Jason Chen

As a partner at an early-stage VC firm, I hear 100s of pitches each year. Lack of clarity in your answers is one of the biggest mistakes I see (even when you're pre-product and pre-revenue). Here are 10 questions that top founders nail down before their pitch.

I’m excited to announce Ash by Slingshot AI, the first AI designed for therapy backed by $93M in funding from the world’s top mission-driven investors.

They said it couldn't be done. They said it *shouldn't* be done. We tried anyways. Today we're launching Ash, the first AI designed for therapy, and announcing $93M in funding from @radicalventures @ForerunnerVC @a16z @felicis @trailmixvc @joinsequel and many more. We've had…

A fantastic read from @CoryBAnderson and the @Contrary_Res team on the past, present, and future of America's electrical grid. Coauthored with @alexstratmoen and @AryanAfrouzi, who are working hard to fix it!

Today we're excited to launch Valinor Discovery!

The diamond drill rig for mineral exploration was first tested in Minnesota in 1890 and hasn't seen a fundamental innovation since 1953. We @durinmining built a remotely operable drill rig in 4 months. Our next version will be autonomous. Testing begins in Nevada next week.

Just closed our first million dollar deal 🥳 With a customer that grew ~50x in 6 months of using our tech 💪 Never been more bullish on Orchard 🍎

This is what tech media is missing - a digestible, daily show that examines the most important tech stories of the day from the perspective of those in the arena. Excited!!

We're excited to share DOSS.COM with the world, and congratulate them on an $18M Series A! The 21st Century is finally dawning for ERP systems. @wileycwj and Arnav are doing their part to bring systems of record to the cutting edge. contrary.com/blog/investing…

First Tech Talk of the year! Name a better lineup: @basetenco @codeiumdev @DecagonAI @usepatch @mercor_ai & Doss Register here to join us: lu.ma/SF-TechTalk

Rumors of the death of X have been greatly exaggerated You may think you know the story of the artist formerly known as Twitter, but you’d be wrong. In our latest report, Contrary Research unpacks the journey of a money-losing bird app into the latest entry in the Muskonomy ➡️

Watch how one of America's largest vineyard management companies uses Vineyard Robotics technology – to perfect their yields & combat the spread of Red Leaf Diseases 🍇📸💪 ⬆️ Vineyard Robotics, a division of Orchard Robotics.

Excited to announce the annual Contrary Tech Trends Report. When extraordinary people build companies, they canvas for opportunities at the cutting edge of either technological or societal shifts (or both) This is a 300+ report shining light on those cutting edges. Link below.

Imagine a company losing money for 20+ years and failing 7 audits—CFO fired, right? That’s our government, which spent half its budget deficit on INTEREST. It doesn’t have to be this way. Here’s how businesses balance profitability+growth—and how government can do the same.

Excited to announce that we raised our Series A for @Slingshotai_inc, led by @a16z to help advance our mission of using AI to help scale access to mental health care.

Gold House Ventures is proud to announce our 2025 Founders Fellowship: a 14-week experience filled with masterclasses, 1:1 advising from proven founders, curated investor intros, AND a chance to receive up to $250,000 in funding! 💸💸💸

Today we launch @EndeavorAI from stealth to revitalize American manufacturing with AI. Our platform gives industrial companies an advantage in a global marketplace. Backed by @craft_ventures, @HrtlandVentures, @contrary, and @BoxGroup Read more on @BusinessInsider:…