Thiago Avelino

In early stages, speed of learning > rigid focus. A Brazilian founder, Arnold Correia, proved this the hard way. He began in event production. A client asked if he could broadcast training to 260 stores. Zero experience in satellite tech. He said yes and figured it out. Walmart later asked if those screens could run aisle-level ads. Again, outside his scope. He said yes. By saying yes to uncomfortable problems, he reinvented his business four times and built a national giant. The lesson? Don’t obsess over “core competencies” too early. Obsess over speed of learning. Every “yes” teaches you where to double down and where to pivot. 👉 Founders, what’s the last uncomfortable “yes” that moved your startup forward?

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Today we're launching Vibe Kanban! This is the tool we've been using internally to 10X our productivity on coding agents like Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Codex and Amp. AI coding agents are increasingly writing the world's code and human engineers now spend the majority of their time planning, reviewing, and orchestrating tasks. Vibe Kanban streamlines this process, enabling you to: - Easily switch between different coding agents - Orchestrate the execution of multiple coding agents in parallel or in sequence - Quickly review work and start dev servers - Track the status of tasks that your coding agents are working on - Centralise configuration of coding agent MCP configs Further details on our Launch YC page: https://lnkd.in/eT46rQBW

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More than a decade ago, I got into the land of startups via the Devtools world. We don't typically invest in this area at Bread and Butter Ventures, I still love it - which is why I am super excited about the new direction Ducky, one of Bread and Butter Ventures portfolio companies, announced this morning. They shared tht they've launched a fully-managed retrieval platform that helps software engineers get the most out of LLMs. Talking with incredible Ducky founders Hongbo Tian and James O'Brien 🦆 as they made this move reminded me a lot of my early days marketing to developers while at Particle. Back in my early Particle days, we were working on eliminating the heavy lifting of backend infrastructure so developers/makers/creators could focus on building innovative connected products. Today, I see Ducky addressing a similar inflection point in AI development — empowering teams to integrate sophisticated machine learning capabilities without getting bogged down in complex infrastructure management. Want to learn more? I wrote a blog post about why Ducky's new direction gets me so excited and what it means for developer optionality: https://lnkd.in/gmc4AH4A

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Only ~3% of startups get into YC. Even fewer make it onto their Top 100 AI list. A while ago, StackAI did. 18 months later: - 100K+ AI agents deployed - enterprises in finance, healthcare, and defense - a team of 30+ from MIT, Meta, NASA, BCG How did we get there? By: - talking to users daily = fast feedback loops (early signals make the long-term vision more convincing) - building ugly (seriously, don't worry much) things fast - hiring slow, shipping fast, the right team multiplies velocity - staying uncomfortable - the moment it feels stable, you’re stagnating If you’re trying to get into YC, here's my 2 cents: - show real traction (even if it’s small), not hype - show technical depth, not noise - build a product that solves real pain, fast, scalable, and grounded P.S. StackAI is just getting started. We’re hiring, shipping weekly, and working with some of the most ambitious teams deploying AI into real operations. If you’re building something, or even just thinking about applying to YC, do it. You don’t need it all figured out. Just enough momentum, a real problem, and the courage to hit submit. Good luck! 🍀

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This AI era isn't about AI replacing jobs, it's about AI creating founders... According to Y Combinator (source below), now is one of the biggest opportunities for people in their 20s to build something that actually matters. Success is not always about chasing the latest technological trend; it's about using AI to solve real life problems. Here's my understanding on how to do it for the next generation of builders: DON’T FEAR IT, LEVERAGE IT: Think of AI as your co-founder. AI is making it faster and cheaper than ever to launch a company. FIND YOUR NICHE: Don't try to build something for everyone. Find one small, overlooked group, solve their problem, and then grow from there. BE PROBLEM OBSESSED : The best companies are built by founders who are really passionate about what they're doing. Your passion will probably be your biggest edge. But as Soulaimane always says, don’t fall in love with your company! ;) GET THE **** OUT THERE: The best ideas don't come from spreadsheets. Go talk to your customers, understand their pain points, and build for them. BUILD THEN TELL: You need to be good at two things: actually building your product with AI tools and telling a compelling story about why it matters. The tools are here, the time is now. Let's build @ 34 Ventures | We fund and co-build AI & Deep Tech Ventures #YCombinator article: https://lnkd.in/e8pAczkA

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The "open startup" model will change everything for you. I’d encourage you as a founder to publish your metrics, salaries, and data. I’d rather build a connection with users and attract team members who share my values. Plus…it forces you to build in public, where you can't hide from your mistakes.

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I'm the CEO of a startup that builds MCP servers for customers. People assume we saw the MCP hype and pivoted to the space. But the reality is we've been doing the same thing for the last year and half. We started off building VS code extensions, then added Copilot extensions, and GPTs for OpenAI. The underlying goal was always to help companies bring their products and APIs into AI ecosystems. So when MCP came out as the de facto protocol for this, we went all in. Now it seems like such a no brainer that companies will have to adapt their distribution models to account for the fact that millions of people are using AI tools every day. It's our belief that MCP will become one of the main interfaces through which people use SaaS platforms and APIs. Tools like Figma, Framer, Pendo.io, Optimizely, Statsig were all built on the insight that companies care deeply about delivering great user experiences and need better ways to design, test, measure, and optimize those experiences. MCP is (in a sense) a new UX, and similar tooling will need to exist for it.

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Just dropped: YC's latest Request for Startups, and it's clear that AI is eating the world in the most practical ways possible. The standout themes: - AI-native companies that can outmaneuver slow incumbents - Vertical AI solutions for healthcare, education, and scientific research - Personal AI agents that actually work without supervision - Voice-first interfaces finally getting their moment Who's building something like this atm?

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🚨 Stripe + OpenAI just changed the game: you can now buy directly inside ChatGPT. Why should you care? 1️⃣ Frictionless commerce → the checkout is the conversation. 2️⃣ Open rails → ACP makes payments in AI accessible, not locked down. 3️⃣ Leveling the field → small merchants now play on the same stage as giants. For decades, “meeting customers where they are” was a slogan. Now it’s infrastructure. Are enterprises ready to reimagine customer journeys when AI is not the add-on but the storefront? (Link in comments) #AI #Commerce #Stripe #QuantumMama

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The world’s first game, where you collaborate through AI, while it let’s you know how good you are with AI: https://lnkd.in/ga4VQkJV We built it in Spanish and Portuguese too, so 🇨🇴 🇲🇽 🇧🇷 we got you covered! Here's the cheat code... AI fluency isn’t about perfect prompts. It’s about how you think, check, and adapt. Here are 6 skills that separate strong AI users from the rest 👇🏾 1) Define & Break It Down Start with a clear goal. Add the limits. Break it into steps. AI works best when you guide it step by step. 2) Give the Right Context Don’t flood AI with random info. Share only what’s relevant - signal > noise. 3) Double-Check the Output AI can be confidently wrong. Fluent users fact-check and adjust trust based on the stakes. 4) Improve in Steps Don’t settle for the first draft. Refine, guide, and mix in your judgment - then stop when it’s good enough. 5) Know AI’s Limits AI is great at some things, weak at others. Fluency means spotting the difference and pivoting fast. 6) Work With It, Not Just Use It Treat AI like a teammate: assign tasks, check its work, and combine strengths. That’s collaboration, not just prompting. AI fluency is about habits, not hacks. Teams that build these 6 skills will outpace those that don’t. Would love your feedback on how we did on building the game.

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Humans dedicate +40 years to work. Working for a company with a clear vision should be non-negotiable. At Deel, we're on the mission to build a generational business to help millions of people worldwide. Here's why: 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟭: 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘀. 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 We remove geographical limitations so companies can hire the best talent, no matter where they live. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟮: 𝗛𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 Hiring abroad usually means legal complexity and risk. We make it simple and fast so people get hired in days, not months. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟯: 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹 People get paid on time, in their local currency, with full peace of mind. We handle payroll, taxes, benefits and local laws in 100+ countries. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟰: 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 Freelancers and remote employees often miss out on basics like health insurance or payslips.

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Acie™ has been selected to join Google Cloud Startups Innovate Program this October! 🚀 This program is for high-potential startups that are focused on solving hard problems and creating disruptive products. 🦾🦾 * Key program's benefits: - 4 weeks fast track program to empower the exploration of innovative use cases - Direct access to Google Field CTOs and Senior Solution Architects. - Executive advice on product & technology strategies. - Expert guidance and strategic recommendations to address complex technical challenges. - Guidance on innovation and strategic infrastructure decisions. - Early previews of select Google technologies. Earlier this year, Google for Startups has also supported us with a significant cloud credit ($350K) and offered dedicated tecnical experts to advise and guide us on our AI product development. ❤️ Building with industry leaders like Google is adding confidence and chance of success for early stage startups because it helps ensure that you are on track with the advancement of technology and envision how your product could fit in to the whole ecosystem. Would highly recommend my fellow founders to apply for these programs!

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