Sutter Hill Ventures
A deliberately low-profile venture firm that incubates companies such as Snowflake.
- 1Pitch the ideaTell it to about 100 people
- 2Refine the pitchRepeat until the transformative story lands
- 3Commit to product shapeOnly after the pitch works
From Tara Seshan on Sutter Hill's incubation model
What was said about Sutter Hill Ventures
Sutter Hill tests the pitch with 100 people before building the product. Under Mike Spiser, Sutter Hill's incubation model starts by pitching the idea to about 100 people and refining the pitch until the story of why it is transformative lands. Only then does the team commit to the exact shape of the product.
Positioning is treated as the right first thing to test, drawing on deep technology understanding and the enterprise sales process. Tara Seshan had previously underrated product marketing work and changed her view after seeing this model. In her words: "you should go like pitch 100 people figure out how to refine that pitch as much as possible."
ChatGPT-built Tara Seshan site featuring the quote "riding the wave and manufacturing the wave at the same time." Repeated wins at Sutter Hill showed that huge companies follow a roadmap. Seeing the firm succeed again and again under Mike Spiser convinced Tara Seshan that building huge companies is a repeatable process rather than luck. The firm incubates companies such as Snowflake while staying deliberately low-profile.
Recruiting at the firm is helped by an internal tool called Reticle.
AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (OpenAI’s product lead)
Its repeated successes under Mike Spiser convinced Tara that building huge companies follows a roadmap, not luck. Its model tests product marketing fit by pitching 100 people before committing to a product, and its recruiting is helped by an internal tool called Reticle.
Sutter Hill tests the pitch with 100 people before building the product. Under Mike Spiser, Sutter Hill's incubation model starts by pitching the idea to about 100 people and refining the pitch until the story of why it is transformative lands. Only then does the team commit to the exact shape of the product.
Positioning is treated as the right first thing to test, drawing on deep technology understanding and the enterprise sales process. Tara Seshan had previously underrated product marketing work and changed her view after seeing this model. In her words: "you should go like pitch 100 people figure out how to refine that pitch as much as possible."
ChatGPT-built Tara Seshan site featuring the quote "riding the wave and manufacturing the wave at the same time." Repeated wins at Sutter Hill showed that huge companies follow a roadmap. Seeing the firm succeed again and again under Mike Spiser convinced Tara Seshan that building huge companies is a repeatable process rather than luck. The firm incubates companies such as Snowflake while staying deliberately low-profile.
Recruiting at the firm is helped by an internal tool called Reticle.
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