Why tech founders are most at risk of standing still

PLUS: Joel Little meets Rowan Simpson, the show wrecking group chats, Rod Drury’s next big charge, Trade Me’s startup-style hire, brand vs performance, & Canva AI + #1 open-source start-up reports

Welcome to almost April!

Good to be back and getting my head back in the game. Today we kick things off with a great Q&A with Frances Valintine, Founder and CEO of academyEX, on why tech founders are most at risk of standing still. Also in today’s edition:

• 🎧 Joel Little & startup legend Rowan Simpson on ambition, creativity and staying Kiwi in a global world

• 🎥 The most important show you'll watch this year [and are probably already talking about]

• Rod Drury backs electric boat charging startup

• Why Trade Me is hiring a startup-style operator to fix hiring

• A don’t miss Webinar: Stop treating brand and performance like enemies

• Canva’s latest report: why AI is giving marketers their time back

• The open source startups to watch in 2025

Hope today gets your week off to a good start. If you want to do one small thing to support this community, help keep us going with a paid sub.

Lauren & the CAFFEINE team