Alex Menn

I built a new kind of newsroom where reporters are commissioned by AI agents. No editors. No commissioning meetings. No gut instinct about what readers want. Just an algorithm that decides what the world needs to read — and pays a human to go find it.

Success stories often trigger FOMO and envy. It feels like the idea was simple and the execution not too hard. “I could’ve done that too,” you think. Our team at Begin Capital had the chance to follow these guys’ journey from the very beginning. The truth is, the first 100+ institutional investors said no, the first agency owners didn’t take Dwelly seriously, and in the first couple of years the company could have easily died. Two of the most valuable qualities of outstanding founders: resilience (what would kill 99% of others is just “ok, it’s Tuesday” for the Dwelly team) and velocity (how fast and effectively founders can adapt to changes and new circumstances). This was by no means an easy success, but what Dan Lifshits, Ilia Drozdov, and Dmitry Khanukov have achieved gives real confidence in an incredible future. A few weeks ago, when Dan asked if we wanted to sell our position and lock in a very solid return (as the first investor), I told him he’s got a great sense of humor. I believe in the 100x potential — and I’m just grateful you exist. fortune.com/2026/02/25/dwe…

Proud to be an investor here

@YorkCityFC Great game! Enjoyed a lot!

📰 Match Report | York City 2-1 Forest Green Rovers #YCFC 🔴🔵

One of the biggest winners of the AI boom isn’t OpenAI, NVIDIA, or any startup. It’s a tiny Caribbean island with just ~15,000 people: Anguilla. Why? Pure luck — they got assigned the .ai domain back in 1995. Back then, it was meaningless. Today? It’s digital gold. As of January 2026: over 1 million .ai domains registered (up from ~354k in 2023). Revenue explosion: • 2023: ~$32M (21-22% of gov revenue) • 2024: ~$39M (23-25%) • 2025/2026 estimates: $70M+ in recent reports, with some gov figures pointing even higher (up to ~47% of national budget in projections) They charge ~$140 for 2-year registration, ~90% renew → super predictable cash flow. Plus premium auctions (e.g., youai sold for $700k). This windfall is paying down debt, upgrading roads & airports, investing in renewables, and funding free healthcare for kids and the elderly. Who knew a random country code would turn a small island into an AI-era beneficiary? Nature finds a way… even in domain names.

Sam Altman emails Elon Musk October 18, 2015

For every 10 likes, I'll make Chamath's collar bigger.

The last thing value sees before being added :)

Meeting with a European founder His business is brand new (started in 2016) and already has a half-dozen paying customers Incredible growth I ask him his MRR "Sorry, but disclosing that information would violate GDPR," he tells me. Brilliant response. That question was a test - and he passed. I immediately invested the statutory maximum of 20.000€ into his startup With a lot of hustle and a little bit of luck, by 2050 my investment will hopefully be worth upwards of 35.000€

Friends with benefits When you spend a lot of time at work (guilty as charged!), it’s pretty natural, and sometimes even inevitable, that your coworkers and portfolio company founders actually become your friends. Friendships that grow out of business tend to be very strong: in our line of work, shared deadlines / cap tables / creditors > shared hobbies. The opposite dynamic, however, lends itself to quite a few questions. Can you build a business based on friendship? And, perhaps more importantly, can you invest in friends? If yes, then what are the rules? In my opinion, there’s only one advantage of investing in friends: “A friend who also makes you 10x returns becomes your favorite friend 🤣😂” Everything else is a minefield: - Any business dispute takes on an emotional edge (marriages, let alone businesses, crumble because of financial disagreements). If you’ve been arguing all week over the startup, then a weekend family dinner may quickly turn awkward, or even downright grim. - Before long, every conversation between you will circle back to the company’s wins and losses. - Friends are usually among the first investors, and they sit at the very bottom of the cap table. “Friends and family” sounds nice until liquidation day. Also, regardless of your friendship, a founder can’t give you preferential treatment. - Losing money hurts. And even if the investment isn’t that big of a deal to you, failing would likely take a toll on your friend, and, in the worst-case scenario, the friendship. If, even after these warnings, you’re still thinking about writing a check to a friend, here are some key questions to consider: - 90% of startups won’t make money for their investors. We trust our friends more and believe in them stronger, but that doesn’t change the statistics. Your friend’s business still has a huge chance of failing. Do you really understand the risks? -If your investment goes to zero, will it affect your relationship? And what if you feel that it was your friend’s poor performance that caused the failure? - Are you investing to support your friend (a big red flag)? Or because you truly believe this project can make money? Did you analyze the market, the metrics, the team? Before making any kind of a deal, you need to get crystal clear on one thing. You’re not investing in a friend, but in their company. In a nutshell, if you can’t separate personal from professional, then stay friends and steer clear of writing any checks. If you’re not bothered by any of the above, truly believe in the company’s success, and know how to handle the emotional side of the arrangement, then by all means go for it! Maybe it’ll work out just as well for you as it did for us with Dan Lifshits. By the way, Dan, when are the dividends coming?

“How about ‘Taylor’?”

IPOs of American startups. The last column should be doubled, as the year is ongoing. A striking chart. Odd that I haven’t seen it before (or forgot it). It looked the same last year or the year before.

The proportion of startups raising the next round within specified quarters. Carta's analyst sees the situation as stable: neither too high (bubble) nor too low (crisis). However, he consistently draws positive conclusions from any chart…

I’ve never in my life listened to an audio message and thought: “Oh, yes! That was worth my 1.25 minutes!”

📣 We Are Hiring 📣 Begin Capital is ready to hire its next investment superstar - someone passionate about building visionary tech companies and inspired by unconventional outliers. We are a small team, more like a rock band or blockbuster film crew - but above all, a family. For the first time in four years, we're excited to welcome a new team member to the Begin family! Begin Capital backs companies from (Pre)Seed to Series A, with a focus on the EU & US. While we take a generalist approach, we're especially excited about deep tech software, AI infrastructure, AI-enabled roll-ups, and vertical SaaS. We're looking for someone with.. 💻 3 - 10 years of investment experience 🤖 Technical background encouraged (although not required) 🏴‍☠️ Creative "Pirate mentality" & uncoventional thinker 🇬🇧 Based in London, UK (relocation possible) Got someone in mind? Share this post with your network! If your referral joins the team, one of the following rewards could be yours 🎁 - $10K investment into your business or charity donation through Fundraise Up - 5 year subscription to your favourite LLM / AI tool (e.g. Zencoder) - $10K cash for a holiday of choice - VIP tickets for a football game (incl. wine and dine) with @_AlexMenn - Personal HYROX trainings bootcamp To apply, please send your resume to hr@begincl.com, along with your motivation (200 words max) & favourite early stage tech company.

Well done, team!

Fun fact: People will have created 2M Storybooks by bedtime tonight!