Founders closing rounds before lunch. Investors making handshake commitments in the hallway. A startup with $9M+ ARR and another with $15M ARR lighting up the room. YC Demo Day isn’t a show; it’s a marketplace where speed and execution decide everything.

In this fast, founder-first debrief, we break down what actually happened at the latest YC Demo Day: the subtle format changes (that matter), why the one-minute pitch is only the opener, and how deals really get done. We cover the batch’s AI/devtools tilt, the contrarian bets in defense and hardware, and why early traction remains the single best predictor at seed. We also unpack portfolio construction, conversion-rate dynamics inside YC, and what support looks like after the cameras stop.

You’ll learn:

- The real Demo Day mechanics: tranches, chat apps, long breaks for dealmaking

- Why some hot rounds are already full and what to do about it

- How to win YC deals: first-meeting decisions, 24–48h timelines, and prep work

- The $9M+ ARR investment we made—and why traction beats narrative

- Why we’re now backing deeptech/hardware (missiles vs drones, autonomous excavators)

- Portfolio strategy: aiming for the fund returner, not spray-and-pray

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and Demo Day Overview

00:15 Behind the Scenes of Demo Day

01:03 Changes and Improvements at YC Demo Day

03:11 Investor Insights and Strategies

04:23 Engaging with YC Startups

06:35 The Importance of Early Traction

09:49 Demo Day Pitch Dynamics

13:42 Fundraising Conversations and Strategies

18:07 Lobster Capital's Investment Approach

21:54 Portfolio Construction and Future Prospects

27:02 AI and Dev Tools: A Crowded Space

27:39 Challenges in Identifying Winners

28:48 Customer Acquisition: The Key to Success

29:57 The Importance of Traction

33:32 Investing in Deep Tech and Hardware

39:24 Evaluating Flywheel's Potential

45:46 Supporting Startups Post-Demo Day

50:09 Looking Ahead: The Never-Ending Cycle

📌 Watch now and subscribe for more smart, fast, founder-first interviews.

🎧 Listen on the go:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1u1JyRKH8JYFjhBkvTUOAP

Apple: https://apple.co/4cZ8RMm

My other YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@GJarrosson

A surfer duct-tapes a phone to his board… and ends up saving enterprise couriers 32 seconds per stop. The last meter of delivery — not the last mile — is where the money is.

In this Lobster Talks episode, Ingo Boegemann, co-founder/CEO of truemetrics, breaks down how sensor fusion + mission intelligence turn messy building entrances, courtyards, and wrong pins into precise, repeatable delivery actions. We go deep on Europe vs. US GTM, GDPR constraints (and why the US may unlock even more value), landing whales like GLS, and the unscalable POC that unlocked scale.

You’ll learn

• Why “a generic geocode is just the starting point” — and how to map entrances that actually work
• The POC → pilot → rollout playbook (and why Truemetrics charges for POCs)
• How to integrate via SDK without slowing ops — and show value before engineering lifts a finger
• Europe vs. US: privacy ceilings, data linking, and why boots-on-the-ground still wins enterprise sales
• The real driver bottleneck: pressure, compliance, and turning best drivers’ tacit knowledge into software
• The long game: building a data moat for autonomous last-meter delivery

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Last Meter Delivery

01:07 Meet Ingo Boegemann: The Journey to Truemetrics

02:15 From Surfboards to Sensor Fusion

05:04 Challenges and Realizations in Delivery Solutions

06:47 European vs. US Market Dynamics

11:42 The Path to Scaling in North America

19:02 Innovative Solutions for Delivery Logistics

21:37 How Truemetrics Technology Works

26:36 Magnetic Field Intensity and Machine Learning Models

27:29 Challenges in Courier Data Integration

29:52 Sales Process and Proof of Concept

32:08 Logistics Industry Vulnerabilities

35:42 Future of Autonomous Deliveries

38:30 Data-Driven Delivery Solutions

48:31 Closing Remarks and Contact Information

📌 Watch now and subscribe for more smart, fast, founder-first interviews.

🎧 Listen on the go:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1u1JyRKH8JYFjhBkvTUOAP

Apple: https://apple.co/4cZ8RMm

My other YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@GJarrosson

What if you could simulate human reactions — and know exactly how your customers, investors, or audience will respond before you act? James He is building precisely that with Artificial Societies.

In this episode, we dive deep with James, YC W25 founder of Artificial Societies — a wildly ambitious startup that simulates entire groups of humans using AI personas to predict how messages spread, markets react, and products succeed (or fail). From simulating 1,000 VCs to get into YC… to replacing $20,000 market research surveys, this conversation is a masterclass in founder execution, behavioral science, and AI-first GTM strategy.

What you’ll learn:

• How Artificial Societies works (and how founders are really using it today)

• Why traditional A/B testing and market research are broken

• Product-led growth lessons from 15,000+ activated users

• The surprising YC tricks James used to get into the batch

• Practical ways AI can upgrade your messaging, GTM, and PMF search

• The future of simulating entire economies (and why we’re not there yet)

📌 Watch now and subscribe for more smart, fast, founder-first interviews.

Chapters:

00:00 Simulating Investors: The Early Days

00:27 Introducing Artificial Societies

00:48 Journey to YC and Beyond

01:06 How Artificial Societies Works

03:02 The Science Behind Social Influence

05:27 Technical Insights and Applications

17:28 James' Personal Journey

22:29 Building and Growing the Startup

24:50 Using Internal Tools for Optimization

27:38 The Evolution of A/B Testing with AI

29:41 Challenges in Market Research

33:14 AI's Role in Market Research

34:40 Balancing Customer Feedback and Product Vision

42:55 Future Predictions and AI Capabilities

47:48 Closing Remarks and Final Thoughts

🎧 Listen on the go:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1u1JyRKH8JYFjhBkvTUOAP

Apple: https://apple.co/4cZ8RMm

My other YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@UCahCIZ9KfmeK4rLosGNYpdg

My other YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@GJarrosson