I don’t know where else to start other than it’s getting crazy out there. AI is ripping its way through software and all of technology is next. No company or industry feels safe or immune from change, and every organization will need to adapt to survive.

At Initialized, our job is to spot talented founders and help them develop into industry leaders. What’s clear is that the type of founders we love to work with aren’t shrinking from the present uncertainty, rather they are delightedly embracing it. The opportunity is visceral to them and as people obsessed with building things they are ecstatic about access to increasingly powerful tools. Our experience tells us to pay close attention to this group. They are the leading indicator of where the world is headed. 

Initialized must be as agile and adaptable as these founders.

When Initialized started we were a small, scrappy team, operating like a startup because that’s all we knew. We moved fast and got things done. Over time, we found success and grew, but we lost a step, added too many layers, expanded the priorities we serviced.

It’s time to get back to basics. Now, more than ever, we need to follow the talent not only thematically, but also by adopting their practices. The faster the world moves, the faster we need to move. 

The result is that we are restructuring our team to meet this moment. The amazing group that got Initialized to where it is today is not the same team we need for the road ahead. Everyone leaving has played a critical part to get us here and contributed significantly to our culture and results. We will miss them. Jen Wolf in particular has been truly impactful for the firm, and I’ve appreciated working closely with her for many years.

At the same time I am excited and honored to announce we are promoting Abdul Ly, Andrew Sather, and Zoe Perret to join Kim-Mai Cutler and me as partners. They embody the way forward – they’re sprinting at the task of making sense of what is ahead, tracking down possible futures, and guiding both our team and the portfolio.

While these changes are bittersweet, I am incredibly excited about what’s next for us. Our great privilege at Initialized is to have a seat on the frontier, in the weeds with the people who are building the future. 2024 has been incredibly busy already, with 14 Initialized investments in breakthrough companies and we have no plans to slow down.

We look forward to continuing to partner with founders at the edge of the possible, helping them understand how truly great they can be, and doing our part to make their lives a little easier along the way. The future is unbelievably bright.