In this episode, Vaibhav Nadgauda, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of App Orchid, Inc., shares an operator to venture capital journey, how they built a founder friendly investing approach, and what changed when they stepped in as CEO after a founder’s passing. You will learn how VC fundraising works at the fund level, how to think about pivots and team quality, and why the enterprise AI wave is forcing a rethink of the data stack.

Episode Description What does founder friendly venture capital actually look like in practice, especially when the investor has lived the operator journey?

In this conversation, we break down the shift from building and exiting companies to raising a first fund, evolving the LP base over time, and learning the mental model change from operator problem solving to investor portfolio focus.

We also go deep on enterprise AI and data strategy, including why semantic layers, ontologies, and knowledge graphs are becoming critical for interacting with siloed enterprise data. If you are navigating venture capital fundraising, B2B software, product market fit, or go to market focus, this episode offers concrete lessons that translate.

We cover • Why teams beat the original pitch, and why pivots are normal • How LP trust is built, and what changes from fund one to fund three • The investor mindset shift, backing winners and allocating attention • Conviction vs delusion, and how to process customer feedback • Enterprise AI readiness, semantic layers, ontologies, and knowledge graphs • Seeing around the corner, why experience changes pattern recognition

Who this is for Founders, operators, and investors who want a sharper framework for VC fundraising, B2B investing, and the enterprise AI data shift.

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Mentioned in This Episode • Until the End of Time, Brian Greene • Our Mathematical Universe, Max Tegmark • Only the Paranoid Survive • The Innovator’s Dilemma • ChatGPT • Knowledge graphs • Ontologies and semantic layers • Salesforce • SAP • Snowflake

About the Show Inside the Silicon Mind is your masterclass in high stakes innovation, business strategy, and the Silicon Valley mindset. Hosted by Firas Sozan, we interview Founders, CEOs, and Venture Capitalists shaping the future of technology.