Over Subscribed Ventures founder Sara Foster (above right) made the confession on stage Monday at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024.
“I don’t even have ChatGPT on my phone,” she said.
An unexpected comment from an investor, given that ChatGPT is undoubtedly the most influential product to launch this decade. But what sets the Foster sisters apart from venture capitalists is also their greatest strength: they are founders first, and tech investors second.
Throughout their careers, Foster sisters Erin and Sara have launched the clothing line Favorite Daughter, co-founded Bumble Bizz and Bumble BFF, and currently host a podcast together. Erin Foster even created the hit Netflix show “Nobody Wants This,” starring Kristen Bell.
“Even calling it Oversubscribed Ventures was really fun for us to joke about because we know this is not a space we’re naturally in,” Erin said on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024. “We’re not trying to play like fund managers, you know? We’re trying to be ourselves and take our own unique perspective.” , and our talents, and bring it to this world and inject that in an authentic and honest way without pretending to be something different than us.”
In the spirit of being themselves, the Adoption sisters opened up on stage about why they were hesitant to invest in AI.
“If we don’t understand it, we don’t invest in it,” said Sara.
For Erin, a TV writer, the rise of productive AI and its impact on creators is personal.
“We went on strike last year,” he explained. Erin talked about the clever video signs the writers made while on strike, including humorous anti-AI messages like “ChatGPT has no childhood trauma.”
However, [Erin] Foster said he used ChatGPT in the writers’ room to come up with things like “The Matzo Ballers,” which is the name of the Jewish basketball team.
“ChatGPT came up with that, though [it] I can’t write,” he said. “There are movies coming out that are really about AI, and it’s like, great… I think it can be used for good. I think it can be useless in some places, and I’m sure it’s bad in other places, right?”
Sara added, “Obviously a lot of AI companies have come across our desk, and we’re looking at them. There was something we were going to invest in, but so far not… I’ll probably have to download ChatGPT.”
Apparently, the sisters aren’t afraid to be on stage – when asked what they would give the founders who turned them back, Erin laughed, “They can join us.”
Yes, the comic writer who brought you “Nobody Wants This” has a sense of humor. But if there’s a bit of truth to all the jokes, the truth here is that meeting the Fosters is actually very profitable for the buyer’s founder.
Oversubscribed Ventures focuses on consumer technology companies, from boxed wine startups to OpenSea’s NFT market.
“We are nothing if we have Oversubscribed Ventures,” said Sara. “Our value is the flywheel — the ecosystem. This is the world that buys the Favorite Daughter [their clothing brand]listening to a podcast, watching a TV show.”
The Fosters may not understand how ChatGPT works, but they do understand what makes consumers tick – they’ve got the podcast and merchandise to prove it.
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