In this week’s Tech.eu podcast, three founders discuss their "AI roll-up" strategies, a business model gaining traction in the startup and VC world.
An "AI roll-up" strategy can be defined as a strategy whereby VC-backed startups buy underperforming companies, with the hope of boosting profits of the acquired companies through AI. It is a new play on the private equity model.
The business model has gained traction in the VC world, with General Catalyst, Thrive Capital, Khosla Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners amongst those funding or exploring "roll-ups".
In this episode, we talk to three founders deploying the strategy, discussing the advantages and challenges of the business model.
Din Bisevac, founder of property startup Buena; Constantin Schröder, founder of short-term rental startup Arbio; and Dan Lifshits, founder of property management startup Dwelly, discuss the topic.
On why "AI roll-ups" lend themselves well to rental management, Schröder said: "It is a fantastic playing field to inject AI into because we have to communicate with property owners, with guests, a lot that have many questions with service providers. And we see ourselves in the middle, orchestrating the three stakeholders.”
On the challenges of integrating acquired businesses, Bisevac said: “The first couple of times when we acquired businesses, we faced a lot of integration challenges."
These challenges include employee scepticism about new ownership, customers being sceptical about new ownership, and employees being stubborn about learning new AI skills.
Bisevac added: “We have learned that essentially all of that goes away if you do one thing. And that one thing is working on a product that provides a better service to the customers.”
Photo: Pixabay
Would you like to write the first comment?
Login to post comments