everything you need to read this week by @stephthefounder (June 30)

The goal is to be the best weekly newsletter to be the most succinct + fun way to learn about all the best things you need to know across tech, startups, VC, etc, sent out every Monday. (and at the minimum, it will include the links I post about every week on instagram!). Feedback (and a better/more creative newsletter name than the boring one I have now) always welcome!

Hola!

Something I’ve been thinking about a lot: the new startup marketing playbook of investing in really high production quality launch videos (and now full blown tv productions??) and whether it’ll work:

• first there was the slew of fancy Twitter launch videos

• then there was Cluely

• then there’s now… a full blown TV show??? (this is sick - and if I were a college student I would drop everything to be on it - “no cap” hahaha)

If you’re similarly interested in this topic, I also read/listened to:

• a16z’s interview with Roy from Cluely - (I’ll be honest I still have about 30% to listen to) - where he talks about the “rationale” behind their viral marketing and addresses critiques about whether their continued virality will turn into a real business (no specific numbers were shared, but a16z’s partners mention a big reason for their investment was seeing that was indeed true along with high retention 🤷 )

• this interesting post - basically about how people ride the hype wave despite not having a good product (using cluely and icon as examples, alongside others)

Do I think this will work? I’m not sure if it’ll result in a real business, but I do think this will be an effective fundraising strategy for a long time. VCs love hype, and they love feeling like they’re being “contrarian.” You can see more of my view on this here.

💰 Companies that will make you a millionaire

This week’s companies:

1. Halter: New Zealand-based Halter secured $100 million in Series D funding at a $1 billion valuation to expand its smart cow collar technology in the U.S. The collars use virtual fencing to help cattle ranchers, a timely solution as U.S. ranches face labor shortages from increased immigration enforcement.

   • Job openings can be found here

2. Openrouter: a startup that simplifies how developers access and manage AI models, has raised $40 million in funding, valuing the company at around $500 million. Founded in 2023 by Alex Atallah and Louis Vichy, the platform acts as a marketplace and traffic router for large language models, helping businesses easily connect to the best AI tools. With over a million developers using it and spending on the platform soaring from $10 million to $100 million in under a year, this new funding will fuel product growth and expand support for enterprise clients.

   • Job openings can be found here