Most people treat their bodies like a car they only fix after it crashes.

Max Berthelot and Lucis are rewriting that script by turning longitudinal blood data into a high-margin, preventive software play.

In this episode, we sit down with Max Berthelot, founder of Lucis (YC S25), to discuss why "Function Health for Europe" is one of the most compelling arbitrage opportunities in the venture world.

We dive into the cultural shift of paying for health in Europe, the technical challenge of scaling doctor-supervised AI, and the relentless execution required to expand across five countries in record time.

What you’ll learn:

- Why blood data is the "Gold Rush" of the next decade.

- The YC strategy for conquering fragmented European markets.

- How to maintain "San Francisco Velocity" while based in Paris.

- Why AI + Wearables are currently overhyped (and what's missing).

- The 5-day fundraising sprint: How Lucis closed their round during YC.

📌 Watch now and subscribe for more smart, fast, founder-first interviews.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Preventive Health and Function Health

00:45 Welcome to Lobster Talks Podcast

01:32 Meet Max Berthelot and Lucis

02:23 The Importance of Longitudinal Health Tracking

05:02 Challenges and Opportunities in European Healthcare

09:14 The YC Experience and Decision to Stay in Europe

12:54 Maintaining YC Culture in Europe

18:13 The Role of AI in Healthcare

22:14 Expansion Across Europe

23:00 International Expansion Playbook

23:53 Challenges in European Market

25:35 Relentless Execution and Metrics

28:35 Trends in YC Healthcare Startups

32:22 Fundraising Journey and AI Impact

36:11 Overhyped Trends in Health Tech

39:20 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

🎧 Listen on the go:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1u1JyRKH8JYFjhBkvTUOAP

Apple: https://apple.co/4cZ8RMm

My other YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@lobstercap

Factories don’t buy hype. They buy uptime.

In this episode, YC-backed Cerrion CEO Karim Saleh explains why industrial computer vision is one of YC’s most underrated AI wedges, and why it can beat flashier “copilot” markets on sheer dollar-weight and defensibility.

Karim breaks down how Cerrion deploys camera-based AI agents to detect production issues in real time, why manufacturing is a $20T opportunity, and what most investors get wrong about selling into factories. If you’re building “real-world AI,” this is the playbook… from five paid pilots before code to scaling via workflows, not dashboards.

What you’ll learn:

• Why YC keeps funding industrial computer vision (even across hype cycles)
• The technical truth: every factory is different… and why VLMs change the game
• The go-to-market wedge that wins: small scope → fast ROI → expansion (NRR)
• How Cerrion embeds into daily factory workflows (shift meetings, handovers, owners)
• The biggest investor myth about manufacturing sales cycles, and the real unlock
• Why competition-heavy AI markets are a trap (and what to build instead)

📌 Watch now and subscribe for more smart, fast, founder-first interviews.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to the Manufacturing Market Opportunity

00:38 Welcome to Lobster Talks

01:11 Introducing Karim Saleh and Cerrion

02:16 The Evolution of AI in Manufacturing

03:47 Challenges and Solutions in Industrial AI

05:40 The Impact of US Reindustrialization

08:44 Customer Success and Expansion Strategies

15:44 Fundraising and Market Trends

26:07 Future of Industrial AI and YC Insights

36:07 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

🎧 Listen on the go:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1u1JyRKH8JYFjhBkvTUOAP

Apple: https://apple.co/4cZ8RMm

My other YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@lobstercap

Lawyers hate tracking time. PointOne turned that universal pain into an AI wedge, and used the YC playbook to move fast in one of the most conservative, high-ARPU markets on earth.

In this episode of Lobster Talks, Katon Luaces (YC ’24) breaks down how PointOne built an “AI time platform” for law firms, why “hard thing first” compounds, and what investors routinely misread about early traction vs. real product validation.

You’ll learn:

- Why “why now” is the only filter that matters for AI startups

- How PointOne got early users fast with aggressive cold outbound

- The “hard thing first” strategy—and why it creates real moats

- The truth: early traction validates the problem, retention validates the solution

- How to sell AI into skeptical industries with “stepping-stone” adoption

- Why AI law firms are real… but “one law firm in the future” is unlikely

Chapters

00:00 Introduction: The Importance of Long-Term Customer Retention

00:33 Welcome to Lobster Talks: Featuring Katon Luaces

01:09 Introducing PointOne: Revolutionizing Time Tracking for Law Firms

01:54 The Magic of Technology: Making the Impossible Possible

02:46 The YC Journey: From Idea to Execution

03:59 Balancing Technology and Market Demand

05:52 Navigating YC: Maximizing Traction and Growth

07:29 Building a Complex Product: Challenges and Strategies

11:51 Post-YC Growth: From Zero to Exponential

13:18 The Philosophy of Tackling the Hardest Problems First

16:35 The Reality of Startup Life: Persistence and Iteration

21:22 Selling AI to a Traditional Industry: Overcoming Resistance

26:31 Innovative Business Models in Law Firms

27:06 Impact of AI on Legal Practice

28:07 AI Tools and Job Transformation

30:31 Competing with AI in Legal Services

31:59 Challenges and Opportunities for AI Law Firms

35:17 Future of AI in Legal and Other Sectors

37:41 YC's Role in AI Legal Startups

41:52 Overhyped and Underpriced AI Investments

47:19 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

📌 Watch now and subscribe for more smart, fast, founder-first interviews.

🎧 Listen on the go:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1u1JyRKH8JYFjhBkvTUOAP

Apple: https://apple.co/4cZ8RMm

My other YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@lobstercap

Focus groups used to take 6–8 weeks and cost around $30–50k.

Motives is a YC Summer ’25 company that does it in a day, and is doing it the hard way: with real humans, not synthetic personas.

In this episode of Lobster Talks, we sit down with Sean (Motives, YC S25) to unpack how AI-native companies are replacing legacy services, why YC is doubling down on agents, and the real tradeoffs of building outside San Francisco.

You’ll learn:

• Why Motives can run focus-group-grade research in 1–2 days vs 6–8 weeks
• The truth about synthetic users vs real humans (and where each wins)
• YC’s real “secret” (spoiler: it’s not a secret) and why it maps perfectly to agents
• The underrated founder problem: sales vs customer success once you have traction
• Why “unlimited research” pricing can create addiction-level usage
• London vs SF: customer density, talent economics, and survivability as a founder
• 
  

📌 Watch now and subscribe for more smart, fast, founder-first interviews.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Motives: Revolutionizing Consumer Research with AI

00:31 Welcome to Lobster Talks: Meet Sean from Motives

01:01 Deep Dive into Motives: How It Works and Its Advantages

01:49 The Evolution of Market Research: From Traditional to AI-Powered

03:52 Comparing Human and AI-Driven Consumer Research

09:58 The YC Experience: Building AI-Native Businesses

14:57 Challenges and Strategies for AI Startups

24:07 Sales and Customer Success in AI Agent Businesses

28:10 Reflecting on Client Payments and Capital

28:35 Testing the Unlimited Plan

28:57 Challenges and Learnings from AI Research

32:14 Quality Control and Automation

34:36 The Importance of Customer Feedback

36:20 Choosing London Over San Francisco

38:16 Advantages of Being in London

44:02 Balancing Work and Personal Life

47:38 Cultural Differences in Tech

52:40 Final Thoughts and Reflections

🎧 Listen on the go:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1u1JyRKH8JYFjhBkvTUOAP

Apple: https://apple.co/4cZ8RMm

My other YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@lobstercap

A seed-stage fund gets 10 markups… and a YC company hits a 4.5x in 9 months.

That’s the vibe heading into 2026. Speed is up, liquidity is thawing, and AI is compressing timelines across YC and the broader venture market.

In this episode of The Lobster Talks, we recap Lobster Capital’s breakout 2025, unpack why seed → Series A is getting cut in half, and lay out the sharpest 2026 prediction: the liquidity cycle is coming back… via IPOs, M&A, secondaries, and “creative” acquihires. We also dig into the counter-trend: as AI floods everything, founders are building real-world, tangible products that pull people off screens… Powered by AI, Not anti-AI.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Why seed → Series A is moving from 18–24 months to ~9 months in top YC companies
• How a YC-backed company can go 0 → $10M ARR in ~14 months and keep growing 40% MoM
• Why DPI + liquidity is the only KPI LPs ultimately care about
• The new playbook: VC + PE strategies converging as AI makes roll-ups and efficiency leaps inevitable
• The “opposite reaction” to AI: hardware + real-life communities powered by AI agents
• What’s showing up in Winter 2026: robotics, hardware, and a surprising wave of space tech

📌 Watch now and subscribe for more smart, fast, founder-first interviews.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and Cold Open

00:46 Welcome to The Lobster Talks

01:16 Recap of 2025 Achievements

02:19 Series A Success and Future Predictions

07:50 The Importance of Liquidity in VC

09:35 AI's Transformational Impact

18:58 The Role of YC and Future Outlook

21:45 AI Note Taker: A Physical Product in 2026

22:36 Digital Detox: Reconnecting with the Real World

23:59 Lobster Capital's Portfolio: RealRoots and Sunflower

28:15 The Rise of Robotics and Space Tech in 2026

31:39 YC's Moonshot Investments and Future Prospects

34:27 Reflections on YC's Evolution and Success

37:40 Upcoming YC Demo Day and New Group Partners

39:21 Conclusion and Future Episodes

🎧 Listen on the go:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1u1JyRKH8JYFjhBkvTUOAP

Apple: https://apple.co/4cZ8RMm

My other YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@lobstercap

Everyone’s chasing shiny AI agents. Tanner Jones is quietly using AI to tear out 25% of a state’s rule book, and got Virginia to require his product by law.

This episode goes inside Vulcan Technology, a YC startup using AI to map every law and regulation in America, undercut Deloitte and McKinsey, and turn a $4T regulatory burden into a trillion-dollar software market. We talk about Virginia’s $24K cheaper homes, destroying the Big Four with code, how to actually sell into government, and why most “AI for gov” plays are doomed from day one.

You’ll learn:

• How Vulcan uses AI to analyze entire regulatory codes and show what can’t change, what can change, and what must change.
• The Virginia case study: how building code streamlining translated into ~$24,000 less per new home without touching safety.
• Why both red and blue states are leaning into AI for regulation, and how YC founders are navigating the politics.
• What investors get wrong about govtech, ARR, and how to value AI consultancies selling into the state.
• How Tanner sold to a state government 10 days after incorporation and then raised one of the biggest seeds of his YC batch.
• What’s overhyped in AI infra, what’s inevitable, and how to avoid building a “solution in search of a problem” in govtech.

📌 Watch now and subscribe for more smart, fast, founder-first interviews.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction: The Challenges of Government Contracts

00:51 Sponsorship Message from Stable

01:51 Introducing Tanner Jones and Vulcan Technology

02:33 The Vision: AI in Government Consulting

06:20 Case Study: Virginia's Regulatory Overhaul

12:26 Bipartisan Appeal of AI Solutions

17:34 Behind the Scenes at Y Combinator

22:28 Navigating Government Sales and Investor Relations

24:51 Scientific Innovation and Emergence of New Companies

25:15 Palantir and Anduril's Impact on Intelligence Agencies

25:37 Targeting Regulatory Agencies and Market Size

26:10 Challenges and Opportunities in Government Contracts

27:37 Passion for Government Reform

28:25 Investor Interest in Govtech and AI

29:30 Challenges for Govtech Startups

32:26 Understanding Government Incentives

34:06 Metrics for Success in Govtech

42:31 Future of AI in Government

46:09 Final Thoughts and Contact Information

🎧 Listen on the go:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1u1JyRKH8JYFjhBkvTUOAP

Apple: https://apple.co/4cZ8RMm

My other YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@lobstercap

This podcast episode is sponsored by Stable. Click here to sign up for a virtual address:

https://dashboard.usestable.com/onboard/begin?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=influencer_lobster&promoCode=lobster50

Most people think GPS is “good enough”, until you realize 90% of human and object movement happens where GPS doesn’t work at all. Warehouses, hospitals, tunnels, battlefields… completely blind spots.

In this episode of Lobster Talks, Raymond Lee (Twill, YC) sits down with John Ferrara, solo founder of Juxta (YC S25), who’s building a Universal Positioning System... a no-hardware GPS alternative that works indoors, underground, and anywhere humans or machines move.

We break down the tech, the wedge into logistics and defense, and how he raised $5M at a $40M cap in ~48 hours as a 21-year-old solo founder straight out of YC.

You’ll learn:

- Why 90% of location data on Earth is currently invisible — and why that’s such a big deal.

- How Juxta uses IMUs, 3D simulations, and “synthetic fingerprinting” to localize devices without satellites or beacons.

- Real use cases across logistics, warehouses, defense, and hospitals — and why these buyers are leaning in.

- How deeptech founders should think about tech risk vs market risk when pitching VCs.

- What it’s like to go through YC S25 as a solo founder, and why so many deeptech founders end up solo.

- The inside story on raising a fast, oversubscribed round from CRV, PG, SV Angel, Liquid 2, and more.

📌 Watch now and subscribe for more smart, fast, founder-first interviews.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to GPS-Denied Spaces

00:44 Sponsor Message: Stable

01:45 Welcome to Lobster Talks Podcast

02:10 Meet Jonathan Ferrara from Juxta

03:39 Understanding Juxta's Technology

08:50 Applications and Use Cases of Juxta

10:34 Onboarding Process for Juxta

15:37 Competitors and Market Landscape

25:27 Deep Tech and Solo Founders in YC

34:47 Solo Founders and the Victim Complex

35:15 The YC Experience and Going Solo

37:18 Support Systems and Coping Mechanisms

40:23 Raising Funds as a Solo Founder

44:25 Choosing the Right Investors

56:17 Vision for the Future

59:05 Conclusion and Contact Information

🎧 Listen on the go:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1u1JyRKH8JYFjhBkvTUOAP

Apple: https://apple.co/4cZ8RMm

My other YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@lobstercap

This podcast episode is sponsored by Stable. Click here to sign up for a virtual address:

https://dashboard.usestable.com/onboard/begin?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=influencer_lobster&promoCode=lobster50

YC pivot. Creator taxes. Real savings.

Fernando from Beluga Labs explains how AI moves tax planning from “black box” to one-click, year-round optimization, starting with the messiest edge case: content creators.

In today’s episode, Nikki hosts Fernando (Beluga Labs, YC S24) on building AI-first tax planning for creators, why they pivoted in-batch, and how YC’s “light cone” advice shaped a focused GTM.

We cover messy creator income, quarterly taxes, line-by-line deductions, and fundraising with discipline…not vibes.

You’ll learn:

- Why creators are the hardest (and best) wedge for tax software

- How YC’s niche-first “light cone” shaped Beluga’s roadmap

- The two biggest ways creators lose money on taxes (and how to stop it)

- What a 3-star → 10-star tax UX looks like (from “not going to jail” to one-click refunds)

- Fundraising discipline: setting milestone-based use of proceeds

- The creator economy reality: followers ≠ revenue; niche and brand matter more

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to AI-Powered Tax Planning

00:21 Stable: A Solution for Business Addresses

01:21 Welcome to Lobster Talk Podcast

01:40 Meet Fernando from Beluga Labs

02:03 Fernando's Journey to Entrepreneurship

05:14 Beluga Labs: Revolutionizing Tax Planning

06:32 The Pivot to Tax Solutions

11:56 The YC Experience and Support

16:32 Exploring Other Opportunities

19:20 The Future of Content Creation

21:50 Key Industry Insights and Data

24:14 The Financial Reality of Content Creators

24:43 Maximizing Income Through Investments

25:19 The Value Proposition of Tax Solutions

25:53 Streamlining Tax Filing for Creators

27:42 Aggressive Tax Savings Strategies

31:45 Future Plans and Expansion

36:59 Fundraising and Business Growth

43:19 Final Thoughts and Advice

📌 Watch now and subscribe for more smart, fast, founder-first interviews.

🎧 Listen on the go:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1u1JyRKH8JYFjhBkvTUOAP

Apple: https://apple.co/4cZ8RMm

My other YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@lobstercap

This podcast episode is sponsored by Stable. Click here to sign up for a virtual address:

https://dashboard.usestable.com/onboard/begin?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=influencer_lobster&promoCode=lobster50