Pieter-Jan Pieters’ Post

South Florida’s startup momentum is on the rise. 📈 PitchBook data shows Miami–Fort Lauderdale metro area start ups earned $754M across 92 deals in Q3 — keeping our region firmly in the nation’s top VC hubs and setting 2025 up to outpace last year. Dive into the full analysis and top deals from the quarter: https://lnkd.in/eHGEu9Ew #MiamiStartups #MiamiVentureCapital #MiamiInvestment #BeaconBuildsMiami

Greater Fargo Moorhead EDC’s John Machacek sits down with Mason Ware, co-founder of Ware Software, to talk startup growth, finding product-market fit, building custom software, and scaling new ventures in the Fargo-Moorhead business community. https://lnkd.in/gExbSyxY

If someone asked you who the top ventures in the 757 are, could you answer them? What about 200 of them? As Hampton Roads’ startup ecosystem continues to mature, having clarity around who is actually driving innovation, revenue, and regional impact matters more than ever. The IHR 200 is being built to answer that question — a rolling, curated signal of the independent ventures shaping the future of the 757. It’s not a ranking and it’s not a one-time reveal, but it will quickly become the list people point to when they want to understand where real momentum lives in Hampton Roads. https://lnkd.in/e32y3pkD

Last month at Tectonic, Lorenz was asked what Belgium needs to make its startup ecosystem truly successful. His answer was very simple: we still don’t reward risk well enough. People who join startups take chances. They could do safer jobs and earn predictable salaries. Entrepreneurs and early investors do the same. But in Belgium, the upside for taking that risk is still not rewarded enough, even through stock option plans. It’s a conversation that comes back again and again. And with Driven, one of our ventures, we work on a very practical version of that same problem: how do you reward people in a way that actually matches the effort, risk, and impact they bring? How do incentives push sales teams forward instead of holding them back? Different context, but the same principle. If you want people to take responsibility, make bold decisions, and commit long-term, the reward side has to make sense too. Thanks to Ludovic, Tom, Andres, and the whole Driven team for tackling a big part of this issue!

DFMAS Pitch continues to stand out as a key platform for founders advancing companies from Latin America, connecting ideas, capital, and practical experience. In its fourth edition, the event brought visibility to startups ready to scale and enabled meaningful interaction with decision-makers who drive growth. Our partner Cristóbal Silva served as a jury member, contributing perspective on scaling dynamics and disciplined company building. Events like this accelerate access to smart capital, strengthen networks, and spotlight founders solving relevant problems with models capable of expanding beyond local markets. Congratulations to the participating startups, and to DFMAS for elevating the ecosystem and reinforcing its development in a tangible way. Kayyak Ventures | Andres Pesce | Sofía Grez | Alejandro Tocigl | Cristóbal Silva | Tomas Irarrazabal | Montserrat Aedo | Angel De la Hoz | Manuel Sescosse | Diario Financiero

A real good read about social mobility and #entrepreneurship and how business support systems don't serve everyone. There is definitely a need to focus on successful role models, #AI, #digital social media platforms, latest #innovations which are seen as positive. However, we all use the phrase that you learn from your mistakes so support programmes should also include the less exciting aspects of starting and running a business - failure stories like those highlighted by F*ckUp Nights events, roles/responsibilities of directors right from the beginning, day to day financial management processes. We don't all have the privilege of learning from family entrepreneurs or have networks and role models to approach to show us so if we are to support anyone with a dream of being their own boss, employing local people and contributing to the local economy, we have to include all types of subject areas to give them a solid foundation to start from. From the thoughts of someone from a low socio-economic start in life with experience of growing up in south London in social housing. Guinness Trust

In our final blog of the year, CityVentures reflects on 10 things we learnt about social mobility and entrepreneurship in 2025... and why people from working class backgrounds are almost entirely missing from the startup landscape. Take a read here: https://lnkd.in/eA-dnjgX Diversity VC, Enterprise Research Centre (UK), Bayes Business School, The Grocer, Diversity Data Alliance, Social Mobility Ventures, Hatch Enterprise UK, The Sutton Trust, Nina Slingsby, Philip Salter, David Houghton, Vicki Belt, Stephen Miller, Stewart Noakes, Sam Steele, David Grenham, Mark Bridger

Not only business, but also company culture: this is what makes a startup truly standout. Melissa (Lester) Klinger (DIG Ventures) noticed this very trait in Arke the startup innovating management systems for manufacturing SMEs, born in 2024 within Vento Ventures Building Program and led by Michela Andreolli. Michela has worked hard to instill her startup’s values in the team. The goal is achieved when those values show up not only inside the company, where teammates consistently support one another, but also in how they show up for customers. She was the first to show what it means to be there, no matter what. Today, that’s Arke’s philosophy: being present for the people who choose them. Watch the full conversation on our YouTube channel for more inspiration. > https://lnkd.in/d-ZiTHfg

CERI's mission is to help diversify the West Australian economy by helping to establish the industries of the future for all West Australians. Alumni companies at CERI now have: - $230M+ Combined valuations - 100+ Employees - 10+ Patents or Patent families CERI aims to create a safe environment where people can commercialise their ideas. Some of CERI's alumni include: digitAiS - AI Based Asset Management Gene S - Genetic Testing For Personalised Medicine Helme (helme.com.au) - Innovative Cable Management SOlutions Lixa - Antibiofilm Platform Technology Neurospheric - Transforming Neurological Care Novolo (novolo.co) - Functional Ingredients From Coffee Waste terra15 - Distributed Acoustic Sensing WaveX: Wave Powered Generators Wave Energy - Solved https://lnkd.in/gPzhnUiW #WesternAustralia #Perth #Innovation #Technology #DeepTech #Commercialisation #Investment #Science #Startup #Startups #WestTech #Entrepeneurship #Research #CERI

Today marks the official introduction of LaFamilia, an execution-driven organization dedicated to nurturing the next generation of global innovators. Built on the principles of deep contribution and long-term stability, La Familia emerges as a supportive anchor for founders whose potential has yet to be fully met by the traditional startup ecosystem. https://lnkd.in/e4ZUB3nA