Category: Investors

Navigating the Storm: The Future of Startups Amidst Economic Shifts

Reality In the ever-turbulent sea of the startup ecosystem, the past few months have witnessed significant upheavals. The implosion of Silicon Valley Bank has sent ripples throughout the industry, forcing a reassessment of risk and investment strategies. Despite these challenges, there’s a silver lining for those ready to adapt. The startup world is in a…
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Investing in Innovation: Airbnb’s Phenomenal Growth from Startup to Market Leader

The Humble Beginnings In 2008, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia, two design graduates struggling to pay their rent in San Francisco, decided to turn their loft into a makeshift bed and breakfast by offering air mattresses and breakfast. This idea, driven by necessity during a large design conference when hotels were fully booked, laid the…
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Unmasking the Gervais Principle in Silicon Valley’s Million-Dollar Failures

Breaking the Startup System I was on LinkedIn and I saw the following comment from Rick Brimacomb a seasoned investor. The startup system is broken! 87 startups that raised at least $10 million have shut down so far in 2023. If $1MM can’t take you to profitability, then no amount will. Then there was a…
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Evolution of the Elevator Pitch Analyser

We were working on a way to score startups and looking for data. We had gone to a number of startup events and asked people to try our system for free because we needed 1000 entries of data. Then after an AI conference in the Twin Cities I rang my partner and asked him to…
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The Risks of Proceeding Without Smart Founders™: A Founder’s Dilemma

Imagine you’re about to saw through a pile of wood. When do you want to sharpen the blade? Sooner or later? Maybe if we sharpened the blade this would go faster and have better results. With so much competition for capital it’s hard to get attention for your project. FACT As an ambitious founder, embarking…
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