Slapping “AI” on yourstartup’spitch deck isbasically tablestakes right now. When a founderraised $20 million from Cathie Wood’s ARK Investfor an eSportsgamificationloyalty startup without those two letters in the spotlight, it got us wondering how the conversation even started—especiallywhen ARK had already been burned by a companyoperatingin the same space.
On this episode of TechCrunch’sEquitypodcast, Julie Bort sits down withDylan Robbins, founder and CEO of Lucra, the white-label platform turning friendly competitionsinto loyalty programs for brands like golf courses, arcades, and pickleball clubs.
Listen to the full episode to hear about:
- How Dylan met his ARK connection over a game of darts at a New York City bar
- Why pitching a non-AI company in peak AI fundraising season meant addressing it head-on, even when it had nothing to do with his business
- How being honest with investors about whatwasn’tworking yet actually helped him close the round
- Why Lucra pivoted from consumer to B2B in45 days(and why that pivot is what convinced ARK theyweren’tlooking at anotherSkillz).
Subscribe to Equity onYouTube,Apple Podcasts,Overcast,Spotifyand all the casts. Youalso canfollow Equity onXandThreads, at @EquityPod.