The Case for Concentrated Seed with Jason Shuman of Primary Ventures

Episode notes

In this episode of Tank Talks, host Matt Cohen sits down with Jason Shuman, General Partner at Primary Ventures, New York’s largest dedicated seed fund. With a journey that spans from raising money for a nonprofit at eight years old to driving Uber at night while sourcing deals like Latch, Jason’s experience offers valuable insights for founders, especially those navigating the challenges of building companies in the AI era. Jason shares his entrepreneurial beginnings, the painful lessons from shutting down his DTC footwear brand Category5, and how that shaped his investing philosophy at Primary. He also discusses why software-only moats are dead, how Primary’s 60-person impact team delivers customers (not just capital), and the firm’s unique incubation model that backs founders only after the wedge is validated. From vertical AI to hardware-activated agent networks, Jason dives into the key principles he follows in his investing and why he still believes backing great founders beats incubating anything. Whether you’re interested in AI, venture capital, or building deep-tech companies, Jason’s story provides inspiration and practical wisdom.

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