How to generate demand from zero in an AI-driven market (plus AlgoX2’s seed round & EvenUp’s $150M Series E)
Bessemer Venture Partners
For the entrepreneurs who want to build revolutions of their own.
Building demand from scratch for your AI startup
No one knows your startup (yet). This harsh reality greets many founders launching a new business, especially in a saturated AI market. You might have a groundbreaking solution, but gaining traction can be an uphill battle when you’re an unknown player. The challenge is clear: how do you generate demand and user adoption when starting from zero?
The good news is that even as the world of AI transforms at a breakneck speed, the fundamentals of demand generation are here to stay. Though the core GTM building blocks will remain the same, today’s early stage founder often needs to execute these fundamentals faster—and with an eye on a few key ways to adapt messaging for buyers of AI technology.
A preview of the key insights:
- The basics remain unchanged: tightly defined ICP, consistent high-quality content, and disciplined, hypothesis-driven experimentation power sustainable growth.
- Building out robust mid-funnel (MOFU) content is usually the missing link for early stage founders. To build a stronger mid-funnel, focus on website messaging, long-form educational content, events, LinkedIn, earned media, engaging in communities, and email.
- Adaptive GTM strategies — moving from founder-led and ABM approaches to product-led growth (PLG) and community-led models — are critical for scaling in the AI era.
Read A B2B founder’s guide to generating demand from scratch for a thorough demand generation playbook.
In case you missed it
🌱 Bessemer leads AlgoX2 seed investment. The company is setting a new standard for ultra-low latency, high-throughput, durable data infrastructure for an AI-native world.. Read more.
⚖️ Bessemer leads EvenUp’s $150M Series E. The round marks Bessemer’s third (and largest!) investment in the company, which is on a mission to close the justice gap and empower injury victims through innovative AI technology. Read more.
🧐 Bessemer leads Strella’s $14M Series A. Combining AI with human expertise, Strella is empowering companies to unlock deeper customer understanding in a fraction of the time, redefining market research through AI-powered customer interviews. Read more.
🤝 NVIDIA CEO talks AI leadership. Jensen Huang joined Bessemer Partner Byron Deeter on the Cloud 100 stage to discuss why emotional intelligence remains the most important skill for being a CEO. Read more.
⚡ ‘Next Big Things in Tech’ 2025. Fast Company released its annual list, with Bessemer portfolio companies Bastille, Gamefam, and Voxel51 all receiving profiles. Read more.
This was a preview of ICYMI, our biweekly newsletter of the latest news in tech and AI for early stage founders.
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"AI products often have to educate the market" or more precisely demonstate the value propositon for applications of AI. Being able to show how a new AI applciation is like one where AI has actualy generated value is key.
Love this issue!