VC Pitches @ Snowflake Build: Insights, Highlights, and What Worked Best

I have strong opinions about which pitch stood out as the most effective—and interestingly, it wasn’t necessarily the one tied to the tool I’d find most useful in my own work.

This morning, while skimming through the latest Snowflake Build videos, I stumbled upon the VC pitch session. These presentations showcased products built around innovative AI use cases, each offering a unique perspective.

• Lang AI pitched a tool designed to empower analysts and PMs by focusing on customer retention. Their models help users analyze customer data to identify predictors of attrition and uncover cross-sell opportunities.

  
  

• Genesis Computing presented an app within the Snowflake Marketplace featuring an interactive bot capable of setting up data infrastructure, creating simple charts, monitoring data, and generating predictions.

  
  

• NativeApp showcased their fraud detection solution, boasting a 95% success rate—a significant improvement over industry standards.

  
  
  
  

What was the best pitch?

Each pitch brought something valuable to the table, but from both a business and presentation perspective, NativeApp excelled in showcasing the underlying business need. Their approach stood out because they began by addressing the total addressable market (TAM) and the problem they were solving BEFORE diving into the shiny demo. This created a compelling narrative around the product’s business value and the financial impact it could deliver.

In contrast, the other two pitches jumped straight into the product features and demonstrations. While their solutions were impressive, they faced questions from the VCs like, “What problem is this solving?” “What’s the TAM?” and “Who is this for?”—indicating a need for a stronger emphasis on market context and business rationale upfront.

What was the most valuable?

As someone who specializes in SaaS businesses, I found Lang AI to be the most valuable tool. As an analyst and data strategist, I have had countless conversations around how to increase retention and cross-sells. Technology like Lang AI's would 1) increase access to non-technical stakeholders and 2) make it quicker for someone like me to make strategic recommendations to a company. This tool felt immediately applicable to the challenges I’ve seen in the field, offering practical solutions for both short-term wins and long-term strategic planning.

The takeaway? 

Well, there's two.

1) We are getting closer to having AI solve real-world problems and adding business value instead of it just being a first-to-market competition.

2) When pitching a product, lead with the business need and the problem you’re solving. Set the stage with a clear story, then let your demo reinforce the value. It’s a strategy that not only engages your audience but also ensures your pitch resonates with the decision-makers who matter most.