First episode of Venture Grounds is out! I talked to
@NEA's Hunter Worland, and three ideas are still stuck in my head:
1. Distribution vs. product is the wrong question.
The best companies design them together from day one. Hunter's example: a Brazilian remittance product built directly into WhatsApp, embedding stablecoin rails where users already send money.
2. AI agents kill generic experiences.
Most financial products are lowest-common-denominator by design. Everyone gets the same app, same flows, same outcomes. Agents create a path to market-of-one financial products at scale.
3. We've massively undershot what rewards could be.
Rewards default to points and flights, even though people stress about groceries, tuition, and medical bills. Incentives should be designed around real financial pressure, not travel perks.
We went much deeper on this in the episode, including where this breaks down and where it compounds. Find the full episode of the new
@rhobusiness pod below!