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- Yard Call - March '25
Yard Call - March '25
New investments, VC trends to watch in '25, and our biggest Dart Board episode yet!
Ryan Mitchell & Daniel Dart
March 05, 2025
Coming to you the first Wednesday of every month the Yard Call is your monthly update on what we’re up to at Rock Yard Ventures — podcasts, perspectives, events, investments, you name it!
If you’re building something great or investing in the same spaces, reach out to Daniel or Ryan - we’d love to chat!
If you were forwarded this and found it interesting, please sign up!
This Month’s Headlines:
2 New Investments: Welcoming Vallor and Interface to the Rock Yard family!
Daniel talks VC Trends to Watch in 2025: Watch Daniel and fellow VCs share their thoughts on the world’s biggest stage.
Dart Board Ep. 6: John Arnold — hedge fund titan, the future of energy and AI, and evidence-based policy
Rock Yard Reads: Customer research is only valuable if you do it the right way.
Rock Yard Travel: Philly and SF!
Welcoming to the Portfolio — Vallor and Interface
We’ve been sitting on this news for a while, but we’re super excited to announce our fifth and sixth investments.
Welcome to the Rock Yard family — Vallor and Interface! We’re incredibly excited to work with these two teams and to support them in their company-building journeys!
Our first investment, Vallor, was founded by Antonio Goncalves and Jake Vollkommer. It is an AI-powered procurement contract management platform, already serving a number of blue-chip customers.
We also recently invested in Interface. Founded by Thomas Lee Young and Aaryan Mehta, Interface is an AI-powered procedure auditing platform for improving safety and compliance in industrial settings.
Stay tuned for exciting updates, career opportunities, and more from Vallor, Interface, and the rest of our portfolio!
🚨If you have something you want featured next month — let us know!
{ EVENTS } ROCK YARD EVENTS Austin, TX New York, NY | { READS } Some interesting reads from the last month. |
iConnections | VC Trends to Watch in 2025
We always look forward to iConnections, and this year was no exception. In addition to the excellent programming and valuable meetings, we were honored to have Daniel selected for the panel on VC Trends to Watch in 2025. The panel covered the rise of DeepSeek, the evolving intersection of AI and blockchain, the current market landscape, traits that set winning founders apart, and more!
Key Takeaways from the Panel
AI is the new internal combustion engine, the new internet, the new mobile. This technology is having a seismic effect not only on the economy, but the way we live our lives.
If you think you’re going to capture the AI opportunity by buying Nvidia – you’re wrong.
Now is an incredible time to invest. the AI Rockefeller and Standard Oil doesn’t exist yet.
The playing field is level for investors. The knowledge gap between legacy and emerging VCs is as small as it has been in decades.
The emergence of AI deepfakes is creating a perfect use case for blockchain verification.
The best founders are active learners and optimistic megalomaniacs. It’s not enough to be smart and determined. Founders have to believe in their ability to overcome huge odds.
The Dart Board Episode 6: John Arnold | Arnold Ventures
From hedge fund titan, to leadership in evidence-based policy, and what the future of energy and Ai holds
Meet John Arnold, founder & co-chair at Arnold Ventures, a leading foundation using an evidence-based approach to create systemic change, improve the lives of American families, strengthen communities, and promote economic opportunity in the areas of education, criminal justice, health, infrastructure, and public finance.
In this conversation, we explore John’s early life, his time at Enron, the founding and historic run of Centaurus Advisors, and the philosophy and impact of Arnold Ventures. We also discuss energy market dynamics, the promise of AI, and finding the right between regulation and dynamism to tackle today’s most pressing issues.
No matter your interest—finance, energy, tech, or policy—this episode has something for you.
🎧 Where you can listen…
Spotify Podcasts - listen here
Apple Podcasts - listen here
Rock Yard Reads - Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights
This month we read Steve Portigal’s Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights
Quick Summary: With the rise of Big Data and the mainstreaming of AI, user interviews might seem like an outdated and inefficient practice. Portigal challenges this assumption by offering techniques for conducting and gleaning insights from user interviews.
Our Take: You don’t need a VC to tell you the importance of building product that addresses users’ core needs. In an increasingly competitive ecosystem where AI can manage much of the underlying development of products, differentiated offerings will come from the companies that learn the BEST not just the MOST. Teams that conduct poor user interviews not only risk missing powerful insights, they also risk misdirecting resources toward counterproductive decisions and features. While Interviewing Users was written with product teams in mind, it has information relevant to founders, operators, and investors.
Where You Can Find Us
Here’s the latest info on events and where the team will be traveling in the coming months. If you’re around hit us up!
March 6-9 / Philadelphia, PA
Daniel will be in town for some meetings and to attend the First Rock Yard Wedding.
March 12-23 / San Francisco, CA
Attending: Daniel will be in town for the YC Demo Day.
That’s it for now! ‘til next time.