I check our burn rate - still healthy, thanks to Jian's deal flow - and wonder how much longer I can keep the team operating as-is. We're growing. Hiring would mean office space, benefits, all the corporate machinery I swore I'd never build. But we're also at capacity. Something's got to give.
My phone buzzes. An email from Elad.
"Speak of the devil," I mutter.
I open it:
Alex,
Good progress on the safety metrics. The portfolio companies are asking questions - they want to know how you're doing what you're doing. I want to bring some associates by next week. In-person demo. See the office.
Let's up the ante. I need you focused for another year. Will talk $ in person.
-E
I stare at the screen. Another year. More money, presumably, but also more strings. More expectations. More of whatever this is becoming.
I type a response:
Elad,
Great to hear from you. We're making real strides on the risk reduction front - empirically preventing risky behavior by two orders of magnitude versus baseline. Happy to host you and the team. The office is... well, it's ours. Looking forward to the conversation.
Best,
Alex Vukovic CEO
Inferthermic: Intelligence to buffer the entropy
Empirically proven 98% Risky Interaction Reduction (RIR)