How to Scale Sustainability Startups: Triangle Tech Night

When I was starting my construction tech company and being incubated in Oxford Brookes University ICEQube, I sat side by side with amazing founders building incredible things. One of whom was an undergrad student building a hydrogen-fuelled F1 car! Later on, I worked with startups reviewing 1K+ decks, to help them become investor ready, and been an angel investor. Point is: there’s no shortage of inspired people who want to be founders and solve real world challenges. However, for those who say they'd do anything to be a founder, would you: 🚪 Face 100+ "no's" from investors before hearing one "maybe"? 🏗️ Embrace the 0-to-1 grind of building everything from scratch? 💰 Bootstrap for 18+ months without external funding? ⏰ Commit every waking hour to your product (yes, weekends included)? 🎯 Attract A-players to join your "risky" venture? 🎤 Pitch your vision 100+ times over to team members, users, and investors? 💪 Push through the valley of despair? The question isn't whether you want to be a founder. It's whether you're ready to become one. The journey is brutal. But for those solving problems they genuinely care about, it's also the most rewarding path they could take. What problem do you care enough about to endure this for?

How Georgia Tech is stepping up its startup game: A chat with the Chief Commercialization Officer: https://lnkd.in/eerDSFDe Tech Square ATL

Q: Do startups still need Silicon Valley to succeed? A: Not anymore. The idea that you must be in the Valley to raise money or build credibility is quickly losing ground. Q: So if location doesn’t matter, what does? A: Execution. Investors and users don’t care where you’re based - they care how fast you deliver and how well your product works. Q: What does that look like in practice? A: Three things stand out: Product Stability → reliable, scalable products that don’t break under pressure. Release Velocity → shipping fast and iterating even faster. Strong Teams → cohesive, motivated teams, even when spread across different time zones. Q: What’s the real takeaway for founders? A: Success today isn’t about a ZIP code - it’s about speed, stability, and the partners you trust to get you there. 👉 Next month at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, this debate will take center stage. But from what we see at ASD Team, the answer is already clear. 💬 What about you - do you think geography still gives startups an edge, or is execution the only real differentiator left?

I didn’t realize that entering tech startups with Mia Pokriefka would feel like the Hunger Games. You assume innovation is at the core of startup culture, but we were dumbfounded by how much of it was just replication of others' decks, branding, team structures, and GTM strategy. For us, inspiration came from the outside world. From what made us feel something. And that’s what helped us cut through the noise with products that were first to market. This clip from our conversation with Malena Higuera reminded me of that. She said, “It just becomes noise… but it can be something more meaningful and sustainable something the next generation will relate to.” Thanks, Malena, for speaking our language. 

Behind the scenes of young tech founders: A look inside their fridges shows the reality of startup living. Out of six founders interviewed, just one consistently cooks. The others rely heavily on delivery and takeout—highlighting the time trade-offs and priorities of building a company in your 20s. 🚀 https://lnkd.in/exTQ4iVq

Field Guide to Toronto Tech Bros I’ve been meaning to write this blog for a long time. This year, I went to Toronto Tech Week — and honestly, I had a fantastic experience. I met incredible people, had deep conversations, and built some great connections. But… you can’t go to a big tech event without running into at least a few Tech Bros. I don’t mean that as an insult. Some of them were probably just having an off day, and I’m sure they’re perfectly nice in other contexts. But some of these encounters were so surreal, I can’t not share them. So here’s my field guide to the Tech Bros of Toronto — five types I personally met this year. I get it: you need a certain personality to be a startup founder. You have to be confident, maybe even a little bit egotistical. At one event, I met a group of founders — the COO, CEO, and CTO of a startup. Their business model sounded a little convoluted, so naturally I asked a few follow-up questions. Before I could get far, the CEO stopped me and asked: “Are you an investor? Are you in https://lnkd.in/gfVDZZ_E

Startups are often portrayed as glamourous—think billion-dollar exits and all-night coding sessions. But behind the headlines, real startup life is messy, uncertain, and full of lessons. Last month, I joined a project that promised disruption. A few weeks in, the challenge wasn’t building cool tech—it was handling setbacks. Every failed feature taught us more about user needs than any survey ever could. We pivoted, listened more, and focused on solving ONE urgent problem. That’s when momentum started. The truth? Most unicorns are built through relentless adaptation and learning from mistakes.

Tech is taking off in the UK 🚀 14 pilot projects across the UK funded through the Regional Tech Booster programme will support tech founders, grow local ecosystems, and boost job creation. From AI innovation in Wales to gaming startups in Scotland, these projects will: ✅ Boost local tech growth ✅ Support underrepresented founders ✅ Connect communities with investors Read more: https://orlo.uk/9fh7k

I’m really delighted to announce that Tech East has been awarded funding through Government’s £1 million Regional Tech Booster programme to support tech businesses and founders, and grow local tech ecosystems. Our ACT Catalyst project is one of 14 pilots funded by Department for Science, Innovation and Technology as part of the Regional Tech Booster programme managed by UK Tech Cluster Group. Our project is (to give it its full name) ACT Catalyst: Boosting Advanced Connectivity Technologies in the East of England. It will run until March 2026 and will target startups, scaleups, and non-tech SMEs through events, cross-sector panels, and tailored support including funding access, talent pathways, and sector engagement. It aims to raise awareness of ACT (encompassing 5G, 6G, AI integration, quantum communications and more) while bridging gaps in visibility, investment, and cross-sector collaboration. We are excited to be working with BT Group to deliver all of this from Suffolk's iconic Adastral Park. We'll be announcing more details soon. Congratulations to all the other successful projects! Lisa Perkins Matt Capp Luke Saunders James Allen Julian Munson Lisa Roberts Paul Putland Together we’ll be can BOOST tech across the UK 🚀🚀🚀

Exciting to see the Regional Tech Booster programme launched!🚀 We’re proud to be delivering the Brighton and Sussex combined initiative in partnership with Plus X Innovation Brighton, helping ventures scale with mentoring, workshops & prototyping, and tailored interventions to boost AI adoption, quantum awareness, and scale-up readiness. The Brighton & Sussex Innovation Partnership for Scale Up Growth is a great opportunity to strengthen the region’s innovation ecosystem and unlock growth across a range of sectors - keep your eyes peeled for more info! Read more here!👇 #RegionalTechBooster #Innovation #Brighton #Sussex