#58 - Miles Grimshaw

AI is fundamentally transforming software from a tool for searching and digitizing into an engine for execution, marking the "era of doing." This shift enables companies to automate complex workflows, as seen in tools like Cursor that autonomously handle coding tasks. Identifying category-defining businesses requires evaluating "business genetics"—a combination of founder authenticity, high-ceiling potential, and the ability to sustain innovation across multiple product cycles. Investors must act as analytical dreamers, balancing rigorous data analysis with the vision to support long-term, multi-stage growth. Rather than seeking singular "smoking guns," successful firms focus on an interlocking network of small, self-reinforcing actions that drive market dominance. Miles Grimshaw, a general partner at Thrive Capital, emphasizes that the most successful ventures are those that leverage intelligent computing to solve fundamental problems, effectively pulling the future into the present.