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The history of technology, startups, and venture capital follows a common pattern:
An innovation is first perceived as a “too small” or “too niche.” As the ecosystem grows and bold founders see around the curve, the market opportunity comes into more focus, eventually reaching consensus.
These cycles can take decades. Personal computers were seen as toys, software titans initially brushed off SaaS, industry-specific was a VC backwater until Shopify, Veeva, et al made it impossible to ignore.
Now, the same story is repeating itself with AI. Vertical has become more mainstream… but as measured by dollars and eyeballs, the world is betting on a handful of horizontal winners: foundation model giants, infrastructure plays, everything-to-everyone app-builders.
Not Just Another Podcast
At Euclid, we’ve spent the last few years living at the frontier of Vertical AI. We’ve met the founders building outside the hype. We’re honored by the support and engagement from readers like you as we share our perspective at Euclid Insights—we have no intention of slowing down there.
But thought leadership in Vertical AI remains fragmented. Outside of a handful of Substacks, the best insights around Vertical AI are spread across private chat groups, investor memos, and the occasional thread on LinkedIn or X.
We felt there was an opportunity:
To bridge founders and investors across vertical markets.
To elevate first-principles thinking, not prosaic interviews or startup stories.
To expand the AI narrative beyond the hype of the moment.
One idea checked all the boxes: a high-quality, consistent, video-first platform that not only centers the founders and builders in the trenches of Vertical AI, but also serves the ecosystem by digging deep into playbooks.
So we decided to build it.
Introducing Verticals
We’re thrilled to present Verticals: a new business show & podcast where we unpack the deals, strategies, and debates shaping the future of Vertical AI and software, alongside the best operators in the space. Every single week.
Nic is co-hosting the show alongside our longtime friend, collaborator, and maven in Vertical Software, Luke Sophinos. Luke is an exited vSaaS founder, an Operating Partner at Atomic, CEO of the Vertical Software Group, and author of Linear.
Together, we intellectually spar on the business of building Vertical AI—bringing on a new founder every week to breaks down their story, what’s working, what’s hype, and where the next breakout could come from.
Followers of Euclid Insights may be familiar with our philosophy at Euclid: going deep matters. You may also know our thesis as investors: the most enduring software companies of the next decade will be vertical and AI-native. Verticals is our way of doubling down on both and, hopefully, serving the ecosystem for years to come.
Just as important is what Verticals is NOT:
High-level regurgitation of news.
Low-effort interviews that make founders repeat the same story.
Thinly veiled branding exercise for our fund or companies.
Poorly produced “podcast with webcams on.”
If you’re building, investing in, or thinking deeply about how Vertical AI is changing the future—and tired of the same old—this is your show.
Subscribe to Verticals Here
New episodes drop every Wednesday.
Behind the Scenes
The world doesn’t need just another podcast. So our quality bar for Verticals was high. The only way to meet it was to get help… and that’s where our incredible sponsor and partner on the show, Parafin, came in.
They are partners to a ton of Vertical SaaS & AI businesses and—having had the pleasure of spending time with Sahill and team—they know the space. If you aren’t familiar, Parafin fuels growth by helping your business customers invest in theirs with white-labeled, AI-powered financing. So if you’re building with fintech revenue streams or enablers, check them out.
