Founder Weekly (Issue 677 March 19 2025)

Welcome to issue 677 & of Founder Weekly. Let's get straight to the links this week.

Is this startup the next billion dollar buyout?

Imagine investing in Ring before its $1.2B buyout by Amazon

Or Nest, before Google's $3.2B acquisition.

By the time we hear about industry-changing companies, it’s usually too late. But right now, there’s a smart home startup making their way to homes in America. This tech startup is RYSE, and unlike Ring, you can still invest before their $1.90 round closes May 30.

Like how Ring disrupted home security, this company is revolutionizing smart blinds & shades.

With $10M+ in revenue, 200% YoY growth, and sold in 127 Best Buy stores, they are primed for massive expansion and forecast 5X in revenue this year.

Earn up to 25% in free shares.

_{Past performance is not indicative of future results. Email may contain forward-looking statements. See US Offering for details. Informational purposes only.}

General

Dylan Field: Exploring the idea maze, vibe coding, and the power of “locking in”

Dylan Field discusses how AI is changing the design landscape, emphasizing its role as a tool that enhances human creativity rather than replacing designers. He also shares the story of Figma's early days, including a meme generator detour, and how they identified the growing importance of design in software development.

An Opinionated Guide on Which AI Model to Use in 2025

A practical guide to choosing between ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and Perplexity.

Practical UX for startups surviving without a designer

How to figure out what the user experience should be when you don’t have time, budget, or a design team.

Marketing, Sales and PR

Alloy’s Unconventional Path to $1.5B

Tommy Nicholas discusses building Alloy, an identity and fraud prevention platform for financial services, emphasizing the complexities of risk management in fintech and the need for a foundational system. He shares insights on the challenges of scaling a company, embracing hard problems, and the importance of hands-on sales in achieving product-market fit.

The definitive framework to find your next scalable user acquisition channel

Proven frameworks from leading growth teams at Pinterest, Meta and Descript.

Surviving the Chasm

A B2B Founder's Guide to GTM from idea to PMF.

Money and Finance

The 10-Point Checklist For When You Sell Your Company With Founder Collective

David Frankel shares his 10-point checklist for selling a startup, emphasizing the importance of understanding buyer motivations and fully committing to the distracting sales process. He stresses that many of his past exits were mistakes, highlighting the potential value of continued growth and the difficulty of accurately timing the market.

Riding Hype Cycles

How they start, why they work, and how to use them to fundraise.

VC-Backed Companies Taking Advantage of Slow M&A Market

Highly capitalized companies are becoming significant buyers.

If you’ve made it this far, you’ll love The Midnight Text. It tackles the unspoken questions that keep founders up, offering real-world insights and behind-the-scenes VC perspectives—all with clarity and actionability.