... Imagine that you are about to join a startup (before raising funds) as a part-time employee. You are paid for work (compensation is like in any existing, well-established company in the industry, but you do not have regular employee benefits covering 401 plan, no equity, no health care plan, HO equipment fee, etc.) You hope that after raising

... early: Don't manually track laptop encryption. Use an agent. Centralize evidence: If it s not documented, it didn't happen. We built Xyroco specifically to handle point #2 and #3 automatically. If you just raised and are staring down the barrel of a compliance audit, DM me. I ll send you our "Fast-Track Checklist" for free. No pitch. hashtag#StartupFunding hashtag#SeriesA hashtag#Compliance hashtag#SOC2 hashtag#TechTips ...

... early: Don't manually track laptop encryption. Use an agent. Centralize evidence: If it s not documented, it didn't happen. We built Xyroco specifically to handle point #2 and #3 automatically. If you just raised and are staring down the barrel of a compliance audit, DM me. I ll send you our "Fast-Track Checklist" for free. No pitch. hashtag#StartupFunding hashtag#SeriesA hashtag#Compliance hashtag#SOC2 hashtag#TechTips ...

... smartphone's battery life, data connection, and whether it's carried consistently. A child who leaves their phone in a backpack or lets it die creates a safety blind spot. Furthermore, the very nature of cell tracking raises important privacy questions that ethical companies must transparently address, as highlighted by organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which educates on the capabilities and potential overreach of such technologies. The Dedicated GPS Device: The Specialized Sentinel These are standalone gadgets wearable ...

... planning, and spent time with maintenance and quality teams. I wanted to understand the whole system. Months passed, but the promises were delayed. When I asked, I was told it would be handled. Just before the new year, I raised the issue again. They made an exception and gave me a very small raise

... same page, and countries are investing in defence. Today, this news from Techcrunch grabbed my attention: Terra Industries, a Nigeria-based defence startup founded by 22-year-old Nathan Nwachuku and 24-year-old Maxwell Maduka, raised $11.75M to build autonomous defence systems that help African governments protect critical infrastructure . The company focuses on drones, surveillance systems, and real-time intelligence software to reduce reliance on foreign defense intelligence and strengthen Africa s security sovereignty. Do you see more ...

... Most founders don t fail because they lack ideas. They fail because they confuse speed with progress . They grow too fast. Raise capital too early. Chase visibility without leverage. And wake up one day realizing they ve lost control of the very thing they set out to build. This hub exists for founders who want something different: Sustainable growth. Real leverage. Optionality. Control. Not hacks. Not hype. Not growth that collapses under its own weight. What you ll find here ... ... connects strategy with execution, helping founders build acquisition systems that grow stronger over time instead of more fragile. Securing Capital Without Losing Control Capital should expand your options not eliminate them. Too many founders give up control because they raise

... Raising capital is a full-time job that stops you from actually building your product. I experienced this firsthand. I started building Pilt.ai as a "side-hack" just to automate my own investor outreach so I could get back to building. After seeing a while I realized the tool itself was more valuable than my original idea. We are now opening up early access to help other founders automate the "grunt work" of fundraising. I d love ... ... community's thoughts on: The Workflow: Does automating the first touchpoint feel "human" enough for you? Fundraising Strategy: For those who have raised

... deliver better ROI than paid search, which has become increasingly expensive and competitive. Trial Intelligence : We provide behavioral analytics you can't get from your own trial - comparative shopping patterns, feature prioritization across your category, and benchmarking against competitors. Think of us as a qualified pipeline channel, not a marketing expense. Q: How do you solve the cold start problem? Most marketplaces fail because they can't get critical mass on both sides. A: Our go-to-market strategy addresses ... ... trial optimization platform. Q: What data or insights does VeriTry provide that software companies can't get on their own? A: Our proprietary Trial Intelligence Engine provides: Cross-platform behavioral data : How users engage with your trial compared to competitors

... Sales Automation: We set up LinkedIn scraping, personalized outreach, lead qualification, and investor/co-founder matching. Marketing: Complete go-to-market execution: landing page copy, email sequences, ad campaigns, and growth playbooks tailored to your startup. We ve already helped founders raise pre-seed rounds and book 50+ investor calls using our automation. If you're bootstrapping or raising

... deal with daily as a working musician: scattered notes, messy sessions, and no clear way to track creative decisions. It s designed to be fast, focused, and actually usable during the creative process. How I ll use the capital raised Any funds raised

... press! OSS AI coding assistant @Kilo Code just announced a $8 Million raise in seed funding. @scobreit wrote in their blog announcement : This funding accelerates our roadmap: smarter multi-agent collaboration, enterprise-grade tooling for technical leaders, and a feature set that continues to accelerate the AI flywheel for development teams using Kilo. Kilo Code is crushing it this year: Two launches on @Product Hunt , ranked respectfully #5 Product of the Day and #1 Product of the Day, growing from ... ... downloads on @VS

... lack potential but because the pathways to capital and tools are unclear, fragmented, or inaccessible. OpenStanford exists to democratize funding. We re building an open, transparent hub that gives founders everywhere the tools, insights, and guidance they need to raise capital, validate ideas, and build faster. Whether you re in Silicon Valley or across the world, OpenStanford is designed to level the playing field. What OpenStanford offers Funding Intelligence Clear pathways to grants, accelerators, micro-funds, angels, and early-stage ... ... fundraising workflows. Curated Playbooks Everything from investor outreach strategy to documentation checklists simplified and accessible. A founder-first approach Designed for clarity, speed, and equal opportunity for anyone with ambition. Who it s for Early-stage founders preparing to raise

... dealflow by humans, with context. And yes those intros get answered. And if a founder isn t ready? We stay. We give: feedback, trajectory guidance, what to fix first, where story and deck don t align, when not to raise yet, Sometimes the right not yet is what creates the yes later. Because many deals start as a correction, not a pitch. Our KPI in 2026 isn t traffic. It s closed rounds. Not: clicks profile fillings, etc. Just: matches ... ... meetings that led to decisions decisions that led to capital We re not promising miracles. We re building a system that gives founders a real chance. Unicorns Club is open to founders even if it s too early to raise

... January. Both Microsoft and OpenAI cited changes to Meta s platform policies last month. Meta said it wants WhatsApp to help businesses serve customers, rather than get bogged down by chatbot distribution.     Record prices? Spotify will raise prices on U.S. subscribers next year, the Financial Times reported . A subscription currently costs $11.99 per month, but the streaming service has been under pressure from record labels to raise

... just published one of the most honest and practical founder interviews we've ever featured in Unicorns Journal . It s the story of how Sergey Bakaev , co-founder of LovOn , raised $850K after hearing more than 100 rejections with no network and no previous fundraising experience. A brutally honest, step-by-step breakdown of what pre-seed fundraising actually looks like behind the scenes the pressure, the tactics, the mistakes, and the breakthroughs. Top takeaways: Fundraising = communication density 1 warm ...

... have come across several statements such as: a single person cannot raise money on their own (you need to be in a team of at least 2 people), it is not worth it because there is pressure on you, etc. What is your experience with raising

... everything. If you re selling luxury in a downturn, you re not reading the room. Here s what a great cold pitch looks like for me right now: Hey Dan, saw you founded Meet-Ting. I assume your biggest competitor is Calendly. Using our tool, I found XXX interesting insight about them that might help you. Want to see how we could surface more like that? That message nails it: they ve done their homework, they understand my business, they ... ... know it's working? Why is this notable? Who is your team, why are they the right people for the job? What notable past experiences do they have? What's your fundraise status past & future plans? "raising

... citations of published research verifying the exact formulation. Ingredient lists are inconsistent or vague Some websites list ingredients like CoQ10, PQQ, L-Carnitine, alpha-lipoic acid. Other sites list quite different blends: Maqui Berry, Rhodiola, Schisandra, etc. This inconsistency raises concerns about exactly what you re getting, and whether different versions exist (which might affect results). Too good to be true marketing The messaging is very strong: turns your body into a fat-burning machine , etc. These kinds of promises ... ... natural and stimulus-free , some users still report mild issues (like digestive upset, headaches). Some users report no significant effect, which means results vary a lot. From Some users notice minimal changes, possibly due to individual factors. Sales model raises

... video link, and both you and your friends can watch and learn side by side. Controls: Mute/Unmute: Talk to each other through an audio call. Your mute status is shown next to your name in the participant list. Hand Raise: Change Video (Coming soon!) The current hand raise

... From @hwchase17 : Today, we re announcing we ve raised $125M at a $1.25B valuation to build the platform for agent engineering. We re also releasing new capabilities to accelerate the path to reliable agents, including LangChain and LangGraph 1.0 releases, a new Insights Agent, and a no code agent builder. IVP led the round alongside existing investors Sequoia, Benchmark, and Amplify, as well as new investors CapitalG and Sapphire Ventures. Imagine that they got their start here when ... ... valuation in what feels like five minutes. That s product-market fit on steroids. Comment from Abdul Rehman(@abod_rehman): It s interesting how quickly agent engineering matured from experimentation to full-stack solutions. Comment from Vlad(@vsteppp

... Commerce Crowdfunding The way people shop and launch products is changing. Traditional crowdfunding platforms helped creators raise money, but they often separated the campaign from the actual store. Fundlify brings these worlds together. Built for Shopify, it merges crowdfunding s excitement with the practicality of online commerce making it easier for merchants to test demand, raise

... Lessons from Athena s surprising coverage and what founders can learn about finding the right reporter, framing stories, and pitching press The Wall Street Journal rarely covers seed-stage startups let alone one raising just $2.2M. That s why I was surprised to see Athena , an early-stage company working on how large language models surface brand-related content, featured in Katherine Blunt s article about the demise of traditional Google search. Instead of dismissing it as a blip ... ... your routine: Read the outlets read by your target audience, and pay attention to what s being covered (and what s not). Follow relevant reporters on X and other social platforms. Set up Google News alerts on your competitors

... their sales workflow in under five minutes. Four months later I quit my job to work on it full time. Why bother? I kept asking myself: Why isn t there an AI sales monopoly yet? My take: because most competitors deliver AI consultants that talk like robots and kill revenue. We focused on building a real rep that: Doesn t ask you to prompt or pick an LLM you just tell us about your business and we do the rest ... ... Talks like your top salesperson, not a bot. Books meetings and pushes data back into your CRM. Fast forward a year: Pleep has 500+ paying B2B customers, hit ~$20k MRR, raised

... Venture capital can be rocket fuel. But sometimes it feels more like strapping yourself to a rocket you don t fully control. If I had never raised a dollar, how would my product look different? Would it be slower? Maybe. More intentional? Possibly. Closer to what users actually want? Probably. I m not anti-VC. Far from it. But I wonder if chasing scale too early sometimes pulls us away from the messy, beautiful phase where products become real. Curious ... ... hear from both sides: If you ve raised