Upside
This week's happenings in startup and investing land. Getting underneath VC, and discussing how to better support the European startup eco-system.
Every week we share what's been on our mind and get under the skin of VC, investing, startups and founder psychology.
From the team behind SuperSeed who invest in technical teams solving difficult business problems.
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Upside
Upside #46 - Is Big Tech Britain On Track? Bubble or Boom?
🎙️ Episode Highlights
00:00 – Market Pulse: We’re So Back Baby!
US IPOs are red-hot (CoreWeave, Circle), S&P nearly at ATH, and Q2 GDP forecasts hit 3.5%.
The resurgence in AI and crypto-led optimism despite fiscal clouds.
03:00 – Bubble or Boom?
Are we heading into bubble territory?
US deficits are ballooning, but M&A tailwinds and LP liquidity look promising.
05:00 – The Sentiment Effect
Economic psychology: consumer sentiment drives GDP.
Europe’s problem? It talks itself down. The US? Belief + boldness.
06:50 – Big Tech Bets on Britain
Amazon pledges ÂŁ40B UK investment (data centres, fulfilment, even a film studio).
British Business Bank expands to £25B. Visma chooses London IPO over Nasdaq—confidence win?
14:00 – UK’s 10-Year Industrial Push
Gov’t targets AI, defence, creative, and energy—aiming to slash grid connection delays.
Electricity costs still a major drag. Can policy execution catch up to rhetoric?
18:00 – The UK’s Economic Reality Check
High inflation + stagnant growth = stagflation-lite.
£66B in working-age benefits forecast by 2029. Labour’s internal revolt blocks real reform.
27:00 – Tariff Tensions Mount
Trump trade wars return: EU braces for July 9 deadline. Retaliation looms.
Could German auto exports be the pressure point?
32:00 – AI in the Wild
Apple eyes Perplexity. DocuSign sues scrappy 2-day clone.
Seed-strapped startups exit for millions without VC - Paradigm shift or PR hype?
37:00 – Copyright Battles Begin
Meta & Anthropic win round one using “transformative use” defence.
The big legal fight (OpenAI vs NYT) still looms.
41:00 – Robotaxi Rollout?
Tesla demos driverless fleet in Austin - damp squib? Still lagging Waymo.
Real progress or just share-price theatre?
43:00 – Europe’s Bay Area Dream
Can Europe become Silicon Valley? Should we can we?
It’s not about funding - it’s confidence, imagination, and embracing failure.
51:00 – Optimism Please!
Q2 earnings optimism and promising chip efficiency breakthroughs.
Markets strong, founders bold, and Europe's moment (maybe) coming.
