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Ivan Semenov

From VC to Founder: Hi, I’m Ivan 👋

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Hi everyone! I’m Ivan 👋

Long-time lurker, finally jumping in here.

A little about me:

- Spent 7 years as a VC, before that worked as a consultant

- Been involved in a bunch of different ventures over the years — now focused on building with AI and launching products fast
- Even owned and ran restaurants (learned a lot about people, pressure, and P&L the hard way 🍳)

- I like testing ideas in the wild, seeing what sticks, and sharing the process along the way


Excited to connect with other makers here and to get feedback on what we’re building. Always happy to chat startups, fundraising, or just swap founder war stories.

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yagiz basaran

Hey Ivan 👋 welcome out of lurk mode! 🚀

Love the mix of VC + restaurant hustle, feels like you’ve balanced spreadsheets and sauté pans 🔥. Curious though, when it comes to sectors; do VCs usually prioritize some over others, or is it more about the founder’s approach than the space itself?

Ivan Semenov
@yagiz_basaran Thanks, appreciate it! I can’t speak for all VCs, but there are definitely sectors that get stronger reactions. For example, climate/clean tech and Web3/crypto tend to split the room – some funds avoid them completely, while others lean in hard because they see an edge others don’t. Then you’ve got the “overcrowded zones” – things like CRMs in B2B or dating apps in B2C – where even if the team is strong, it’s harder to stand out unless there’s a real wedge. At the end of the day though, approach matters a lot. A sharp founder in a less “hot” sector can still pull a ton of interest if they’re showing a unique way of thinking about the problem.
Sulaiman Ahmed

Hello Ivan! What a journey from VC to Lead Consultant, and now focusing on swift building in AI. I believe that combination of a founder mindset with a strong technical / financial lens is very relevant.

Causo sounds like a fantastic problem to solve. Automating outreach practices is critically important to free up the 'vibe coders' time to prioritize product. I also like that you started bootstrapping and by focusing on revenue traction first.

I'm Sulaiman Ahmed, and I'm tackling a similar productivity pain point with my application PrePilot. PrePilot was built to end that time-consuming and unclear perplexity I faced as a former web developer managing a clients and meetings. PrePilot is an AI co-pilot that sends a brief to your inbox that includes talked points and history of the meeting 30 minutes before the meeting.

I really like your notion of getting product out fast. I'd love to trade war stories about early stage building, or talk through ai strategy any time! Cheers

Evy Liu

Hello Ivan, nice to meet you!

Matt Carroll

what are you building these days?

do you think about things through the lens of a being attractive to VC, or will you try to bootstrap your projects?

Matt Carroll

also hello :)

Ivan Semenov
@catt_marroll Hey there! We’re building Causo right now – giving vibe coders, solo devs, and pure tech founders a real shot at email outreach by automating practices that actually work, so they can stay focused on product. Bootstrapping for now (3 repeat founders), but we’ll explore raising once there’s revenue traction. What about you?
Mohit Mohta
Hey Ivan 👋 Causo sounds awesome — love the focus on helping solo devs + technical founders nail email outreach without losing time on the grind. Super relatable pain point 😅
Ivan Semenov
@mohtamohit thanks for the kind words! We will have the product ready for testing by the end of the year.
Ivan Semenov

We launched our first free mini product today as a team!
Come check it out :)