Today's Entrepreneurship Pulse
Pure DC secures $2.7B to expand data centre footprint in Europe and Middle East
London‑based data centre firm Pure DC has secured $2.7 billion to fund its expansion across Europe and the Middle East. The financing will support new sites and capacity growth for the company’s customers.
Also developing:
By the numbers: abcoffee raises $7.35M in pre‑Series B round
Humanly Secures $25 Million Series B to Transform AI Recruiting SaaS
Humanly, the Bellevue‑based AI recruiting startup, closed a $25 million Series B round led by SEEK Investments, Drive Capital and others. The funding will power a pivot from a recruiting‑software tool to a “service‑as‑software” model that supplies pre‑vetted, ready‑to‑hire candidates. The move underscores growing investor appetite for niche SaaS solutions that automate talent acquisition at scale.
Eight Products, Four Years: My Most Painful Lessons
I built 8 products in 4 years. Here's what each one taught me, ranked by how painful the lesson was.
SEADLING Founder Simon Davis on Bringing Long-Term Economic Benefit to SEA’s Seaweed Farmers
Biotech startup SEADLING, founded by Simon Davis, supplies Elkhorn sea moss seedlings to smallholder farmers in Malaysian Borneo and processes the harvest into fermented, functional ingredients. In 2025 the company closed a $1 million seed round and opened a second processing...
I Quadrupled My Revenue With a Newsletter in 6 Months. Here’s How Startup Founders Can Do the Same
Newsletter platforms are experiencing explosive growth, with Beehiiv reporting $19 million in paid subscriptions for 2025—a 138% jump from 2024. A founder who focused on email newsletters doubled his revenue every quarter, ultimately quadrupling earnings in six months. The piece outlines...
From Hype to Silence: Why Vietnam’s Clubhouse-Like App OnMic Couldn’t Survive
Vietnam’s home‑grown social‑audio platform OnMic, launched in 2021 with seed funding from Touchstone Partners, announced it is shutting down. The app rode the pandemic wave, touting more than 11 million live minutes and 20,000 programmes, but failed to convert that early...
7-Day April Growth Challenge
Ana Calin announced a free 7‑day April Growth Challenge for How We Grow members, guiding participants from idea generation to making their first sale. Each day includes a short instructional video, a timed task (no longer than 90 minutes), and...
Syneron Raises $150m for Macrocyclics, and Other Financings
Syneron Bio, a Beijing‑based biotech, closed a $150 million Series B just four months after raising $100 million, underscoring strong investor appetite for macrocyclic peptide therapeutics. The company’s AI‑powered Synova platform claims to design drug candidates for protein targets that have eluded conventional...
The Hidden IT Crisis Inside Fast-Growing SMEs
Fast‑growing SMEs often outgrow the IT systems that once kept them agile, leading to slower performance, security gaps, and compliance headaches. As data volumes and SaaS tool sprawl increase, legacy infrastructure struggles to support new workflows and AI initiatives. The...
Robilant and Voena Gallery Founders Part Ways to Start Separate Ventures with Their Children
After 22 years together, co‑founders Edmond di Robilant and Marco Voena have dissolved their partnership to launch two independent family‑run galleries, Robilant and Voena. The next generation steps into leadership, with Michele di Robilant taking the director role at Robilant...
A Maker of Pet Toys in Ukraine Turns to Killer Drones
Ukrainian pet‑monitoring startup Petcube pivoted to combat drones, launching Odd Systems and The Fourth Law to produce AI‑enabled FPV quadcopters. The drones integrate image‑recognition that spots tanks, artillery and soldiers, and use a YOLO interface that hands off the final...
Zerodha Rolls Out Fixed Deposits on Coin App
Zerodha has launched fixed‑deposit (FD) products on its Coin platform, partnering with Suryoday, Utkarsh and Unity Small Finance Banks. The service is fee‑free for investors, with Zerodha earning backend commissions from the banks. While FD distribution carries thin margins, the...
AI Is Rewriting the Rules of European Entrepreneurship
AI and low‑code platforms are collapsing the technical and financial barriers that have traditionally defined European entrepreneurship. Tools such as Lovable and Anthropic’s Claude let non‑technical founders turn domain expertise into market‑ready software in weeks rather than months. This shift...
Quest Nutrition Co-Founder Tom Bilyeu Built a $1 Billion Brand Using 1 Uncomfortable Rule About Emotions
Tom Bilyeu, co‑founder of Quest Nutrition, turned a modest protein‑bar startup into a $1 billion exit by insisting on a single uncomfortable rule: rigorously regulate his emotions. After leaving a security‑software firm and walking away from $2 million in equity, he spent...
India Is Slowing Down but Southeast Asia Is Falling Behind Faster
India’s venture capital market contracted 18% in FY2025‑26, pulling in $11.7 billion, yet it remains the world’s fourth‑largest funding pool. The decline is uneven: late‑stage financing fell 38% while early‑stage capital rose 33%, signaling a shift toward disciplined growth. Southeast Asia,...
Former OYO Executive’s Startup Nava Raises $22 Mn To Build Neocloud Platform
Former OYO executive Abhinav Sinha’s AI startup Nava, formerly Kluisz.ai, closed a $22 million Series A round led by Greenoaks, bringing total funding to $31.6 million. The company rebranded as Nava and established its regional headquarters in Singapore to tap APAC talent and...
Is Algae The Answer To Carbon Capture? Intrinsic Foundries’ Green Fix For Toxic Waste
Indian startup Intrinsic Foundries, founded in 2023, raised about $1.5 million seed funding to develop algae‑based carbon capture and utilization (CCUS) platforms that turn industrial CO₂ and waste streams into valuable biochemicals. The company’s proprietary 3‑D‑printed photobioreactors replace large ponds, achieving...
Help Keep Thunderbird Alive
Thunderbird, the open‑source email client, reports that less than 3 % of its users fund its operations. The project relies entirely on voluntary contributions, rejecting advertisements, data sales, and corporate backing. Maintaining servers, fixing bugs, developing new features, and hiring engineers...
Auriga Space Charges up the Launch Game
Auriga Space is building a reusable, electricity‑powered accelerator that replaces the first stage of traditional rockets, aiming to cut launch costs and eliminate the two‑year backlog that plagues the industry. Founder Winnie Lai likens the system to a maglev train,...
Thinking Isn't Enough—Execution Determines Success
A PhD taught me how to think. Entrepreneurship taught me that thinking isn't enough. The gap between knowing and doing is where most businesses quietly die. Not in dramatic failure — just in endless "almost ready." The market doesn't reward the best-prepared...
My New Powers to Help You Get Paid
The UK government has introduced its toughest crackdown on late payments in 25 years, giving the Office of the Small Business Commissioner new enforcement powers. Large firms will be capped at 60 days to pay smaller suppliers, and a statutory...
Astranova Mobility Raises Rs 60 Cr in Series A Led by IvyCap Ventures
Astranova Mobility, an Indian EV financing and asset‑management platform, closed a Rs 60 crore ($6.4 million) Series A round led by IvyCap Ventures, with participation from Asian Development Bank, Advantedge Founders and Trucks Venture Capital. The funding will boost the startup’s data, AI and...
Why Asian Chain Pizza 4P’s Believes It Can Conquer New York
Pizza 4P’s, a Vietnamese‑Japanese artisanal pizza chain, is opening its first U.S. outlet in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, marking a bold entry into New York’s fiercely competitive pizza scene. The brand, founded in 2011 and backed by a $10 million minority investment from...
Alibaba Ties E-Commerce Growth to AI After Latest Overhaul
Alibaba has reorganized its e‑commerce AI efforts under a new Alibaba Token Hub (ATH), consolidating smart‑search, recommendation, and multimodal AI units. The overhaul splits the former search division into platform‑users, products, and algorithms teams while folding the future‑innovation group into...
After The Exit | Ariana Pareja on Building, Selling and Starting Again
In this episode, serial entrepreneur Ariana Pareja shares her journey from early real‑estate hustles to co‑founding Remind, a real‑estate tech platform that scaled to over a million agents and was acquired for $53 million. She discusses the emotional roller‑coaster of big...
Qingtao Energy Files for Hong Kong IPO After Ramping up Solid-State Battery Deliveries
Qingtao Energy Development Group submitted a prospectus to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on April 8, 2026, with Guotai Junan International, CICC and China Merchants Securities acting as joint sponsors. The company, a pioneer in organic‑inorganic composite solid electrolytes,...
This Startup Is Building Access to Global Work From Africa
Totlesoft, an AI‑powered platform launched in 2024, aims to give African talent unified access to global remote work, affiliate sales and research gigs. The service bundles job micro‑tasks, a marketplace with an affiliate engine, and a survey research tool into...
Secondary Sales in SEA: The Liquidity Lifeline when Exits Are Scarce
Southeast Asia’s startup boom has made secondary share sales a common liquidity tool, allowing early investors to cash out before a full exit. These transactions often accompany oversubscribed primary rounds, creating a blended deal where only part of the capital...
Back to School: Robots Learn From Factory Workers
Czech startup RoboTwin has launched a handheld, no‑code system that lets factory workers teach industrial robots by simply demonstrating a task. The device records human motions and instantly generates robot programmes, cutting setup time to about a minute. Backed by...
A Platform for Home Chefs; Agritech’s Post-Boom Correction
YourStory highlighted two contrasting trends in India’s startup ecosystem. Tocco, a Bengaluru‑based platform, is turning home chefs—primarily women—into micro‑entrepreneurs by providing training, standardized recipes, packaging guidance and guaranteed purchase orders, currently supporting 33 chefs and 45 products across several states....
How VirtueLife Makes Home Physiotherapy Actually Work
VirtueLife, founded in 2023 by Yogesh and Ruby Patel, offers a SaaS platform that lets physiotherapists prescribe video‑guided home exercises from a library of about 2,000 movements. The system uses OpenAI‑powered AI to generate suggested plans, which clinicians must review...
The Ball Depot Launches as a Single-Category E-Commerce Store Selling over 1,000 Ball Products Across Sports, Fitness, and Pet Toys
Vancouver entrepreneur Terri‑lyne Gedanitz launched The Ball Depot, an online store dedicated solely to balls, on April 7. The site offers more than 1,000 SKUs covering sports, fitness, kids, novelty and pet toys, and ships across Canada and the United States....
The Secret Behind Cult Gaia’s Cult Following
Cult Gaia, founded in 2012 as a flower‑crown label, has become a multimillion‑dollar fashion house anchored by a strong direct‑to‑consumer (DTC) model. CFO Asal Nazi reports 48% sales growth in 2024, building on 66% growth the year before, as the...
Build a B2B Site in 3 Days with AI
Channeling Bob Ross energy this month, except the “happy little trees” are B2B website pages. I built a full B2B marketing site in three days using AI. If you want AI to work on website copy, start with audience and...
Add One Extra Offer, Earn 50% More
5 ways to monetize a paid newsletter beyond subscriptions: 1. Template packs 2. Monthly subscription 3. Paid webinars 4. Low-ticket upsells in welcome emails 5. Quarterly digital product drops Most writers would *easily* take home 50% more money just adding one of these.
Neurodivergent App Spoony Shuts Down as Investors Prefer AI
Spoony, an Australian social app for disabled and neurodivergent users, raised roughly US$660,000 and built a community of over 65,000 members. The startup’s planned 2025 funding round collapsed as venture capital shifted toward artificial‑intelligence ventures, prompting a shutdown slated for...
Turn $50K Into 7‑Figure SaaS Exit in 6 Months
Want to grow your SaaS real fast? We took a SaaS from 120 visits/day to 120K/month in 6 months. This client invested $50K total and ended up exiting at 7-figures. Here's the exact playbook we used (no BS, just what actually worked): 🧵...
Replit Gives Solo Founders Full Teams, Boosting Growth
There’s a reason bootstrapped solo businesses are accelerating on Replit… we gave builders entire teams.
The Construction Boss Who Built a New Life After Three Years in Prison
Traci Quinn, a former nurse convicted for cannabis trafficking, launched Pink Hats, a Chicago construction firm, after her 2020 release. Despite no industry experience, she built an all‑women team and grew revenue from $125,000 in the first year to over...
Thoughtful VCs Back Real Businesses, Not Just Inflated Valuations
Many heat-seeking VCs are investing in startups that they expect to become merely more highly valued startups. Thoughtful/craft VCs invest in startups that become businesses. Businesses have products that real customers buy, giving you real revenues, and real margins.
Peruvian Entrepreneur Profits From Drone Facade Cleaning
Peruvian Entrepreneur Earns Big with #Drone-Powered Building Facade Cleaning by @Arcfunmi #EmergingTech #Technology #Innovation https://t.co/H1RK3w55G5
Small Business Builders Scale
Peggy Smedley interviews Steve Yates, CEO of Buildxact, about the fast‑changing construction sector and how small‑business builders can scale with limited resources. Yates highlights cloud‑based software that streamlines estimating, quoting, and project tracking, turning data into actionable insights. He also...
From Failed Futures to Freight’s Leading Data Platform
10 years ago, I quit my job and decided to create the world’s first futures for trucking. Futures didn’t work out, but we created something much more powerful - the most comprehensive information services platform in the freight market. And we are...
Aria Networks Secures $125M, Proving Network Equals Profit
The Network Is the Profit Margin: Aria Networks Raises $125M on a Single Bet https://t.co/3b0ZMPLTTe
Successful Fundraising: Beyond Persuasion
Fundraisers often blame weak decks or market conditions, but the real barrier is investors' hidden decision criteria. Prospective donors and venture backers evaluate opportunities against personal risk tolerances, values, and unconscious biases before hearing any pitch. By surfacing these criteria...
Karan Gupta: Building Ideas That Connect and Scale
Digital strategist Karan Gupta has built a career at the crossroads of technology, design, and storytelling, focusing on turning ideas into products that resonate with users. While at UC Berkeley he launched a digital magazine and a city‑focused podcast, early...
Combine Cost Seg, Depreciation, RE Pro to Slash Taxes
Cost seg + accelerated depreciation + RE pro status (so you can use the losses to offset active income) a v powerful combo (I actually looked into starting a business helping non-working spouses get and maintain RE pro status, but couldn't...
Designing Entrepreneurship Systems That Truly Empower Future Builders
A central question of my new book Incorruptible: what would it look like if we designed entrepreneurship systems to actually serve the people building the future? April 11 in Oakland, I'm judging the "All People Powered" pitch contest which is a...
Europe's Complex System Drives Entrepreneurs to Seek Simpler Jurisdictions
Fellow entrepreneurs: I probably need to incorporate somewhere else outside of Europe. Not because of taxes, etc. But mainly because the system is ridiculously complex. Any advice?
AI Cuts Workforce, Sparks Explosion of New Companies
With AI & agents, people will be able to run companies with 20-40% fewer employees than they have today. But I wouldn't panic... We'll create 4-5x as many more companies, just like we've done with every other exponential tech.
Unexpected Founder Chat After Analyst Cancelled in NYC
So I was looking forward to meeting Analyst #3 this afternoon in NYC, but he got tied up in “an incident in a London hotel.” Another time. But was a pleasure to sit down with the founder of @Citrini and...