Thread by @srcasm

Stoked for @narratorai @ae4ai and the team to pitch at @ycombinator Demo Day today! They’ve put in so much hard work over the last couple of years and these last three months have been a whirlwind. #ycdemoday #YCombinator #S19

When people ask why we backed @ae4ai so early (a literal idea on a napkin), I have to go way back to when he was an intern for me at @wework. He sent me a thoughtful and succinct cold email asking if he could work with our team so he could learn all about about startups.

WeWork was a small team at the time but we were growing fast. I had one call with @ae4ai and asked him to come in right away. It was clear from the first chat that he was one of the smartest, kindest, hardest working people I had ever met.

@ae4ai quickly became core to our team’s early success. Over the years he continued to support us, went to work for @Raytheon after graduation and eventually came back to the WeWork family in a full time role helping to shape data.

Fun Fact: When @ae4ai’s internship ended we extended him a lifetime job offer. Not sure that that was binding but we meant it. Over the years Ahmed became one of my closest friends and confidants. He has an uncanny ability to learn at a super-human rate and has an enormous heart.

@ae4ai continued to grow and to learn and when he called and said he was thinking of starting a company, I leapt at the opportunity to back him. He pitched what @narratorai would eventually become (it was called Intelli T 😂) and we joined on board writing his first check.

Fast forward to a couple of years later and Demo Day and I couldn’t be prouder. I don’t just think of @ae4ai as an incredible founder in our portfolio but also as one of my best friends (also one of my 3 year old’s best friends) and one of most impressive humans on the planet.

Thanks so much to @ae4ai, @MattJStar, Nasan and Cedric for allowing @flybridge and me to join you on this journey! Looking forward to the next decade of world changing work and to everything you will surely accomplish. Congratulations on today! #YCombinator #DemoDay #ycdemoday