SF Tech week was a ride. Frequently on top of a rental scooter. It was all about connecting individually, and meeting so many of you in your element was the perfect way to connect. But we're not done yet, we still have a packed week ahead in Los Angeles next week, so let's go! #SFTechWeek #Startups #Founders #Innovation #Community #Networking #TechEcosystem

"@CakeEquity now ingests data from spreadsheets and complicated data structures into its platform in a format that reduces customer onboarding from four days to 10 seconds [using] ML through Vertex AI to classify documents, match them to predefined definitions, and automatically populate data structures." cloud.google.com/customers/c… ht @googlecloud @aviatocons

WhatsApp founder Jan Koum on how to deal with competition “We always had competition - like from day one. There was actually a point in time where there was a new messaging app popping up every month. And every month there was an article on TechCrunch about how this awesome new messaging app is going to take down all other messaging apps.” But the early WhatsApp team basically just ignored it: “We didn’t say anything because we didn’t want to draw attention to ourselves. We actually - on purpose - tried to stay under the radar. But it was just kind of funny to see this dog and pony show that happened with all these apps. There was PingMe. There was MessageMe. There was GroupMe. There was Kick… There were 10 different messaging apps at some point which kept getting all this publicity.” Jan and team said: “Good for you. Have all the publicity you want. We will just stay under the radar and not have any attention drawn to us.” Jan continues: “We always had competition - be it big guys like iMessage or Facebook Messenger or little guys like Kick… Even today we have apps like Telegram… But we always said that our destiny is really in our hands. We can’t worry too much about competition. We have to worry about our product and our users. And if we spend a lot of time thinking about competition or looking at competition, we’re going to fail.” Video source: @StanfordOnline (2017)

🌏 From Australia to Silicon Valley, Cake is revolutionizing startup equity management! @Alex chats with Kim Hansen on how Cake Equity automates the once-tedious cap table process: • 80% of companies onboard in minutes (vs. 4 days with traditional methods). • Proprietary contract engine integrates equity transactions seamlessly. •AI-driven insights guide founders step-by-step, impressing investors and employees alike. • Built for global startups: flexible design supports equity rules from the US, Australia, Singapore, and beyond. With just 27 team members, Cake leverages AI and LLMs to scale smartly, proving big impact doesn’t need big teams.

Hopefully adding a bit of colour and motivation to your day...