Konstantine Buhler

I grew up with entrepreneurs as my heroes. My hero in high school was Nikola Tesla. My walls were covered with posters of his patents. Tesla was an unparalleled genius. Yet, he died alone, unstable, and penniless. I always thought that if Tesla had one great partner he would have built a legendary company and died a happy man. I want to be that partner for the next Tesla.

My life hero is my grandfather. When he was a kid in Greece he hustled, selling watermelon and yogurt. The Nazis burnt down his village and after the War he set off to work at a factory in Chicago. He sent most of his wages back to Greece to feed his family, but saved enough over the years to start a small business. For him, entrepreneurship was freedom. He was uneducated and humble. Yet, he was brilliant and when he walked into a room everyone felt his love. I carry his name, Konstantine, with a sense of duty every day.

First and foremost: integrity, honesty, and directness. The best policy is always the honest policy. The best founders also have determination, persistence, and grit. If you persist, you will succeed. I take the role of “partner” to founders very seriously, through thick and thin.

I learned about AI very early on, studying it in college and grad school. For over a decade I’ve been energized by the power of virtuous data cycles and intelligent algorithms. I’m excited by businesses that accumulate customers and data and then harness intelligent algorithms to serve their customers even better. Many enterprise and consumer companies fit this description, and sometimes the very best are non-obvious.

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