Fast Is Deadly, Smooth Wins

Founders, Stop Guessing and Start Operating Like a SEAL

December 03, 2025

In partnership with

Hey — It’s Charlie.

Welcome to the latest edition of Great Startups! Here’s what’s in store:

  • The SEAL Principle: Make Startups Less Messy and More Dangerous

  • Guide: What’s working in GTM right now

  • Solution: Do you have a demand problem?

  • Question: Why pitches fail (and a template that will fix yours).

  • Targeting Made Simple: A step-by-step guide to finding your perfect customer.

  • Hidden Startup Debt: The silent killer that’s slowing growth.

Get ready to dive into these power-packed insights for founders and growth enthusiasts!

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Resources

  • The Complete Guide to AI Prototyping Tools (LINK)

  • Non-obvious pricing advice for startups. (LINK)

  • Do you have a demand problem? (LINK)

  • Why pitches fail (and a template that will fix yours). (LINK)

  • Sam Blond on how to generate more demand. (LINK)

ICYMI

  • SoftBank just sold its entire stake in Nvidia. (LINK)

  • Netflix is getting into short videos with a new vertical feed for mobile. (LINK)

  • Cloudflare launches a marketplace that lets websites charge AI bots for scraping. (LINK)

  • The WordPress vs. WP Engine drama, explained. (LINK)

  • 1X will test humanoid robots in ‘a few hundred’ homes in 2025. (LINK)

  • Ray Dalio built a $14B empire by following core success principles that took him from humble beginnings to founding the world’s largest hedge fund.

  • Iman Gadzhi and Pierre de Preux launched a SaaS and hit 7-figure ARR in 9 months by moving fast, using Iman’s audience, and solving a real problem.

  • Lenny Rachitsky and Jen Abel on how to approach founder-led sales.

  • Carta shares 50 slides packed with insights for founders from 45,000 startups.

  • How One AI App Founder Makes $20K+ Monthly—and How You Can Too!

Recently Funded / Raised

  • Moniepoint raised $323M to expand its business banking, credit, and payments platform for enterprises across Africa and beyond.

  • Knownwell raised $50.6M to enhance its AI-powered commercial intelligence platform that helps businesses identify risks and growth opportunities.

  • Alto Neuroscience raised $301M to develop AI-driven precision medicines targeting mental health conditions.

  • CoMind raised $87M to advance noninvasive neural interfaces that connect the human brain with artificial intelligence.

  • Anrok raised $109.3M to streamline sales tax compliance for SaaS businesses through automation.

  • Findem raised $88.3M to grow its AI-powered Talent Data Cloud that automates and unifies enterprise hiring workflows.

  • Finster AI raised $16.8M to build an AI-driven research platform for asset managers and investment banks.

  • Africa Finance Corporation secured $6.78B in debt financing to fund large-scale infrastructure and industrial investments across Africa.

  • Niron Magnetics received a $171.6M grant to develop high-performance, rare-earth-free permanent magnets using Iron Nitride technology.

  • Cala Health raised $248.3M to advance its wearable bioelectronic therapies for neurological and chronic diseases.

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The SEAL Manual That Quietly Solves 90% of Founder Problems

McRaven’s “Wisdom of the Bullfrog” isn’t a startup book, but the lessons feel like they were written for founders. SEALs operate in chaos with bad information, tight timelines, and plans that fall apart instantly, which is basically the startup environment. The five principles focus on preparing for failure instead of hoping for the best, giving authority to the person actually doing the work, and accepting that unfair setbacks are just part of the journey. It’s really about shifting your mindset from stressing over problems to staying ready and moving forward.

The rest is all execution. Slow and steady beats rushing broken launches, finishing what you start matters more than starting a dozen things, and smooth processes keep your team from getting overwhelmed. Whether it’s writing down what might break, tracking how quickly you bounce back, or checking what actually deserves urgency, the point is to avoid chaos you can control. Pick one of these principles this week and apply it properly, and you’ll see your entire workflow feel lighter and more focused. (LINK)

Ok that’s it for this week, We keep refining our newsletter content, just hit reply to let us know what you think about this issue.