consumer you have: 
•Network effects and
•Low marginal costs and
•Winner-take-most dynamics and
•Nearly 5 billion addressable consumers
If you get Consumer right, you get it very right.

[Nicole Quinn @Nik_Quinn]

2/ Where can you invest today that is out of consensus? AND right?

1/16 of VC dollars go into consumer today (very out of consensus).

But more consumer unicorns were created last year than any time in the past decade (very right).

That's an opportunity.

[Nicole Quinn @Nik_Quinn]

1/ Our newsletter, The Greats #2 is out on why LPs now need to allocate to Consumer. And interview Bryan Lourd & Jim Burtson on how @CAA became one of entertainment's most powerful agencies.

https://t.co/5TMFo2DWFm

@ConnectVentures #VC #ConsumerTech #Consumer #TheGreats #CAA

[Nicole Quinn @Nik_Quinn]

This analysis on VC returns is missing the most important fact.

Yes, VC returns underperformed on a 2, 5 and 10 year view. They outperformed on a 15, 20, 25 and 30 year view. What’s the difference?

Innovation.

We had the internet wave 1993-2001
We had the cloud wave 2006-2014
We had the mobile wave 2007-2014
We had no commercial innovation for a decade so why are we surprised the returns were lower?
We have the AI wave now.

This will be the biggest value creation of any wave in history.

Love you @danprimack but VC didn’t underperform, innovation did. Now it’s back so I would not be underweight venture.

[Nicole Quinn @Nik_Quinn]

“Consumer is dead” is the laziest take in tech.

If you believe it, you’ve already missed the next cycle.

Consumer doesn’t die. It reboots with new technology and then you have a 7–10 year window to invest to capture 90% of that value. That window is now, so....

Today we announce our VC fund, Connect Ventures, backing the most exceptional Consumer founders.

[Nicole Quinn @Nik_Quinn]

10/ We may be entering a cycle where:

Software gets commoditized.
AI infrastructure consolidates.
And Consumer captures the upside.

That’s not consensus yet.

But the rotation has started.

[Nicole Quinn @Nik_Quinn]

9/ Our view @ConnectVentures

AI increases productivity →
Which increases disposable time →
Which increases consumer spend.

Time is upstream of consumption.

[Nicole Quinn @Nik_Quinn]

8/ Public investors are also asking:
"If intelligence is abundant, what becomes scarce?"

I can tell you....
Taste.
Attention.
Trust.
Distribution.

[Nicole Quinn @Nik_Quinn]

7/ Consumer moats aren’t just product features.

They’re:
• Emotional attachment
• Habit
• Identity
• Cultural relevance
• Trust
• Community
Those don’t get replicated in “a matter of moments.”

[Nicole Quinn @Nik_Quinn]

6/ Meanwhile, Consumer looks different. Why?

Because AI doesn’t replace desire. It amplifies it.