AbilityMatrix Newsletter #35

Hello innovators and creative minds!

Money and human attention.

We have often highlighted in our cooperations that one can only achieve change if appropriate budgets as well as management commitments are available. Whether selling a product, changing an organisation or pushing an innovation - comes back to money and attention.

The last few weeks started to significantly disrupt how budgets and attention are distributed.

Every week a newer AI model surpassed (trumped?) the capabilities of last week’s winner. Where do you put your effort now, if you want to be competitive in 1 year’s time?

Announced AI investments are gravitating towards 10s and 100s of billion dollars. This is NOT a simple competition based on pure market dynamics anymore.

Global supply chain structures seem to be moving again: as much as we would wish the digital world to be less affected by more protected national markets and increased market entry costs definitely change budgets, attention and opportunities.

And a much bigger and longer term issue of cultural and political alliances is now also open: where can you relocate, where can you sell in the next few years? For example, will Europe also start a “Europification” of products and services, changing the global landscape?

More questions than answers right now. Good luck figuring out the best steps in the short and longer term!

All the best, your editors (Anna, Laci)

AM Internal Affairs

• For the record: A few AI use cases already built into our daily operations in 2025 (by Laci)

Product Management

• The product value paradox: A great analysis from Productboard reveals how user habits create an invisible moat around existing solutions, explaining why "better" products often fail to gain traction.

Canada Content

• The latest Product Therapy Toronto gathering filled up lightning-fast – under 3 days -, and participants engaged in refreshingly honest conversations that left everyone with meaningful takeaways.
• March Product Therapy preparations are underway: If you are an experienced Product Manager in Toronto, join us! A judgment-free zone where PMs can openly discuss challenges.
• ákos has been a PORCH ?? Ambassador for 2.5 years. Learning that a 3-minute pitch isn’t the most important thing in the world changed everything for us.

Austria Updates

• The President of Austria will greet the startup community at their annual summit. Though Europe is still a bit too slow, it is great to see when the highest level of politics starts to express attention to innovations, startups and the emerging communities behind them. Kudos to the Austrian Startups association for rigorously working on involving key stakeholders for their support…
• GmbH vs FlexCo: Pioneering Austria's FlexCo structure comes with unexpected learnings, StartMatch's founder sharing his experience (GER) Robert Kopka
• A new self-service legal platform just launched in Austria to support incorporation of GmbHs.
• New place for artists, startuppers, and investors in Vienna: Home of Innovation (HOIV) (GER)
• Event recommendation: MIT Future of Manufacturing conference in Vienna
• Coming in May in Vienna: InsideOut Summit #2, the Purpose-driven innovator's event.
• Benchmark for contract work: Hourly fees in creative sector in Austria, 2024 (GER)

Collection of Recommended Reads

Founders perspective //startup stories

• Great interview about scaling (from Europe) and the importance of culture.
• Financial Times' ranking of European Startup hubs in 2025
• European startup investments have the same efficiency like the US... just less transaction
• US had been a natural business partner for European entrepreneurs for decades. This article discusses how the global tariff landscape reshuffles priorities for European producers from the perspective of a Croatian startup, CircuitMess
• Smart Growth Hacks to kick-in first user acquisition

Fragmented Europe (?)

• A bit of insider view how leaders at EU institutes think (interview with EIF's outgoing chief)
• A few points where Europe can improve, from experienced transatlantic investors
• Building a European startup database featuring genuine alternatives to mainstream tools sounds straightforward until you dive into the details - like what does "European startup" mean ... A thought experiment by Laci (HUN)
• The quirky theater of national language requirements! The latest example is the usual German read-out-loud-by-a-notary requirement. (HUN by Laci)

Innovation in Green

• Could U.S. scientists help boost Europe's impact industry?
• TOMS shoes: story about impact models
• Trump’s New Energy Secretary Called Germany’s Energy Transition ‘Unreliable.’ But He Missed All the Nuance
• List of climate accelerators by Hugo Rauch
• The curious case of H&M's leadership reshuffle shows quite the disconnect: conspicuously excluding both sustainability and impact investment directors while the company continues claiming environmental leadership.
• Capitalism update idea: Shifting tax from labour to natural resources. The why and how explained by a Swedish entrepreneur-investor

Brainy Business

• How to Hack the Brain’s “Trust Algorithm”: Neurological-based explanation of how trust works, e.g. at a merger
• What happens in the brain when there’s a word ‘on the tip of the tongue’?
• Negotiation with Power type leaders - it's less about claiming victory and more like the delicate art of managing a dragon. (by Laci)
• How do you uncover someone’s irrationalities? Freud’s method is still valid today. (by Laci)

Age of AI

• A must read about the connection of AI and Behavioral Science.
• How AI impacts developers and business, considering maturity by?
• Microsoft’s CEO’s thoughts on AI
• A light research about AI Images impact on Tourism prospects. with heavy implications about AI images in everyday situations
• The EU just announced the biggest AI investment in history: €200 billion to create European AI champions! (a digestible yet informative post)
• An interesting collection of "AI for good" innovations
• AI Investment Race in Europe: Yes, But... (by Laci)
• Great intro to AI Agents (and a Step-by-Step guide)
• Why we need to step further from AI Agents: An argument for agentic workflows
• Andreessen Horowitz' wrap-up of Voice AI Agents' status in 2025 January
• Ideal vs Real AI Usage: According to Microsoft's survey critical thinking drops when using AI
• 3 reasons I’m optimistic about employees’ AI adoption (US view, by Reid Hoffman)
• How to make infographics with AI (a Claude workflow)
• Simple ChatGPT usage tips.
• A megaprompt template to build marketing plans
• Every time I revert back from AI, I feel like I’m losing my edge. Laci's journey with AI

Terrific Tools

• 7 AI Apps to boost productivity (good selection for 2025)
• Promising AI agents (6)
• An interesting monitoring tool about which LLMs are used by developers
• Amplemarket: presales AI assistant, multiple channels for buying signals, knowledge base + personalisation.
• Govar app short video: language learning via app + community + AI (for English)

Mixed inspirative salad

• Patrick Collison & Noah Smith (Stripe CEO) : How can the US Stay Ahead Technologically?

Innovati-OFF.