Bain Capital Ventures

BCV Field Guide: Reference Checks and Backchannels The most ignored step in the process is also one of its most important

Reference checks are more than a box to tick. Done right, they’re one of the most strategic tools in your hiring process.

New Field Guide on mastering references + backchannels:
baincapitalventures.com/insight/bcv-...

How Astronomer broke the Internet: Lessons in handling a crisis | Web Summit

What happens when a viral moment tests a brand’s reputation?

Allison Braley joins Web Summit in Lisbon this Nov for a panel on turning crisis into opportunity in today’s always-online world.

Don’t miss it: https://bit.ly/3JCuw2H

YouTube video by Invest Like The Best The Future of AI Agents | Jesse Zhang Interview

Watch the full interview from Invest Like The Best here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syfd...

In the 2010s, chatbots promised automation for customer support.Today, AI is delivering.

Jesse Zhang shares how Decagon's AI agents learn from real data to deliver smarter support that resolves issues end-to-end.

YouTube video by Invest Like The Best The Future of AI Agents | Jesse Zhang Interview

Watch the full interview from @InvestLikeBest here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syfd...

YouTube video by Invest Like The Best The Future of AI Agents | Jesse Zhang Interview

Watch the full interview from Invest Like the Best here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syfd...

"In an ever-changing AI landscape, strategic launches don’t just ship products — they shape perception.

Partner Saanya Ojha joined Akash Pasricha at @theinformation.com to discuss Sora’s launch strategy and how AI-native content is reshaping how we create, share and connect."

Bringing AI to the Construction Site Founder Xu Rui once dealt with bottlenecks and inefficiencies in the construction industry. She built Klutch AI to fix them.

Most construction software is built for the back office. Klutch AI is built for the job site.

Xu Rui combined real estate grit with Stripe/Microsoft tech chops to automate field ops right through SMS & WhatsApp.

No logins. No overhead. Just results.

baincapitalventures.com/insight/brin...

How Astronomer broke the Internet: Lessons in handling a crisis | Web Summit

What happens when a viral moment tests a brand’s reputation?

Allison Braley joins Web Summit in Lisbon next month for a panel on turning crisis into opportunity in today’s always-online world.

Don’t miss it: websummit.com/sessions/lis...

A good idea isn’t a good business.

As Mitt Romney said when he founded Bain Capital:
“It requires a talented team, a good business plan and capital to execute.”

Ideas inspire. Teams build. Capital scales.

The Hive Method: A Startup Growth Catalyst for Founders Our tailored, hands-on approach gives founders an edge

Founders don’t just need advice. They need tangible help.

Meet The Hive: BCV’s hands-on startup growth catalyst team for founders.

🤝Embedded in the work.
📈Focused on results.

Learn more: baincapitalventures.com/insight/the-...

The Friendly Caller Who’s Helping Seniors Feel Less Lonely An AI companion is just a phone call away for residents of this senior living community—and their mental health is improving as a result.

Loneliness isn’t just a feeling — it’s a public health crisis.

And for millions of seniors, it’s part of daily life. Founded by Josh Sach, Meela is pioneering AI-powered emotional infrastructure for aging with dignity.

Read more: bit.ly/469nqeK

Operational Efficiency Isn't Enough: AI Products Should Help You Close Deals Bain Capital Ventures helps founders build iconic businesses that transform the way we live and work.

AI’s next frontier isn’t cost-cutting, it’s revenue acceleration. 🚀

Startups like Crosby Legal, who are delivering AI products that remove friction and align pricing with customer success, will define the next generation of category leaders.

📖 baincapitalventures.com/insight/oper...

The Aboon Advantage: Powering retirement plans with AI Inside the powerhouse partnership transforming retirement plan design and administration

Aboon is reinventing how advisors offer retirement plans to their business owner clients.

Founded by Nick Gavronsky & Amy Ouellette, Aboon uses AI to help advisors set up retirement plans in a day, not weeks.

Read more about why we invested:
baincapitalventures.com/insight/the-...

AI isn’t replacing recruiters — but it is reshaping the role.

At an AI in Hiring panel, Matt Stephenson shared:
🧠 Biz buy-in still takes dashboards + updates
🚫 People ops shows up late—recruiters must step up
📊 New tools can finally benchmark early-career talent

NYC showed up late — and we loved it.

Thanks to everyone who came to Cafe Compute’s first NYC pop-up. Coffee flowed, ideas sparked ☕🧠✨

We’ve backed emerging managers since 2017 — but this was a first.

We hosted Emerge, a gathering of managers to swap ideas, share deal flow & support each other’s founders.

From “how to announce your fund” to “what’s actually happening in AI” — the conversations didn’t disappoint!

What if enterprise IT projects didn’t take months and millions, but weeks or days at a fraction of the cost?

That’s the vision behind Echelon: swapping offshore consultants for a fleet of AI agents while U.S. experts oversee quality control.

Read more: baincapitalventures.com/insight/a-ne...

Scaling companies don’t need $1k/hr lawyers or late-night founder redlines.

Crosby is building AI-powered contract automation:
⚡Faster reviews
💸Predictable pricing
🚀 More closed deals

Read more about why co-led the Series A 👉 baincapitalventures.com/insight/cros...

Sales Leaders See 5 Emerging Trends in AI Pricing AI pricing is not about the technology itself. It’s about how clearly a company can define (and prove!) the value it creates.

AI pricing is shifting fast. Token models are losing favor, buyers want simplicity and ROI is the new anchor.

The takeaway from sales leaders: you’re not selling AI — you’re selling outcomes.

Read more: https://bit.ly/4nCEeAT

Are you a founder gearing up for your next big launch? 🚀

On Oct 7, Partner Allison Braley will join Jacky Huang and Melisa Seah on the Hard Launch 101 Panel for a discussion on storytelling and standing out from day one.

This is one you don't want to miss.

👉 RSVP here: https://t.co/0dyYMBrQTT

Pricing Your Early-Stage B2B AI SaaS Product Developing a pricing model is one of the most nerve-wracking decisions, especially in the world of B2B AI SaaS pricing. But where do you start?

Pricing your early-stage B2B AI SaaS isn’t a formula — it’s a framework 🖼️

Copy-pasting SaaS pricing models won’t cut it. Natalie Coletta shares a decision tree to help founders pick an initial path and know when to iterate.

More here 👉 https://bit.ly/42YGs5p

Betting on Yourself: The Startup Career Playbook · Luma Join Hightouch (a Forbes Top Startup to Work For), Ramp (featured in the Forbes Cloud 100), and Bain Capital Ventures for an evening that will supercharge your…

Women in tech: how do you choose the right startup to join — and thrive once you’re there?

On Oct 9, partner Merritt Hummer joins senior women leaders from Hightouch + Ramp for a candid panel on evaluating startups + building your career.

👉 RSVP: https://luma.com/plbbxq6h

Saanya Ojha compared notes with F100 CTOs about what’s driving (or stalling) AI adoption.

The takeaways don’t show up in surveys, but are worth learning from: Enterprise AI isn’t failing because of the models. It’s the plumbing, people, and process.

📖 saanyaojha.substack.com/p/the-unsexy...

Building a better collaboration thriving, not just surviving, in that first recruiter - founder partnership

Your first recruiter isn’t just another hire. They build the team that builds the company.

This guide from our talent team’s Austen Yueh shares how recruiters thrive early, how founders can help, and why recruiting is poker — not chess.

👉 talentyak.substack.com/p/building-a...

Hiring your first Head of Sales? It’s easy to overhire or overthink it. Find the builder who can scale what you started.

Joe DiMento and Miranda Cornejo Piatt cover when to hire, who to target, and how to get it right.

👉 baincapitalventures.com/insight/bcv-...

In Bain Capital’s earliest days, even Mitt Romney wondered if it was a mistake.

The history of innovation often starts that way — uncertainty first, conviction before consensus.

What pushed our founders forward? Betting on themselves when no one else would.

AI Isn't Just a Mandate, It's Your Secret Sauce · Luma The future of talent acquisition isn’t coming—it’s already here. AI is rewriting the playbook for how teams source, engage, and hire. The question is: will you…

AI is rewriting the hiring playbook.

On Sept 25, Matt Stephenson joins leaders from Webflow, CoverGenius & Kula to share what’s hype vs. real — and how founders & TA leaders can actually get ahead.

Seats are limited. RSVP: https://luma.com/lcvbpzpe?tk=sKf1SW

In the late ’90s, CEOs rushed to modernize with the internet — writing $10M+ checks for software.

Today, the same thing is happening with AI.

As Ajay Agarwal shares on TBPN, the best startups are selling vision—and they’re selling it straight to the CEO.

Cafe Compute is making its NYC debut on September 18 ☕🍩🧠

Snacks, serendipity & late-night hacking energy — the late-night pop-up coffeeshop + coworking space for AI builders, dreamers & tinkerers.

RSVP: https://lu.ma/79m3ny1l?utm_source=BCV