Fighting wildfires with AI: The market VCs rolled their eyes at | Fiona Spruill
"You would say the word utilities, and the VCs would roll their eyes.” That’s how Fiona Spruill remembers the early investor meetings at Overstory. Today, that “boring” market is exactly what makes the company so strong. Overstory applies AI to satellite and aerial imagery to help electric utilities prevent outages, prepare for storms and stop catastrophic wildfires. Fiona spent 14 years at The New York Times and was COO of Meetup. Then, in the middle of the pandemic, she moved her family from New York to Amsterdam to join Overstory as employee number 10. Today, she leads the company. My story with Fiona is a special one: I’ve known her since I invested in Overstory’s seed round, and along the way, she also became a very good friend. So yes, I’m clearly biased. But this conversation is full of lessons for every founder: 1. Focus wins out. Many start-ups die because they chase too many shiny objects. Overstory chose one industry, built deep trust, and its customers barely ever leave. 2. Prove your impact. One utility in Canada attributes a 44% drop in vegetation-related outages to Overstory. Others use it to see exactly where to trim trees before a storm hits. 3.Protect your culture through hiring. Fiona still meets every new hire herself. Even though its a remote company, Overstory meets everyone in person. In the age of AI, that’s no luxury. 4. Choose investors like business partners. Don’t just look at the terms, but at who you’ll work with for years. Fiona’s red flag: investors who talk over you about your own business, instead of being curious. 5. Be honest about the hard parts. We talk openly about combining a demanding career with a family, and having an extra “Delta family” on the side. Fiona, thank you so much for your openness and inspiring view on fighting climate change with technology!
