The robotics companies making money today don’t do backflips. They pick crops, move pallets and clean floors. Here are the eight metrics that show whether a hardware-heavy startup can eventually behave like software, and the one question that kills surprisingly many robotics pitches.
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Most people still associate DeFi with speculation and crypto crashes. The reality in 2026 looks different: BlackRock, JP Morgan, and Goldman Sachs are actively building on these rails, and the underlying infrastructure has quietly become faster, cheaper, and more regulated than most people realize. We invited Marin Konjari, Solutions Architect at LimeChain, to break it down without the hype.
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Two-thirds of all global energy investment is already going into clean energy. Yet most of the conversation is still about oil and gas. Zlati Christov, CIO of JERA Nex bp and former Head of EMEA Renewables at Morgan Stanley, joined Eleven’s weekly meeting to share what the energy transition actually looks like from the inside – the economics, the infrastructure gaps, the themes driving capital, and where new companies can make a real difference.
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Most startup marketing problems aren’t about execution. They’re about the decisions that happen before execution – who you’re targeting, how you’re positioned, and what you’re really asking customers to change. Roberta Tihomirova (Eleven) and Mirela Hincu (Heraldist) break down the patterns they see repeatedly, from opposite sides of the table.
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Retention is now the top exit metric. Loss-making businesses are hard to sell. PE has replaced large strategics as the primary M&A engine. Michael Ivanov, Partner at Carlsquare, is sharing what he sees in the market.
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Knowing AI search matters is one thing. Knowing what to actually do about it is another. This is the hands-on part — how to research what your buyers are asking AI, optimize your content to earn citations, build authority beyond your own website, and track whether it’s working.
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Over 21% of Google searches now use AI. ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Copilot are answering the exact questions your buyers used to Google — and sending them straight to whoever AI recommends. If your brand isn’t in those answers, you effectively don’t exist for that user. Here’s what every founder needs to understand about AI search, and where to start.
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Most CEE founders default to US or Western European expansion. But Flaminjoy’s CEO discovered something counterintuitive: Southeast Asia and Brazil offer 20x larger markets, less competition, and don’t require massive VC funding. Here’s why looking East might be your smartest move.
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Eleven Ventures distills the biggest startup lessons from Lars Rasmussen—co-founder of Google Maps and early investor in Canva. From scarcity-driven innovation to “finding your Frank,” Lars’s journey shows how mindset, persistence, and belief can turn small beginnings into global impact. A must-read for founders building from Europe and beyond.
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Brand building for startups isn’t a later-stage luxury, it’s what sets you apart early. This guide breaks down what to focus on at each stage, from first users to scaling traction.
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