VC Platform in the AI Age | Melissa Montan & Madeline Pope, March Capital

What does working in platform at an AI-focused venture capital firm actually mean? The simple answer: Portfolio support and growth. But for Melissa Montan and Madeline Pope, VP and Senior Associate of Platform & Marketing at March Capital respectively, it means owning a brand, its relationships, and its durability at the speed of AI advancement itself.In this episode of The Cap Table, Melissa and Madeline join Affinity to talk through what "platform" actually means at a VC firm in 2026 and why it's become one of a firm’s biggest differentiators.Inside this conversation — Melissa and Madeline walk through their paths into venture platform work and March Capital's focus on frontier technology companies at the leading edge of the AI revolution. What does a roughly $1.65 billion, 30-company portfolio look like day to day?— They get into how the firm cuts through the noise of VC-led content with authenticity over hot takes, and how tools like Claude, Claude Cowork, and the Affinity MCP have changed their daily workflow.— They discuss the Montgomery Summit, March Capital's flagship event, and its long-tail ROI, including a story of how a 2005 pitch from a then-lesser-known founder turned into a $66 million investment in CrowdStrike that returned roughly 75x.— They cover March's team-based investment philosophy, how they build LP trust through transparency, and why they track OKRs instead of vanity metrics.— Finally, they close with a lightning round on events versus newsletters, LinkedIn versus X, and whether AI-generated content is a time-saver or a brand killer.If you work in venture platform, marketing, or LP relations, or are just interested in the venture capital space, this one's worth your time.The Cap Table is a podcast by Affinity.🔗 Affinity: https://buff.ly/11jDF7y🔗 March Capital: https://www.marchcp.com/🔗 Follow March Capital: https://www.linkedin.com/company/march-capital-partners/🔗 Follow Melissa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissamontan/🔗 Follow Madeline: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mp-madeline-pope/Follow Affinity on YouTube: @affinity_presentsYouTube (product): @affinity_coInstagram: @affinity.hqLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/project-affinity/ (00:00) - Cold open (00:20) - Melissa and Madeline's backgrounds, and March Capital's mission (06:23) - A day in the life of March's platform team (10:56) - Signal vs. noise: cutting through VC content (13:34) - AI in the marketing stack: Claude, Claude Cowork, and the Affinity MCP (16:01) - The Montgomery Summit's ROI and the CrowdStrike origin story (19:39) - Investing as a team (21:14) - LP trust and the brand of a durable firm (23:56) - Measuring platform success beyond vanity metrics (26:22) - A marketing trend that stopped being a gimmick (28:21) - Lessons from Clocktower and M13 (29:39) - Building a seamless web of trust (32:14) - Lightning round (33:26) - Close