The hottest Startups Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Business Topics

This New Internet Thing, Chapter 30

Life Since the Baby Boom • 922 implied HN points • 12 Dec 24
🕹 Technology Startups
  1. Netscape went public and became super successful, even though they weren't making profits yet. People were excited about the potential for growth instead of just focusing on profits.
  2. The IPO day was a big moment, with the stock price skyrocketing to $74. This was a huge deal for the people involved, changing their lives and how they viewed their work.
  3. There was a shift in the tech world where everyone suddenly wanted to invest in Internet companies. It became a trend to have '.com' in a company's name, showing how fast things were changing.

From Runway to Career Capital: A Framework for Evaluating Startup Jobs

Optima & Outliers • 59 implied HN points • 01 Jul 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. When considering a startup job, focus on how it will help your career instead of just picking a 'winner'. Think about your long-term goals and how the role aligns with them.
  2. Do your homework before joining a startup. This means asking about the company's funding, goals, and speaking with people who know the founders to understand their track record.
  3. Look for opportunities to learn and build connections in a startup. These experiences can boost your resume and help you grow your professional network.

Chips for China, land for Russia, scorn for Europe

Alex's Personal Blog • 65 implied HN points • 09 Dec 25
🕹 Technology Startups
  1. Boom is converting its Symphony turbofan into a gas turbine to power AI data centers, with large orders giving the company useful near-term revenue. This also adds another quick-response power option for the growing AI infrastructure buildout.
  2. Wealthy, politically aligned buyers are moving to control major media outlets, a trend that risks weakening independent journalism and can erode democratic checks. This mirrors the ‘Orbánization’ pattern seen when governments and allies consolidate media power.
  3. The federal government looks poised to use an executive order to block state-level AI regulations, aiming to avoid a patchwork of rules and protect industry competitiveness. That approach centralizes authority, raises federalism and constitutional questions, and effectively lets industry shape national policy while Congress remains gridlocked.

AI companies are just SaaS companies

benn.substack • 869 implied HN points • 20 Dec 24
🕹 Technology Startups
  1. AI companies have a lot in common with traditional SaaS companies. They’re selling software services, often built on complex tech, rather than just cool algorithms.
  2. The success of AI models like ChatGPT depends heavily on branding and user experience. People care more about how easy and useful the software is than just the tech behind it.
  3. OpenAI is at a crossroads, needing to adapt its business model and offerings to stay ahead, especially as competition increases and tech costs rise.

The difference between making money and a hobby

Kenny’s Sub • 239 implied HN points • 04 Mar 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. Tinkering can be fun and educational, but it often doesn't lead to making real money. People who quit their jobs to experiment might not find traction if they aren't committed to serious efforts.
  2. If you want to succeed financially, it’s important to pick ideas with high demand. Avoid spending lots of time on small projects that don’t bring much profit.
  3. A solid marketing plan is just as crucial as having a good product. Without a way to promote what you're selling, you might just have a hobby instead of a business.
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Long Take: The craft of scaling fintechs beyond their niche -- analyzing Twitter, Bunq, and Goldman Sachs

The Fintech Blueprint • 589 implied HN points • 02 Aug 23
💰 Finance Startups
  1. The craft of scaling fintechs involves understanding successful growth drivers and failures
  2. Successful business building requires targeting disruptive technologies to the right market with demand
  3. Goldman Sachs' exit from consumer business contrasts with neobanks like Bunq's profitability and growth in their niche

How health-tech founders can survive a brutal 2024

Second Opinion • 471 implied HN points • 20 Nov 23
💼 Business Startups
  1. In 2024, health-tech founders may face challenges due to market conditions like the difficulty of fundraising.
  2. It's okay to let go of a struggling company and start over; it can make you smarter for the next venture.
  3. Founders should practice ruthless prioritization, focus on achieving break-even, and be realistic about liquidity events.

PE Slapping VC

Venture Prose • 579 implied HN points • 16 Apr 23
💼 Business Startups
  1. Private equity-backed companies prioritize cash flow over growth, teaching venture capitalists an important lesson for sustained success.
  2. Some growth-stage companies, profitable and mature, outshine venture-backed companies in terms of financial yield without the need for external fundraising.
  3. Venture-backed founders can benefit from connecting with founders of different companies to understand the importance of capital deployment yield and reduce stress levels.

The Sequence Opinion #770: The Post-GPU Era: Why AI Needs a New Kind of Computer

TheSequence • 63 implied HN points • 11 Dec 25
🕹 Technology Startups
  1. Modern AI depends on massive matrix multiplications run on GPUs, and much of its progress has come from scaling up models and GPU clusters.
  2. This brute-force scaling is hitting diminishing returns because it consumes huge amounts of energy and hardware, making further improvements increasingly costly.
  3. Researchers and startups are exploring radically different hardware—like analog chips, photonics, neuromorphic designs, and quantum systems—to build more efficient AI computers and move beyond GPUs.

The Great Differentiation

Not Boring by Packy McCormick • 309 implied HN points • 01 Jul 25
💼 Business Startups
  1. In a world where everything looks the same, standing out is really important. Companies need to be unique to catch people's attention.
  2. Making things difficult to copy is a smart way to stay different. When something is hard to replicate, it holds more value and status.
  3. People are starting to understand that true uniqueness comes from being authentic and true to themselves. It's all about creating something special that only you can offer.

The Myth of Hyper-Growth: Successful Startups Follow Quadratic Hypergrowth, Not Exponential. | VC Remote Jobs

Venture Curator • 239 implied HN points • 27 Feb 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. Successful startups often experience quadratic hypergrowth rather than exponential growth.
  2. Understanding the quadratic growth model is crucial for predicting and controlling growth in companies.
  3. To sustain growth, companies must launch new products into new markets, leading to a variety of quadratic growth curves over time.

Staying in balance ⚖️

André Casal's Substack • 19 implied HN points • 16 Aug 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. Your mindset shapes your life. A strong, positive mindset can lead to happiness, even during tough times.
  2. Pushing yourself can be exciting, but it’s important to balance hard work with self-care and important life activities.
  3. Recognizing where you struggle is key. It's okay to ask for advice on how to stay balanced while pursuing your goals.

Epstein Unfortunateness. HYP-FREE - A Hypothesis Free Testing Initiative

ASeq Newsletter • 14 implied HN points • 05 Feb 26
🕹 Technology Startups
  1. Build sample-to-answer DNA and protein sequencers for hypothesis-free diagnostics so clinics can detect known and novel pathogens or biomarkers without guessing, ideally at qPCR-like cost.
  2. Japan is well positioned to lead this effort because it has strong manufacturing and technical capabilities but currently lacks domestic DNA or protein sequencing platform companies, creating a strategic market opportunity.
  3. Use an SBIR-style, commercialization-first program to fund and spin out startups, prioritize simplified sample prep and advanced sequencing (long reads, protein), and engage investors early to scale devices for global clinical use.

Tech the Heck? - CloudTruth

Cloud Irregular • 2069 implied HN points • 19 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Startups
  1. Explaining complex tech products in simple language is important for understanding and adoption.
  2. Developers may value different aspects of a tech product compared to business decision-makers, causing a mismatch in communication.
  3. CloudTruth focuses on managing crucial configuration data, highlighting the importance of precision in language and clear communication.

The Freedom Tradeoff

Jay's Data Stream • 29 implied HN points • 07 Jan 26
💼 Business Startups
  1. Bootstrapping buys you control over decisions and the freedom to choose your lifestyle. It also forces you to prioritize immediate profitability and often limits rapid scaling.
  2. Taking venture capital adds constant pressure to grow quickly — a ‘boot on your neck’ — which can drive fast scaling but reduces autonomy and can cause burnout or loss of control.
  3. There’s a clear tradeoff between outsized freedom and outsized growth, so you need to decide what you’re optimizing for. You can try to self-impose urgency to grow, but it’s not the same as the external forcing function investors provide.

The VC Corner 📰 #11

The VC Corner • 279 implied HN points • 04 Feb 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. Gulf investment is increasing in European startups, which could help boost innovation and growth in the region.
  2. Venture capitalists are looking at the secondary market for discounted investment opportunities, which can provide advantages in a tough economy.
  3. Generative AI is becoming a key focus for CEOs, who need to understand how it can benefit their businesses and improve efficiency.

What Does It Take To “Do Things That Don’t Scale” For Your Startup? | VC Remote Jobs & More

Venture Curator • 359 implied HN points • 28 Dec 23
💼 Business Startups
  1. To succeed as a startup, focus on solving unique problems that others haven't addressed.
  2. Embrace doing tasks that may not scale initially, like manual sales calls, to validate your business model.
  3. Founders of successful startups often start small, handle unglamorous tasks, and focus on learning and building their product before seeking rapid growth.

The VC Corner 📰 #7

The VC Corner • 339 implied HN points • 06 Jan 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. This newsletter is a great resource for anyone interested in venture capital and startups. It offers news and insights that can help investors and startups stay informed.
  2. You can subscribe for a free trial to access more detailed content. This allows you to explore the newsletter before committing to a subscription.
  3. The VC Corner aims to keep readers updated weekly, making it useful for both experienced investors and those new to the field. It provides valuable information that can enhance your understanding of the startup landscape.

Decision-making

Lessons • 550 implied HN points • 27 Jun 23
💼 Business Startups
  1. Different situations require different styles of decision-making.
  2. Organizations benefit from being methodical in selecting decision-making styles.
  3. Having a structured decision-making system can improve efficiency and clarity.

Momentum Cyber's Almanac

The Security Industry • 31 implied HN points • 08 Jan 26
🕹 Technology Startups
  1. Cybersecurity M&A hit record levels in 2025 with $96B deployed across 400 transactions, a 270% rise in deal value, and a $32B landmark acquisition.
  2. Funding also rebounded strongly with $20.7B invested—the best year since 2021—and cloud-native/SaaS deals made up 59% of deal volume and 97% of M&A capital deployed.
  3. Strategic buyers dominated disclosed deal value (92%) and the industry’s vendor taxonomy was overhauled, highlighted by a new Cyberscape and a 1,000‑logo infographic.

Netflix Co-founder's 'The Canada Rule' For Building Successful Startups 🧐 | Pre-Money Valuation Growing 💹| VC Remote Jobs

Venture Curator • 239 implied HN points • 22 Feb 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. The 'Canada Rule' advises startups to focus on one or two important things rather than chasing every opportunity.
  2. Pre-money valuations in Europe are showing growth across different stages, indicating market resilience.
  3. VCs are using 'Dry Powder' in convertible bridge rounds, showcasing creative financing strategies by founders.

Long overdue life updates

box. • 419 implied HN points • 29 Nov 23
💼 Business Startups
  1. Finding a balance between creating for an audience and focusing on personal projects is tricky but important. Having too many outside distractions can slow down real work, so taking breaks from attention helps keep goals on track.
  2. Loneliness is a big issue that needs meaningful solutions. Sometimes it's hard to work on this emotionally heavy topic, but caring about it makes the work feel worthwhile.
  3. Managing time as a solo founder can be challenging. Setting boundaries and valuing personal time helps stay focused on what truly matters, without getting overwhelmed by small tasks.

How the AI bubble will unfold

Expand Mapping with Mike Morrow • 24 implied HN points • 17 Jan 26
💼 Business Startups
  1. Major AI companies are burning huge amounts of cash and are staying private to avoid revealing weak financials, so an IPO could expose losses and trigger a sharp valuation drop.
  2. Training costs are enormous and likely to keep rising as models scale, while inference costs per token may fall but overall expenses can still grow because of bigger, token-hungry models and growing demand.
  3. The likely outcomes are limited: a rare proprietary breakthrough, real financial improvement through monetization and cost cuts (which risks losing users), or an IPO that reveals the losses and pops the bubble.

The Game

Venture Prose • 539 implied HN points • 13 Aug 23
💼 Business Startups
  1. Venture capital world has become overly competitive, leading to deals made without proper diligence or due consideration.
  2. Consensus in the industry spreads rapidly, leaving founders vulnerable to hype and unfounded opinions.
  3. Investors often don't provide enough guidance or mentorship to young founders, leaving them to run companies without sufficient support.

Achievement, here and there

benn.substack • 613 implied HN points • 14 Feb 25
💼 Business Startups
  1. Many startups often pivot to new ideas after their initial product fails. This happens so frequently in Silicon Valley that it’s often seen as a normal part of business.
  2. Founders usually start companies not just to solve problems, but also to gain status and success. They might care more about how they look to others than the specific product they offer.
  3. There's a growing trend where success in technology is being intertwined with politics. People are now noticing and valuing the impact of policy making as much as tech achievements.

The Rise of the Joint-Mission Startup

Pratap’s Substack • 277 implied HN points • 22 Feb 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. AI can do much more than just make companies more efficient. It can actually change how we work and team up with machines.
  2. Working together as partners is key for big companies when using AI, not just buying software. They need deep collaboration to succeed in a new AI world.
  3. Startups have a big chance to tackle larger problems by creating complete solutions instead of just quick fixes. This approach can reshape how businesses operate.

5 Challenges of Scaling Paid Ads for Early Stage Startups

Nail It and Scale It • 59 implied HN points • 25 Jun 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. It's hard to find out why ads aren't working. There can be many reasons, like targeting the wrong audience or having a bad website design.
  2. Early stage startups often struggle to scale quickly due to internal issues. When they get more leads, they might need to pause ads to catch up, which can hurt their momentum.
  3. Finding product-market fit takes time and constant testing. Just because something works now doesn't mean it will work later, so keep experimenting with different strategies.

Moving beyond MVP

Running Lean Mastery • 530 implied HN points • 26 May 23
💼 Business Startups
  1. The term MVP has evolved over time and can be confused with other terms like experiment or demo.
  2. Introducing a new term, MDVFP, to emphasize the smallest desirable, viable, feasible product.
  3. The MDVFP is not a landing page, prototype, or just an experiment - it's a distinct concept.

YC Strategy 'Cash In, Cash Out, Milestones Achieved' To Raise Funding | Peter Thiel On 'Make A Product A Few Love' | VC Remote Jobs & More

Venture Curator • 439 implied HN points • 15 Nov 23
💼 Business Startups
  1. Y Combinator's strategy for raising funding includes focusing on 'Cash In, Cash Out, Milestones Achieved' to impress investors.
  2. Peter Thiel emphasizes the importance of making a product that a few people really love, rather than trying to please a large group at the start.
  3. When seeking venture capital funding, it is crucial to have a clear plan for the amount of money you need, the runway required before the next round, and the milestones you aim to achieve.

I've found the last missing piece 🔍

André Casal's Substack • 19 implied HN points • 13 Aug 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. The founder had productive calls with developers, gaining insights to improve their project after the launch. It's important to listen to experienced people to refine your ideas.
  2. They enhanced their landing page by adding testimonials and changing the pricing strategy, which could help attract more customers. Good copy and clear pricing can make a big difference.
  3. The next steps include generating social proof and setting up a Product Hunt pre-launch page, showing a plan to engage potential users and increase visibility before launch.

Indian LLM Storm is Arriving

Sector 6 | The Newsletter of AIM • 299 implied HN points • 17 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Startups
  1. India's AI scene was quiet after the rise of ChatGPT, but now it's waking up with new developments.
  2. BharatGPT is a new AI model created with support from the government and IIT Bombay, featuring support for multiple languages and formats.
  3. Reliance Jio has teamed up with IIT Bombay to boost the BharatGPT project, showing strong industry backing.

YC

Venture Prose • 519 implied HN points • 21 Aug 23
💼 Business Startups
  1. YC-backed companies' valuations have significantly increased over the past years due to market conditions and increased capital availability.
  2. When investing in startups, it's crucial to have access to top founders, win deals, and diversify your portfolio with at least 20 deals to maximize returns.
  3. High valuations and early-stage startup frenzy can sometimes lead entrepreneurs to lose sight of the core values and essence of their journey.

Send in Your Burning Questions!

Newcomer • 255 implied HN points • 06 Feb 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. Readers can submit burning questions for a reader mailbag in 2024
  2. The world of venture capital and startups has seen major changes in the new year
  3. Options given for submitting questions include leaving a comment, tweeting, or using a Google form

The Symposium: Liron Shapira

The Cosmopolitan Globalist • 5 implied HN points • 19 Feb 26
🕹 Technology Startups
  1. A public symposium on Sunday, February 22 will feature Liron Shapira debating whether AI could destroy humanity, and attendees are invited to join, ask questions, and state their p(doom).
  2. Shapira’s Doom Debates aim to raise mainstream awareness and urgency about existential AI risk; they argue that only when ordinary people see unaligned superintelligent AI as an imminent life‑threat will leaders take decisive protective action.
  3. Readers are encouraged to prepare by reading the canonical doomer essay If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies, watching Shapira’s debates, and exploring recommended essays on the AI control problem and related policy and persuasion issues.

Briefing: Instagram nudges, Stripe retries, Chrome AI

Department of Product • 275 implied HN points • 25 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Startups
  1. Instagram is implementing a new safety feature to deter teens from night-time app use.
  2. Many companies struggle to train employees on GenAI tools, but new visual AI workflow tools like VectorShift aim to simplify the process for product teams.
  3. Netflix's success in ad-funded plans raises questions on whether this model will extend to other product categories like SaaS.

Preparing to launch 🚀

André Casal's Substack • 19 implied HN points • 12 Aug 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. Testing the payment flow is crucial. It's important to ensure the payment system works correctly before launching, so real-world testing with coupon codes can help ease nerves.
  2. Improving the landing page can make a big difference. Sometimes stepping away helps you see what's unnecessary or unclear, allowing for better, more precise wording.
  3. Planning next steps is essential for a successful launch. Focus on pricing strategy, generating social proof, and preparing for platforms like Product Hunt to boost visibility.

The VC Corner 📰 #12

The VC Corner • 239 implied HN points • 11 Feb 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. Venture capital distributions are at a 14-year low, indicating a shift in investment trends. This could mean less money is flowing into startups right now.
  2. The bar for companies going public is getting higher. It's becoming tougher for businesses to meet the requirements to launch their IPOs.
  3. There are 20 tech trends to keep an eye on for 2024. Watching these trends can help investors and startups stay ahead in the industry.