The Hype Cycle and Realities of Artificial Intelligence (AI) w/ Adrian Mendoza (S2.E3B)

Adrian Mendoza is the founder and general partner at Mendoza Ventures, which is both Latinx and woman-owned and the first Latinx-founded VC fund on the east coast. His firm focuses on investments in Fintech, AI, and Cybersecurity, with diversity playing an important role in their investment decisions—about 80% of their portfolio consists of startups led by immigrants, people of color, and women. Since its founding seven years ago, Mendoza Ventures has raised two funds and had two successful exits. The firm is currently raising its third fund, a $100M fintech fund anchored by Bank of America, focused on early growth funding rounds. In 2022, Axios Magazine listed Adrian as one of the five most influential people in Boston and the LA Times honored Adrian as a DEI visionary as one of California’s most prominent game-changers and thought leaders in the business world today. Adrian is also a regular contributor on CNBC on the state of Venture capital in the US and the firm has recently been covered in Forbes, Bloomberg, and The Boston Globe. In this episode, Zack Ellison and Adrian discuss:1. Weaknesses of the Power Law Method in VC2. Venture Debt and Equity Synergies3. Benefits of Venture Debt4. The Second AI Hype Cycle5. Cybersecurity and FinTech Opportunities6. Show me the Money! Why Revenue Matters Most7. Ideal Scenarios for Utilizing Venture DebtLEARN MORE:- Zack Ellison: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/zackellison/- The 7 in 7 Show: ⁠https://7in7show.com/- A.R.I. Venture Debt: ⁠https://www.arivc.com/- DISCLAIMER: https://7in7show.com/disclaimer/