Research

Fifteen years ago, venture capitalists obsessed over hockey-stick growth curves and immediate market capture. The subscription model forces a different calculus: instead of betting on explosive short-term growth, investors must evaluate customer lifetime value, churn rates, and sustainable acquisition costs. The narrative of a typical subscription startup VC is simply shifting. This shift represents more…

I recently tested Gemini vs Sonnet (Gemini 3 Thinking and Claude Sonnet 4.5) with a question every early-stage founder asks. The responses revealed fundamentally different approaches to business advice—and one clear winner for founders who need actionable guidance. The Test I gave both models the same prompt: “Do I really need a pitch deck? Or…

In my 15 years as a Zurich-based investment consultant, I’ve seen the market shift from “SaaS-first” to “AI-integrated.” Today, we are seeing the final evolution: Agentic AI. VCs are no longer interested in “AI assistants” that require human hand-holding. They are hunting for autonomous agency—startups that don’t just help a human work, but replace the…

After 15 years in investment consulting, I’ve seen $2M funding rounds lost and market entries fail for one reason: surface-level competitive intelligence. Traditional research is often a victim of “temporal blindness”—by the time a human team compiles a report, the market has already shifted. Now using Claude for competitive research could work, but with the…

How BYD outsold Tesla by 600,000+ cars in 2025 — and the critical lessons for EV startups navigating this landscape The 2025 Electric Vehicle Landscape The electric vehicle industry witnessed its most significant power shift in 2025. For the first time since Tesla established market dominance over a decade ago, another manufacturer — China’s BYD…

AI financial modeling tools are everywhere. Founders love them. Investors are skeptical of them. And consultants like me? We’re quietly figuring out how to survive them. If you’re a startup founder researching whether to use AI for your financial model—or a consultant watching clients drift toward $19/month subscriptions—this article is for you. I’ve spent nearly…

What does it take to become the largest business in the world​? If you asked this question 30 years ago, the answer would have been oil, retail, or manufacturing. Today, the answer is technology — specifically, artificial intelligence. In this case study, we break down why Google (Alphabet) is positioned to become the largest business…

A DCF Model Template is needed when you’re approaching an investment or just growing your business. You need to know how much cash is available per quarter and when you’ll run out or so. This is what a DCF model explains in a nutshell. The main components are: When these pieces come together, you get…

The humanoid robot industry is experiencing a funding explosion that’s reshaping how we think about automation, labor, and the future of manufacturing. Robotics startups are attracting billions in venture capital, and the numbers are staggering. Here’s our table of contents for entrepreneurs and investors looking to understand this space: Before we dive in, you should…

The energy transition has transformed into a constant rather than a variable, even as TotalEnergies prepares massive investments in battery farms and natural gas plants. You see it when every green energy startups founder talks about being the “Tesla of renewables.” Yet, neither Tesla nor the traditional energy playbook is the winner of the big…

So here’s the thing nobody’s telling you about Grok vs ChatGPT for business documents. Everyone’s comparing Grok vs ChatGPT on coding benchmarks, math problems, and who can write better poetry (spoiler: who cares?). But what about the stuff that actually matters for your business? What about pitch decks, financial projections, investor memos, and all the…

Look, I’m going to be honest with you. An AI financial model generator​ sounds impressive. They’re fast. They can save you hours, maybe days of work. But they’re not magic. I’ve been building financial models for over 15 years. I’ve worked with startups that raised millions and others that never launched. And lately? I’ve been…