Slamming “AI” on a startup’s pitch deck is basically a gamble at this point. When those two letters were out of the spotlight and the founders raised $20 million from Cathie Wood's ARK Invest for their esports gamification loyalty startup, we wondered how the conversation got started, especially when ARK was being burned by companies already operating in the same space.
In this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Julie Bort speaks with Dylan Robbins, founder and CEO of Lucra. Lucra is a white label platform that turns friendlies into loyalty programs for brands like golf courses, arcades, pickleball clubs, and more.
Listen to the full episode to hear:
Why Dylan met his connection to ARK through a game of darts at a New York City bar Why pitching a non-AI company during peak AI funding season meant tackling it head-on, even if it had nothing to do with your business Why being honest with investors about what wasn't working yet actually helped close the round Why Lucra pivoted from consumer to B2B in 45 days (and why that pivot convinced ARK not to consider other skills)
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