Transparent VC Podcast · Tribe Talkin'
Ep 133: Investors Are Underestimating The Carnage Coming. Miro Sold For 2x. Pulley Pulls Plug. Xero Zero. No Sharts.
18 September 2026 · 35:57
Don, Aaron and Jack unpack a brutal week for SaaS: Miro sells for 2.3x ARR, Pulley winds down, one of the world's biggest VC firms warns the AI carnage for software is only beginning, and Xero picks a fight with the accountants who built it.
- Miro sold for 2.3x ARR: founded 2011 and valued at $17.5B four years ago, now acquired by Bending Spoons, and why NRR has replaced the rule of 40 as the first metric investors ask about
- Jason Lemkin's take: nobody else wanted Miro, late-stage VCs just want their 1x back, and it's time to move on from Hopium
- Rayn Ong's hedge: buy Bending Spoons stock to hedge your angel portfolio. Barbell, baby
- Pulley pulls the plug: winding down and moving customers to Carta, Tribe portfolio company Cake stands up a migration page, and why commodity products with no switching costs trend to zero
- The carnage warning: Lightspeed says investors are underestimating what AI will do to software companies and most AI pivots are just marketing, plus Don's Chicken Little board story
- Xero zero: a sponsored influencer shows Xero plus Claude bypassing the accountant, and why systems of record tied to rule books are an LLM's bread and butter
- Should the AI race slow down: Michael Burry's regulatory capture theory, not everyone buying the doom narrative, and the Frankenstein clip from Washington
- VIBITDA: Anthropic's adjusted 80% gross margins, and OpenRouter spend flipping fast between the frontier models
- Accelerator: US cohort pitch prep, a satirical guide to rage-baiting investors, and 23 delegates heading to SF Tech Week