TLDR FOUNDERS 2025-11-21

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WE'RE AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF UNICORN PRODUCTION IN 3+ YEARS

October 2025 saw the highest number of unicorns created in over three years, with 20 companies adding $44.5 billion in value. The funding environment shows signs of normalizing, particularly for B2B SaaS companies with strong metrics, while AI-native startups receive disproportionate attention from VCs. Although the bar for becoming a unicorn is high, those that succeed can achieve substantial valuations.

PRESENTATIONS

Benedict Evans has given presentations for many companies in the last few years, including Alphabet, Amazon, Hitachi, L'Oréal, LVMH, Nasdaq, and Vodafone. Twice a year, he produces a big presentation on the macro and strategic trends of the tech industry. This post contains the slides for November's presentation, 'AI eats the world'. It also contains videos for two other recent presentations.

FOUNDER ENERGY

Some founders channel a sense of momentum, energy, and intensity in all of their interactions. This can be a learned skill. Channeling great energy as a founder is key because it helps with recruiting talent and fundraising. The vibes matter a lot to employees taking a pay cut and to investors who are betting primarily on the founders.

THE SIMPLE SECRET TO INFLUENCE

Effective leaders elevate others by fostering environments where people feel empowered and valued. Techniques like asking open-ended questions and giving clear context promote engagement and confidence. Leaders gain influence by focusing on empowering others rather than showcasing their own brilliance.

DOWNLOAD! CHAT! CONNECT! DEVELOP!

BUILDING MORE WITH GPT-5.1-CODEX-MAX

GPT-5.1-Codex-Max is trained to operate across multiple context windows through "compaction", allowing it to work over millions of tokens and complete tasks spanning 24+ hours. The model achieves 77.9% on SWE-bench Verified while using 30% fewer thinking tokens than its predecessor.

TESTSPRITE

TestSprite is an AI agent that automates frontend and backend software testing, cutting testing costs by up to 90% with natural language workflows and full test coverage.

ANVIL

Anvil tracks your brand's visibility across AI platforms like ChatGPT and Gemini, compares mentions against competitors, and reveals opportunities to boost AI-generated search presence.

SO WHAT IF IT'S A BUBBLE?

Bubble dynamics don't matter to most founders because we all live in today's market and not in the future. Founders who have the ability to take advantage of the market should do so as long as it benefits their companies. If money is plentiful, you should probably take it - if the bubble bursts, the money will probably be useful. Great founders live in the kind of long term that radically reduces the impact of individual bubbles.

PSYCHOLOGIST MATT JONES ON WHY STARTUPS FAIL DUE TO CO-FOUNDER CONFLICT AND HOW TO FIX IT

65% of high-potential startups fail due to co-founder conflict, often stemming from choosing co-founders based on convenience rather than strategic fit. Meta-communication and containment strategies can prevent operational disagreements.

I LEFT A16Z TO GO BUILD

Robin Guo discusses the five lessons he learned from four years of working at a16z.

THE NEXT PRODUCT

New products don't need to be groundbreaking to succeed.

THE STATE OF THE VC MARKET

Later-stage VC is picking up since the dip, but deal count is trending down.