Founder Weekly (Issue 683 April 30 2025)

Welcome to issue 683 of Founder Weekly. Let's get straight to the links this week.

Private Markets Aren’t Just for the 1% Anymore.

Institutions invest billions into private markets because they may provide superior market positions and steady cash flow, even in a shaky market–now you can too.

For the first time ever, elite private assets are available to all investors for as little as $500 with Hamilton Lane Private Infrastructure Fund.

Learn How You Can Invest Today.

_{*Source: Hamilton Lane data, Bloomberg as of January 2024. Past performance is not a guarantee of future returns.
All securities come with specific risks not limited to a total loss of your investment. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Please review the risks specific to this investment on the HLPIF deal page hosted on Republic.com/hlpif}

General

The Network Effects of Where You Build

Your startup is a node in a powerful network. Discover how choosing the right city can amplify your momentum, attract talent, and accelerate success.

Robot Dexterity Still Seems Hard

The article explains that while humanoid robots have made impressive advances in locomotion and basic object handling, true robotic dexterity-flexible, precise manipulation of diverse objects in varied environments-remains extremely challenging. This difficulty stems from both hardware limitations (robotic hands lack human-like strength and tactile sensitivity) and nascent software for real-time adaptive control, making complex manipulation tasks far harder than locomotion or repetitive industrial automation.

How I Got Exploited At My First Startup

Jacob Bartlett's blog post, "The Side Hustle from Hell," recounts his challenging experience with a startup named Fixr, a car repair marketplace. Despite developing functional apps, the venture suffered from internal conflicts, unrealistic expectations, and a lack of market traction, ultimately leading to its failure.

Cybersecurity Perspectives 2025

AI-driven attacks now top threats, while cybersecurity effectiveness improved to 61% with double-digit budget growth prioritizing cloud/data security. CISOs focus on application security, data privacy, and AI-powered SOC automation to address staffing shortages and evolving attack vectors.

Marketing, Sales and PR

From Weekend Project to Fortune 10 Adoption — Reducto's Path to Product-Market Fit

Adit Abraham, co-founder and CEO of Reducto, shares how he closed millions in ARR and a Fortune 10 customer with no sales hires.

Europe's fastest growing startup?

Lovable’s path to $30M ARR in 4 months.

10 things I learned from 10 years at Figma

A love letter to scaling from 10 to 1400 people and 0 to millions of users over a decade as Figma’s first marketing and business hire.

A definitive guide to marketing attribution

Growth marketing leader Tim Dalrymple (Webflow, Notion, Roadway) breaks down how to stop wasting your marketing budget.

Money and Finance

The Rise of Production Capital

Emerging "Production Capitalists" blend venture and credit expertise to finance hard-asset companies (energy, manufacturing) through asset-backed debt, bridging early innovation and institutional capital for the $68T infrastructure boom. This model addresses capital stack fragmentation, enabling scalable project finance and efficient deployment in the National Capitalism era.

Praise Our Lord For Secondary Markets, Because Selling Shares Is Now an Essential Part of (Seed) Venture Capital

Seed-stage VCs increasingly rely on secondary markets to sell shares pre-exit, driven by prolonged IPO timelines (10-12+ years) and LP demands for earlier liquidity. This "buy and maybe sell" approach balances capital recycling for new investments while maintaining founder alignment through structured, company-friendly transactions.