??? The battle for Gen Z’s wallet: who’s winning?

While Santa's getting closer, it seems?Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy?are gearing up to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency.

If your startup is?using AI for hiring, you’ll want to check out our?Six Bullets?section — you might be?losing both money?and?great talent!

In other news, AI is becoming a pro at?detecting fake news, but the battle for Gen Z's fintech loyalty?rages on with monetization?still a major stumbling block. Plus, Station F in Paris just unveiled its annual?“Future 40”?— make sure to take a quick peek into what's next!

Keep reading for more!

Six bullets of updates

1. ??? President-elect Donald?Trump appoints Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy ?to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency.
2. ???AI hiring tools can miss top talent,?costing startups up to $840K ?in bad hires over 2 years.
3. ???AI hits 80-90% accuracy ?in detecting fake news using LLMs and neuroscience insights.
4. ???Red Hat acquires Neural Magic ?to optimize AI on commodity hardware; Neural Magic raised $50M in VC funding.
5. ???Meta shifts to?"less personalized ads" in the EU , cuts ad-free subscriptions by 40% amid regulatory pressure.
6. ???Odyssey raises $18M to train AI for creating?cinematic worlds using 25-pound camera? backpacks—pushing new boundaries!

?

The battle for Gen Z’s wallet

The battle for Gen Z’s fintech loyalty is fierce, but monetization remains a stumbling block . Fintech startups like Quirk, Twig, and Owwn have struggled to make profits while catering to a young demographic with limited financial loyalty and a value-driven mindset. Despite gaining users, Quirk had to shut down due to lack of revenue-generating features, and other startups targeting Gen Z also folded without the necessary funding.

Successful players like Revolut, Cleo, and Birdwingo ?have cracked part of the code by building monetization strategies early, often through subscriptions or leveraging larger profitable ecosystems. For example, Revolut uses its “Revolut <18” product to onboard young users into its brand without immediate monetization pressure. Cleo incorporates cultural trends into its budgeting tools, engaging users with relevant, trend-savvy content, while Birdwingo focuses on morally-conscious investing for teens.

Although Gen Z’s income is still relatively low, they?are expected to be wealthier than previous generations by 2030 ?due to a significant wealth transfer. Fintechs that can build loyalty and stay relevant to Gen Z’s values stand a chance to capture this lucrative demographic as they mature into more profitable customers.

?

Startup Events and Deadlines

1. Today!?From Pitch Deck to Funding ?| November 14 | Webinar
2. Today!?NYC B2B: Pre-Seed + Seed Founders & Investors Meetup? | November 14 | In-person meetup
3. Techstars Columbus ?| November 20 | Columbus
4. Techstars New York City Accelerator ?| November 20 | New York City
5. Techstars Anywhere Accelerator ?| November 20 | Remote
6. Techstars San Francisco ?| November 20 | San Francisco
7. Crash Course in Financial Modeling ?| November 21 | Webinar

?

If you don’t have a personal assistant, YOU ARE THE ASSISTANT.

Did you know you can hire the air-traffic-controller of your life and business for as low as $1,200 per month?

Manage your inbox, do tasks inside your business, schedule your meetings and travel, manage your Airbnb, or any host of tedious tasks.

Somewhere.com ?has 5 rockstars available for you to interview today:?Kris ($12 / hour) ?and?Chevonne ($9 / hour) .

Click here ?to meet these folks (+ 3 more) and for $500 off the recruiting fee.

?

These companies just raised money

1. ????LocalStack secures $25M ?to let developers emulate cloud applications locally, with 900+ users including Apple.
2. ???Fleek lands $20.4M to?grow its global marketplace for secondhand clothing , now serving over 10,000 retailers.
3. ?? PointFive raises?$20M to refine cloud cost tracking? across platforms, reaching a $100M valuation.
4. ???Bounce grabs $19M in Series B? funding to scale its luggage storage network, targeting 30,000 locations by 2026.
5. ???Brazilian ESM startup Cervello secures $2.2M to expand in LATAM? with affordable, low-code solutions.
6. ?? Blockchain startup Multiledgers raises?$1M to bolster its sustainability management ?platform.

?

The future 40 startups you’ll be talking about tomorrow

Station F,?Paris’s iconic startup campus, has unveiled its annual “Future 40” , showcasing the most promising new startups across sectors from AI to green tech. This year’s list is dominated by AI innovations, with startups leveraging advanced technology to address diverse challenges.

Key trends:

• AI Everywhere: 34 of the 40 startups harness AI, signaling that AI has become the essential toolkit for modern startups.
• Energy & Sustainability: Several startups are advancing eco-friendly solutions, like?Optimmo?and?Orus Energy?for home energy efficiency, and?CarbonFarm?which uses satellite data to create carbon credits for sustainable farming.

For a full list of this year’s Future 40 startups, check out the? Station F announcement ? to explore the next wave of tech innovation!

?

?

Why software patents are useless

Discover why patents are often useless for software startups and the real truth behind patenting tech innovations. Learn from our experience at Slidebean and see real-world examples of patentable vs. non-patentable inventions ????Have you subscribed yet?

?

How did we do?

Your feedback fuels us.

Love it ?? ??|??It's okay ?? ??|??Boring ??