Nic Poulos

We sit down with Sam Youssef, CEO at @ValsoftCorp on his first vertical acquisition. Less than 10 years later, he's 130 deals in and $750M+ in revenue.

2 founders and 2 VCs. 40 predictions for 2026. There can only be one. Me, Luke, Omar & Todd go head to head in this very special episode. HNY! 📺 Watch our VERTICALS year-end special here youtu.be/teMmJY7zlTs 📖 And read all 40 takes here bit.ly/4q60e8E

Do your sales hires need to come from industry? We sat down with Kyle Norton, CRO at Owner.com to discuss. Sometimes you need that vertical background, sometimes you don't.

Two POVs for AI bears obsessed with adoption data. 1️⃣ An adoption plateau in year ~3 is not shocking. 2️⃣ When it comes to tech waves, survey data sucks. IMO a lot of the data out there rn just isn't that helpful. Our view on AI adoption here: bit.ly/3XXt7HN

What's the role of services in an AI-first world? We debated it with @DanFriedman2, founder of Moxie. Get his take in this clip from our recent VERTICALS episode.

Early-stage VC / founder alignment is dying. Recent data shows that mega-funds now lead or co-lead 20% of sub-$5M rounds. But structurally, massive funds CANNOT care about your early round. 📖 We break down the math in our latest essay here open.substack.com/pub/euclid/p/t…

This week on VERTICALS: We welcome @kylecnorton, CRO at @owner. A vertical unicorn at $50M ARR and growing fast. In one of the toughest SMB verticals out there: restaurants. Join us as we unpack the GTM system behind Owner's meteoric rise. youtu.be/V-EdpNEhYgs

Good 2025 pre-seed report from Carta today. In a world where it could be $100k or $10m, though, what even IS a pre-seed today? carta.com/data/state-of-…

What did this building used to be? If you're 30+ and American, I know you know. How can a brand that iconic die? Check out our dive on franchise models w Ilir Sela @slice on VERTICALS. His favorite pizza shop is in Staten Island (sadly not @pizzahut). youtu.be/8Ha4zxaAq-4

On VERTICALS Episode #6, Mike Kopko (founder / CEO of Pearl Health) discusses the power of referrals in healthcare AI. Referencability can have more value than ARR early on.

The current-cycle AI infrastructure boom is unprecedented. The next cycle must be defined by AI creating real economic value. In our latest VERTICALS episode, Mike Kopko @ Pearl Health shared why HC is one of the frontiers here: youtu.be/B_914wvWN-I

Many Vertical AI fast-growers started as point solutions: Rilla, MagicSchool AI, EvenUp. But the path to System of Record / Action still matters... a lot. Think through a path to owning the workflow. But don't lose sight of the incumbents w a firm grip. youtu.be/Wu7dnbu_TDU

@Alexoppenheimer @mashadrokova Bold choice in Jared Leto

@mashadrokova very true. but would definitely categorize this as necessary but not sufficient. I assure you Jared Leto could make you feel this way, but I am not sure he could build a technology company.

Best founders radiate an insane amount of energy. If you walk out of a meeting with a founder and don’t feel high for a day or two, it is not the one.

Healthcare is the top Vertical AI category—and not even close. With $100m from a16z and others, Pearl Health is showing why. 📺 VERTICALS Full Episode #6 — Healthcare’s AI Moment w/ Mike Kopko, Founder / CEO of Pearl Health youtu.be/B_914wvWN-I

@PalantirTech is ~25% off its early-November peak. Still up >100x since AIP launched. Still the highest P/S in the S&P 500.

B2B founders get skittish around touching customers' customers. But in some cases, the traditional advice is wrong. @IlirSela (founder / CEO @slice ) illustrated the nuance on VERTICALS. Sometimes, the best way to serve your customers is to serve theirs. youtu.be/_4WvxWG5ghY

The wildest part of Broadlume's story wasn't the great exit. Todd Saunders torched a growing ad-tech biz to chase a vertical few had the vision to believe in: flooring. He then scaled to $80B+ in spend & >$200M revs. More our latest episode of VERTICALS: youtu.be/biLHVftjkcw

There's a barbell effect to AI's acceleration of software development. @JeremyYamaguchi at Cabana broke this down perfectly on VERTICALS: 1. Enterprises accelerate 10x DIYers. 2. People have always paid for convenience. 3. Complexity hits a wall--there's a reason PMs exist.

The best SMB Vertical AI wedges reduce friction: natural‑language interfaces, zero training, proof in days, and it sits next to the money. Start where the business hurts daily. insights.euclid.vc/p/emerging-pla…

Vertical AI wins by starting as the authoring layer and graduating into a System of Intelligence. Wedges that unlock revenue + capture first‑party data compound into data gravity and platform lock‑in. System of Intelligence Playbook: insights.euclid.vc/p/emerging-pla…