Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:
Why We Spiral
Negative spirals or feedback loops like these aren’t inevitable. In fact, there are small things we can do both for ourselves and for others to nip them in the bud—and prevent catastrophic outcomes months and years into the future. Better yet, there are ways we can launch positive spirals—dramatically increasing our chances of future happiness, success, and flourishing. The very same processes can either propel us upward or pull us down.
Ben Horowitz: Why Hesitation is a CEO’s Worst Enemy | a16z Podcast
In this conversation from Lenny’s Podcast, Ben Horowitz joins Lenny to discuss the psychological muscle every founder needs, why hesitation can be fatal for CEOs, when it’s time to replace a founder, and how to normalize failure while building confidence. They also explore the Databricks founding story, investing in Adam Neumann after WeWork, whether AI is in a bubble, where the real opportunities lie, and Ben’s work with the Paid in Full Foundation supporting hip-hop pioneers. The result is a candid look at leadership, product management, and what it takes to build enduring companies.
We are entering a golden age of robotics startups — and not just because of AI | TechCrunch
Venture investing in the category is gaining momentum as well. Investors poured $6 billion into robotics startups in the first seven months of 2025 according to Crunchbase data. The data company predicts that this year’s funding totals will eclipse 2024, making it one of the only non-AI categories to experience a boost in funding.
Founders Live Portland » Calagator: Portland’s Tech Calendar
Founders Live is back! Join us for an incredible evening… Founders Live is an unforgettable competition sweeping the globe.
Here’s the tech powering ICE’s deportation crackdown | TechCrunch
ICE has taken center stage in Trump’s mass deportation campaign, raiding homes, workplaces, and public parks in search of undocumented immigrants. To aid its efforts, the ICE has at its disposal several technologies capable of identifying and surveilling individuals and communities.
Beyond Naive Retrieval Augmented Generation: A Playbook for Production-Ready Knowledge Systems
Simply throwing documents at an embedding model and praying a vector search finds gold isn’t a strategy; it’s a liability. Building RAG that doesn’t fall apart requires a rigorous, engineering-led approach across the entire pipeline. This is the playbook we’ve developed from the front lines.
Portland-area executives share how they use AI – Portland Business Journal
That was one memorable takeaway from the Business Journal’s recent AI: The Future is Now event, held Sept. 11 at Avenue Portland, an event space on Northeast Grand Avenue. Attendees settled in for 10-minute TED Talk-style presentations from six area executives, who shared the ways their companies have embraced AI.
Founders at Seattle startup WhyLabs join Apple following under-the-radar acquisition – GeekWire
Apple has officially absorbed the founding team of WhyLabs, the Seattle startup it acquired in a secretive deal.
PERS Returns — Oregon Journalism Project
It may surprise Oregon workers, particularly the 415,000 who rely on OPERF for current or future retirement benefits, that although the state tells them down to the penny what the returns are for stocks and bonds in their PERS holdings, they have no right to the same information about their private equity investments. Instead, the treasury reports the annual rate of return on all private equity as a whole.
Inside Replit’s Breakout Growth: Lessons from $2.8M to $150M ARR | by Aaron Cort | Craft Ventures | Sep, 2025 | Medium
I saw the same opportunity at Replit. The Agent was not just a feature, but a new entry point where developers could move from curiosity to habit. To capture that moment, we gave it its own GTM muscle: lifecycle journeys tied to product states, onboarding flows that reinforced early wins, and campaigns designed to accelerate the moment when users realized the product had become indispensable.
San Francisco had an all-female AI ‘Hacker House’ — is Seattle ready for its own? – GeekWire
Seattle-area startups with at least one female founder raised $540 million collectively in 2023, according to PitchBook. That rose to $730 million in 2024 — and has already topped $1.2 billion this year.
