The Spotlight by Founders Capital - Edition 13

What We’re Reading

There Are No Easy A’s in Venture Capital These Days – Wall Street Journal

The WSJ looks at how tough the path to a Series A has become, with startups now taking over two years on average to get there and only a fraction of those funded since 2020 making it through. Economic headwinds, a stalled IPO market, and rising AI-driven expectations mean more companies are relying on bridge rounds or acquisitions instead of progressing, showing just how much harder it is to hit that first big VC milestone.

Gen Zers are getting the worst kind of investing FOMO – Business Insider

Business Insider dives into Gen Z’s frustration with being shut out of the private market boom, as companies like OpenAI and SpaceX stay private for over a decade. The piece looks at how young investors are trying to get in through secondary markets, ETFs, and tokenized shares, and points to regulatory shifts that could finally open the door for wider retail access.

Retail investors should stay away from private funds – Financial Times

This FT opinion piece questions the rush to let retail investors into private equity and credit funds, pointing out the pitfalls of illiquidity, high fees, poor transparency, and returns that trail the S&P 500. With regulators easing restrictions to allow these products into 401(k)s, it calls for caution and stronger investor protections over quick fixes to democratise access.

Must-Listen Podcasts

Lovable CEO Anton Osika on $120M in ARR in 7 months - 20VC

Monday’s episode with Lovable CEO Anton Osika breaks down how his startup rocketed from $0 to $120 million in ARR in just seven months - raising over $200 million from top firms like Accel, Creandum, and 20VC, and hitting a $2 billion valuation. He dives into what’s fueling that growth: AI wars vs. talent wars, founder chaos vs. structure, brutal truths about AI defensibility and unit economics, the hype around GPT‑5, and why their hyper‑intense culture pushes every limit.

Emerging Managers and the Future of Micro VC – Venture Capital Podcast (Jon Bradshaw & Peter Harris)

This newer, weekly show just dropped an episode featuring Matt Curtolo and Joseph Alalou discussing how emerging managers are reshaping the micro‑VC space. If you’re interested in what’s next in fundraising, fund formation, and niche investing models, this one delivers sharp, relevant insights from frontline practitioners.

Founders Capital Perspective

If you’re enjoying this newsletter and want to stay on the pulse, make sure to read our weekly private market trends newsletter - The Dealflow by Founders Capital. Last week we discussed Perplexity’s Chrome Gambit, and, as always, shared our insights and perspective.

Research & Resources

Introducing GPT-5 -  OpenAI

OpenAI’s flagship GPT‑5, released August 7, 2025, is presented as a smarter, more versatile model - especially for developers. It stands out in coding and agentic tasks, achieving state‑of‑the‑art results like 74.9% on the SWE‑bench Verified and 88% on Aider polyglot benchmarks. Users report it can generate beautifully styled UI and responsive front‑end code in a single prompt, steer complex workflows, and assist with nuanced, poetic writing tasks with greater coherence and depth. Add features like adjustable verbosity, minimal‑reasoning mode, and custom tools, and it’s clear OpenAI is aiming for both power and precision.

Not everyone is convinced it’s a game‑changer. Early feedback and media reports suggest GPT‑5 may be more evolutionary than revolutionary - solid improvements, yes, but not the quantum leap many expected. While it shines in coding, users and critics note familiar weaknesses lingering, hallucinations, tone issues, and an overly functional vibe. Some say the launch has tempered expectations for AGI, showing more incremental progress over breakthrough.

Last week we asked you: Which of these outcomes do you expect to define the private markets by year-end?

The most popular response was: “(A) Mega-rounds ($1B+) become the new normal in GenAI”

Beyond the Boardroom

The Optimistic Thought Experiment – Peter Thiel

Written before his Zero to One fame, Thiel explores the idea that progress is a matter of mindset as much as mechanics. He contrasts definite optimism (a clear vision of the future and a plan to build it) with indefinite optimism (believing the future will be better without knowing how). Thiel suggests that real leadership requires the former: choosing a bold, specific future and committing to it, rather than drifting in hope. It reads more like a philosophical meditation than a business memo, but the implications for how leaders frame vision and purpose are huge.

Authority isn’t about job titles, it’s about how you speak – Melody Wilding on CNBC Make It

Workplace coach Melody Wilding, who has advised leaders at Google and Amazon, argues that authority comes less from titles and more from language. By using confident, structured phrases like “Our options are A, B, and C. My recommendation is…” or “Here’s what I’m seeing…,” she shows how successful people frame their ideas to command attention and influence without overpowering the room.

Like what you see? Think we missed anything? Let us know and we will check it out ahead of the next edition.

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