The hottest Startups Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Business Topics

Perplexity: la prova del motore IA che vuole insidiare Google

Vincos Newsletter • 569 implied HN points • 13 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Artificial Intelligence Startups Tech news Innovation Gadgets
  1. Perplexity is a startup creating an AI engine to rival Google and ChatGPT, with significant backing and user base.
  2. OpenAI released GPT Store and ChatGPT Team, facing legal challenges around copyright use of articles.
  3. Tech updates include Apple's Vision Pro launch, Rabbit R1 pocket computer, and Getty Images/Nvidia Generative AI platform.

Why we need more startups and venture capital in cybersecurity, and what needs to change for the industry to mature

Venture in Security • 511 implied HN points • 16 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Cybersecurity Startups Venture Capital Innovation
  1. The cybersecurity industry benefits from a large number of startups that lead to innovation and competition.
  2. Venture capital is crucial for cybersecurity startups to innovate, educate the market, and speed up the adoption of best practices.
  3. Investors need to better evaluate security startups, and the industry needs a reset of expectations to address real problems like navigating undifferentiated tools and poor go-to-market approaches.
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Your startup idea probably isn’t venture-scale

Lenny's Newsletter • 3537 implied HN points • 16 May 23
💼 Business Startups Venture Capital Entrepreneurship Market Analysis Investment Strategies
  1. Having a venture-scale startup idea involves aiming for $100 million annual revenue and $1 billion+ valuation in 10 years.
  2. Venture-scale investors look for a large market, a scalable business model, high growth potential, the ability to turn capital into growth, and a path to going public.
  3. Not all startup ideas need to be venture-scale; many ideas can still build a great revenue-generating business without the pressure and expectations of venture capital.

Coming soon 🦅 🇺🇸

Extraordinary Aliens • 19 implied HN points • 18 Apr 24
💼 Business Immigration Startups Entrepreneurship Globalization
  1. The author, Noemie, shares knowledge and experiences about moving to and building startups in the US as an immigrant, aiming to help others with similar aspirations.
  2. Topics covered include hacks for O1 visas, becoming a freelancer in the US, navigating community building, tax-related matters, and avoiding deportation.
  3. Noemie emphasizes the importance of sharing immigration and startup-related knowledge openly to assist individuals pursuing opportunities in the US.

How to save media and keep AI startups alive

Alex's Personal Blog • 98 implied HN points • 18 Mar 24
🕹 Technology AI Media Startups Data Regulation
  1. AI models may need to make deals with publishers to get access to training data, but this can create challenges for startups that can't afford upfront costs.
  2. There's a suggestion to shift payment for data access from upfront to back-end, where AI companies pay a portion of their revenue in return for used data.
  3. There are discussions around the importance of fair compensation for content used by AI models to ensure their continued development and success.

Inside Rewind’s path to 170 Series A offers

Kyle Poyar’s Growth Unhinged • 433 implied HN points • 10 Jan 24
💼 Business Startups Funding Product Development Monetization Entrepreneurship
  1. Rewind's success story includes starting with a different product and pivoting to a viral AI hit
  2. The decision to monetize from day one helped Rewind grow rapidly but required continuous iteration on pricing strategies
  3. Rewind's approach to leveraging product-led growth (PLG) includes emphasizing viral loops and frequent product launches

The inside story of why this once high-flying digital health startup failed

Second Opinion • 589 implied HN points • 18 Dec 23
💼 Business Startups Entrepreneurship Failure Venture Capital Policy
  1. Entrepreneurs should not avoid discussing failure, as it is part of the journey.
  2. Founders should be cautious of taking on too much at once, especially in terms of lobbying for policy changes while building a business model.
  3. When fundraising, founders should carefully consider investor relationships, future funding needs, and the value placed on patient experience.

Notorious: Common Mistakes Founders Make

Notorious PLG • 235 implied HN points • 08 Feb 24
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Startups Investing Finance Tech
  1. Valuable lessons for early-stage founders include focusing on customer needs, finding product-market fit, and maintaining rapid adaptation.
  2. Operating benchmarks for PLG startups include metrics on organic traffic, conversion rates, activation rates, and user retention.
  3. Financial benchmarks from PLG public companies cover EV/NTM revenue multiples, stock gainers, and recent PLG + AI financings.

Introducing our newest writer

The Generalist • 1421 implied HN points • 31 Aug 23
💼 Business Tech Startups Writing Operations Media
  1. The Generalist has welcomed a new writer, Ben Butler, who brings startup experience and a strong sense of taste to the publication.
  2. Ben Butler is a creative individual with a background in writing, stand-up comedy, and screenwriting, adding a fresh perspective to The Generalist.
  3. Ben Butler's addition to The Generalist is seen as a valuable enhancement that will push their thinking forward and improve the quality of written analysis.

Briefing: Instagram nudges, Stripe retries, Chrome AI

Department of Product • 275 implied HN points • 25 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Product Management AI Browsers Startups E-commerce
  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.

Caveat emptor: product-led growth in cybersecurity can be a great idea, but it can also hurt or even kill security startups

Venture in Security • 235 implied HN points • 31 Jan 24
💼 Business Cybersecurity Product-led growth Sales Market Strategy Startups
  1. Product-led growth in cybersecurity can be beneficial for growth and reaching security practitioners.
  2. Product-led growth can harm cybersecurity startups by undermining traditional sales channels, causing revenue cannibalization, and leading to misplaced focus.
  3. Startups should carefully consider if their product is suitable for self-serve, avoid jeopardizing sales opportunities, and focus on value over rapid implementation of PLG.

Venture Capital & Free Lunch

Not Boring by Packy McCormick • 156 implied HN points • 20 Feb 24
💼 Business Venture Capital Investing Tech industry Finance Startups
  1. Venture capital is considered to be the best asset class due to its ability to fund innovation and high potential returns.
  2. Despite its risks and failures, venture capital has historically delivered strong returns and funded groundbreaking ideas.
  3. Venture capital's free lunch concept is the idea that through the failures and successes in investment, society benefits from innovation without direct costs.

Revisiting The Professionalization of Startups

Investing 101 • 73 implied HN points • 16 Mar 24
💼 Business Technology Startups Entrepreneurship Leadership Innovation
  1. Access to technology has dramatically increased, leading to more people being able to build and scale tech companies.
  2. There is a growing population of individuals with extensive experience in building technology companies, creating a collective knowledge base for progress.
  3. As tech fields professionalize, the risk of manipulating well-established playbooks increases, emphasizing the importance of learning from mistakes and avoiding turning established practices into dogma.

The Arm Story Part 2 : Archimedes to Advanced RISC Machines

The Chip Letter • 2672 implied HN points • 19 Feb 23
🕹 Technology History Computers Innovation Startups Mobile
  1. Acorn built a fast microcomputer called ARM but struggled to sell it, leading to Apple acquiring the technology and creating a separate company - ARM.
  2. The Acorn team focused on keeping manufacturing costs low for ARM, making it affordable and power-efficient compared to other designs at the time.
  3. The Archimedes, powered by ARM chips, received positive reviews for its speed and performance, offering a cost-effective alternative to other computers available.

The Profile: Elon Musk’s brain implant startup & the billionaire learning what money can’t buy

The Profile • 589 implied HN points • 12 Nov 23
🕹 Technology Startups Innovation Health
  1. Making positive changes in life often involves going through a phase where things get worse before they get better.
  2. Developing competence is key to overcoming fear and challenges in various aspects of life.
  3. Understanding that temporary setbacks are a natural part of the journey to improvement can help in persevering through hard times.

More like Micah

Early Plexus News • 176 implied HN points • 04 Feb 24
💼 Business Startups Authenticity Team Dynamics
  1. Startups usually don't announce the departure of a core team member.
  2. Plexus aims to promote radical authenticity online, inspired by Micah Corning-Myers.
  3. Micah's impact on Plexus is seen in their mission to make people more like him, with a focus on empathy and open communication.

🚪 A snail-mail platform with $200MRR in just 2 months

No-Code Exits • 176 implied HN points • 02 Feb 24
💼 Business Startups Entrepreneurship Marketing Technology Revenue
  1. Nick Freiling created a successful snail-mail platform called StampFans that generated $200 MRR in just 2 months.
  2. He started by testing the idea with a simple landing page and manual operations, then used tools like Softr for further development.
  3. Nick focused on keeping things lean, leveraged LinkedIn for user acquisition, and reached $200 MRR in less than 2 months.

How health-tech founders can survive a brutal 2024

Second Opinion • 471 implied HN points • 20 Nov 23
💼 Business Startups Investment Strategy Entrepreneurship Finance
  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.

Rampersand Investment Notes: Hatch

Superfluid • 106 implied HN points • 20 Feb 24
💼 Business Startups Entrepreneurship Investing Technology Innovation
  1. Rampersand is backing Hatch, a company changing how the next generation finds work. Hatch uses AI to match candidates with jobs based on core values and aspirations.
  2. Hatch redefines job searching with its AI-driven platform for Gen Z professionals, saving time for both job seekers and employers.
  3. Gen Z professionals seek fulfilling roles, leading to a transformation in company cultures and employment nature. Companies like Hatch are adapting to meet the demands of this new workforce.

Revenge of the Angry Nerds: A More Competitive & Even More Ruthless Time in Silicon Valley

The Hard Fork by Marvin Liao • 216 implied HN points • 13 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Silicon Valley Startups Tech industry Innovation Digital Transformation
  1. Silicon Valley is seeing a shift towards a more masculine, ruthless culture led by powerful men in tech.
  2. Tech companies are moving towards a leaner, more focused approach after facing financial challenges.
  3. Surviving in the current Silicon Valley landscape requires a severe mindset change, frugality, and hard work.

The job seekers guide on how to evaluate a VC backed tech startup 🚀

Channels of Growth • 1257 implied HN points • 02 Jul 23
💼 Business Startups Investment Company Culture Product-Market Fit
  1. Job seekers need resources to evaluate tech startups they are considering working for.
  2. Focus on joining a startup with a good product at an early stage for high potential rewards.
  3. Evaluate the team, culture, and product market fit to set yourself up for a successful career in VC-backed tech startups.

The Arm Story Part 3 : Creating a Global Standard - Supplemental

The Chip Letter • 1644 implied HN points • 19 Mar 23
🕹 Technology History Books Startups
  1. The post discusses a book called 'Culture Won' by Keith Clarke, which details the success of Arm from a startup to a global technology phenomenon.
  2. The book offers insight into the business culture that contributed to Arm's success, making it a recommended read for those interested in startups and business culture.
  3. The post also includes links to interviews with ARM founders, executives, engineers, and a bonus clip featuring Steve Jobs on the Newton for paying subscribers.