# Ideas

From inception: new partnerships, new funds, and what we believe.

[News](/news/)[Ideas](/ideas/)

[2025-07-08 Featured Announcing boldstart Fund VII: Inception Reloaded — $250M to Build the Autonomous Enterprise Ed Sim Ideas](/news/announcing-boldstart-fund-vii-inception-reloaded-250m-to-build-the-autonomous-enterprise/)
[2026-04-02 Featured GeneralistAI — When Robots Start to Improvise — Welcome to boldstart Ellen Chisa Ideas](/news/generalistai-when-robots-start-to-improvise-welcome-to-boldstart/)
[2025-12-30 boldstart 2025 recap Ed Sim Ideas](/news/boldstart-2025-recap/)
[2025-10-21 Keycard: The Identity and Access Platform for AI Agents, Welcome to boldstart! Ed Sim Ideas](/news/keycard-solving-the-ai-agent-identity-and-access-problem-welcome-to-boldstart/)
[2025-04-28 From Inception to AI security leader – ProtectAI’s journey to $700M+ exit to Palo Alto Networks Ed Sim Ideas](/news/from-inception-to-ai-security-leader-protectais-journey-to-exit-to-palo-alto-networks/)
[2024-11-14 Tessl — AI Native Software Development — Welcome to boldstart! Ed Sim Ideas](/news/tessl-ai-native-software-development-welcome-to-boldstart/)
[2024-10-22 Announcing our investment in CrewAI; powering the future of AI in the enterprise with multi-agent automation — Welcome to boldstart! Eliot Durbin Ideas](/news/announcing-our-investment-in-crewai-powering-the-future-of-ai-in-the-enterprise-with-multi-agent-automation-welcome-to-boldstart/)
[2024-06-28 Clay, Inception to Series B at $500M Valuation: Reinventing Prospecting & Outreach for Sales with AI. Ideas](/news/clay-inception-to-series-b-reinventing-prospecting-outreach-for-sales-with-ai/)
[2023-10-27 Inception Investing: the new race to be first in Venture… and Pre-Seed isn’t first any more Ed Sim Ideas](/resources/inception-investing-first/)
[2022-12-15 Protect AI — MLSecOps, shift left security for AI/ML, welcome to boldstart Ed Sim Ideas](/news/protect-ai-mlsecops-shift-left-security-for-ai-ml-welcome-to-boldstart/)
[2018-03-07 Snyk, from first check to leader in dev-friendly open source security Boldstart, Ed Sim Ideas](/boldstart-ventures/snyk-from-first-check-to-leader-in-dev-friendly-open-source-security-27394201d61d)

Showing 7 of 11 ideas

## Podcast appearances

51 appearances

[2024 Featured Ed Sim · Turpentine VC Turpentine VC: E66: Why Inception Investing Beats Traditional Seed with Ed Sim of Boldstart Ventures Listen](https://open.spotify.com/episode/2xR7O8o2wP2XrZkiaujYRG)
[2026-07 Featured Ellen Chisa · Fun Raising Ellen Chisa on fundraising at inception Listen](https://www.vcsheet.com/fun-raising/ellen-chisa-boldstart)
[2026-03-09 Featured Eliot Durbin · Knowledge Distillation The SaaS Apocalypse, Betting on People Over Products, and Founder Skills Listen](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/12-eliot-durbin-on-the-saas-apocalypse-betting-on/id1854828834?i=1000754012846)
[2026-08-31 Ed Sim · Post Money Everything You Know About Cybersecurity Is About to Break Listen](https://postmoneypodcast.substack.com/p/everything-you-know-about-cybersecurity)
[2026-08-10 Ed Sim · CXOTalk Enterprise AI Biggest Opportunities: A Top VC's Take Listen](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/enterprise-ai-biggest-opportunities-a-top-vcs-take/id1069746738?i=1000782001399)
[2026-07-23 Ed Sim · Resilient Cyber Why AI Security Is Getting Rebuilt From Scratch Listen](https://www.resilientcyber.io/p/why-ai-security-is-getting-rebuilt)
[2026-06-21 Ed Sim · Prosaic Times · James Kaplan Not 2007 anymore — what VCs have to say about AI and enterprise tech Listen](https://www.prosaictimes.com/p/not-2007-anymore-what-vcs-have-to)
[2026-05-26 Ed Sim · Miami Tech Pod What Top Seed Investor Ed Sim Actually Looks for in Founders Listen](https://miamitechpod.buzzsprout.com/1579981/episodes/19222276-what-top-seed-investor-ed-sim-actually-looks-for-in-founders)
[2026-04-01 Ed Sim · GTMnow Investing at Inception in the Age of AI Agents Listen](https://gtmnow.com/inception-stage-investing-ai-agents-enterprise-ed-sim/)
[2026-02-19 Ed Sim · Prosaic Times · James Kaplan The Autonomous Enterprise: Ed Sim on Agents, Skills, and the Future of Enterprise Tech Listen](https://prosaictimes.substack.com/p/the-autonomous-enterprise-ed-sim)
[2025-07-16 Ed Sim · Resilient Cyber The Intersection of Venture, AI and Cyber Listen](https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Q2XqZ2qyPNESZ8eQF4tnt)
[2025 Ed Sim · Trends with Friends Ed joins Trends with Friends Podcast: Inside AI’s New VC Reality Listen](https://www.howardlindzon.com/p/new-trends-with-friends-episode-from-copilots-to-strip-mining-inside-ai-s-new-vc-reality-with-ed-sim)
[2025 Ed Sim · The Data Minute / Carta Ed Sim on the Carta Podcast: Backing Founders From Day Zero Listen](https://open.spotify.com/episode/3yOQR5AUX6koD9Q2EhgTTZ)
[2025 Eliot Durbin · MLOps Community Future of Software, Agents in the Enterprise, and Inception Stage Company Building // Eliot Durbin Listen](https://podcasts.apple.com/ao/podcast/future-of-software-agents-in-the-enterprise/id1505372978?i=1000697677193)
[2025 Eliot Durbin · The Infra Pod The Infra Pod: How to invest in infrastructure companies since inception stage? Chat with Eliot Durbin @ boldstart ventures Listen](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-invest-in-infrastructure-companies-since-inception/id1689151910?i=1000685781094)
[2024-10-22 Eliot Durbin · Software Snack Bites The Future of AI Agents — with Joao Moura and Eliot Durbin Listen](https://shomik.substack.com/p/the-future-of-ai-agents-joao-moura)
[2024-08-26 Ed Sim · Top One Percenter Show Ed Sim on early-stage enterprise investing Listen](https://www.buzzsprout.com/1625728/episodes/15573111-top-one-percenter-show-with-ed-sim-founder-and-managing-partner-of-boldstart-ventures)
[2024-08-07 Ellen Chisa · Kubernetes for Humans Infrastructure, developer experience, and the move from founder to investor Listen](https://komodor.com/resources/030-kubernetes-for-humans-podcast-with-ellen-chisa-boldstart-ventures/)
[2024-06-21 Ed Sim · The Peel Building boldstart Ventures from $1m to $850m Listen](https://www.thespl.it/p/building-bolstart-ventures-from-1m)
[2024-04-26 Ellen Chisa · Scale with Strive Advice for Early-Stage Founders Listen](https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/advice-for-early-stage-founders-with-ellen-chisa/id1710179366?i=1000654779289)
[2024-01-23 Ed Sim · Artificiality / Stay Human Ed Sim: AI Venture Capital Listen](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ed-sim-ai-venture-capital/id1500655310?i=1000642688719)
[2024 Ed Sim · Venture with Grace Empowering Dev-First Startups: Ed Sim’s Vision for Boldstart and the Future of Enterprise AI (Venture with Grace) Listen](https://open.spotify.com/episode/602vLisgpuuoPceyRzm6bG)
[2024 Ed Sim · Driving Alpha Driving Alpha Podcast: Inception investing in technical enterprise founders with Ed Sim Listen](https://open.spotify.com/episode/7muBXeeHKWor8szFOnvk9l)
[2024 Ellen Chisa · Scaling DevTools Ellen Chisa on Scaling DevTools Podcast Listen](https://open.spotify.com/episode/6NCEuv5yI3GqSBbhSfJngA)
[2024 Ellen Chisa · The VentureFizz Podcast The VentureFizz Podcast: Ellen Chisa – Partner, boldstart ventures Listen](https://venturefizz.com/insights/episode-328-ellen-chisa-partner-boldstart-ventures/)
[2024 Ed Sim · 20VC 20VC: Did Figma Kill M&A Markets in 2024, The Three Biggest Mistakes Made in Growth Investing, The Three Requirements Companies Need to IPO in 2024 with Ed Sim and Jamin Ball Listen](https://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/ma-and-ipo/)
[2023-11-07 Ellen Chisa · The Rosenfeld Review Creating a More Impactful Business While Still Feeling Like a Designer Listen](https://rosenfeldmedia.com/sessions/creating-a-more-impactful-business-while-still-feeling-like-a-designer-with-ellen-chisa/)
[2023-10-17 Ellen Chisa · Leaders Unscripted Transitioning from Founder CEO to VC Listen](https://podcast.constellaryhq.com/29)
[2023-10-03 Ed Sim · Origins Q4 Market Predictions with Ed Sim and Seyonne Kang Listen](https://open.spotify.com/episode/6YWwwJ4cQZ0ALFdjnT9pHB)
[2023 Ed Sim · 20VC 20VC: The Three Types of Seed Rounds (aka “Inception Rounds”), Why Seed Has Never Been More Competitive… Listen](https://open.spotify.com/episode/2POH7JsbHP7VznSa5Cmr0j)
[2022-06-14 Ed Sim · Public Key · Chainalysis What Does Crypto VC Funding Look Like in a Bear Market? Listen](https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/chainalysis-podcast-episode-10-fundraising-crypto-bear-market/)
[2022-05-28 Ed Sim · StrictlyVC Download Assessing the Market Meltdown with VC Ed Sim Listen](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/assessing-the-market-meltdown-with-vc-ed-sim/id1498270180?i=1000564277435)
[2022-03-03 Ellen Chisa · Console DevTools Designing dev products (S02E09) Listen](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/designing-dev-products-with-ellen-chisa-boldstart-s02e09/id1572448316?i=1000552789530)
[2022 Ed Sim · Console.dev Console.dev podcast: Devtools investing, with Ed Sim – S02E05 Listen](https://podcast.console.dev/episodes/s02e05-ed-sim)
[2022 Eliot Durbin · Google Cloud From Idea to Product, Getting Your Technical Startup Off The Ground: Eliot Durbin + Google Cloud Watch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMzZH5amer0)
[2021-02-20 Ed Sim · StrictlyVC Download Ed Sim on the Next Wave of Developer First Startups Listen](https://www.buzzsprout.com/850276/episodes/7976041-ed-sim-of-boldstart-ventures-on-the-next-wave-of-developer-first-startups)
[2021 Ed Sim · Venture Unlocked Ed on Venture Unlocked Podcast on Day One investing + early days at boldstart Listen](https://podcasts.apple.com/mx/podcast/boldstart-ventures-ed-sim-on-starting-his-career-during/id1535501313?i=1000544945647)
[2021 Ed Sim · BUILD What Do VCs Look for in PLG/Dev First Founders with Ed Sim? BUILD podcast Listen](https://podcast.openviewpartners.com/public/32/OV-%7C-BUILD-21cbd466/1c286d6c)
[2021 Ed Sim · The Full Ratchet The Full Ratchet: 266. Velocity as a Superpower, Why Contrarians Win, The Role of a Board Member, and Why Some Challenge When they Should Chill (Ed Sim) Listen](https://fullratchet.net/266-velocity-as-a-superpower-why-contrarians-win-the-role-of-a-board-member-and-why-some-challenge-when-they-should-chill/)
[2020-12-23 Ellen Chisa · o11ycast Rewarding Curiosity Listen](https://heavybit.capital/library/podcasts/o11ycast/ep-31-rewarding-curiosity-with-ellen-chisa-of-dark)
[2020 Ed Sim · What Got You There What Got You There: #219 Ed Sim- Courage, Conviction and Venture Capital with Boldstart Ventures Founder Listen](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/219-ed-sim-courage-conviction-venture-capital-boldstart/id1220419562?i=1000497626449)
[2020 Ed Sim · Software Engineering Daily Software Engineering Daily: Enterprise Investing with Ed Sim Listen](https://softwareengineeringdaily.com/2020/09/18/enterprise-investing-with-ed-sim/)
[2019-01-25 Ed Sim · Equity · TechCrunch Scooters 2.0, Munchery ghosts, and solving contraceptive deserts Listen](https://techcrunch.com/podcast/scooters-2-0-munchery-ghosts-and-solving-contraceptive-deserts/)
[2019 Ed Sim · Enterprise Masters Enterprise Masters: Ed Sim of Boldstart VC Listen](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ed-sim-of-boldstart-vc/id1475807649?i=1000446379838)
[2018 Ed Sim · SaaStr SaaStr Episode 190: Ed Sim discusses the 0 to 1 enterprise stage and first customers Listen](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/saastr-190-why-saas-founders-should-not-sell-their/id1089973241?i=1000418577064)
[2018 Ed Sim · Venture Confidential Venture Confidential (Heavybit): Ep. #14, Building Community with Boldstart’s Ed Sim Listen](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-14-building-community-with-boldstarts-ed-sim/id1107185648?i=1000402210541)
[2017-04-18 Ed Sim · Venture Studio Ed Sim — Boldstart Ventures, Part 2 (Episode 43) Listen](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-43-ed-sim-boldstart-ventures-2-of-2/id1044852273?i=1000384496888)
[2017-04-07 Ed Sim · Venture Studio Ed Sim — Boldstart Ventures, Part 1 (Episode 42) Listen](https://soundcloud.com/venture-studio/ep-42-ed-sim-boldstart-ventures-1-of-2)
[2017 Ed Sim · Angel Angel S2 E2 hosted by Jason Calacanis| BoldStart Founder Ed Sim on 20 years, 50+ enterprise investments, how family history shaped his VC approach & more Listen](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/e12-boldstart-founder-ed-sim-on-20yrs-seeding-50-enterprise/id1275677375?i=1000397584481)
[2016-04-14 Eliot Durbin · Venture Studio Eliot Durbin — Boldstart Ventures (Episode 24) Listen](https://soundcloud.com/venture-studio/ep-24-eliot-durbin-boldstart-ventures)
[2015 Ed Sim · 20VC Twenty Minute VC 092: The Repeatable Playbook of SaaS with Ed Sim, Founding Partner @ BoldStart Ventures Listen](https://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/edsim/)

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