SEAE Ventures
Overview
- Stage focus: Pre-seed and Seed-to-A (Karlos was deciding which team to bring)
- Check size: TBD
- Healthcare thesis: Skeptical of SaaS in healthcare. Aware of no-code/automation wave but also recognizes it may not work. Has a fellow (Avi) focused on healthcare investing.
- Key people: Karlos Bledsoe
Relationship History
| Date | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 2025 | Intro | Introduced by Avi Jayaraman. Michael knows Karlos from undergrad. |
| Feb 11 | Email exchange | Karlos asked about round dynamics (raise amount, valuation/cap, timing). Michael shared: $2M raise, early in process, bootstrapped since Wharton, looking to scale beyond clients 1&2. |
| Feb 11 | Meeting scheduled | Tues 11:30am ET. Karlos figuring out whether to bring pre-seed team or seed-to-A team. |
| Feb 17 | Intro call | Call happened. Thomas and Michael debriefed after. See notes below. |
Status
- Current stage: Post-intro — let Karlos drive next steps
- Next step: Karlos to follow up. Don't push — relationship is through Avi, keep it natural.
- Temperature: Warm — but stage fit is unclear
What They Care About
- Karlos mentioned no-code/automation platforms in healthcare — he's been looking at this space
- Referenced Sahil's company (RPA → AI agents for healthcare) — seems to know the landscape
- Referenced a "well-respected healthcare group" (Manet?) saying SaaS doesn't work in healthcare
- Seemed to agree that DaisyAI is "speaking the same language" as what the market needs
Call Debrief (Feb 17)
Stage confusion: Karlos positioned DaisyAI as pre-seed fit, but when asked what pre-seed traction looks like, said "a couple hundred K of pipeline." DaisyAI is ahead of that — already has a payer contract. Thomas flagged: "Why are they raising if they have that much?" Answer: most pre-seed companies aren't break-even. DaisyAI potentially is (without salaries).
Thesis alignment: Karlos said he doesn't see a future of SaaS in healthcare — which is exactly the DaisyAI thesis. But there's a contradiction: he's also looking at no-code platforms, which Thomas and Michael view as equally doomed ("Cloudco already does this in the browser").
Sahil's company discussion: Karlos mentioned talking to Sahil ~3 weeks ago, saying he's "doing great" with Talent behind him. T&M identified the contradiction: if you believe the no-code/tool approach won't work, but also believe Sahil is doing great, which is it? The company's pitch ("2 hours to deploy a workflow end-to-end") signals no moat. Fundamentally assumes healthcare operators understand tech — they don't.
Posture: Thomas was deliberately low-energy on this one. Michael noted the tension: "you can chase VCs or be chased, but if you don't chase sometimes you may be alone." Consensus: let this one develop naturally through the Avi relationship. Don't push, but don't disappear.
Key quote from Thomas: "What are your options as a payer? You're either gonna build this tech yourself, or you're gonna need someone else to build it for you."
Competitive intel: Sahil's company — RPA-to-agents healthcare platform. Website says "Upgrade from RPA to healthcare agents you can trust" and "Create bespoke AI agents for every business process." Thomas: "This is absolutely not gonna work. Cloudco already does this in the browser."
Notes
- Karlos Bledsoe — Michael's undergrad connection
- Avi Jayaraman is a fellow at SEAE — strong connector (also introduced Brad Reimer, Bill Gassen)
- Avi relationship is valuable independent of whether SEAE invests
- Karlos seems well-connected in healthcare VC (knows Sahil, references Manet)