Founder Weekly (Issue 690 June 18 2025)

Welcome to issue 690 of Founder Weekly. Let's get straight to the links this week.

StartEngine’s $30M Surge — Own a Piece Before June 26

StartEngine is the investing platform providing exposure to pre-IPO companies like OpenAI, Perplexity, and Databricks.

After doubling their revenues YoY in 2024 ($23M to $48M), StartEngine’s now tripled first quarter revenue YoY to a record $30M, based on its unaudited Q1 2025 financials. Now you can join 45K+ shareholders across all offerings before this round closes next month.

Invest in StartEngine

_{Reg A+ via StartEngine Crowdfunding, Inc. No BD/intermediary involved. Investment is speculative, illiquid & high risk. See OC and Risks on page.}

General

Is All Micromanagement Bad? Here's How the Best Startup Leaders Balance Details and Delegation

Founders and execs from Apple, Rippling, Carta and more share their strategies for altitude shifting as a manager.

A receipt printer cured my procrastination

How I can focus on my to-do list by understanding the science of video games.

Marketing, Sales and PR

How Chris Degnan Built Snowflake's Sales Org From Scratch

Chris Degnan, Snowflake’s first sales hire and longtime CRO, shares how he built the company’s sales organization from scratch—growing it from zero to over $3B in ARR, navigating four CEOs, and overcoming major challenges along the way. In this podcast, he details his sales playbook, hiring strategies, lessons from top leaders, and the importance of adaptability and resilience for startup founders and sales leaders.

Welcome to Zero-Click Search. Please Leave Your Traffic at the Door.

Zero-click search means lower traffic is the new reality. Here's what you need to know and 6 things you can do about it.

Money and Finance

How to Skip Your Seed, Pre-Seed Lessons Building Afore to $500M+ AUM

Anamitra Banerji, co-founder of Afore Capital, discusses the evolution of pre-seed investing, emphasizing how Afore backs founders before they have a product and helps some skip the traditional seed round to go straight to Series A. The conversation covers how to evaluate early-stage founders, the importance of unstructured data and founder obsession, and broader trends in venture capital such as the rise of accelerators and the impact of AI on early-stage investing.

The Art of Mentorship in Seed Investing

Early-stage leverage isn’t found on cap tables. It’s built in the relationship.

The Coming Wave of Acquihires

A surge in seed-stage software and AI startups since 2021 has led to an oversupply, drastically reducing the rate at which these companies progress to Series A funding. As a result, a wave of acquihires—acquisitions primarily for talent, often under $20 million—is expected as larger companies seek to strengthen their teams with AI expertise and update their products.