Dear hustlers, founders, operators and visionaries,

TikTok proved to be disruptive once more: its viral trend for the Dubai chocolate has driven global pistachio prices up by over 50%, leaving chocolate makers scrambling for supply. It’s a different kind of race than the one dominating headlines: tech companies charging ahead in AI. A pipeline of new models can now solve over 70% of coding problems. After the talk in town saw a wide range of business jobs being shredded by AI, will the Techies be next? One thing is sure: vibe-coding might just be the future. Follow the Gradient and stay tuned.

🫶🏼 Melanie & Christian

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Your talk track for this week’s cocktail party

Meta in high-stakes trial

In a landmark antitrust trial, Mark Zuckerberg defended Meta against claims of monopolistic behavior by highlighting TikTok as a major competitor. Meta is accused of using the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp to eliminate rivals. Although it will be difficult for regulators to prove Meta holds a monopoly, the stakes are high as a loss could force Meta to spin off key platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp.

Trouble over “Dev Mode”

Figma sent a cease-and-desist to Swedish AI startup Lovable over its use of the term “Dev Mode,” citing trademark infringement. The term is widely used in tech, but Figma claims rights as part of its product suite - just it is preparing an IPO. Lovable, which lets users build websites without coding, has hit $17m ARR in just three months and is Europe’s fastest growing startup and is not backing down.

”The Family” Co-Founder found liable for fraud

Co-Founder of French accelerator The Family, Oussama Ammar, has been found liable for fraud and breach of fiduciary duty by a UK court and ordered to pay £6.48m. Ammar is accused of embezzling millions, after the ruling follows similar legal actions in France and the Cayman Islands. The Family alleges he diverted investor funds for personal gain via complex schemes.

What do you meme?

Food for thought

Talent drain in the US?

Time to slow down?

We’re all optimizing, but sometimes the best ROI comes from a little inefficiency. Depth takes detours. And as Maria Colacurcio recalls in this beautiful post, slowness sometimes pay off - especially in these fast-paced times…

Should you record your meetings?

AI tools make meetings efficient. But at what cost to trust, creativity, and connection? Could recording everything be silently silencing your team? When do we gain more by not hitting record? Harvard Business Review published this insightful article on how the now default mode to record meetings can affect psychological safety and team engagement.

Mark your calendar

Austria

Forbes Money Summit in Wien, 24 April [Program]

Malta

EU Startups Summit in Malta, 24-25 April [Program]

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Smart hack

When and how many of your customers opt in to upgrade from a monthly to an annual plan determines significant parts of the growth of many SaaS businesses. Kyle Polar distilled data from ChartMogul on customer upgrade patterns and derived these useful take away’s:

1. Make sure customers are able to not only activate in the first 30 days, but they're able to build a habit around your product.

2. Ask for the annual upgrade much earlier than you think.

3. Push for annual not just as a "discount" but as making an "investment" in the product.

4. Keep offering a monthly plan, especially in the early days.

One good read

LinkedIn’s unlikely role in the AI race

Join the entrepreneurial journey

Are you ready to take your first steps into the startup ecosystem or seeking an exciting new opportunity? Below is a curated list of startup job openings across Europe for you to explore.

Internships

Associate [📍Berlin], VC, Fly Ventures [Apply, Hiring manager]
Talent Acquisition Intern [📍Zurich], InsurTech, grape insurance [Apply]
Software Engineering Working Student / Intern [📍Berlin], SaaS, Taktile [Apply]
Working Student/ Intern Legal Investment and Pension Products [📍Berlin], FinTech, Raisin [Apply]

Customer Success

Director, Customer Success - EMEA [📍Remote, Europe], Cybersecurity, Vectra AI [Apply]
Enterprise Customer Success Manager, EMEA [📍Remote, Germany], Cybersecurity, Abnormal [Apply]

HR & Finance

Senior HR Specialist [📍Berlin], FinTech, Scalable Capital [Apply]
People Lead [📍Berlin], Energy, trawa [Apply]

Marketing & Comms

Graphic Designer [📍Remote], Robotics, Wingtra [Apply]
Marketing Partnership Manager [📍Berlin], TravelTech, omio [Apply]

Sales

Regional Vice President, Commercial (DACH) [📍Remote, Germany], Cybersecurity, Wiz [Apply]
VP of Sales [📍Remote, Europe], Ad Automization, Splitmetrics [Apply]
Chief Revenue Officer [📍Remote], Cloud Computing, Platform.sh [Apply]

Strategy & Ops

Junior AI Strategy Project Manager [📍Berlin], AI, Merantix Momentum [Apply]
Commercial Chief of Staff[📍Remote], HealtTech, Axmed [Apply]

Product & Tech

Senior Product Manager - Internal Tooling [📍Hybrid, Berlin], Taxation & Accounting, Taxfix [Apply]
Product Engineer [📍London, Dublin], Security & Compliance, Evervault [Apply]

Final words — take what you need

Stay connected and spread the word! If you found this newsletter insightful, why not share it with your network? Thanks for reading, and we look forward to bringing you even more insights in the next edition!