Yes, ARR Is Dead 💀, A16z Targets $20B AI Fund💰, How to Ship Like a Startup 🏃‍♂️

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Apr 12, 2025

If you're building, investing, or just trying to stay ahead of the curve, you're in the right place. Every week, we break down the latest insights, funding news, and founder-friendly gems—no fluff, just what matters. Plus, we track the freshest VC funds deploying capital so you know where the money’s moving.

Let’s get into it 👇

In-Depth Insights 🔍

These 4 Y Combinator Tips Grew My Company with No VC Money 💡
A YC alum breaks down the frameworks that drove growth without a dollar of outside funding. No fluff - just startup muscle. [Chris Dunlop]
Heroes and Rituals Driving Innovation🧪
How startups and big companies use values, heroes, and rituals to fuel real innovation. [Steve Blank]
Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke: AI Is Now a Fundamental Expectation for Employees 🤖
AI isn’t optional anymore. Inside Shopify’s internal shift where every employee is expected to go AI-native. [Mark Sullivan]
Every Marketing Channel Sucks… Right Before It Works 💥
Andrew Chen explains why your marketing probably feels broken - and why that’s the moment before it breaks out. [Andrew Chen]
Do SaaS Founders Dream of System Integrators? 🔌
The secret backbone of B2B SaaS? System integrators. Ignore them and you’re leaving scale on the table. [Viet Le]
Occupational Downgrading in the AI Economy 🤖
As AI eats jobs, it’s not just about who gets replaced - it’s about who gets downgraded. The shift is already here. [State of the Future]
Yes, ARR Is Dead 💀
Traditional SaaS metrics are crumbling. Here's what smart operators are tracking instead of ARR. [OnlyCFO]
How to Ship Like a Startup (Even If You’re Not One) 🏃‍♂️
Lenny Rachitsky
breaks down how to bring velocity, clarity, and energy to any product org - startup or not.

Social Media Gems 💎

Tech Charts That Actually Matter 📊
The fastest way to get smarter about the tech economy - one scroll, all signal. [Sebastiaan Vaessen]
Founders, Steal This Investor Update Format 🧾
Clean, simple, effective. This is the investor update template you wish you had sooner. [Amanda Zhu]
BYD Is Quietly Dominating Tesla 🚗
While Tesla plays PR, BYD builds an empire. China’s EV king isn’t slowing down. [Billy Taha]
Bootstrapped vs VC-Backed: The SaaS Growth Showdown 📊
Berkshire Hathaway leads with a +9.2% gain, while tech stocks like Meta and Apple face heavy YTD losses. [Rubén Domínguez Ibar]
What VCs Really Think When They See Your Deck 👀
Pitch decks fail fast. Ivelina calls out the misses VCs spot before you even say hello. [Ivelina Dineva]

New Funds 💰

Simplifyber snags $12M to scale its AI platform, making financial services smarter and more accessible.
Sparrow Quantum raises €21.5M to supercharge the next wave of quantum computing innovation.
Bower secures funding to scale sustainable, eco-friendly products that help clean up our planet.
Remedy Scientific raises $11M to enhance its platform, giving doctors better tools for faster, more accurate diagnoses.
Solix raises $29.5M to expand its cloud-based solutions, helping businesses store and manage data more efficiently.
Base Power locks in $200M to drive its mission of scaling clean, sustainable energy solutions.
Tessell raises $60M to expand its AI-powered data analytics platform and help companies unlock powerful insights.
Eagle Freedom Fund closes $18M to back tech startups combating human trafficking with cutting-edge solutions.

That’s a wrap for this week.

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