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Ben’s List for Entrepreneurs W52 – Selected

Curiously enough, I now realize that there is a red thread among this week list of articles – with a few exceptions of course. It is all about understanding people.

How do venture capitalists build networks and platforms to get access to the best talent? With people.

How do you build better products? Listening to your users (people).

How do we avoid algorithm bias when coding intelligent machines? Keeping people in mind.

Doing a newsletter? Ask your readers.

What about podcast growth? Well, the human voice is so… human.

And how do you become a better person? Listening to yourself, better.

You see, it’s all about the people. Tech is still a people business.

We’re also checking some key trends in social media, venture investment and climate change (TL;DR: it’s bad).

So let’s dive in those 12 articles, 1 book and a special message for 2020.

Book

PYTHAGORAS’ TROUSERS | Kirkus Reviews

“The role of women in mathematics and physics through the ages, starting with the Pythagoreans. … the stories of the females who tackled physics, astronomy, and mathematics (and the men who encouraged them)”.

PYTHAGORAS’ TROUSERS | Kirkus Reviews
Are physicists a priesthood excluding women on age-old grounds that women can’t be “ordained″? So argues Wertheim, Australian- educated physicist/mathematician cum science writer. Taking the long view, she traces the role of women in mathematics and physics through the ages, starting with the Pyth…
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Venture Capital

7 Rejections

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again. Perhaps even more relevant today.

7 Rejections
On June 26, 2008, our friend Michael Seibel introduced us to 7 prominent investors in Silicon Valley. We were attempting to raise $150,000 at a $1.5M valuation. That means for $150,000 you could have…
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Paths into Venture Capital: Decoding the VC Platform role

A Platform role (or roles) vary by title but responsibilities typically fall into these six buckets:

  • Talent
  • Business Development
  • Content, Marketing & Communications
  • Community & Network
  • Operations
  • Events

Paths into Venture Capital: Decoding the VC Platform role
In this series, “Get a job in VC,” we’ll cover how to break into the venture capital industry, including the right way to approach the search, paths into investing and Platform roles, resources for…
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Building A Network In VC: Random Acts Of Kindness

One of the most important assets a venture capitalist can have is their network. A strong network can be the source of deal flow and intel about live rounds, a value-add to your portfolio companies, knowledge about market dynamics, and much more. As much as data science and technology is permeating the industry, nothing trumps the power of a strong network.

#15: Building a network in VC: random acts of kindness
Random acts of kindness go a long way.
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  • Link: socraticvc.com/posts/15-building-a-network-in-vc-random-acts-of-kindness
  • Author: Aksha Bajwa

The Capital Behind Venture: 2020 (Report)

Nice, consolidated report covering the European VC ecosystem. Post-Christmas day reading!

The Capital Behind Venture
The Capital Behind Venture Report provides insights from Limited Partners and family offices who are interested in investing in Europe’s most promising venture funds.
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Sustainability

The Environmental Impact of 2020: Nature is not healing

The Mona Loa Observatory reported a seasonal peak of 417.1 parts per million in May 2020, compared to 408 ppm in 2019. It is the highest monthly reading ever recorded, in millions of years.”

FUCK.

The Environmental Impact of 2020: Nature is not healing – Plan A Academy
This report investigates the environmental impact of 2020 during the covid19 pandemic. Nature is not healing. What is an environmental impact?

Politics

The coming war on the hidden algorithms that trap people in poverty

[Our Clients are] enmeshed in so many different algorithms that are barring them from basic services. And the clients may not be aware of that, because a lot of these systems are invisible.

The coming war on the hidden algorithms that trap people in poverty
A growing group of lawyers are uncovering, navigating, and fighting the automated systems that deny the poor housing, jobs, and basic services.
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Newsletter

Curiosity and consistency: thoughts on growing a newsletter

In the early days, all that matters is to build the habit and to be consistent so you can find your voice and define your value. Making mistakes is one of the best ways to grow. Try to only look up information on a “need-to-learn” basis.

Curiosity and consistency: thoughts on growing a newsletter

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Management

Read This Before Joining as Employee 1 to 20 at a Startup

When I say it’s a trial by fire for first employees, it’s also in a way you may not consider. The first person they fire will have an outsized impact on that team’s future.

Read This Before Joining as Employee 1 to 20 at a Startup
Stacy La made the leap from design at Yammer and Microsoft to Clover Health, when the bootstrapped startup was only four people. Now, the company’s raised over $425M, 500+ employees strong, and La leads an eight-person design team. Read on for her tactics on how to survive — and thrive — as an early…
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Product

The Founder’s Guide to Actually Understanding Users

  1. Generative user research
  2. eVALUEative user testing
  3. Usability testing
  4. Continuous discovery

The Founder’s Guide to Actually Understanding Users
When building any technology product, one of the most common pieces of advice is “talk to your users.” But the default way most of us talk to customers and prospects is unscientific and fraught with…
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Social Media

The Next Phase of Social? Listen Closely

Because when Andreessen Horowitz calls it, it’s usually worth a listen.

We anticipate that the audio innovation of the next decade will rival what we’ve seen in video apps over the past few years.

The Next Phase of Social? Listen Closely

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Pinterest Predicts 2021 (report)

THIS! All of this! Trust me.

Pinterest predicts 150+ emerging trends for the year ahead.
From athflow fashion to Japandi aesthetic, these top trends for 2021 are sourced straight from Pinterest’s future-facing data.
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Psychology

How To Think For Yourself

Paul Graham. Need I say more?

How to Think for Yourself

Fuck 2020

Oh behalf of the entire world, Canadian social impact agency Public Inc. absolutely nails it. I mean, when even the known-for-their-politeness Canadians are producing a message like this, well … yeah. Fuck 2020.

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Events 4 days ago

AI is reshaping how people discover information. Search traffic, once the lifeblood of websites, is plummeting as AI tools provide answers and context immediately, eliminating the need to browse to websites for answers at all.  Understandably, companies are responding by going down avenues they can control: newsletters, podcasts, memberships and events. This reality is true for startups as well. You simply can’t rely on Google traffic or algorithms to build trust anymore. You need direct channels, and there are few ways to build trust more powerful than  meeting people face-to-face. Welcome to the ‘post-click’ era Startups have long played by the ever-changing rules set by Google and social media platforms, which are more often than not prone to changing their algorithms and leaving everyone scrambling to adapt overnight.  AI is not only accelerating this instability, it’s almost making Google referral traffic obsolete. Companies need to adapt to this new reality with strategies that let them talk directly to their prospective customers. The media industry, one of the most vulnerable to the changes, is proving to be one of the quickest to adapt. Morning Brew, for example, blends its newsletters franchises with events. In a recent interview, Sam Jacobs, TIME’s editor-in-chief, highlighted how the company went from organizing two to three events per year, to holding the same number of events monthly. Even digital-first players are embracing events. Podcasts like Acquired and All-In now host live events to bring their listeners together. Finimize has built grassroots meetups around its newsletter. The new defense tech media title, Resilience Media, born on Substack, is planning events to connect experts in its niche. Alex Konrad’s new Upstarts ecosystem includes live interviews, an upcoming podcast and curated events. These aren’t just extensions of the content; they’re ways to nurture communities. Startups should copy this strategy. They must consider where their credibility and relationships will be built in this new landscape, especially as visibility is no longer about simply appearing on top of search results or burning money with ads; it’s about building lasting trust in the spaces that matter. Events are singularly effective at doing that. Lessons from after the pandemic If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s that being present online is insufficient. Platforms like Hopin promised a future of global, scalable, online events. Even experiments in VR conferences were the subject of occasional hype.  All of that fell short, however. What founders, investors and marketers learned was simple: There is no substitute for shaking someone’s hand, catching their eye, and sharing time in the same space. When the pandemic ended, events came back with a bang. Companies large and small continue to invest in gatherings. Events still carry symbolic weight: just look at Apple’s meticulously choreographed product launches, or how scaleups like Helsing showcase new technologies.  For startups, events can also serve as tools for strengthening internal communications and bonds with their employees and their community. Here’s a great example: Italian travel scaleup WeRoad holds an annual, two-day global gathering of its travel coordinators and staff that strengthens culture and commitment in ways a Zoom call never could. Why startups need to show up Startups live and die on the strength of their relationships. Securing investors, signing first customers, and finding the right partners are all processes that depend completely on trust. These early relationships are crucial. In an AI-driven world where digital discovery is fragmented, saturated and noisy, events cut through the noise. They offer something AI and algorithms never will: human presence. Startups should think of events as essential investments in visibility and credibility. Whether it’s speaking on stage, hosting a breakfast or simply showing up to the right conference — being in the room matters. It’s OK to be selective. It’s OK to pass on events when priorities point elsewhere. And don’t take this to mean the digital realm and AI should be ignored. But in this era where we’re putting AI on a pedestal, founders should not underestimate the power of a physical meeting for establishing contact with investors, talent, or any other important stakeholder.

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New Materials 5 days ago

After a successful first edition, JEC Investor Day 2026 is now returning for its second year with expanded ambitions.

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Events 1 week ago

TechCrunch Disrupt? Overrated. Web Summit? A $4,700 mistake I’ll never make again. I’ve burned $18K learning which startup events actually matter for B2B SaaS founders trying to close deals—not just collect business cards. Here’s what nobody tells you: the biggest events aren’t where B2B deals happen. Why “Best Startup Event” Lists Are Useless for B2B Founders Every January, tech blogs publish the same recycled garbage: “50 Must-Attend Startup Events!” They rank by size and buzz. What they don’t rank by: where your buyers actually show up with budgets. I learned this after exhibiting at a 70,000-person mega-conference. Spent $4,700 on booth space, flights, and hotel. Had exactly zero conversations with our target market. The attendees? Mostly consumer startups and the press are looking for the next Uber. According to Cvent, 81% of trade show attendees have buying authority—but only at industry-specific events. Generic “startup” conferences are networking theater. If you’re serious about finding the right startup event strategy, you need to think differently. The 5 Best Startup Events Where I’ve Actually Closed B2B Deals SaaStr Annual – Where SaaS Deals Actually Happen 13,000 SaaS professionals in San Mateo every March. APIDays – The Technical Depth You Need If you’re building APIs, this is your room. 2,000-3,000 API architects who can actually read your docs. Paris is the flagship, but they run 10+ cities globally. What makes APIDays different: it’s deeply technical. No marketing fluff. €3,000 gets you in, and European buyers are way less saturated than US markets. Big Data & AI Paris – Enterprise Buyers With Actual Budgets 15,000 enterprise CTOs and data engineers. I closed two partnerships here worth €400K combined—with French banks and telecom companies that had active Q4 budgets. The French government subsidizes AI adoption, so budgets are real. But your networking tactics need to adapt. Less aggressive, more relationship-focused. €800 for a pass and 3,200€ to exhibit as a startup, totally worth it if you’re targeting European enterprises. Track it on Sesamers so you don’t miss early bird pricing. MicroConf – Where Bootstrapped Founders Share Real Numbers 200-300 attendees max. Everyone’s profitable or trying to be. Zero VC hypergrowth bullshit. I’ve learned more in hallway conversations here than at conferences 50x the size. The attendees are other founders who share actual numbers—not vanity metrics. Churn rates, CAC, payback periods. This is how you measure real ROI from events. Worth every cent if you’re bootstrapped. Industry-Specific Trade Shows – The Secret Weapon Here’s the move nobody talks about: skip tech conferences entirely. Go where your buyers congregate. Healthcare SaaS? Hit HIMSS. Fintech? Money20/20. HR tech? HR Tech Conference. I watched a founder close a $400K deal at a healthcare event while competitors were posting selfies at Web Summit. These cost $3,000 avg, but attendee quality is 100x better. According to Statista, B2B trade shows hit $15.78B in 2024. This strategy works because you’re fishing where the fish actually are. The 3-Filter System I Use to Pick Events Filter 1: Who’s actually attending? Can you name 20 people who match your ICP? If not, wrong event. Use Sesamers to check historical attendee data before buying tickets. Filter 2: What’s your actual goal? Raising money? Go to investor-heavy events. Closing customers? Industry trade shows. Different goals need different event selection criteria. Filter 3: What’s the all-in cost? Ticket + flights + hotel + meals. If it’s over $3K, you need $30K in pipeline to break even. Most events don’t hit that unless you’re strategic. Events I Skip (And Why You Should Too) Web Summit: 70,000 people is networking hell. Consumer-focused despite the B2B claims. Pass unless you need Series A+ PR. CES: Consumer electronics show. Your B2B SaaS buyers aren’t here. I see founders at CES every year wondering why they’re not closing deals. Now you know. TechCrunch Disrupt: Great for press and VCs. Terrible for enterprise buyers. Worth it for launch PR, not pipeline. How I Track Everything Without Losing My Mind I track every event in a spreadsheet: cost, conversations, pipeline generated, deals closed. After three years of data, the pattern is crystal clear. Niche beats broad. Quality beats quantity—industry-specific crushes general tech. The best startup events for B2B SaaS are never on TechCrunch’s homepage. For API companies: APIDays and API World are superior to generic conferences. For AI/ML: Big Data & AI Paris provides European enterprise access that’s nearly impossible to achieve otherwise. Geography matters—European buyers at European events are way less saturated than US markets. Stop Wasting Money on the Wrong Events You have limited time and budget. Most founders can hit 3-5 events per year max. Choose wrong and you’ve burned $15K and 15 days for zero ROI. Choose right and one event generates $500K+ in pipeline. Use Sesamers to find events filtered by your industry and target attendees. See which ones similar founders recommend. Track ROI data. Set reminders for early bird pricing. Never waste another $4K on an event where your buyers don’t show up. Because the smartest way to pick events is learning from founders who’ve already tested them—and can tell you which ones actually matter. Ready to find your next high-ROI event? Start tracking on Sesamers and build your calendar based on data, not FOMO.

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