Pivot

🚀And just like that, we are 1⃣ year “old”… 🌟 Over the past 12 months of our foray as a #Web3 startup venture accelerator firm, we have: - Received 400+ applications 🚀 - Built an ecosystem comprising 400+ partners - VCs, L1s, L2s, exchanges, MMs, agencies & so much more.. 🤝 - Onboarded 50+ mentors & Angels 🦸‍♂️🦸‍♀️ - Onboarded 15 awesome startups to our flagship acceleration program - stay tuned for reveals. 🌟 🚀 All this to try and put a dent in #Web3.. 💥 We are Pivot - helping founders build great #Web3 companies! 💡 The following 🧵 is us moving the needle a notch higher in a systematic manner! 🔧⚙️ #letspivot #gratitude

Most startups ask: "How do we build more?" The better question is: "How do we enable others to build with us?" Products scale through customers. Ecosystems scale through participants. That's why the companies defining the next decade won't just create great products, they'll create platforms where developers, partners, and businesses can build, innovate, and grow together. Our latest article explores why ecosystem orchestration is becoming the new competitive moat. Read more: linkedin.com/pulse/future-b… #letspivot

$130M raised to strengthen financial risk infrastructure for digital assets. Gauntlet secured $130 million in funding led by SBI Holdings to expand its blockchain simulation and risk management platform. The company helps DeFi protocols simulate market stress, optimize liquidity and collateral, and reduce systemic risk before capital goes on-chain. Why it Matters? As institutions enter digital assets, financial resilience matters as much as code security. By helping protocols test and optimize their economic models before deployment, Gauntlet is building the infrastructure for a more resilient and institution-ready DeFi ecosystem. #letspivot

Founders spend months perfecting products. Customers spend seconds deciding whether they understand them. That gap is where many startups lose. As software becomes increasingly commoditized, positioning, not product, has become the real differentiator. Our latest article breaks down why the startups that win are the ones that own a place in the market's mind before they own market share. Read more here: @pivotintelhq/winning-markets-starts-with-positioning-230e5a19064c" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">medium.com/@pivotintelhq/… #letspivot

$76M raised to build institutional-grade crypto market infrastructure. EDX Markets secured $76 million in a Series C round led by SBI Holdings, with participation from Citadel Securities, Fidelity Digital Assets, Charles Schwab, and Sequoia Capital. The platform separates trade execution from custody, bringing Wall Street-style market structure to digital assets. The new funding will expand its clearinghouse, accelerate global growth, and support the launch of its regulated custody platform, EDX Trust. Why it Matters? Crypto's next growth phase won't be driven by new tokens, it will be driven by better market infrastructure. EDX Markets is bringing the trust, transparency, and risk controls institutions expect, making digital assets easier for traditional capital to access. #letspivot

8/ Applications are open at Pivot. If you're a Web3 or AI startup looking for: - Funding access through 300+ VC partners - Mentors who've built sustainable businesses - Global ecosystem exposure across exchanges, launchpads and networks Apply here: pivot.ac/Startup-Applic… Or drop a reply or DM and let's talk about where your startup is right now. #letspivot

7/ The next generation of winners won't be defined by the size of their rounds. They'll be defined by: • Sustainable unit economics • AI-powered execution • Defensible distribution • Founder conviction • Capital efficiency In the AI era, money is abundant. Defensible businesses are not. #letspivot

1/ The traditional venture capital playbook is breaking. Founders are still raising capital with a 2021 mindset while investors have already moved on. AI has fundamentally changed what venture funds look for. Here's the Pivot Decode on how VC is evolving in the AI era. 🧵

The biggest risk to an early-stage startup isn't always the product. Sometimes, it's the partnership behind it. Ideas can pivot. Markets change. Business models evolve. But a co-founder who isn't aligned on vision, execution, or long-term goals can quietly become the biggest bottleneck to growth. In our latest article, we unpack why founder alignment is one of the strongest predictors of long-term success and the practical steps founders can take to de-risk one of the most important decisions they'll ever make. Read more: linkedin.com/pulse/your-co-… #letspivot

$12.5M raised to build the next generation of decentralized derivatives infrastructure. Extended Exchange secured $12.5 million in funding led by eToro, with participation from Jump Crypto and Àlber Blanc. The platform is building a self-custodial trading venue that delivers centralized exchange performance while keeping users in control of their assets. It supports leveraged trading across crypto, FX, and precious metals, with the new funding set to expand liquidity and strengthen its on-chain trading infrastructure. Why it Matters? Institutional traders are increasingly looking for execution without custody risk. Platforms like Extended Exchange are proving that decentralized exchanges can offer the speed and depth of traditional markets while preserving the transparency of on-chain finance. #letspivot

Building a great product is no longer enough. AI has made software cheaper and faster to build, which means product advantages are becoming increasingly short-lived. The new competitive moat is distribution. The startups that dominate tomorrow won't just build better products, they'll build better systems for acquiring attention, earning trust, and compounding demand. In our latest article, we explore why distribution is becoming the most undervalued function in startups, and why founders and investors should start treating it as core infrastructure, not marketing. Read more here: pivotintelhq.medium.com/distribution-i… #letspivot

⚡️ 𝗣𝗶𝘃𝗼𝘁 𝘅 𝗕𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝘀𝗶𝗮 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 ⚡️ We're excited to partner with one of the world's leading Bitcoin conferences - @Bitcoinconfasia, bringing together founders, investors, institutions, and ecosystem leaders shaping the future of digital assets. As part of the partnership, Pivot has secured an exclusive 10% ticket discount for our community. 🎟 Register here: tickets.b.tc/event/bitcoin-… 🏷️ Use code: LETSPIVOT If you're attending Bitcoin Asia this August, we'd love to meet you there and connect with the builders driving the next wave of innovation. #letspivot #BitcoinAsia #Bitcoin #Web3 #DigitalAssets

Most founders think a lightning-fast fundraise is the ultimate victory. But when capital moves too quickly, speed often blinds you to toxic misalignment and missing due diligence. The startups winning today aren't just optimizing for instant term sheets - they are running disciplined processes to ensure their investment partners actually understand the business beneath the hype. Because a multi-million dollar round with zero partner alignment is still a broken startup. In our latest article, we break down why fundraising speed can be a massive red flag, and how to actively pressure-test your investors before adding them to your cap table. Read more here: linkedin.com/pulse/fundrais… #letspivot

8/ Applications are open at Pivot. If you're a Web3 or AI startup looking for: - Funding access through 300+ VC partners - Mentors who've built sustainable businesses - Global ecosystem exposure across exchanges, launchpads and networks Apply here: pivot.ac/Startup-Applic… Or drop a reply or DM and let's talk about where your startup is right now. #letspivot

7/ The winners of this multi-billion dollar infrastructure war won't just be the networks offering the fastest isolated sidechains. They will be the trust-minimized architectures that successfully align with Bitcoin's core ethos of security while offering developers frictionless deployment. Overcoming the historical programmability barrier is the ultimate proof of technical innovation and long-term ecosystem vision. As speculative market noise clears throughout 2026, networks anchored to Bitcoin's unparalleled security and native capital are built to dominate. Follow @pivotintelHQ for more. #letspivot

1/ The era of "stagnant gold" in Web3 is coming to a definitive end. The world’s largest decentralized asset is officially becoming programmable, and the infrastructure race to unlock its dormant liquidity is moving faster than the market realizes. Here is the Pivot Decode on Bitcoin Layer-2s. 🧵 #letspivot