Building an investable AI startup requires more than just a great idea. It requires the right team and the right execution. Investors are asking tough questions about profitability, defensibility, and scalability. And increasingly, your development approach, building in-house or partnering with nearshore or offshore teams, can make or break your ability to meet those expectations.
While attending the New York Venture Summit, I heard startup pitches, talked with entrepreneurs, and listened to investors about what drives their decisions, from pre-seed funding all the way to Series B rounds and beyond.
In this post, I’ll share common themes I heard in panel discussions and individual conversations, and I’ll show how a nearshore AI startup development partner like AgilityFeat offers unique advantages for building investable AI startups.
You can also check out the video I recorded at the conference for more insights.
What Makes an AI Startup Investable?
Profit Matters
I started my software development career in 1999, early in the dot-com bubble. Back then, profits didn’t matter: growth and hype did. Today, investors expect startups to show a path to profitability. Not just user growth or flashy tech. IPOs are harder to achieve, so secondary markets and M&A are often the more realistic exits. In all cases, profitability (or a strong path to it) drives valuation and investor confidence. Startups must be cost-sensitive and keep expenses flexible to stay attractive.
Moats That Make Your AI Defensible
Most startups try to include some version of AI in their product. But smart investors know that anybody can claim to use AI, and that companies who do not apply AI strategically will quickly be replaced by better competitors. Or by the next version of a major LLM that duplicates their functionality.
When looking at AI-driven businesses, investors look for how defensible it is in the marketplace. Will it get better or worse as AI improves? Are you solving a small, short-term problem that a company like OpenAI is likely to build into ChatGPT in its next release? That’s not defensible, even if your implementation is impressive.
The best AI startups rely on proprietary data, unique integrations, or deep process alignment that can’t be easily copied. Are you building moats like these around your business?
Speed to Market
Speed still matters! Even if your position in the marketplace feels protected now, investors want solutions that can scale quickly before another player catches up. To accomplish this, you need to secure user feedback, rapidly iterate features, and establish product-market fit before large competitors or new startups take over. Fast movers attract more funding and are better able to seize strategic exits or capture the attention of acquisition partners.
How A Nearshore AI Startup Development Partner Can Help
Many startups rely on outside partners to help build their applications, from proof of concepts, to MVP’s, all the way to scaling and managing their software in production. This is because:
- Hiring their own team is expensive
- Hiring their own team is time consuming
- Hiring in their home country cannot keep up with growth
In addition to solving the problems above, a nearshore AI startup development partner like AgilityFeat can help your startup attract investment and support growth that maximizes value for both founders and investors.
Proven Experience Building Agentic Systems and LLM integrations
Since your application probably relies on some form of AI, or integration with an LLM to power AI capabilities, you need a development team with experience building agentic systems and LLM integrations.
Our team at AgilityFeat has that expertise. We are also continuing to expand our network of AI talent in Latin America through our support of local groups like AI Tinkerers in Panama and El Salvador, and sponsorship of events like AI demos at the TechCaribe Fest in Barranquilla, Colombia. Through our WebRTC.ventures group, we also have deep experience building LLMs into communications apps, meeting tools, and real-time applications, including clients who are already making successful exits.
IP Protection Investors Can Trust
Investors care about how you protect your intellectual property. Smart IP protection not only helps you grow the value of your company, it also protects that value in the case of mergers or acquisitions. Our contracts ensure all IP belongs to your startup, and our teams operate in countries with strong IP laws that safeguard your rights.
Cost Savings Without Sacrificing Quality
Moving software development into offshore contracting models can be less expensive, yet have downsides. Our teams in Latin America provide the best of all worlds: lower costs than North America, but with the convenience of working in your time zones. Strong communication and real-time collaboration makes nearshore teams much more effective than those further away.
Flexible Engagement Models That Scale With Your Business
In order to manage costs and priorities, startups may need to scale up or down their teams over time. Our contract models at AgilityFeat support this. We can start with a project-based contract to build an MVP and help secure further investment. Then we can build your initial team on a staff augmentation contract so that you still capture cost savings while maintaining contractual flexibility.
A Path to Team Ownership
Your team is your most valuable asset. Building a cost effective and flexible remote team through a staff augmentation model is a great way to start. Eventually, you may want to bring that talent in-house in order to further protect the value of your business and to prepare for an exit.
This could be through a transfer fee for the team members involved, like paying a recruiter’s fee. However, we can also build a full tech delivery center for you in Latin America and transfer it to you as part of our Build-Operate-Transfer model. This is particularly valuable in regulated industries like Fintech and Healthtech, as well as for any company that wants strong control over where their team works, what devices and networks they work on, the work procedures they follow to ensure compliance, and the security policies implemented.
The Path to AI Startup Profitability
Ready to build an AI startup that attracts investment and scales with confidence? Choose an AI startup development partner who brings deep AI expertise, flexible engagement models, and a proven pathway to team ownership, so you stay in control as you grow.
Contact AgilityFeat today to accelerate your journey from prototype to profitable exit.
Further Reading:
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- Invest in AI People, Not Just AI Projects
- Building Production-Ready LLM Applications with Nearshore Teams: From Generative AI to Voice Agents
- A Modern Approach to Tech Interviews: Embrace AI Instead of Fighting It
- FinTech Nearshoring: Why a LATAM Build Operate Transfer Model Beats Traditional Outsourcing
- Advancing Our LLM Expertise: An Intensive Workshop with John Berryman
- The AgilityFeat Advantage: Optimizing Your Software Development Team’s Potential
