I Asked Silicon Valley's Top AI Investor for Startup Advice. Here’s the Truth

Your AI Agent Has No Identity, Here's Why That's Dangerous

AI agents are taking over tasks, managing workflows, and accessing your most sensitive systems — but they have no real identity. And that's a massive security risk no one is talking about. In this episode, Nancy Wang (CTO at 1Password, Venture Partner at Felicis Ventures, and founder of Advancing Women in Tech) breaks down the identity crisis at the heart of agentic AI — and what it means for every developer, cloud engineer, and enterprise security team. What you'll learn: → Why AI agents have no stable identity — and why long-lived tokens are dangerous → How MCP (Model Context Protocol) is reshaping identity and access management (IAM) → The difference between agent-to-agent (A2A) and human-to-agent authentication → How 1Password is protecting 1.3 billion credentials in an agentic AI world → What new identity standards are emerging for AI tools, browsers, and local agents → The future of cybersecurity when you have 10 agents running under one identity Whether you're building with agentic AI, working in cloud security, or exploring prompt injection and MCP security risks — this conversation is essential viewing. 🔗 Topics covered: AI agents | agentic AI | MCP security | model context protocol | IAM | AI security | cybersecurity | prompt injection | 1Password | AI tools | cloud security | identity management 👤 Guest: Nancy Wang — SVP Engineering at 1Password, Venture Partner at Felicis Ventures, Founder of Advancing Women in Tech (AWIT) 📺 Cloud Girl is a YouTube channel by Priyanka Vergadia covering cloud, AI, and careers in tech — subscribe for weekly conversations with leaders building at the frontier.

I Asked Silicon Valley's Top AI Investor for Startup Advice. Here’s the Truth

Former Google engineer and Glean founding team member Deedy Das shares unfiltered insights on AI startup investing, what VCs actually look for, and the $100M deal that got away. In this episode, Deedy reveals: ✅ Why 100% of cold emails to VCs fail (and what works instead) ✅ The 3 things investors actually evaluate (hint: not your pitch deck) ✅ Which AI trends are overhyped vs. game-changing in 2025 ✅ How to avoid the biggest mistakes technical founders make ✅ Why he passed on Lovable (now worth $100M+) and what he learned ✅ The truth about fundraising: traction, team, and domain expertise ✅ Current AI investment opportunities: voice AI, RL environments, and more From building a $7B company (Glean) to investing at Menlo Ventures and running the Anthropic Fund, Deedy breaks down: - How to get warm intros to VCs (and why cold emails don't work) - What makes Swedish engineers build better AI products - The commoditization of startups and how to stand out - Red flags VCs can spot in 30 seconds - Why operating experience matters in venture capital Perfect for: AI founders, technical entrepreneurs, startup operators, and anyone interested in venture capital insights from someone who's been on both sides. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 - Introduction 01:29 - Why leave a $7B startup for VC? 05:40 - Biggest mistakes technical founders make 09:08 - What's hot in AI investing right now 14:08 - Infrastructure vs. application layer investments 19:00 - What VCs actually look for (not your deck!) 25:27 - Overhyped vs. game-changing AI trends 29:08 - Why cold emails have a 0% success rate 35:12 - The Anthropic Fund and AI community 40:07 - Risk, failure, and calculated bets 42:13 - The $100M deal that got away (Lovable story) CONNECT WITH DEEDY DAS: Twitter/X: [Add handle] LinkedIn: [Add profile] Menlo Ventures: https://menlovc.com [https://menlovc.com] ABOUT THE GUEST: Deedy Das is a Principal at Menlo Ventures investing in early-stage AI, infrastructure, and SaaS companies. He was on the founding team of Glean (now valued at $7B) and previously worked as an engineer at Google and Facebook. He also manages the Anthropic Fund, supporting AI startups building with Claude. RESOURCES MENTIONED: - Glean: Enterprise AI search - Lovable: AI-powered development platform - Anthropic: AI safety and research - Scale AI: Data labeling and annotation - Thinking Machines: RL-as-a-service #AIStartups #VenturCapital #TechPodcast #StartupFunding #AIInvesting #Entrepreneurship #TechnicalFounders #MenloVentures #GleanAI #StartupAdvice --- Subscribe for more insights from founders, investors, and operators building the future of AI and technology.

AI is Failing on ROI, Here's why!

The conversation covers insights from the tech industry, the introduction to Workado, the concept of agentic orchestration and AI, the business impact of agentic orchestration, role transformation and industry trends, and the future of Workado and industry disruption. Takeaways * Tech industry insights from a 25-year veteran * Understanding agentic orchestration and its business impact Chapters * 00:00 Tech Industry Insights * 05:31 Agentic Orchestration and AI * 13:20 Business Impact of Agentic Orchestration * 23:29 Role Transformation and Industry Trends * 29:13 Future of Workado and Industry Disruption

Why I Quit College After Just 2 Weeks: Kelsey Hightower

Is a college degree essential for a top-tier tech career? Google Distinguished Engineer and Kubernetes pioneer Kelsey Hightower shares his unconventional path to the top, which started by quitting college after only two weeks. In this episode of the Cloud Girl Podcast, Kelsey reveals why he found college unmotivating and instead chose to pursue an A+ IT certification. He details his incredible journey from working fast food jobs to landing a contract role with BellSouth, and eventually zig-zagging his way into open source and senior roles at Google. This interview is packed with invaluable career advice for software engineers, developers, and anyone in tech who feels the traditional path isn't for them. Learn why Kelsey believes his non-traditional path is more relatable than the Ivy League route and how you can define your own metrics for success. Topics covered: * The exact moment Kelsey decided to drop out of college. * How to build a successful career in tech without a degree. * The critical difference between a "manager" and a "boss". * Kelsey's surprising perspective on the current AI hype cycle. * Why community is one of the most powerful tools for career growth. #KelseyHightower #TechCareer #NoDegree #SoftwareEngineer #Kubernetes #CareerAdvice #Google #Developer