Week 2: First Week On Site

Quick recap of last week: my first week was fully virtual, but I still sat in on portfolio company calls, reviewed investment memos, and had a check-in with my mentors that reshaped how I think about AI’s role in the due diligence process. This week, I went on-site at Bright Ventures.

I spent the majority of my week building out a research spreadsheet of early-stage startups across Bright Ventures’ core investment verticals: fintech, healthcare, and future of work. For each company, I looked at what they do, what stage they’re at, why they fit Bright’s investment mandate, and how AI plays into their product. I did a lot of research, but it ended up being one of the more eye-opening parts of the project so far.

What stood out to me was that every single one of the companies was using AI to make an existing field meaningfully better. Whether it was automating legal work, improving patient monitoring, or streamlining financial processes, the pattern was the same: AI wasn’t the product, it was what made the product actually work. That distinction is very important to my research question.

On Tuesday, I went to Bright Ventures in person and got to sit down with Lenore and her Chief of Staff, Ciera, to walk through the spreadsheet, talk through my senior project progress, and map out next steps. The meeting was mostly logistical, but getting that time in person helped me make sure my work aligns with what Bright is looking for.

I’ve also been continuing to refine my investor survey, which I’m planning to send out in about two weeks. I want to make sure the questions are sharp before it goes out, since the responses will drive one of the most important parts of my research.

Next week I’ll be continuing on-site, and I’m hoping to dig deeper into Bright’s actual evaluation framework. More updates soon!