This week at Social Leverage...

The Social Leverage Letter | Issue #189

Author

Ethan Berk
June 01, 2025

Get smarter faster with our curated list of thought-provoking content for founders and investors:

3 articles & 1 video

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READING

Euclid Ventures highlights Ribbon (Fund IV) as a standout in the emerging "Vertical Voice AI" space, using voice agents as a wedge into SMB workflows. Ribbon helps businesses prevent missed revenue by answering inbound calls and booking appointments, and it's growing quickly by embedding deeply into industry-specific systems and acting as a trusted "authoring layer" for downstream operations.

Voice-First Playbooks in Vertical AI

From hot wedge products to the rebirth of software

Strada and Nayya (Fund III) have partnered to deliver a fully integrated, AI-powered benefits administration solution built on the Workday platform. The offering combines Strada’s HR and payroll expertise with Nayya’s personalized decision support to streamline employee benefits, reduce employer costs, and eliminate the need for third-party systems.

Strada and Nayya Partner to Accelerate the Future of Employee Benefits

Strada and Nayya announce a Workday-native, AI-driven benefits solution that cuts costs, simplifies admin, and delivers personalized employee experiences.

Ribbon (Fund IV), a Toronto-based AI recruiting startup, is rapidly gaining traction by offering real-time, two-way AI interviews that simulate live recruiter calls. Its synthetic voice agents screen candidates, ask follow-ups, and deliver structured feedback, with some employers even using Ribbon beyond initial screenings—like gathering comp expectations or handling second-round interviews.

Job Interviews Enter a Strange New World With AI That Talks Back

For better or worse, the next generation of job interviews has arrived: Employers are now rolling out artificial intelligence simulating live, two-way screener calls using synthetic voices.

WATCHING

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Featured Job:

Senior Full-Stack Engineer – Ribbon

Joining as one of the very first engineers at Ribbon means helping set the technical DNA of a company that’s re-inventing how the world hires. If building from scratch, owning massive scope, and seeing your code hit real users in days (not quarters) sounds like your kind of role, keep reading.