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The New Rules of Early-Stage Fundraising with Charles Hudson

Raising your first round has always been hard — but in today’s market, the rules are changing fast. In this episode of Build Mode () , our host and Startup Battlefield () lead Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Charles Hudson, Founder and Managing Partner of Precursor Ventures () , to talk about what early-stage founders…

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4 months ago

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Raising your first round has always been hard — but in today’s market, the rules are changing fast.

In this episode of Build Mode () , our host and Startup Battlefield () lead Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Charles Hudson, Founder and Managing Partner of Precursor Ventures () , to talk about what early-stage founders need to know before raising their first institutional round.

Charles shares a candid look at how the venture landscape has shifted, why AI is changing what investors pay attention to, and how founders can better navigate fundraising when the old playbooks no longer apply.

They get into:

• Why raising pre-seed and seed funding feels harder right now• How AI is reshaping venture capital• What founders should know before choosing an investor• Why the highest valuation is not always the best deal• How to build momentum during a fundraise• Why storytelling and a strong blurb matter more than ever• What happens when a startup raises too much too soon• Why the biggest risk may not be a down round — but no round at all• How to think about whether venture capital is actually the right path

Whether you’re preparing to raise, currently fundraising, or just trying to understand how early-stage venture is changing, this conversation is packed with practical, honest advice for founders building in today’s market.

Subscribe to Build Mode on⁠ () Apple Podcasts⁠ () , ⁠Spotify⁠ () , or⁠ () wherever you like to listen⁠ () . And watch the full videos on⁠ () YouTube⁠ () . New episodes of ⁠Build Mode⁠ () drop every Thursday. 

Chapters:

00:00 – The New Rules of Startup Fundraising

02:00 – What VCs Look for in First-Time Founders

08:50 – The Biggest Fundraising Mistakes Startup Founders Make

13:20 – Why Startup Valuations Are So Unpredictable in 2026

18:20 – Why Raising Too Much Money Can Hurt Your Startup

25:55 – Should Every Startup Raise Venture Capital?

29:20 – How to Choose the Right VC Investor

33:55 – Why Silicon Valley Still Gives Founders an Advantage

36:40 – How to Build Momentum During a Startup Fundraise

Hosted by Isabelle Johannessen. Produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience development led by Morgan Little. Special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.

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CNET

iPhone Duo Livestream: How Many Folds Can Apple’s Phone Take? Day 13

Apple’s iPhone Duo is out and we want to see how durable it is. So we built a robot to fold it 20,000+ times a day to test its limits. How long do you think it will last? 100,000 folds? 200,000 folds? 500,000 folds? Tune in and watch the testing live. We’ll have CNET’s editors…

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November 11, 2026

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Apple’s iPhone Duo is out and we want to see how durable it is. So we built a robot to fold it 20,000+ times a day to test its limits. How long do you think it will last? 100,000 folds? 200,000 folds? 500,000 folds? Tune in and watch the testing live. We’ll have CNET’s editors online to answer any of your questions.

Join us weekdays from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM PT / 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET

Read more about the iPhone Duo Folding Test on CNET.com
We Answer 16 Questions About Folding the iPhone Duo Hundreds of Thousands of Times

The iPhone Duo Is Now in Our Custom-Made Foldable Phone Test Machine. Will It Beat the Galaxy Fold 8?

iPhone Duo Review: Late to the Foldable Party, but It Steals the Show

Check out the 3D Printer Matthew Murray used to print the sled that iPhone Duo is sitting on:
Looking for the Most Accurate 3D Printer? Our Exclusive Testing Reveals One Clear Winner

Video Credits:
Host: Matthew Murray
Producer: Stephen Beacham
Thumbnail Designer: Zooey Liao

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#apple #iphone #iphonefold #iphoneduo #applefoldable #foldablephone #foldable #folding

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Science & Technology

Why the data center you dread might never even be built | Equity Podcast

The data center boom is running into serious real-world obstacles, from widespread local opposition and permitting delays to a scramble for electricity. Before those challenges even come into play, though, there’s a more basic problem: A lot of the projects being announced may never get built in the first place. With billions of dollars in…

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1 day ago

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November 11, 2026

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The data center boom is running into serious real-world obstacles, from widespread local opposition and permitting delays to a scramble for electricity. Before those challenges even come into play, though, there’s a more basic problem: A lot of the projects being announced may never get built in the first place. With billions of dollars in AI infrastructure investment at stake, separating realistic projects from speculative ones is becoming increasingly important.

On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Rebecca Bellan and Tim De Chant are joined by Brent Nelson, senior managing director of markets and strategy at Ascend Analytics, to separate the data center projects that are likely to get built from the ones that may never get off the ground.

Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
2:20 Will the midterms and data center backlash slow the buildout?
5:33 Announced vs. actually built: the speculation problem
10:01 Who’s lending, and why tenants matter most
14:59 Powering data centers: why everyone defaults to gas
18:44 The case for curtailable interconnections plus batteries
20:09 Why the grid can’t just move power around
24:46 Can data centers pay their way out of opposition?
27:22 What founders and investors shouldn’t assume
29:31 Permitting reform and the lame-duck window
31:17 Outro

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CNET

Fold-A-Phone Week 3, Livestream Day 13: 406K iPhone Duo Folds! Will we get to 500K?

Why aren’t we adding dust or sand directly into the hinge? Because we’re looking to get the best data about durability. Each phone that goes into the Fold-A-Phone is tested in highly controlled conditions, with a tightly calibrated opening and closing cadence to ensure equivalent performance each and every time. Join us on YouTube at…

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1 day ago

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November 11, 2026

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Why aren’t we adding dust or sand directly into the hinge? Because we’re looking to get the best data about durability. Each phone that goes into the Fold-A-Phone is tested in highly controlled conditions, with a tightly calibrated opening and closing cadence to ensure equivalent performance each and every time.

Join us on YouTube at 1pm EST to 5pm EST to watch us fold live and answer more of your questions. #foldaphone #iphoneduo #apple #durability #allthingsmobile

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Read more about it on CNET.com:

Video Credits:
Camera: Matthew Murray
Video Editor: Faith Chihil

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