AI Architecture Drives Diverging SaaS Valuations in 2026
The AI Software Valuation Report 2026 A data-driven look at how AI is reshaping SaaS valuations in 2026 across VC and M&A markets. This report breaks down the widening gap between AI-native, AI-enabled, and legacy SaaS companies, including how revenue multiples are diverging, what buyers are actually paying in today’s market, and why identical ARR companies can now have completely different enterprise values depending on their AI architecture. For founders, it highlights the key valuation drivers shaping premium exits and where the biggest repricing opportunities (and risks) now sit. 📄 You can read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/eYH-NW8p
Validate in Weeks
Most founders I know are still spending 6–12 months building before running a single experiment to see if anyone would pay for it. & hey I've done it too - the stars-in-your-eyes feeling is real. But the longer you wait...
Founders Crave Independence, yet Struggle with Building Culture
Founders start their own organizations in part because they’re proactively searching can’t abide being a “good team member” in someone else’s. And then you wonder why they’re usually terrible at team building and culture. Both VC-funded and bootstrapped.
Overnight Success Is Years of Quiet Preparation
Every overnight success I've studied took about ten years. The overnight success is the moment preparation met opportunity. Every venture you build, every failure you navigate is either developing your capability or it isn't. Prepare for the moment. It will come.
Family Happiness Beats Lavish Vacations; Live Below Your Means
Sure, you can spend £5,067 on a lavish holiday. Or, for you £22 you can: Get 100 x 2ps, 20 x 50ps and 10 x £1s - and have an absolute scream at the arcade. Your kids don’t give a sh** about: All inclusive...
Avoid Revenue Halves After Scaling Past $1M/Month
How An Offer Lost 50% Of Its Revenue After Hitting $1M/mo (& how to prevent this happening to your offer)
Free Masterclass Reveals Full Claude Design Startup Blueprint
THIS GUY IS LITERALLY GIVING AWAY THE DESIGN PLAYBOOK FOR CLAUDE DESIGN 🤯 A Free 2-hour masterclass showing how to build an ENTIRE startup: → brand guidelines → decks → website → apps → videos ... using ONLY Claude Design. Guide is below + full tutorial in 🧵...
Build Scalable Systems Now, Not After You Break
The thing that got you to a million won't get you to ten million. Early-stage: speed, flexibility, heroics. Later-stage: systems, repeatability, scale. These are opposite skill sets. Build the next-stage systems before you need them. Don't wait until it breaks.
Ron Conway Shows Generosity Is Silicon Valley’s Winning Strategy
When future historians write about Silicon Valley, they’ll have an entire chapter dedicated to the Ron Conway way: how he turned generosity, warmth, and showing up for founders into a winning strategy.
Earn While Learning VC: No Tuition, No Degree Required
$0 tuition Get paid to learn venture capital and startup creation at my firm in Austin We are hiring six “associates in training” You’ll start as a researcher and learn fund management, back office functions and the “qualified sorting” of...
Success Starts With Knowing Your Audience, Purpose, Message
A rule that will 10x your success: know exactly who you are building for, what you stand for, and how to say it Every founder I admire started in the same place. With nothing. They just figured out their foundation first
Adopt Entrepreneurial Mindset: Spot Opportunities Everywhere
If you think like an entrepreneur, it means you are always thinking about opportunities, how other businesses operate, and what you can learn from the people/companies that you interact with every day. https://t.co/3j6JFthbDg
Swedish Founders' Earnestness: An Underrated Asset in Entrepreneurship
Jessica and I have been talking about how earnest Swedish founders seem. Obviously it's news to no one that Swedes would be earnest. But I don't think they themselves realize how valuable this quality is for founders specifically. https://t.co/251q8RSQ0Z
Name Calendar Invites to Signal Mutual Evaluation, Not Pitch
Founders: Calendar invite naming sets expectations: ❌ 'Demo of [Your Product]' ❌ '[Your Company] Presentation' ✅ '[Their Co] [Your Co] - Discovery' ✅ '[Their Co] / [Your Co] - Initial Conversation' Signal: This is mutual evaluation, not a pitch.
Six Fintech Startup Predictions for 2026
Six #Fintech #Startup Predictions For 2026 https://t.co/gsnoGYCtY6 #GoogleAlerts #AI #VentureCapital @SpirosMargaris @ahier @sallyeaves @efipm @anand_narang @TerenceLeungSF @davidjmaireles @JimMarous @FrRonconi @davidjmaireles @FinMKTG @BetaMoroney @JohnNosta @dinisguarda @mvollmer1 @JohnNosta @Khulood_Almani @HaroldSinnott @Fabriziobustama
Perfect Tomatoes Delivered Daily, No Matter the Cost
I am once again sharing my proposal for a startup called The Good Tomato that does one thing, and one thing only: offers to ship you a perfect tomato, at whatever price is necessary, 365 days a year
Built Free Annotation Tool, Cutting Software Costs
Honestly, I think I’m finally done paying for software, except for Claude. I just built a website annotation tool to share with my clients. Now, they can easily add comments and feedback in a test environment at no extra cost for...
When Success Feels Stagnant, Lifestyle May Be Enough
My SaaS revenue and sign ups are flat I'm plateau-d at $1,000,000 a year A great achievement but a challenging spot to be in According to @robwalling only 5% of bootstrapped startups escape these types of revenue plateau The more complicated issue is that...
Investors Demand Purpose, Value, and Strong Unit Economics
Founders: Newfound investor discernment and a focus on EBITDA means you have to build with true purpose, nonstop value creation, and solid unit economics to get funding.
Meaningful Impact Doesn't Require Venture Capital Funding
If you’re a founder who just read that Q1 2026 set the record for VC investment in a single quarter with $300 billion… …and 65% of it went to: > OpenAI > Anthropic > xAI > Waymo Those 4 companies are doing the kind of...
Genki Robotics Accelerates Humanoid Integration with A16z, AMD Support
Genki #Robotics Aims to Fast-Track Humanoid Integration, Backed by a16z and AMD by @TheHumanoidHub #Robots #MachineLearning #ArtificialIntelligence #DeepLearning #ML https://t.co/OtGHhvtK9w
Validate 5 Key Elements Before Showing Any Demo
Founders: Discovery validates 5 critical elements: 1. Need Existence: Do they have the problem? 2. Current State: How solving it now (or not)? 3. Pain Severity: Economic/operational cost? 4. Prioritization: Ranked vs other initiatives? 5. Fit Assessment: Worth more time? No demo until you validate all...
Joby Aviation Profits without Selling eVTOLs
Day 15 of 30: How $JOBY Joby Aviation actually makes money (which one should I do next?) Most people think it's an eVTOL company that flies passengers It's not. Not yet. Their first commercial eVTOL flight is in Dubai later this year So how does...
Turn Failure Into Data: Fix What You Control
Most people treat failure like a stop sign. Something went wrong - pull back, reassess, wait for conditions to improve. High agency people treat it differently. Not as a sign to stop. As data on what to fix next. Difference between founders who stall...
Embrace Ambiguity: Decide Fast, Pivot Easily
You have to embrace ambiguity in startups. Make clear decisions without enough data. You can reverse bad decisions easier than you think; an advantage to having few customers and no brand. This is the way of speed and learning.
Focus on One Strategy to Earn $180K Monthly
You will make WAY more money as a writer once you start doing this one thing (it's how I built a $180,000/month ghostwriting agency):
AI-Native Startups Will Outpace Legacy Firms Stuck in Bureaucracy
A horde of AI-native startups is coming. They'll build from scratch with AI workflows, while big companies struggle to adapt their human-to-human approval chains.
AI Funding Splits: Winners Raise Millions, Others Struggle
In AI, the fundraising market is extremely bifurcated now. There are founders who are raising tons of money for new AI ideas. And other people can't raise a dime because they're working on things that a lot of other ppl are...
Create Time and Momentum for Your Next Chapter
In this episode, @mitch.matthews breaks down a strategy most entrepreneurs overlook, how to create time and momentum for what’s next without blowing up what’s already working. Instead of relying on traditional time management tactics, Mitch shares a practical approach to redefining...
VCs Should Prioritize Growth over Early Cash Positivity
I was asked if startups must now get to cash flow positive after raising early stage VC. My take: No. VCs should not be interested in that. I want to invest in founders that consistently grow at least 15% MoM...
Only Those Who've Built It Understand; Others' Critiques Irrelevant
Most criticism comes from people who've never built what you're building. Doesn't make them bad people. Just makes their opinion irrelevant to your journey.
Use a Decision Tree to Confirm Fit, Then Act
Founders: The discovery close decision tree: Confirm fit: 'Seems like something here - am I right or off base?' If YES → Concrete next step: - POC with timeline - Stakeholder meeting scheduled - Technical deep-dive booked If NO → Part as friends: 'Sounds handled. Call me if...
New Product Creation Breaks Through Creative Stalls
The only thing that ever got me unstuck at that range was creating a totally new product.
Fix One Constraint, Unlock 80/20 Business Growth
i built a free claude skill on the framework mrbeast built his $5B empire on: the theory of constraints. from the same book he made his first 250 employees read. it's basically the 80/20 fundamentals of business growth: there's really one thing on...
From Tea Stall to $20B: Vietnam’s Underdog Tycoon
He grew up in post war Vietnam in a home supported by his mother’s small tea stall. Then he built a business in Ukraine and later sold it to Nestle. He is now the richest man in Vietnam with a...
Valuation without Purpose: Fundraising Posts Lack Company Description
Call me old fashioned, but I will never get used to seeing fundraise posts with a valuation but no mention of what the company does (exceptions begrudgingly made for household names).
Kalshi’s Legal Victory Paves Way for Predictive Markets
I sat down with the co-founder and CEO of Kalshi (@mansourtarek_), a prediction market reportedly worth over $20 billion. After years of struggle, Kalshi won a regulatory battle, culminating with their successful suit to overturn a CFTC decision, giving them the...
AI Broker Saudara Revolutionizes International Sourcing Speed
International sourcing is broken. @saudaraAI is fixing it. Saudara is an AI broker connecting US brands with vetted overseas factories. Real humans, AI-powered, 10x faster than traditional sourcing agents. https://t.co/Bt4ZNJh1pQ Congrats on the launch, @edwardharyono_ and @jenandtech_!
Founders Miss Critical Step; AI Fixes in 45 Minutes
90% of founders skip the only step that decides if their business lives or dies. Here's the AI prompts that do it in 45 minutes.
Unrealized Gains Tax Threatens Startup Exodus in Australia
Did everyone see how the proposed unrealized gains tax on "billionaires" actually led people to leave CA preemptively? The same will happen in AU with startup founders if these new massive CGT hikes apply to startup shares. It would...
Money Isn’t Worth It without Purpose, Says Billionaire Mentor
"$3,000,000 per year would be a waste of time." Hearing my mentor say this broke my brain: I was in LA at the time. And my mentor was: • Nearly a billionaire • Incredibly successful • Wanted to try something new He’d exited his company a few...
Prioritize Speed: Build, Earn, Respond Faster, Not Recklessly
7 more work mantras that have served me well: 1. Speed is king Your goal as an entrepreneur is to: • Build things faster • Collect cash faster • Answer questions faster • Respond to people faster This does not mean act recklessly. But it does mean questioning...
Selling My Guitars to Fund My Dream Business
I was on a 4 hour drive with 4 guitars in the back, and tears in my eyes: I'd handed in my notice, and cash was tight. But, I was determined to fund my family through what I knew would be a...
Ternus Could Reboot Developer Relations with Apple
Ternus has a unique chance to reset the relationship between developers and Apple: 1) Tear down the App Store tollbooth, 2) reintroduce Boot Camp for M macs so we can run Linux on them, and 3) fix the infuriating 500ms...
Only Acquisitions Break the Asset Ceiling, Not Coaching
$1M–$100M owners: the realisation that stings: the $100K coach was excellent the ads were managed well the organic strategy was sound and the ceiling is still there because no strategy removes a single asset ceiling only acquisition does
Ben Thompson Launches New Subscription Platform, Ankler Migrates
feel like the bigger news here is that Ben Thompson is building a subscription platform? super sick
Build New Markets to Maintain Your Edge
The only sure way to maintain edge in a market is to build the market yourself. Same when you grow out of a market.
Raise More VC Funding to Solve the Dilemma
Good point. One solution when faced with this dilemma: raise more VC dollars into these companies :-)
HustleFundVC Secures First San Francisco Office Space
Just picked up the keys to our first @HustleFundVC office in San Francisco. Coming online very soon... 💛 https://t.co/VnzVlGJqXS
Early AI Hype Sparked Rapid ROSSIntel Integration
we incorporated @ROSSIntel the same month this became obvious rushed before the paper dropped so we could hit the ground running i can still feel how electric 2015 felt in AI at the university of toronto. AI felt so inevitable. we all...