EverythingStartups Weekly

Welcome to all the new visionaries here who signed up last week! And hello from Europe this week.

Let’s get into this week’s edition on what’s happening in startup & VC world & the main highlights.

But first, check out these resources:

• 120+ Active Pre-Seed - Series A investors

• 48 pre-seed accelerators

• Latest VC funds announced

• 350+ SaaS investors

• LPs investing in VC funds

• Understanding founder vs VC investment memos

Partnership & collaboration opportunities. 

Cheers,
Ivelina

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Important News 🟣

• Ramp raises $200M in a new round led by Founders Fund, boosting its valuation to $16B as it expands AI-powered tools for corporate finance.

• Wix acquires solo-founded AI startup Base44 for $80M to boost its no-code capabilities, allowing anyone to build full apps with a simple prompt.

• As venture jobs dry up, more junior VCs are pivoting to startups, family offices, or launching their own funds.

• Police shut down Cluely’s viral after-party in San Francisco after thousands showed up uninvited, blocking traffic outside the YC event.

• Daniel Ek leads a €600M round in Helsing, valuing the AI defense startup at €12B as Europe races to build strategic military autonomy.

• The SEC suggests it may ease restrictions on closed-end funds, opening the door for retail investors to gain greater access to venture capital.

• TechCrunch reports a strong start to 2025 for U.S. AI funding, with $100M+ rounds closed in Q1 compared to the same period last year.

Interesting Links 🟣

• Decoding VC Speak: A guide to startup fundraising. This article unpacks the real meaning behind phrases like “we’re founder-friendly” and “keep us updated,” and delivers key insights for any founder entering the pitch arena.

• Two LPs map out a risk framework for backing emerging VCs. From operational drag and vintage timing to win-rate and decade risk, it’s a masterclass in what it really takes to underwrite early-stage fund managers and why venture is equal parts conviction, craft, and chaos.

• Naval Ravikant’s no-formula checklist for starting a company. Team up with a cofounder who’s smarter; pick a massive market you’re passionate about; ship an MVP, iterate to product/market fit, and raise from people you trust to scale.

• Friendship is an underrated business strategy, says Reid Hoffman. In a world where AI scales everything but trust, the real advantage lies in human networks. His take: founders should treat friendship like a core skill by ritualizing, talking about it, and building resilience through it.

• Why did Brex produce 24+ founders and Mercury only 3? Culture, says this ex-employee of both. Brex trained for speed and ownership; Mercury for collaboration and consensus. The result? Builders vs. advocates.

🎙️ What Makes a Startup Investable?

So we all know the pitch deck and founder’s charisma are important, but what about the actual metrics?

I put together a chart explaining the 10 essential KPIs investors look at when evaluating a startup.

Here it is:

 
New VC Fund Highlight: Seven Stars Shines with $40M 🟣

Seven Stars, a fresh pre-seed and seed-stage VC firm, just blasted off with a $40M debut fund, and AI founders, this one’s for you.

Founded in 2025 by Steven Lee in San Fran, the fund’s got heart, named after Lee’s parents’ gritty, immigrant-run Seven Star Fashion biz in LA.

The fund’s laser-focused on AI-powered consumer and enterprise apps, hunting for startups that’ll shake up markets with game-changing software. Closed in just five weeks, this oversubscribed $40M fund is ready to roll.

Brownie points for:

🍪 Founder-first vibes: Lee, ex-SV Angel, brings 900+ deals and $1.25B in raised capital to the table, offering hands-on coaching, fast calls, and empathy for the grind.

🍪 AI network swagger: With ties to Google, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI execs, Seven Stars hooks you up with elite talent and advisors to supercharge your startup.

🍪 Speedy bets: They move quick, backing teams before the hype hits, with co-investments alongside top VCs and angels.

🍪 Personal cred: Lee’s immigrant roots and Gold House nod (alongside Nvidia and OpenAI bigshots) means dedication to diverse, driven founders.

But… Can Seven Stars live up to the hype?

New kid jitters: As a 2025 newbie, their portfolio’s still cooking. Can they deliver unicorns without a public track record?

AI crowd crush: The AI space is packed, will their bets stand out in a sea of me-too startups?

PS: You can track all the latest new VC fund raises here.

Top Pre-Seed to Series A Funding Rounds This Week 🟣

• Athena, a San Francisco–based startup that helps marketing teams improve brand visibility in AI-powered search tools, raised a $2.2 million seed round. Y Combinator, FCVC, Red Bike Capital, Amino Capital, and SEO participated in the round.

• Superscale AI, a Berlin startup offering marketing teams an AI-powered chat interface to quickly generate campaign materials, raised a $5 million pre-seed round from Creandum, Interface, and s16vc.

• Quilt Health, a Boston startup using AI to help doctors enroll patients in clinical trials more efficiently, raised a $6 million seed round. MaC Venture Capital, Underscore Ventures, Meridian Street Capital, BoxGroup, Watershed VC, and Coalition Operators were part of the investors.

• BlueRedGold, a Stockholm startup using robots, AI, and hydroponics to grow and process saffron indoors, raised a $3.1 million round. Investors included PINC, The Food Tech Lab, and PolarVentures.

• Slide, a Connecticut-based startup providing a cloud-first backup and disaster recovery platform, raised a $25 million Series A round. The deal was led by Base10 Partners, with Outsiders Fund and Top Down Ventures also joining.