Greg Raiz, the former managing director of Techstars Boston, has seen a few technological revolutions in his life. First came the birth of the web, and then the mobile revolution, which Raiz said helped spur the growth of his own company, Raizlabs, before it was acquired in 2017.
Now, he’s confident we’re entering a new tech revolution — spurred by advancements in artificial intelligence — that will have an impact beyond what we’ve seen in the last few decades.
“I think the AI wave is going to be bigger than both (web and mobile). Again, we’ll see, but I’m pretty optimistic that there will be a lot of opportunities for disruptive startups to build incredible companies,” Raiz told BostInno.
To guide startups leveraging advances in AI and to help them ride this new wave, Raiz is launching a “micro-accelerator” for early-stage founders.
XLR8 will be a six-month, remote-first program for startups working in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Raiz said he plans to work with six to eight companies at a time to provide more tailored support. The program is part of Raiz Capital, a venture fund that Raiz announced late last year after leaving Techstars. His goal with creating the firm was to increase the number of startups that he supported.
Raiz said one of the unique things about artificial intelligence that sets it apart from other recent innovations, such as crypto or extended reality, is its applications across many different industries.
“The web changed pretty much every industry and mobile changed pretty much every industry. I see something very similar in terms of the opportunity of AI being able to impact every industry as well,” Raiz said.
While Raiz’s expertise is in B2B SaaS and he supported many companies working in healthcare and cleantech at Techstars Boston, he isn’t limiting applications to startups in a specific industry.
“I’m looking for people who are really passionate about what they’re doing. They have a real problem that they need to solve. I’m looking for people who are technologists, people who have some technical understanding, because I think that is going to be critical for companies building in the AI space,” Raiz said.
Fittingly, Raiz is also applying AI to parts of the selection process for XLR8. He has been interviewing founders who have had successful exits “for a number of different attributes.”
“I’m using that to score new applicants to understand how much do new founders applying have similar attributes to founders that have previously been successful,” Raiz said.
Raiz said this process wouldn’t rule anyone in or out of the program, but that it allows him to utilize elements of AI to score startups he’s never seen before.
Startups chosen to participate in XLR8 will receive an initial $25,000 investment from Raiz to fuel their growth in exchange for 2% equity. After selling Raizlabs in 2017, Raiz has invested in more than 50 startups. Founders are also asked to reserve $75,000 for additional investments that could be made by XLR8 program advisors and mentors.
The program itself will focus on the pillars of culture, cashflow and capital. Raiz said he has found through research that internal disputes, such as those between co-founders, cause many startups to implode. He wants to work with founders to help build that alignment and supportive environment.
For those founders who want to raise some form of capital, Raiz wants them to understand their options and how to get it.
But rather than focusing too much on raising funding, Raiz also wants to teach founders about cash flow and finances.
“I was a bootstrapped founder. I absolutely see the value of capital, but it’s very much balanced with good financial understanding internally. And if you can be lean and mean, you can grow your company significantly faster,” Raiz said.
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