Sarah Tavel, Benchmark Capital GP: Selling Work in SaaS

"World of DaaS"

Sarah Tavel is a general partner at Benchmark Capital. She serves on the board of Chainalysis, Hipcamp, Medely, Rekki, and Cambly.

On this episode of World of DaaS, Auren and Sarah discuss the concept of selling work in the SaaS industry and how it differs from selling traditional productivity software. Sarah explains how selling work could unlock whole new verticals for software penetration and disrupt existing SaaS giants. Auren and Sarah explore the areas where these new, leaner software companies could flourish and discuss the broader impacts of AI in SaaS.

As one of the earliest hires at Pinterest, Sarah also has deep expertise with consumer social, which is set to be transformed by AI. She and Auren talk chatbots, AI avatars, and the responsibilities founders have as AI begins to replace more human interaction. The conversation wraps up by touching on Harvard as an institution, conspiracy theories about UAPs and TikTok, and questioning conventional wisdom about fundraising and growth.

World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph & Flex Capital. For more episodes, visit worldofdaas.buzzsprout.com, and follow us @WorldOfDaaS.

Follow World of DaaS @WorldOfDaaS

You can find Auren Hoffman on X at @auren and Sarah Tavel on X at @sarahtavel.
Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)

Chapters

1. Sarah Tavel, Benchmark Capital GP: Selling Work in SaaS (00:00:00)

2. Unlocking Value Through Work Automation (00:00:02)

3. AI and Automation in Business Growth (00:12:23)

4. Emerging Technology in Translation Services (00:18:51)

5. AI, Venture Capital, and Consumer Trends (00:22:28)

6. AI Impact on Society and Institutions (00:35:21)