Altman vs. Musk🔥, The 30-Second Pitch Deck Test⏱️, OpenAI’s Early Pitch Deck🤯

Jan 24, 2026

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In-Depth Insights 🔍

What a Cap Table Really Tells You
Ownership percentages are just the surface of equity strategy. Cap tables reveal dilution, preferences, and discipline, showing investors whether founders remain meaningfully incentivized. [Chris Tottman]

SpaceX’s Playbook for Ambitious Startups 🛰️
SpaceX built investor conviction by focusing on the metric that truly matters and showing how progress compounds over time. Find their early stage deck here.
The 8 Cap Table Commandments Every Founder Must Know 📝
Early equity decisions determine ownership, dilution, and incentives long before investors ask. Follow these rules and use the free Excel template to maintain control of your company’s future.
OpenAI’s Early Pitch Deck, Demystified 🤯
Before ChatGPT, OpenAI faced the challenge of explaining a complex idea simply and convincingly. This breakdown shows what each slide achieved and lessons founders can directly apply.
Ditch Slides, Build Decks That Feel Alive (Lovable is the new PPT) 🎨
Lovable turns static presentations into interactive, full-screen web decks that feel like products. Smooth motion, responsive layouts, and one-click sharing make every deck more engaging.
Why Solo Founders Are Taking Over 👤
One in three startups is now founded solo for the first time in 50 years. AI tools, creative control, and avoiding co-founder conflict are enabling individuals to launch category-defining companies. [Solo Founders]
Why Every Exec Should Be Vibecoding ⚡
Leaders stay hands-on by building real projects themselves, from hackathons to alignment apps. Vibecoding lets executives drive impact quickly while maintaining strategic oversight. [Elena Verna]
The 30-Second Pitch Deck Test Every Founder Needs ⏱️
See your deck the way investors do, spot weak signals, and fix silent no’s before meetings. Walk in with confidence knowing what resonates and what could derail your raise. [Chris Tottman]
From $0 to $ 2M MRR Playbook 🚀
Tyler Denk shares how beehiiv reached $2M MRR using 10 simple early-stage tactics. Three years of proven growth strategies are condensed into actionable insights for founders hitting their first $100K. [Tyler Denk]

Fundraising?

If you’re raising a round, Luis Llorens and The Founders Corner can help. We gather startup fundraising data and share it with our audience of 300k+ investors and startup operators. Fill out this form and we’ll will do our best to connect you with the right investors! 🚀

Social Media Gems 💎

From Shark Tank to a $1.95B Exit 🦈
Poppi traded early dilution for survival and momentum when options were limited and risk was high. Years later, that early decision resulted in a landmark $1.95B acquisition by Pepsi. [Documenting Saylor]
Building Slide Decks as Systems with Lovable 🧠
The key is treating presentations like interactive products instead of static slides. This approach delivers faster iteration, clearer structure, and modern design without wasted effort.
A 14 Year Sprint Through Elite Tech Roles 🚀
From banking to OpenAI leadership, compounding roles and judgment can accelerate career growth faster than linear progression. Focus, timing, and leverage are the real multipliers for impact.
Sam Altman’s Real Wealth Lesson 💡
Salaries limit upside while ownership compounds through startups, IP, and scalable assets. The fastest path to wealth is building products people want and letting value grow while you sleep.
The Great SaaS Meltdown Has Begun 📉
AI is disrupting the old growth-first SaaS model and exposing weak unit economics. Investors are rewarding resilience, efficiency, and AI-native workflows over future promises. [Charles-Henry Monchau]
Why 99 Percent of Pitch Decks Miss VC Backing ✨
Winning decks focus on clarity, timing, and narrative instead of flashy ideas alone. Every slide must reinforce purpose, problem, and edge so investors see themselves in the outcome. [Jimmy]
When the Right Investor Matters More Than the Money 🤝
Howard Schultz faced a buyout that would have removed him entirely from Starbucks. One trusted advisor protected alignment, showing that the right partner matters more than capital. [Chris Tottman]

New Funds 💰

DTCP launched a €500M fund backing defense and security tech in Europe.
Blueprint Equity closed $333M Fund III to scale profitable software and tech-enabled services companies.
Healthier Capital closed its debut $220M Fund I focused on health, wellness, and prevention.
VI Partners held a first close of CHF 150M for its latest Swiss and European tech fund.
Flashpoint reached first close on its second direct secondaries vehicle.
Social Leverage raised $85M for its fifth seed-stage fund.
Ananda Impact Ventures held a €73M first close for its fifth impact-focused core fund.
Epidarex Capital secured a £50M commitment from the British Business Bank for life sciences investing.
Demium (Mission) rebranded as Mission and launched a new early-stage venture fund.
Vanagon Ventures closed its €20M debut fund for early-stage European startups.
PureTerra Ventures launched its second fund focused on global water technology solutions.

That’s a wrap for this week.

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Melanie Goodman

Jan 25

This is a strong snapshot of where founder attention probably should be right now, especially the mix of governance drama, practical fundraising mechanics, and operator-level craft. The Altman–Musk clash matters less for the headlines and more for what it signals about control, incentives, and who actually sets the rules as AI scales. One useful data point to underline that: PitchBook shows that in 2024, over 40 percent of all global AI venture funding went to companies with fewer than 50 employees, which makes clarity and leverage even more critical early on. I also like how the pitch deck and cap table pieces ground the bigger AI narratives in day-to-day founder decisions. If a first-time founder only had time to act on one idea from this edition this week, which would you want them to prioritise and why?

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