Everything42 + GSA Edition
Life, the Universe, and Fusion42 #015
Hello Hello,
I hope you all had a fantastic week and are making great moves. It was an up and down week here at Fusion-42. Here’s the 😇 Good, 😈 Bad and the 🤢 Ugly so we can all learn together.
😇 The Good
It’s long, it’s hard, but ever so rewarding.
Some of the most exciting things this week were not all around GSA, but the POC when not being afraid to do things in public. We are receiving inbound from eternal parties wanting to get involved and opening up discussions about setting up and running incubators / accelerators for them. I feel our unique value add of actually listening to founders and getting shit done is resonating. Active over Passive wins everyday
GSA was a stonker of a week.
Masterclasses and panels are getting an average of 125 people show up over the sessions. Reviews are outstanding and people even posting off their own back (appreciate you so so much)
Last week had some great guests and sessions and next week is set to be outstanding.
Some key takeaways from last week.
Tuesday – Founder Fireside
Sophie Smith and Kristina Moore reminded us that investors decide early — look for genuine buy-in. Obsession trumps polish, SPVs keep your cap table clean, and 300+ rejections usually mean a targeting issue, not a bad idea.
Wednesday – AI Masterclass
We unpacked the truth behind LLMs — they remix, not create. AI adds value when you stay in control. Founders built custom GPTs, tested Perplexity Spaces, and ran AI sprints to streamline insight, not replace it.
Thursday – Pitch Kung Fu
This session cut through the fluff. Warm intros beat cold decks. $1 in sales > big promises. Know your CAC, LTV, and GTM story — then pitch with precision, not hope.
Watch the reruns here
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😈 The Bad (and how we deal with it)
Speed of execution can never be fast enough as far as I am concerned, but we can only do what we can do. Priority management and acceptance of less than perfect are the key.
After a flat period, growth has resumed with GSA kicking in, new hubs coming onboard and really positive support. LFG
🤢 The Ugly
STARTUP ECOSYSTEM: The Overused Illusion
I’m over the “ecosystem” hype. Before people mouth that word, they should flip open a child’s encyclopedia and learn its meaning. When push comes to shove the majority spout the term and it turns out to be 99 % BS—closed doors, gate‑keeping and self‑interest posing as collaboration. Pure social signalling, zero substance.
Our response
Radical transparency: We publish metrics, mistakes and learnings.
Community first: Knowledge and connections flow freely.
Accountability: We expose protectionism and demand genuine change.
No gate‑keeping: Everyone has a seat and a voice, pedigree irrelevant.
This is a movement for the betterment of innovation.
This isn’t about preserving a broken status quo—repeating the same tactics only delivers the same failures and stagnant returns. We’re building a movement that actually works—for founders, framers and funders alike.
“You can’t build an ecosystem on fluff from takers—without substance, it’s a non‑starter.”
Well that’s it from me, I am so excited and pumped for what’s to come over the next days, weeks, months. Thanks to all for being part of this journey.
For the ❤️ of startups
Cheers,
Enjoy and hope to see you soon.
If you have not joined the Fusion42 Community on Telegram —
it is probably time to do so.
For the ❤️ of Startups
📅 Upcoming Online Masterclasses, Panels and Workshops.
Get the calendar here.
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