In each issue, I spotlight startups currently raising that are actually worth your attention, break down what featured angels and investors are really looking for, and share events that are worth leaving your laptop.

Oh, and because no good dealflow comes without a side of drama, expect a sprinkle of spicy tech tea to warm up.

Every now and then I share a couple of random-but-perfect opportunities that might click for someone in this crew. Let the serendipity do its thing.

One Line Pitch: Fashion-first marketplace that delivers apparel from local boutiques in under 60 minutes, with virtual fitting rooms and AI stylists to slash return rates and turn your phone into “a mall in your pocket.”

Raising: Pre-seed SAFE – $2M for ~15% equity (implied pre-money ≈ $11.33M) to launch LA, expand to NYC within 6 months, and prep a 25-city U.S. rollout. Capital goes to retailer integration, driver network onboarding, LA launch ops, marketing, and NYC expansion.

Team: Titanium Delo – CEO/Founder (former Director of E-Commerce at Against All Odds); Philip Cuyugan Miller – COO/Co-founder (USC Dean’s List, Intelligence & Cyber Operations); Shamir Gibbons – CTO (ex-JPMorgan full-stack dev; founder of B-Street, acquired by Shophr).

Why yes: 150+ secured LA retail partners, 100k+ consumers on the waitlist, and a high-margin hybrid model (take rate + subs + retail media + data). Clear roadmap to $1B+ GMV as they scale from LA → NYC → 25+ cities.

Why pause: Heavy, execution-intense city-by-city rollout (logistics + drivers + retailers), and key tech moats (virtual fitting rooms, full AI stylist) are still on the product roadmap, not yet proven in market.

Link / Contact:¹ Pitch Deck or schedule direct call with founder

2wai, the startup focusing on AI-avatar development, enrages internet by suggesting to bring back your dead grandma. Co-founded by Calum Worthy, an ex-Disney star, company showed in its promo video the use case of a child reconnecting with a relative who passed away. The angle sparked the backlash, mostly because the app sources data from a (only) few minutes video of a person, lacks consent clarity and potentially “prevents people from processing grief.”

Amazon has reinvented the cab in San Francisco and launched Zoox. Free for now, the minivan-style robotaxi doesn’t have steering wheels, mirrors or pedals. A so-called Part 555 exemption will allow it to someday operate thousands of them in a commercial fleet, cofounder and CTO Jesse Levinson per Forbes. The Waymo rival is already available for use in Las Vegas, SF and heading to DC, Austin and Miami.

Female Invest in collaboration with Revolut, Saxo Bank UK, InvestEngine and Yonder has created an art installation of 50 chairs in London, marking the 50 years since women in the UK could finally open a bank account without a man’s permission.

Male drivers file a dual class action lawsuit against Uber for gender discrimination, after company rolls out “female driver” feature. Despite more than 2,000 cases of sexual misconduct in Uber and over 4,000 cases reported in Lyft, they have a shot at winning; the famous precedents include cases against Hooters and Southwest.

Open AI revokes FoloToy’s access to its models, following the controversy of the AI-powered Teddy bear who would discuss sexual topics with its (young) users. FoloToy has opted to suspend sales of its products while it conducts "a company-wide, end-to-end safety audit across all products."

Yann Lecun, Chief AI Scientist at Meta, is leaving Zuck by the end of the year and announces his plans about his own startup. “The goal of the startup is to bring about the next big revolution in AI: systems that understand the physical world, have persistent memory, can reason, and can plan complex action sequences.”

The long reign of Nike techs and 12oz coffee is facing a cultural eclipse. Quarter zips and matcha are now taking over finance bro vibe of Patagonia vests. Gen Z is embrasing corporate attire even in skatepark and tbh I don’t think it”s a bad thing.

^{*Interested? Hit reply and I’ll connect you.}

How he helps:
Helps founders get market sizing and fund-scale thinking right, building proper TAM/SAM/SOM and models that match fund-returner outcomes. He’s very focused on capital-efficient growth, payback periods, and what you’ve achieved vs. money raised. He brings pattern recognition across Europe & MENA via VentureFriends’ portfolio and CEE network, opening doors and bringing co-investors. He’s also hands-on with strategy and metrics, supporting pricing, unit economics, and realistic growth plans grounded in competition and market structure.

Red flags: Tiny or misaligned markets with no credible path to fund-scale outcomes, or founders aiming for a “lifestyle business.” Copy-paste, top-down TAM from Google. Lack of a clear view on fighting competition, market share, or go-to-market. Poor capital efficiency: high burn, weak traction, and no clear route to reasonable payback periods.

Fast-pass: Founders show sharp, bottom-up TAM/SAM/SOM tied to pricing, margins, and competitive dynamics; strong traction, clear runway and payback thinking. Keen on companies in marketplaces, fintech, SaaS, consumer internet, media/content, or proptech.

Notes: Active in the CEE ecosystem as a judge, mentor and speaker at regional summits and challenges.

Bill Ackman got dragged down on the internet for offering lame dating advice with good grammar. Thankfully, no-one ever used that yesterday at the SVRN party.