Pivots, reinventions and changes that made a meaningful difference.
The full archive, in the appBootstrapped Israeli startup disrupts telecom networking with software-centric Network Cloud on white-box hardware, securing $110M Series A at $500M+ valuation.
Read the caseIn 2019, Boomplay raised a $20M Series A to expand its catalog and user base, reaching 42M monthly users and adding 2M new users each month.
Read the caseBy linking manufacturers to informal retailers via a mobile app, Wasoko grew revenue 500% to over $300 M, processed 2.5 M orders and raised a $125 M Series B.
Read the caseSmartNews used guerrilla research in Tokyo cafés to shape a U.S. launch, built a balanced algorithm, and hit a $2 bn valuation in 150+ countries.
Read the caseIn 2019, Silver Lake Partners led a $1B funding round for Verily, enabling strategic partnerships, product expansions and a $1.8B total raised.
Read the caseTurkish studio Peak Games bet on F2P mobile casual games in 2015, turning local card-game expertise into hits like Toy Blast and a $1.8B Zynga acquisition.
Read the caseWhen COVID‑19 shut down gyms, Gympass quickly added remote nutrition and mental health services to keep users engaged and sustain its business.
Read the caseCOVID‑19 stopped Airlift’s bus service, so it pivoted to on‑demand grocery delivery, raised $85 M Series B and inspired Pakistani startups.
Read the caseStoneCo, a Brazilian payments processor, priced its 2018 IPO above range despite turbulence, raising over $1B and becoming a public company.
Read the caseAfter anti‑India backlash, Snap hired Durgesh Kaushik to lead South Asia, rebuilt Android, added local AR lenses and partnerships, reaching 100M+ MAU in India.
Read the caseQualtrics updated its S‑1 with strong Q3 2018 results, enabling a higher IPO price and raising ~$400M in its 2019 debut.
Read the caseGoogle engineer Fernando Serboncini built Termo, a Portuguese Wordle, to play in his mother tongue; within three weeks it drew nearly 200k users
Read the caseF1Soft built Nepal’s first mobile wallet, agent network for the unbanked, and QR payment system that now handles ~2 billion rupees daily.
Read the caseAfter selling Mirror to Lululemon, Brynn Putnam built Board, a touchscreen table for family physical games, raising $35 million and shipping thousands of units.
Read the caseM. Fischman and A. Cisneros launched Amela, a community for tech founders in Latin America, after finding that zero $4.4B 2020 VC went to women‑only startups.
Read the caseBolivian founders launched Quantum Motors to build low‑cost EVs for congested cities, overcoming financing, licensing and skepticism to start local assembly.
Read the caseNoBroker survived broker violence and slow trust-building by focusing on direct owner-to-renter listings, reaching 16 million users and unicorn status.
Read the caseStartup ICON proved 3D-printed concrete housing at SXSW 2018, triggering $9M seed from Vulcan Capital, D.R. Horton, and Emaar to scale affordable homes.
Read the caseFundGuard raised a $4M seed round to leave stealth, build its AI fund‑analytics platform and cut costs for investment managers.
Read the caseDarktrace raised a $50M Series E in 2022 to scale its AI cybersecurity platform, growing headcount to 1,000 and valuation to $1.65B.
Read the case