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THE INTERFACE IS MELTING

We've moved from perfecting every pixel to asking AI to design our apps without doing much beyond typing a few words.

NAVAL RAVIKANT'S CHECKLIST FOR STARTING A COMPANY

Naval's startup checklist: find a great cofounder with high intelligence, energy, and integrity; pick a large market you know well, not just a cool idea; and build something, test it, iterate until it works, then raise money and scale.

THINK ON YOUR FEET LIKE AN EXECUTIVE

Founders get hit with unexpected questions constantly - from investors, team members, and customers.

VCS ARE FUNDING TWO THINGS RIGHT NOW

The venture market has stratified: 66% of all VC dollars now go evenly to AI and DeepTech, while everything else is down 63% from peak. AI companies are scaling absurdly fast - ChatGPT hit $4B in revenue and 800M users since 2022, while some startups grow 10% per week. Meanwhile, DeepTech is finally viable because mega funds can hold companies forever and the capital requirements are massive.

A CHIEF AI OFFICER WON'T FIX YOUR AI PROBLEMS

Appointing a Chief AI Officer often fails to address the underlying issues of AI integration in companies. Effective AI adoption requires embedding AI across all departments rather than isolating it under a single leader. Organizations should focus on fostering AI literacy and collaboration across existing leadership roles for sustainable transformation.

THOMA BRAVO'S RECORD $34.4B FUNDRAISE: GREAT NEWS FOR B2B AND SAAS FOUNDERS

Thoma Bravo's record $34.4 billion fundraise positions it as the largest software-focused investor, spotlighting opportunities for profitable, high-growth B2B and SaaS companies. Its focus on mid-market SaaS via the Discover Fund and a buy-and-build strategy signals increased consolidation and liquidity events. This capital influx underscores software's status as a lucrative investment sector, though the demand for quality and sustainable unit economics has intensified.

MORE OR LESS

There are three viable pricing strategies you must pick and fully commit to. "More for more" means luxury pricing - you're genuinely the best at something specific and charge accordingly. "More for less" captures most markets by offering high ROI without luxury frills. "Less for less" means rock-bottom prices where customers accept major trade-offs because the alternative is having nothing at all. The only wrong choice is not choosing at all.

HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU INVEST IN CUSTOMER SUCCESS?

Snowflake famously has no Customer Success team because everyone owns the customer, but most companies with mere mortal retention rates need dedicated CS teams. The question is how much to invest. The Customer Success Ratio offers a framework: CS Investment divided by Net Expansion Dollars. If you're a $10M ARR company targeting 110% net retention, that's $1M in net expansion - making a $1M CS investment rationale for breakeven, with upside as customers stick around creating an annuity stream.

A FOUNDER'S GUIDE TO PRODUCT VELOCITY

People often confuse product velocity with shipping fast, but it's actually about shipping value. In this post, StartPlaying's founder shares their journey through building "Starter Set," a quiz for new D&D players. They did rigorous research including fake credit card tests, focused on perfecting the "happy path" for 90% of users while keeping backend systems scrappy, and improved conversion by 119% through A/B testing. Despite months of shipping, the product didn't move their key metric - so they killed it.

HELIX

Helix is a collaborative AI coding agent that writes, debugs, and automates production-ready code with built-in tools for enterprise-grade software development.

CRONO

Crono is an AI-powered outreach tool that personalizes messages and sequences at scale using lead data to boost engagement and conversions.

FIREBASE STUDIO

Firebase Studio is a cloud-based development environment that uses Gemini AI and emulators to build and preview full-stack apps entirely in the browser.

HOW OOFOS TURNED FOAM INTO $36M BY SELLING RELIEF, NOT SHOES

OOFOS makes squishy recovery sandals that look like garden clogs but pull in $36M annually. It created an entire footwear category by targeting a specific moment - when your feet are killing you after brutal workouts. Instead of selling shoes, it sells relief using smart psychology and ultra-specific claims like "37% more impact absorption" rather than vague promises.

THE UNIMPACTFUL PM

CEOs are losing patience with product managers, with one describing their last head of product as "the worst kind of nothing - an expensive nothing." Two new trends emerged from recent interviews: a belief that AI can reduce PM headcount and impatience with how long it takes product leaders to create impact.

DESTIGMATIZING MENTAL HEALTH IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP

HOW GENERATIVE ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (GEO) REWRITES THE RULES OF SEARCH

While everyone talks about AI killing SEO, a16z argues the real opportunity is monopolistic: whoever builds the best tools to track how brands appear in AI responses could control the entire AI marketing stack.

WHY MEASURE ANYTHING IF YOU'RE CRUSHING IT?

You're probably leaving growth on the table without knowing which channels are most efficient, which segments have higher LTV, or where churn is hiding.

WHAT TO DO WHEN "WORD OF MOUTH" BECOMES "WORD OF CHATGPT"

47% of US consumers now use AI for product recommendations, and it's growing fast.

BOND CAPITAL RELEASES COMPREHENSIVE 340-SLIDE REPORT ON AI TRENDS

This analysis from VC Mary Meeker's documents unprecedented AI adoption rates, with ChatGPT achieving global penetration in three years compared to the internet's 23-year timeline. The report shows that AI chatbots are now being mistaken for humans 73% of the time (up from 50% six months ago), inference costs have plunged 99% since 2022, and enterprise adoption is accelerating beyond experimental phases.

GOOD WRITING

Writing that sounds good is more likely to be right. That claim might seem absurd, but it's true. When you're forced to rewrite awkward sentences, you never make the ideas less accurate because you can't bear to. Any change has to improve both the sound and the truth, like shaking a bin of objects until they pack together perfectly.

MOATS IN THE AGE OF AI

Speed is the only moat that matters now. What used to be a 12-month product head start is now 3 prompts and a wrapper. The first LLM-based CRMs got swarmed, AI note-taking tools were cloned endlessly, and infrastructure plays saw differentiation collapse overnight.

VOICE-FIRST PLAYBOOKS IN VERTICAL AI

Voice AI is moving beyond transcription into conversational agents that could redefine software entirely. Most companies are using voice as "wedge products" in specific industries - starting with high-value workflows like booking appointments or qualifying leads, then expanding into full systems. Voice removes the bottleneck by letting people operate in their "native tongue" instead of learning software interfaces.

CLARITY OF THOUGHT

One phrase comes up over and over when identifying excellent founders: "clarity of thought." The best founders can see clearly what doesn't yet exist and articulate it with precision. They start with obvious assumptions, build a framework for understanding the problem, then present a clear idea without getting distracted. When done right, this takes 2-3 minutes and makes investors feel like the founder has thought of everything - even questions they can't answer yet fit neatly into their mental framework.

IT MAY BE EASIER TO SELL A SECOND PRODUCT TO NEW CUSTOMERS, NOT EXISTING ONES

Selling a second product to new customers may be easier than selling to existing ones. New customers often don't need to switch from an existing solution, making them more receptive. Allocate resources to market second products to new prospects for potentially higher attach rates.

SUNFLOWER

Focus-first email OS that filters noise.

MUREX

Amurex is an open-source AI companion that connects your tools to organize, search, and retrieve workflow insights with full data control.

THE SWARM

The Swarm is a relationship intelligence platform that maps and combines your team's networks to reveal warm intros, helping you close deals faster through trusted connections.

ON MANAGEMENT

A startup founder learned the hard way that management isn't therapy after vulnerability exercises nearly destroyed his company. Startups need professional sports coaches, not Little League coaches who focus on everyone feeling good. Pro coaches have one job - winning - and they'll bench players who don't perform. At startups, nobody gets promoted unless the company grows, so being too nice to underperformers kills everyone's career prospects.

THE SKILL I'M HIRING FOR IN 2025 AS A CEO

A CEO who's hit targets for 9 straight quarters says the most shocking thing isn't that AI is changing everything - it's how fast his hiring criteria changed. Six months ago he wouldn't hire fresh grads. Now he hired one because traditional experience means nothing when nobody's done this before. He wants people who can absorb change without freaking out, then come back with a concrete plan within hours.

SIERRA VENTURES ON THE 5 LAYERS OF AI STARTUP INVESTMENT

Sierra Ventures seeks AI startups that address significant pain points and offer efficiency improvements using a five-layer "layered cake" investment framework. It focuses on applied infrastructure, horizontal and vertical applications, and novel innovations, excluding foundational infrastructure. Successful AI startups possess unique perspectives and utilize product-led growth. Generative AI will create significant value in the coming decades.

DOING WHAT YOU THINK, NOT WHAT YOU THOUGHT

Why work from what seemed like a good idea in January, when you have better data today about customer reactions, competitor moves, and market shifts

ANGEL INVESTING FOR DESIGNERS

You don't need to be a millionaire to angel invest - check sizes can range from $1,000 to $50,000, and your design taste often matters more than the money.

THE 30-YEAR UNICORN BACKLOG

Exits for U.S. unicorns could take 30 years at the current rate, though this is an improvement from 49 years ago.

Read the Delve case study.

ON LEGACY

It's natural for founders to think about legacy - after all, we're building something meant to last. Don't focus on legacy. Do your best work right now, not for later.

WANDER: DEEPER DIVE

Wander's founder and its investors both thought owning vacation homes was necessary to beat Airbnb's inconsistent quality. When interest rates spiked, they had to test managing properties they don't own instead. The results proved them wrong - growth exploded from 13 to 1,000+ locations while quality scores stayed at 85. Test your core assumptions early, because the "obvious" path often isn't the right one.

KNOWLEDGE WORK IS DYING

AI will soon outperform experts in physics, law, and engineering simultaneously, making knowledge workers replaceable. This author coaches OpenAI executives who are building technology that will eliminate their own jobs, and they're preparing by developing three skills AI can't replicate. Emotional clarity means feeling your emotions without letting them control decisions. Discernment requires seeing yourself clearly before you can see situations clearly. Connection involves genuine human presence that creates psychological safety in teams.

MY GREATEST GTM STRUGGLE

A marketing founder generated $500k+ from LinkedIn content but struggled with consistency because he relied on inspiration instead of systems. He'd only create when he felt motivated, leading to sporadic output despite strong results. His solution: monthly content planning, weekly outlining, batch creation days, and three content pillars. Even your best channels need systematic approaches to scale beyond "pretty good" results.

TO GROW FASTER, THINK SMALLER

Focus is crucial for effective growth strategies. Instead of making large-scale changes, companies should study small customer segments to discover insights that fuel new growth strategies. Understanding current customer behavior provides a stronger foundation for sustainable expansion.

SUPABASE UI LIBRARY

Supabase UI Library offers drop-in, customizable UI components for React projects, integrating Supabase Auth, Storage, Realtime chat, and more.

COMP AI

Comp AI is an open-source compliance automation platform that helps you get audit-ready fast, supporting SOC 2, ISO 27001, and GDPR in weeks, not months.

MIDJOURNEY V7

Midjourney V7 delivers faster, smarter, and more beautiful image generation with default personalization and a new Draft Mode for rapid, voice-enabled iteration.

THE X-RAY EFFECT

You're now data-driven and tracking metrics that matter. However, you're about to notice all the broken stuff - $500K deals sitting untouched for eight months, reps with crazy-high win rates because they only log deals after closing, and conversion rates bouncing between 8% and 47% with no explanation. This is the X-ray effect - consistent measurement reveals broken processes you didn't know existed.

5 WAYS TO COME UP WITH TINY EXPERIMENTS

Big changes feel overwhelming, so try tiny experiments instead: low-risk actions following "I will [action] for [duration]." Five ways: notice what energizes/drains you and test alternatives, challenge fixed mindsets with small actions, borrow interesting habits from others, turn constraints into creative fuel, and ask "What if?" questions. These build adaptability one small experiment at a time, letting you learn and grow without needing perfection.

IT TAKES MONEY TO MAKE MONEY

Traditional retirement funding is broken because capital consistently outpaces economic growth (r > g). Someone saving 10% of $100K income takes 20 years to accumulate $500K, while someone starting with $500K replaces a year of income every two years. The solution isn't redistribution, but "pre-distribution" of capital through innovative financial products.

FLORA RAISES $6.5M TO BUILD THE FUTURE OF CREATIVE COLLABORATION

FLORA has raised $6.5 million in a seed round led by Hanabi Capital to develop an advanced creative tool offering real-time collaboration and AI-driven functionalities.

HALLUCINATIONS AND HUMAN WORK

People either say AI is brilliant and can do everything, or that it hallucinates and can't be trusted.

30 COMPANIES THAT JUST RAISED A SERIES A

List of the top 30 companies that raised a Series A in the United States in the last 2 weeks.