Playground 🛝’s Post

👨⚖️ Just finished judging Tech Nation's Rising Stars Competition! ✨ Being asked to judge felt a bit odd; the challenge was working out how to apply a relatively limited experience of start ups to evaluate 15 applications from start ups at different stages in different sectors. Judging from a (very) fresh perspective makes sense as long as you acknowledge your own significant lack of market context, technical knowledge and are conscious of the inevitable unknown unknowns. Perhaps predictably, whilst reading the pitches I kept drawing parallels between the applicants' start ups and Grid Finder. Listening to the pitches made me consider my own challenges and gave me some good ideas for our product and strategy. Good luck to all the applicants - it was a lot of fun being a part of the process! #TechNation #Startup

September is a month of welcoming sweater weather🧣, drinking pumpkin spiced lattes 🎃☕️, and attending startup conferences 🤓💻 Our next epic event we're going to is TechCrunch Disrupt! We've been making waves 🌊 within FinOps and can't wait to discuss it with you at Booth M25! Join us at the OG startup conference September 19-21 - where founders, tech innovators, and investors come together to talk about the next big thing. Link in the comments to schedule time with us. See you soon 👋 #techcrunchdisrupt #disrupt #techcrunch #startuptech

Just for a little Friday fun, here's a peek at what the ScaleU team has been up to lately! This week, we were officially accepted onto Andreessen Horowitz's TECH WEEK by a16z calendar and will be hosting Tech Week's ~only~ stoplight party at an awesome art gallery in the shadow of the Empire State Building 🗽 So, what's a stoplight party? 👀 🚦 Simply put, it's an "IRL" way to connect founders and potential employees in a fun, unique format. When you arrive to the venue, you'll self-categorize (founder, non-founder), and be given a color coded name tag: 🟢 Green Light: Open to Opportunities 🟡 Yellow Light: Open, but Exploring Options 🔴 Red Light: Not Looking, Here to Mingle We have been overwhelmed with the amount of folks who are already registered to attend and are getting close to capacity for the venue(!!) If you're a founder or candidate looking to join an early stage startup, RSVP now before we have to start the waitlist 🤩 Link to RSVP in the comments. #buildinginpublic #NYTechWeek #NYCtech #startuphiring #softwareengineering

After some years working exclusively in the Nordic and Baltic region, I have now the privilege to work for a place close to my heart: Italy 🇮🇹 Why leave the "hygge" of a well working ecosystem? Because I like challenges 🏋♂️ and I am passionate to highlight that Italy is not (only) sunshine and Aperol Spritz (those will stay for sure)! I saw the impact of initiatives like TechChill and other no-profit/ community driven tech conferences to their ecosystems, and so I believe TechChill Milano can deliver the same impact to Italy (and more!). Bridging regional ecosystems, strengthening a community of likeminded people that believes and builds the future, talking about problems and their solutions. What not to like? Will I see you there? 😉 Come and build together! 🚀 25-26 and 27th September! P.S. al mio network italiano: diamoci da fare! 💪 Ad Maiora 🔥 #italy #tech #innovation #ecosystem

🗣️ "Investors are talking about Twinbase behind our back" was one point in our quick internal summary of the Arctic15 startup conference. Which means that we are starting to find the right way to pitch our rather complicated deep tech solution. 🧑💻 Just wait until we have our visual platform ready for demoing, making it even easier to grasp the advantages of our approach. 💡 Overall, the event confirmed that we are doing the right things also from the investor perspective!

NY TECH WEEK by a16z is a blast. Shout out to other founders out there building amazing products and experiences for the world (technology is for the good). Shout out also to many good and genuine partner ventures looking at supporting startups with big ambitions. Never experienced that many quality events packed in a single week to bring the ecosystem together. Some learnings: 1. Build in the open and don’t shy away from criticism. Build-learn-repeat. 2. Keep traction and fundraising work in a steady flow. The right moment for investment comes naturally from there (well, hope that’s true!). 3. For early stage, it’s not all about strong ARR but also demonstrating the linked learning and increased value creation to design partners/early customers along the way. 4. Make something people love by delighting 1 customer at a time, scaling product 1 customer at a time. Echoing Brian Chesky about the early days of Airbnb: "better to have 100 people who love your product than a million who just sort of like it". #NYTechWeek #product #founder #learnings #innovation InnoVista

Why did these two startup founders leave big tech? Hear from David Yaffe (CEO of Estuary) and Sagiv Ofek (Founder and CEO of LibLab) as they share their stories. Full episode in the comments 👇

In this edition, I will be sharing insights on why you should build a tech startup as a techie. 

If you’ve googled “How to grow your startup” before, here’s a non-SEO’d answer for you. A Startup Booth at Slush 2024. … with 0 commitment. That’s right—you can apply now, and decide later. The applicant is non-binding with no pressure or financial commitment upfront. Having your own booth at the heart of the Slush venue is the most concrete way to get traction, leads, and general visibility for your early-stage startup and product. You’ll know if you’re accepted by the fall at the latest, giving you ample time to prepare. Apply now and keep your options open: https://lnkd.in/gd_svagF

🌟 Attended an exhilarating networking event last night at Inner Circle Vodka Bar - the Techstars Founder Reveal! 🚀 Build in Tulsa Techstars Accelerator Thrilled to witness 12 innovative tech startups showcasing their visions and igniting passion in the audience. These companies are not just the future; they're the NOW: 1. Equility 2. XCredit 3. Vyrtual | Techstars '23 4. Prep Intel | TechStars ‘23 5. NaviSavi Travel - TechStars '23 - Bookable Short Travel Videos 6. Torque360 7. Gamr (Techstars '23) 8. Katapulte 9. Go See The City 10. Carbonext 11. EDUrain Inc. (Techstars ‘23) 12. MobilityZ Health (Techstars 23’) Each of these visionaries gave us a snapshot of their disruptive tech solutions, and I'm already marking my calendar to see their progress in just 3 months! I was fortunate to connect with some of these pioneers. The passion, dedication, and drive behind their projects were truly inspiring. It's moments like these that remind me of the boundless potential in the tech sector and the brilliant minds pushing it forward. Keep an eye on these names – they're poised to revolutionize the industry. 🌐 #Techstars #Networking #Innovation #TechStartups