Dylan Miao

| AI reasoning CRM built for Growth.

[Dylan Miao @DylanMiao7]

A Silicon Valley founder received a gift from Hangzhou…

At GTC, I met a startup advisor who flew in from Hangzhou. As she was leaving, she handed me a few silk scarves — said she'd brought them specially for me. 🥹

That gesture meant a lot. And it made me confident about what we could build together. We talked about my Hangzhou branch, startup subsidies, and bigger collaboration ahead.

I'm building a Silicon Valley VC fund — but many founders in my community need a lighter way to start:

⌛ Non-dilutive government grants — no equity, no repaymen.
💥 Domestic supply chain support for consumer hardware.

Experiment with that runway. Prove the model. Then come back to Silicon Valley to raise — with real traction. When that happens, I co-invest and we win together. 🥹

That's what I believe in: helping young founders find their own path through uncertain times.
#founder #startup #VC #Hangzhou #AI

[Dylan Miao @DylanMiao7]

@craigzLiszt 哼！想逃？

[Nicole DeTommaso 🪄 @nic_detommaso]

10 VC firms HIRING right now👇

[Tw93 @HiTw93]

https://t.co/RTkJ3NQKeS

[Dylan Miao @DylanMiao7]

"I don't want to compete with Claude Code. 🙂‍ "

That was my answer when a startup founder asked why a UIUC CS student is going into sales.

We both laughed. But I meant it. @DarioAmodei said most software engineering jobs will be gone by end of 2026.

🤫 The question isn't whether AI replaces engineers.
🥲 The question is: what can you do that AI still can't?

Here's how I figured out my answer:

While at UIUC, I started an college application company focused on top STEM programs in US.

🐢 Year 1: a few hundred thousand in revenue.
💥 Year 2: a few million.

Only two things changed: clearer distribution, and I got better at sales.
That's when it clicked — tech is the floor. Sales is the multiplier.

After graduating I tried building an AI sales startup. Basically an AI CRM.
Wrong timing. Wrong experience level. Shut it down after 6 months.

But I don't regret it. That failure taught me one clean thing:
I'm not wired to build products. I'm wired to sell them — and to connect people.

So here's what I'm planning now:

Sales training AI for engineers and startups.

Engineer have natural advantages in sales — clients trust you because you actually know what you're talking about. And sales talent is very scarce in enterprises.

If you're wondering what's next — DM me.
#sales #ai #startup #software #founder

[Dylan Miao @DylanMiao7]

After building on social media for a year, I realized something about a16z.
They’re not just a VC.
They’re a media company disguised as a VC.

As a newcomer in venture, here’s what I learned building my own audience:

1️⃣ Treat content like finding PMF
Stop chasing perfection. Iterate fast. Your positioning will evolve — that’s the point.

2️⃣ Buy experience, don’t just grind
Learn from people who’ve cracked it. Highest ROI decision you can make.

3️⃣ Be non-consensus first
Every creator who sparked a trend spent years being misunderstood.
Consensus is the finish line.
Non-consensus is the starting line.

The internet is done with perfect personas.
Real, evolving voices win. ���

The hardest part was never tactics.
It was staying true to yourself. 🫡

What’s your biggest challenge building an audience? #a16z #socialmedia #vc #startup #founder #attention

[Dylan Miao @DylanMiao7]

Ask for forgiveness, not permission.

🫡 I learned this the hard way in sales.

A client once said “Let’s talk another time.”
I assumed they weren’t interested and stopped following up.

They didn’t reject me. They just forgot about me — and signed with someone else.

When I started following up more aggressively, my conversion rate increased 2–3x.

Now I’m applying the same mindset while exploring venture capital.

Instead of quietly submitting applications, I reach out directly to investors and founders. Sometimes nothing happens. Sometimes it opens unexpected doors.

🤞 Most opportunities aren’t about luck.
💥 They’re about how many times you try.
#startup #founder #bold #venturecapital #vc #student #sales

[Dylan Miao @DylanMiao7]

Princeton PhDs are officially "Quitting" academia.

A few days ago I introduced a 1st-year Princeton PhD to a recent Princeton PhD graduate. I thought they’d talk about research. Instead the first three messages were:

🙂‍↔️ “Don’t do the PhD.”
🫡 “Just drop out.”
😠 “Go to industry.”

At first I laughed. But the reality is I’m seeing more and more top PhDs leaving academia for AI startups. The opportunity cost in the AI era is just too high.

🐢 Labs move slowly.
🚄 Startups accelerate like GPUs.

In this era, the most valuable trait isn’t certainty.
It’s the courage to embrace uncertainty.

Whoever embraces uncertainty earlier, finds their life’s path earlier. 😊#PhD #startup #founder #quit #AI #vc #university

[Dylan Miao @DylanMiao7]

VC is undergoing a massive paradigm shift. 🚀

Many people think VC is about networking:

More events, coffee chats.

But in the AI era, the real edge looks different.

I think of it as the Gen Z VC Stack:

1️⃣ Judgment
VC is ultimately about predicting technological and market shifts.

2️⃣ Technology
You don’t need to train models.
But you must understand what founders are building.

3️⃣ Empathy
Empathy is advanced networking. Great investors don’t just collect contacts. They understand people.

4️⃣ Storytelling
Attention is the new currency.
Influence can become deal flow.

Capital is just the tool. The real edge is understanding technology, people, and narratives. #vc #VentureCapital #founder #genz #investor

[Dylan Miao @DylanMiao7]

Will China lose robot game? 🥹

[Dylan Miao @DylanMiao7]

@benln Building https://t.co/bdYzErlUmB , ai reasoning crm

[Dylan Miao @DylanMiao7]

@parmita Totally agree.

[Dylan Miao @DylanMiao7]

Talked to several CROs this week:

Most revenue misses didn’t happen because forecasts were wrong —
they happened because a deal died unexpectedly, and no one saw it coming.
By the time it’s “Closed-Lost”, it’s already too late. 😰

Curious how teams here detect revenue risk before the loss actually happens. 🧐
#Sales #CRM #CRO #salesVP #forecast #lostdeal #Revenue

[Dylan Miao @DylanMiao7]

The biggest mistake in my startup career:
❌ VC > Product > Customer

The hardest lesson learned:
✅ Customer > Product > VC

The Customer is the Engine.
The Product is the Vehicle.
VC is just the Fuel.

Get the priority wrong, and you'll burn resources going nowhere.#Startup #Founders #BusinessLessons #CustomerFirst #Entrepreneurship

[LoucB @LoicBerthelot]

"Mom, how did we get so rich?"

Your dad understood ‘distribution before product’

[Dylan Miao @DylanMiao7]

@Shiuan_tz

[Elvira D @elvirafortune]

The best advice you can get post graduation #ycombinator

[Adrianna Lakatos @adriannalakatos]

We opened a brand new event hall @fdotinc

@StevenBartlett packed it on opening night

Who should we bring on stage next?

[Dylan Miao @DylanMiao7]

What is a startup?

💚 Having an idea? So easy.
💙 Building a product? Not hard.
🩵 Validating the market? Fxxking hard.
💜 Staying alive to win? The hardest.

#startup #founder #saas #b2b #storytelling