According to VC firm Insight Partners, it’s still a good time to embrace the AI revolution. A recent study from Insight showed that 72% of portfolio companies are using AI in their workflows. The company advised its founders to “crawl, walk, run.” “An approach that automates parts of your business.
Insight Partners, one of the largest and most active venture capital and private equity firms of the past decade, advises founders that artificial intelligence is here to stay.
In a two-page memo shared with Business Insider, Insight said that while it had some predictions, “AI is the buzzword of 2024 and isn’t going anywhere next year,” it has significant implications for the future of the industry. announced the prediction.
According to a recent study by Insight, 72% of portfolio companies are using AI, and 36% of them are allocating new budget specifically to these efforts. The company’s portfolio includes Israeli cybersecurity firm Wiz, which turned down a $23 billion sale to Alphabet in the summer, and Weights & Biases, a machine learning operations company used by OpenAI to track and compare experiments.
Insight said automation has the potential to improve productivity and simplify tasks across departments, but founders can be overwhelmed when trying to integrate these new technologies into their workflows. I admitted something. The company recommended a phased approach.
“As AI assistants and GenAI continue to evolve, founders need to take a ‘crawl, walk, run’ approach, starting with simpler automation tasks and gradually incorporating more advanced workflows.” It is written in the memo. “As these systems are still maturing, it is essential to adopt a ‘human-involved’ framework that combines AI and human oversight.”
While automation plays a critical role across business functions, Insight highlighted three areas that early-stage companies should focus on: knowledge management, content generation, and customer insights. For developers, Coding Assistant speeds code generation and review, enabling faster time to market and broader product offerings. In marketing, automated copy and content testing increases engagement, and AI-powered tools in customer support speed response times and improve access to a company’s knowledge base.
Insights also identified one area where human connection can’t be beat. It encourages founders of growth-stage companies to attend events, from intimate gatherings with potential buyers to large-scale industry events, as a way to connect with customers and grow demand. did. This will help companies “stand out in a world increasingly flooded with digital, AI-enabled outreach,” the memo said.
Read the letter Insight shared with executives.
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Dear Field Notes readers, as 2025 approaches, we wanted to share some insights on high-impact strategies to effectively scale your company in the coming year. Our Insight Onsite team is comprised of 130+ professionals with deep operational expertise to support our customers’ growth journeys and leverage opportunities in AI, go-to-market (GTM) strategies, talent, and more. We will support you to do so. We hope that the following information will be helpful to you. As always, if you have any questions, please contact your portfolio manager or on-site representative.
The transition to AI is imminent and will bring high levels of scaling and sophistication among entrepreneurs.
AI was a buzzword in 2024, but it won’t be next year either. AI has the potential to drive the next wave of innovation and provide opportunities for growth. Early-stage companies looking to scale with AI in 2025 should focus on high-impact applications that drive efficiency and empower teams. Key areas with immediate benefits include developer productivity, quality assurance/testing, and marketing content creation.
Automation simplifies repetitive tasks across multiple functions. For developers, it means faster code generation and review. In marketing, automated testing of copy and content enhances engagement strategies. For customer support, AI-powered tools streamline response times and improve knowledge management.
Talent acquisition and sales also benefit from AI with tools like Copilot to help with candidate research, onboarding, and customer relationship management to enhance personalization, productivity, and scalability. .
By tracking progress and refining their AI strategy over time, companies can scale efficiently and ensure sustainable growth and market competitiveness.
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Focus on leveraging new AI technologies
The idea of incorporating generative AI (GenAI) into your enterprise may be daunting, but it also has the potential to impact every function of your business. A recent portfolio company survey found that 72% of portfolio companies are using artificial intelligence, and 36% of them are creating net new budgets for those initiatives.
To effectively scale with AI in 2025, early-stage companies must develop practical GenAI use cases that can have a big impact in areas such as knowledge management, content generation, and customer insights. Must be prioritized. GenAI enables efficient product development by automating tasks such as coding, design, and rapid prototyping, leading to faster time to market and greater product diversity.
In market research, GenAI supports data-driven decision-making by analyzing unstructured datasets such as customer interviews and competitor reviews to uncover actionable insights. Additionally, in go-to-market (GTM) efforts, AI streamlines lead scoring, personalizes customer engagement, and optimizes sales campaigns, making processes scalable and significantly increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty. can be improved.
AI-driven automation presents huge opportunities to improve productivity and streamline operations. As AI assistants and GenAI continue to evolve, founders must adopt a “crawl, walk, run” approach. This means starting with simpler automated tasks and gradually incorporating more advanced workflows. As these systems are still maturing, it is essential to adopt a “human-involved” framework that combines AI and human oversight.
To differentiate, the founders focused on creating unique data-driven workflows that add clear value and improve the user experience, positioning them for sustainable growth in an AI-enhanced market. You need to prepare your business. Earlier this spring, I wrote a blog post exploring this topic.
Extend your GTM engine based on a strong foundation and personalized engagement
For early-stage founders looking to scale effectively in 2025, especially B2B SaaS companies, it’s important to make sure your GTM strategy and engine works before scaling. Once you’ve achieved product-market fit (PMF), it’s important to continue to examine whether your product creates true, differentiated value for buyers (and whether your message effectively communicates it).
We don’t just provide great products with cutting-edge features. It’s important to have a customer-centric mindset. A product that solves a pressing problem, resonates authentically, and is easy to use will drive organic word of mouth and advocacy, making it a valuable (and cost-effective) asset for growth. Add in high retention rates with strong PMF and effective onboarding, and you have the foundation for efficient and sustainable scaling.
For companies in the growth stage and beyond, building on this foundation by relying on events and direct connections is key. To stand out in a world increasingly flooded with digital, AI-powered outreach, focus on your personal, high-impact efforts. By hosting intimate gatherings with target buyers or attending large-scale industry events, companies can build meaningful connections and gain first-hand insight into their audience’s needs.
However, AI-powered outreach cannot be ignored. Don’t expect AI to do everything for you. First, it’s essential to find effective, proven approaches and augment them with AI to efficiently scale personalized outreach.
Know and understand your brand and hire key talent
In 2025, early-stage founders will need to approach talent acquisition with a compelling and consistent narrative that highlights their company’s unique values and culture. Given the competitive landscape, your company’s story needs to resonate across every touchpoint, especially through the company’s website and the CEO’s personal brand.
Candidates are becoming increasingly thorough, relying not only on public content but also on personal reference checks to understand a company’s values and direction. A clearly defined, authentic story that reflects both a company’s mission and culture can attract top talent by demonstrating transparency, stability, and alignment with employee priorities. Masu.
It is equally important to effectively manage relationships with candidates, even if they are not selected right away. With great talent in high demand, it’s important to view every interaction as part of an ongoing relationship. Candidates who aren’t the right fit today may become ideal as your company evolves. Leaving the door open for rejection with a polite and professional approach builds good will and makes it easier to reconnect with potential talent in the future.
By cultivating a respectful and thoughtful hiring process, founders can build a network of future hire candidates who have a positive impression of their brand, regardless of the immediate outcome.
