How to run your Q4 strategy review
Plus: Why action is the best option in situations of uncertainty
· 695 words
Melanie Gabriel & Christian Woese
November 25, 2025 • Read time: 3 minutes
Dear hustlers, founders, operators and visionaries,
Jack Dorsey is funding a new Twitter-like social network allowing exclusively human-generated content, no AI. We wonder if humanity will have sufficient creativity left now that ChatGPT is doing the work for us. Maybe people got a chance to go back to the basics during last week’s Cloudfare outage. Time off the screens either feels like withdrawal or a gift. Follow the Gradient and stay tuned.
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Bezos is back in the game with new AI venture
Jeff Bezos has reportedly become co-CEO of Project Prometheus, a stealthy AI startup that’s raised $6.2bn and hired talent from OpenAI, DeepMind, and Meta. Co-led by ex-Google health exec Vik Bajaj, the company is targeting “AI for the physical economy” across aerospace, autos, and more.
UK’s Fuse Energy eyes $5bn valuation
UK startup Fuse Energy is reportedly closing a $100m raise at a $5bn valuation. The company claims $300m ARR and 200,000 households served, lured in by cheaper tariffs and EV charging perks. Lowercarbon Capital and Balderton are set to lead the round, betting big on Fuse’s rapid expansion into renewables and energy infrastructure.
Clark faces lawsuit over secret €30m loan deal
Investors are suing German insurtech Clark over a €30m convertible loan taken without shareholder approval. They suspect major backer Allianz of using the deal to engineer a takeover. If the court nullifies the loan, it could derail the share conversion and shake up Clark’s power structure.
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Food for thought
Atomico: Europe stands at crossroads
“Europe effectively stands at a crossroads. We don't lack talent or innovation - what Europe does lack is alignment between ambition and commitment.”
We loved Atomico’s latest State of European Tech 2025 Report - give it a read!
Action produces information
Agree?
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Taxfix CEO Martin Ott learned one important lesson from Mark Zuckerberg: it is not about the working hours you put in, but about being deliberate on them. With the ongoing debates about working culture in startupland, we found his views refreshing.
Some paths are closed, but which ones are open?
Gamma Founder Grant Lee shared this insightful piece about founding Gamma against all VC playbook odds. His takes are a good motivation for anyone doubting their choices or chances in life:
“Behind you, there's one path: the one you took. In front of you, paths are still branching. The past is a single point. The future isn’t. The lesson wasn't avoiding mistakes through better planning. It was understanding that closed paths are useful information.”
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From us
Strategy reviews can fell misplaced in startupland, when you are building a plane while flying mid-air. Yet, you have to make sure you are not running fast into the wrong direction. Marc Snuikas provides this template to execute a review in Q4 - run through these points:
Action: Are our actions really aligned with our strategy?
Results: Are we seeing the impact we wanted to see?
Insights: Which assumptions have held true, and which no longer do?
Spirit: What’s the mood around the strategy? Are people still convinced this is the best path?
Ask two questions for each: ✔️ What’s working well? ❌ What’s not working well?