Startup Jazz

Episode 29 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, founder insights, covering 5 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. From Credit Cards To An AI Concierge: How Amex Ventures Backs Startups Building Autonomous Commerce (Crunchbase News) 2. 5 Tax Strategies Smart Founders Use to Protect Their Profits (Entreprenuer) 3. AI Is Rewriting What Investors Should Look For In Early Startup Teams (Crunchbase News) 4. European AI Funding Is Growing. Will That Boost The Region’s Startup Scene? (Crunchbase News) 5. Exclusive: Fazeshift Scores $17M As Investors Bet On AI-Powered Finance Ops, Starting With Accounts Receivable (Crunchbase News) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

Episode 28 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, founder insights, covering 8 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. She Raised $2.5 Million From Friends and Family — And Saw Zero Sales. Then She Leaned Into a ‘Hunch.’ Now Her Company Sells $300 Million a Year. (Entreprenuer) 2. A Better Way To Fail: How This Platform Aims To Turn Startup Shutdowns Into Something Salvageable (Crunchbase News) 3. Ecommerce Founders Who Ignore This Type of AI Will Lose Their Best Customers — Here’s Why (Entreprenuer) 4. Boyu, Matrix, Shunwei Lead (36KR) 5. Most Founders Think Debt Is Risky and Equity Is Safe. Here’s Why That Belief Is Costing Them. (Entreprenuer) 6. Exclusive: Schematic Raises $6.5M To Help Companies Update Their Pricing Faster And Easier In The AI Era (Crunchbase News) 7. Sector Snapshot: Autonomous Vehicle Funding More Than Triples In 2026 To Hit Record Amount (Crunchbase News) 8. Cybersecurity Funding Holds Up At Robust Levels (Crunchbase News) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

Episode 27 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, valuations, covering 8 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. Why the Quietest Person in the Room Might Build the Best Startup (Entreprenuer) 2. Is Your Body Language Sabotaging You? This Nonverbal Communication Expert’s Method Has Helped Her Clients Generate $2 Billion in Sales. (Entreprenuer) 3. Fintech Startups Globally Raise More Money In Far Fewer Deals In Q1 2026 (Crunchbase News) 4. I Sold My Startup A Year After Founding It. Here’s Why That Was The Fastest Way To Build Real-World Healthcare AI (Crunchbase News) 5. China Leads Asia’s Startup Funding To Its Highest Level In More Than 3 Years (Crunchbase News) 6. Exclusive: Repeat Founders Raise $20M For Spektr, A Fintech Compliance Startup, In NEA-Led Series A (Crunchbase News) 7. Exclusive: GetWhys Raises $5.2M To Help Companies Like Intel And Verizon Better Understand Their Customers (Crunchbase News) 8. The CEO of a $19.9 Billion Startup Says Businesses Are In Danger of Being Replaced By Vibe Coding — But This One App Is ‘Quite Safe’ (Entreprenuer) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

Episode 26 of Startup Jazz. The AI hype cycle roars on — Q1 2026 saw a record-smashing $252.6B flow into private markets (triple the prior quarter, with a single OpenAI round accounting for $110B). But George and Michelle spend most of today's set on the "unsexy" industries being quietly reharmonized: Candela's $32M for hydrofoil electric ferries in Stockholm, Voltify's $30M seed to decarbonize $11B of diesel freight rail, Frontlands' AI-powered credit card for an underbanked Texas market, Juno's $12M to drag high-end accounting into the AI era, Miravoice's $6.3M to reinvent phone surveys with voice AI, Anvil Robotics' $5.5M bet on affordable kid-sized dextrous robots, plus Kojo founder Maria Davidson's outsider path from zero construction experience to scaling construction procurement. Plus: why the exit market is a "garden hose" against a funding tidal wave, and what the paradigm shift to private markets means for founders. Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

Episode 25 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, valuations, covering 10 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. Guideline's Path to Product-Market Fit — The Early Decisions That Powered Its Acquisition by Gusto (1st Round) 2. This Workout Was Created for Male Prisoners During World War I. Now It’s Everywhere — and Worth $120 Billion. (Entreprenuer) 3. Exclusive: YC Doubles Down On Trayd, A Construction Tech Startup That Just Raised $10M In 3 Weeks (Crunchbase News) 4. StoReel Secures $ (36KR) 5. The 4-Conversation Playbook I Use to Retain Top Talent During AI Disruption (Entreprenuer) 6. Why You Haven’t Raised Startup Funding (Yet) (Crunchbase News) 7. The Tax Credit Opportunities Startups Often Forget (And Why It Keeps Happening) (Crunchbase News) 8. Exclusive: Stripe Alum Raises $9M For Meadow To Help People Plan Funerals Online (Crunchbase News) 9. The Most Active Startup Acquirers Of The Past 3 Years Aren’t Always Who You’d Expect (Crunchbase News) 10. Kleiner Perkins Raises $3.5B For AI-Focused Funds (Crunchbase News) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

Episode 24 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, founder insights, covering 9 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. While OpenAI Shattered Records, Robotics and Semiconductor Startups Quietly Added The Most New Unicorns In February (Crunchbase News) 2. 5 Interesting Startup Deals You May Have Missed: Blood-Drawing Robots, Inboxes For AI Agents, Franchised Defense Manufacturing, And More (Crunchbase News) 3. The Rising Investors Behind The New Unicorn Class (Crunchbase News) 4. Q1 Global Startup Funding Posts Strongest Quarter Since Q2 2022 With A Third Going To Massive OpenAI Deal (Crunchbase News) 5. Khosla’s Ethan Choi On AI, Founder-First Investing And The Fate Of Entry-Level Jobs (Crunchbase News) 6. Are Coupons Making a Comeback? How Discounts Are Quietly Shaping Revenue Wins and Losses (Entreprenuer) 7. Exclusive: Stripe Alum Raises $9M For Meadow To Help People Plan Funerals Online (Crunchbase News) 8. The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: AI, Robotics And E-Commerce Top The Ranks (Crunchbase News) 9. Is Tim Cook Really Stepping Down? The Apple CEO Finally Addresses Retirement Rumors (Entreprenuer) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

Episode 23 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, valuations, covering 10 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. His $5,000-a-Day Side Hustle Started With Just 10 Hours of Work Per Week And an AI Tool Anyone Can Use. Now It’s on Track for $3 Million This Year. (Entreprenuer) 2. While OpenAI Shattered Records, Robotics and Semiconductor Startups Quietly Added The Most New Unicorns In February (Crunchbase News) 3. 5 Interesting Startup Deals You May Have Missed: Blood-Drawing Robots, Inboxes For AI Agents, Franchised Defense Manufacturing, And More (Crunchbase News) 4. Khosla’s Ethan Choi On AI, Founder-First Investing And The Fate Of Entry-Level Jobs (Crunchbase News) 5. The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: AI, Robotics And E-Commerce Top The Ranks (Crunchbase News) 6. Exclusive: Rebar Lands $14M To Help HVAC Suppliers Generate Quotes Faster With AI (Crunchbase News) 7. The Series B Pipeline Looks Refreshingly Diversified (Crunchbase News) 8. Turing Winner LeCun’s New ‘World Model’ AI Lab Raises $1B In Europe’s Largest Seed Round Ever (Crunchbase News) 9. From Hype To Outcomes: How VCs Recalibrate Around Agentic AI (Crunchbase News) 10. Swedish Legal Tech Startup Legora Triples Valuation To $5.55B With $550M Series D Led By Accel (Crunchbase News) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

Episode 22 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, valuations, covering 9 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. An Insurance Salesman Went Down a Wellness Rabbit Hole, and Started a Side Hustle In His Kitchen. Now It’s On Track for $3M. (Entreprenuer) 2. Exoskeleton-as-Organ Company (36KR) 3. This is the Biggest Mistake Founders Make When Entering a ‘Hot’ Market (Entreprenuer) 4. They Started a Newsletter in College and 5 Years Later Sold It for $75 Million. Here’s How Alex Lieberman Builds Big Things. (Entreprenuer) 5. Exclusive: Founded By 2 Brothers In Their 20s, YC-Backed Denki Raises $4.1M To Automate Financial Audits (Crunchbase News) 6. Massive AI Deals Drive $189B Startup Funding Record In February While Public Software Stocks Reel (Crunchbase News) 7. Eight Sleep Raises $50M At $1.5B Valuation To Expand Into ‘Predictive, AI-Driven Health’ (Crunchbase News) 8. Fintech Plaid Completes Tender Offer At $8B Valuation (Crunchbase News) 9. OpenAI’s New $110B Raise At A $840B Valuation Marks The Largest Venture Deal Ever (Crunchbase News) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

Episode 21 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into AI innovation, valuations, investment trends, covering 7 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. 5 Interesting Startup Deals You May Have Missed: Plant-Based Clothing Dyes, A Shoebox-Picking Robot, And Power Generated On The Moon (Crunchbase News) 2. AI Is Disrupting the College-to-Career Pipeline. Here’s Where Young Workers Are Placing Their Bets Now. (Entreprenuer) 3. This Fitness Trainer Built a $191 Million Activewear Brand by Solving a Problem Every Woman at the Gym Faces (Entreprenuer) 4. How This GV Investor Looks For The Next Stripe And Other ‘Compounding’ Startups In Fintech And AI (Crunchbase News) 5. IPOs Are Holding Up In 2026, But SaaS Debuts Aren’t Happening (Crunchbase News) 6. Fintech Plaid Completes Tender Offer At $8B Valuation (Crunchbase News) 7. Fintech Giant Stripe’s Valuation Soars to $159B In Latest Secondary Stock Sale (Crunchbase News) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

Episode 20 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, valuations, covering 6 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. Q1 Global Startup Funding Posts Strongest Quarter Since Q2 2022 With A Third Going To Massive OpenAI Deal (Crunchbase News) 2. Crunchbase Data: The AI Boom Has Drastically Changed Who’s Funding The Hottest Companies In 2025 Vs. 2021 (Crunchbase News) 3. The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: Anthropic Leads In A Big Week For Giant Rounds (Crunchbase News) 4. Biotech Startup M&A Is Reliably Delivering Some Big Exits (Crunchbase News) 5. Digital Savings Startup Vestwell Lands $385M, Doubles Valuation (Crunchbase News) 6. Next-Gen Nuclear Funding Looks Livelier Than Ever Following Inertia’s $450M Raise (Crunchbase News) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

Episode 19 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, valuations, covering 6 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. Xinghai Tu Completes 1 Billion Yuan Series B, Becomes Fourth Embodied Intelligence Startup Valued at 10 Billion Yuan | AI Emergence Exclusive (36KR) 2. In The Era Of Unicorn Valuation Escalation, A Trillion Dollars Isn’t What It Used To Be (Crunchbase News) 3. This Founder Is Taking a Bite Out of the $50 Billion GLP-1 Market By Going Natural (Entreprenuer) 4. Exclusive: Winn Raises $18M Series A For AI-Powered Real-Time Sales Assistant (Crunchbase News) 5. High-Spending Investors Give 2026 An Active Start (Crunchbase News) 6. Gen AI Video Startup Runway Raises $315M Led By General Atlantic At $5.3B Valuation (Crunchbase News) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

Episode 18 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, founder insights, covering 10 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. Q&A: Why Deep Tech Investors Are Turning To The Secondary Market For Liquidity (Crunchbase News) 2. As AI Disrupts the Workforce, These Small Businesses Are Still Safe to Start in 2026 (Entreprenuer) 3. 6 Trends In Tech And Startups We’re Watching In 2026, From An IPO Boom To More Huge AI Deals (Crunchbase News) 4. Xunlin Technology Completes Nearly 100 Million Yuan Series A, Launches Dark Factory for Full Glass Substrate-to-Packaging Production Line (36KR) 5. How This Founder Turned 'Dry January' Into a Year-Round Movement — And Built America's #1 Non-Alcoholic Beer Brand (Entreprenuer) 6. Former Big Tech Chip Executive Founds AI Startup Spacemit, Secures Top-Tier VC Funding After Shipping 150,000 Units (WeChat Startup News) 7. Global VC Investment Surged In January, With U.S. Dominating Funding But A Pair Of AI Model IPOs In China (Crunchbase News) 8. Soaring Veradermics IPO Shows Investor Interest In Hair-Loss Companies Isn’t Thinning (Crunchbase News) 9. Y Combinator Was By Far The Most-Active Fintech Investor in 2025, Data Shows (Crunchbase News) 10. Google Is A $4T Company That’s Still In The Startup Game (Crunchbase News) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

Episode 17 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, valuations, covering 7 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. The Passive Income Illusion That Derails Businesses — and the Reality Most Founders Ignore (Entreprenuer) 2. When AI Truly Starts Thinking, Everyone Can Have a 'Chief Investment Assistant' (WeChat Startup News) 3. From Overseas OEM to Vietnam Factories: Petty's 33-Year Globalization Journey (36KR) 4. Q1 Global Startup Funding Posts Strongest Quarter Since Q2 2022 With A Third Going To Massive OpenAI Deal (Crunchbase News) 5. Inside The $2 Billion Company Betting on Sound to Transform Live Sports (Entreprenuer) 6. Make These 5 Strategic Moves to Set Your Business Up for Success in 2026 and Beyond (Entreprenuer) 7. Why Smart Marketers Treat This Investment the Way CEOs Treat Buildings (Entreprenuer) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

Episode 16 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, valuations, covering 7 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. Domestic Semiconductor Advanced Materials Company Raises Over 100 Million, Achieves Mass Adoption by Leading Clients (WeChat Startup News) 2. Your Culture Is Your Capital. Here's How to Turn Soft Values Into Hard Startup Metrics (Entreprenuer) 3. Why Most People Miss Out On Billion-Dollar Opportunities (Entreprenuer) 4. What Startups Need to Learn from Fortune 500 Playbooks (and What They Shouldn't) (Entreprenuer) 5. Crystal Nucleus Energy Raises Tens of Millions in Funding to Tackle Solid-State Battery "Solid-Solid Interface" Challenge | 36Kr Exclusive (36KR) 6. China Mobile Chain Leader Fund Strategically Invests in Atomic Quantum Computing System Developer, Completing New Round of Financing (WeChat Startup News) 7. Humans& Raises Huge $480M Seed Round At $4.48B Valuation For ‘Human-Centric AI Lab’ (Crunchbase News) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

Episode 15 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, valuations, covering 14 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. Canva’s Path to Product-Market Fit: How a Two-Hour Founder Date Led To a $42B Design Platform (1st Round) 2. LatAm Startup Funding Rebounds In 2025 As Mexico Sees Surge In Investment And VCs Remain Bullish On Region (Crunchbase News) 3. Why Investors Are Looking Beyond Silicon Valley for Fintech Opportunities (Entreprenuer) 4. Why Staying Neutral Could Cost Your Company Millions — and How to Avoid It (Entreprenuer) 5. Why Startups Stall After Product-Market Fit — And How to Fix It (Entreprenuer) 6. I Built a 60-Million-User Company by Obsessing Over My Team — Here's Why It Worked. (Entreprenuer) 7. After She Had to Shut Down Her Restaurant, She Sold 50,000 Pizzas in 6 Weeks — Then Signed a $20 Million Deal With Target (Entreprenuer) 8. The Startup Economy: Nothing Seems To Move, But Everything Does (Crunchbase News) 9. Exclusive: Flip Raises $20M Series A For Its Verticalized Approach To AI-Based Customer Service (Crunchbase News) 10. The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: xAI Leads As 2026 Is Off To A Brisk Start (Crunchbase News) 11. Large American VCs Topped 2025 Active Investor Ranks, Including A16Z, Accel And Sequoia (Crunchbase News) 12. Stablecoin Startup Rain Raises $250M Series C at $1.95B Valuation – Its Third Round In Less Than A Year (Crunchbase News) 13. US Aerospace Startup JetZero Raises Nearly $175 Million (36KR) 14. Defense Tech Unicorn Onebrief Raises $200M, Acquires Seed Startup As VC Funding For Military-Related Tech Surges (Crunchbase News) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

Episode 14 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, valuations, covering 11 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. Crunchbase Predicts: Why The Race For Talent And Tech Could Accelerate Startup M&A In 2026 (Crunchbase News) 2. What We Learned This Year From 6 Active AI Investors Backing Startups Across The Stack (Crunchbase News) 3. Crunchbase Predicts: Why Top VCs Expect More Venture Dollars, Bigger Rounds And Fewer Winners In 2026 (Crunchbase News) 4. 5 Interesting Startup Deals You May Have Missed In December: A Hospital-Grade Wireless Heart Monitor, AI-Designed Proteins For Manufacturing, And More (Crunchbase News) 5. Lei Jun Responds to "Small Print Marketing": Indeed an Industry Malpractice; Unitree Denies Applying for "Green Channel," IPO Progressing Normally; Romoss Initiates Restructuring Plan (WeChat Startup News) 6. What Sparks the World's Most Successful Startups? The Answer Might Surprise You. (Entreprenuer) 7. The Smart Funding Strategy That Accelerates Growth While Protecting Your Cash Flow (Entreprenuer) 8. Consumer Tech Brand "xTool" Files for Hong Kong IPO, Tencent Leads $200 Million Pre-IPO Funding | Early Morning Early Stage (WeChat Startup News) 9. These Were The Largest Funding Rounds Of 2025 (Crunchbase News) 10. This CEO Found a Way to Stop $30 Billion of Hydrogen From Going Up in Smoke (Entreprenuer) 11. The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: Security And Energy Deals Top The List (Crunchbase News) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

Episode 13 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, investment trends, covering 7 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. What We Learned This Year From 6 Active AI Investors Backing Startups Across The Stack (Crunchbase News) 2. 5 Interesting Startup Deals You May Have Missed In December: A Hospital-Grade Wireless Heart Monitor, AI-Designed Proteins For Manufacturing, And More (Crunchbase News) 3. The 7 Things I Do Every December to Set My Business Up for the Year Ahead (Entreprenuer) 4. Satellite Chip Startup Secures Tens of Millions to Accelerate Low-Orbit Communication Tech (36KR) 5. AI Is Paying Off in Finance — But Only for Leaders Who Use It the Right Way (Entreprenuer) 6. Why Your Startup's Best Idea Can Be Copied in 48 Hours — and What Really Protects You (Entreprenuer) 7. Sector Snapshot: Real Estate Tech Funding Sees Slight Rebound, But Still Far Lower Than Peak Years (Crunchbase News) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

Episode 12 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, valuations, covering 8 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. DJI Inspire Product Line Head Starts Company, Completes Nearly RMB 100 Million Angel Round (WeChat Startup News) 2. How Luxury Real Estate Is Using AI and Augmented Reality to Unlock $1 Billion in Sales (Entreprenuer) 3. 7 Hidden Costs That Are Eating Up Your Small Business (Entreprenuer) 4. A Unique Shenzhen Ebike Story: No Funding, No Cash Burn, Over $100 Million Annual Revenue (36KR) 5. These Startups Went From Zero To Unicorn In Under 3 Years (Crunchbase News) 6. A Little Background On Fusion Funding And TAE Technologies, The Company Merging With Trump Media (Crunchbase News) 7. Crunchbase Predicts: IPOs Picked Up In 2025 And The Outlook For 2026 Is Even More Optimistic (Crunchbase News) 8. California Pizza Kitchen Just Sold for $300 Million—And the New Owners Are Ready to Deliver (Entreprenuer) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

In this episode, George and Michelle break down November's unicorn explosion—19 new billion-dollar startups, with 13 centered on AI. The headline act? Jeff Bezos's Project Prometheus, entering with a staggering $6.2 billion to revolutionize industrial AI for aerospace, autos, and computing. Plus: Luma AI's $900M raise for generative video, d-Matrix's specialized AI inference chips, and why everyone's racing to build their own data center concert halls. It's a full orchestra of funding news, and the AI crescendo shows no signs of slowing down.

Episode 10 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, investment trends, covering 9 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. Hollywood Legend Turned Startup Investor Jeffrey Katzenberg On Where He’s Placing His AI Bets (Crunchbase News) 2. How I Disrupted a Stale, Broken Industry — and How You Can Do the Same (Entreprenuer) 3. "CAS SiEpoch" Completes New Round of Strategic Financing to Advance Mass Production and Application of Industry-Grade Dexterous Hands + Embodied Large & Small Brains | 36Kr Exclusive (36KR) 4. Sales And Use Tax: What Every High-Growth Startup Should Know About Compliance (Crunchbase News) 5. Pets Are Getting More Pampered, And VCs Are Funding This (Crunchbase News) 6. Justin Bieber Is Fed Up With This iPhone Design Feature: 'Find Everyone at Apple' (Entreprenuer) 7. Startup Funding Continued On A Tear In November As Megarounds Hit 3-Year High (Crunchbase News) 8. The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: Investors Get Back To Writing Large Checks (Crunchbase News) 9. Insta360 Ace Pro Achieves 30 Million Yuan in Sales Within 48 Hours of China Launch (36KR) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

Episode 9 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, valuations, covering 9 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. "Ling Xin Qiao Shou" Secures Hundreds of Millions in A+ Round Funding After Exceeding 1,000 Monthly Orders (WeChat Startup News) 2. The Toy Startups Getting Funded This Year: Talking Dinosaurs, Sticker Cubes And Tin Can Phones (Crunchbase News) 3. Hypershell Raises $70 Million in Two Rounds of Funding (WeChat Startup News) 4. HKUST-Affiliated Embodied Robotics Firm Secures Strategic Investment from China Mobile, Global Leader in Single-Unit Shipments (36KR) 5. What Startups Are Selling For The Person Who Has Everything (Crunchbase News) 6. Edtech-Specific Startup Funding Stays Low (Crunchbase News) 7. The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: A Lot Of Really Big Deals (Crunchbase News) 8. Sector Snapshot: Defense Tech Funding Hits Record High (Crunchbase News) 9. Germany’s AI Image Generator Black Forest Labs Raises $300M At $3.25B Valuation As European AI Fundings Scale Up (Crunchbase News) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

Episode 8 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, fintech valuations, and the trends shaping 2026, covering 6 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. AI, Less VC Funding Dependence and 5 Other Trends That Will Shape 2026 (Entrepreneur) 2. Exclusive: With Customers Like Okta And Coinbase, Coverbase Raises $16M To Grow AI-Powered Procurement Platform (Crunchbase News) 3. How To Raise Capital When You Don't Sound Like An Insider (Crunchbase News) 4. The Week's 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: A Lot Of Really Big Deals (Crunchbase News) 5. Fintech Revolut Sees Valuation Spike 67% To $75B After Secondary Share Sale (Crunchbase News) 6. Innovation Policies: The Australian Lesson Focusing Startup Investments On A Few Strategic Sectors (Crunchbase News) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

Episode 7 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, covering 4 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. 5 Interesting Startup Deals You May Have Missed: Robotic Hands, An Artificial Retina Developed In Space, A GenAI Sticker Printer For Kids, And More (Crunchbase News) 2. Don't Sell Your Business Without These 4 Core Advisors — One Saved My Client $1.8 Million (Entreprenuer) 3. Even Bigger Venture Bucks For Obesity Therapies As Metsera Sells For Up To $10B (Crunchbase News) 4. The Week's 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: AI And Defense Tech Take The Lead (Crunchbase News) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

Episode 6 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into AI innovation, founder insights, healthcare, covering 6 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. 6 Common Data Backup Mistakes That Established Businesses Make (Entreprenuer) 2. Don't Let AI Fool You — Here's Why Every Founder Still Needs to Learn to Code (Entreprenuer) 3. Crunchbase Sector Snapshot: Funding To AI-Related Healthcare Startups Is Robust This Year (Crunchbase News) 4. Startups Are Serving Up Drinks With Protein, Caffeine And A Shot Of Wellness (Crunchbase News) 5. Active US Investors Kept Busy Cutting Checks In October (Crunchbase News) 6. Electric Aircraft Upstart Beta Rises In First-Day Trading (Crunchbase News) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

Episode 5 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, valuations, covering 8 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. The One Trait That Separates Successful Fintech Founders From the Rest (Entrepreneur) 2. The Grid Can't Keep Up With AI, But Startups Are Primed To Help (Crunchbase News) 3. Inside The Post-ChatGPT Playbook: A Founder's Lessons On Building AI-Native Startups (Crunchbase News) 4. Tech Giants Accumulate Huge Startup Stakes, Even As M&A Appetite Wanes (Crunchbase News) 5. U.S. Household Debt Hits Record $18.59 Trillion (Entrepreneur) 6. Infravision Raises $91M Series B For Robotic Power Line Construction (Crunchbase News) 7. Ripple Lands $500M At $40B Valuation As Crypto's Good Year Continues (Crunchbase News) 8. AI-Powered Parking Platform Metropolis Raises $500M Series D At $5B Valuation (Crunchbase News) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

Episode 4 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, valuations, covering 6 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. I Asked 100 Founders, CEOs and VCs About Career Transitions — Here's What I Learned (1st Round) 2. Regulation As Alpha: Why The Smartest Startups Now Build Legal Strategy Into Their DNA (Crunchbase News) 3. The State Of Startups In 7 Charts: These Sectors And Stages Are Down As AI Megarounds Dominate In 2025 (Crunchbase News) 4. Sure, Valuations Look High. But Here's How Today Is Different From The Last Peak (Crunchbase News) 5. Exclusive: Founded By Uber Alumni, Archy Raises $20M To Put Dental Practices 'On Autopilot' (Crunchbase News) 6. Whatnot Lands $225M Series F, More Than Doubles Valuation to $11.5B Since January (Crunchbase News) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

Episode 3 of Startup Jazz. This week, George and Michelle dive into funding rounds, AI innovation, valuations, covering 12 compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. Stories featured in this episode: 1. The Non-Humanoid Robot Startups Are Rising Too (Crunchbase News) 2. Whatnot Lands $225M Series F, More Than Doubles Valuation to $11.5B Since January (Crunchbase News) 3. Regulation As Alpha: Why The Smartest Startups Now Build Legal Strategy Into Their DNA (Crunchbase News) 4. Q1 Global Startup Funding Posts Strongest Quarter Since Q2 2022 With A Third Going To Massive OpenAI Deal (Crunchbase News) 5. How To Found A Startup Inside A Scale-Up (Crunchbase News) 6. Shares of Navan Closed Down 20% In Long-Awaited IPO Debut (Crunchbase News) 7. I Asked 100 Founders, CEOs and VCs About Career Transitions — Here’s What I Learned (1st Round) 8. The State Of Startups In 7 Charts: These Sectors And Stages Are Down As AI Megarounds Dominate In 2025 (Crunchbase News) 9. I Was Fired From My Own Startup. Here’s What Every Founder Should Know About Letting Go (Crunchbase News) 10. Sure, Valuations Look High. But Here’s How Today Is Different From The Last Peak (Crunchbase News) 11. Exclusive: Founded By Uber Alumni, Archy Raises $20M To Put Dental Practices ‘On Autopilot’ (Crunchbase News) 12. What Sweetgreen Can Teach Startups About Scaling Intimacy (1st Round) Bringing you the latest in startup funding with a smooth jazz vibe.

In this 88-minute deep dive, George and Michelle tackle the question every founder struggles with but rarely admits: How do you level up as a leader when you're drowning in execution? We break down six game-changing frameworks from First Round Review's leadership playbook—from Chris Holmberg's "It/We/I" reflection practice to Adam Grant's techniques for embracing tough feedback. Then we follow Tim Chen's brutally honest journey from scrappy NerdWallet founder to CEO of a 300-person company, revealing the painful mindset shifts required to scale. Plus: Sweetgreen's secrets for "scaling intimacy," why a VC firm rescued Lemonaid from 23andMe's bankruptcy, how AI is upending SaaS product roadmaps, Findem's $36M bet on AI-powered hiring, and the debate around artificial superintelligence. You'll learn: • The 15-minute daily practice that prevents founder burnout • How to use the Trust Equation to diagnose broken relationships • Why "toward vs. away from" communication can make or break your team • The prioritization matrix that lets you say "no" without guilt • How to build a "challenge network" that tells you the truth Whether you're leading your first startup or scaling your third, this episode is your permission slip to invest in yourself—not just your company.

Looker turned SQL and a quirky language called LookML into a $2.6B outcome—and a cult following. In this kickoff to Startup Jazz, we reverse-engineer how a small team beat dashboard fatigue, won over data teams, and built a category by obsessing over speed, clarity, and customer love. You’ll hear the pivotal product bets, the GTM experiments that actually moved revenue, and the culture rituals that made execution feel inevitable.