Zain Mobarik

I spent the last few weeks crowdsourcing the ultimate guide to London’s startup ecosystem. Here's why. Finding your people is a lifelong mission- the people that push you, open doors for you, celebrate your wins, advise you sincerely and say yes to your crazy ideas. It’s one of the reasons people love San Francisco. Everyone is rooting for you and believes in you. There is a sense of wild ambition. But is this something only unique to SF? What is/was London missing? I think it really came down to a few things: - Optimism - A mindset of waiting for permission - Lack of a catalyst Those in the startup world would have felt a shift over the past couple of months that has instilled a renewed sense of optimism for Britain, a mentality of not waiting for anyone’s permission and the catalyst of the AI boom empowering a new generation of builders. And surprisingly, this isn’t new for Britain. We made the jet engine, steam trains, discovered the structure of DNA, discovered gravity and so much more. There was no concept of permission. The UK that exists today has: - Anthropic, OpenAI and DeepMind all opening offices in Kings Cross - Startups raising absurd rounds building generational companies (just 2 days ago Fractile raised a $220m Series B) - Unmatched talent being pulled in from Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, UCL, Warwick, Kings and even European universities like ETH So how can someone get involved and how can we level the playing field for those outside the startup ecosystem? The guide friends and I created below is our small role in helping democratise some of the obscure information on the inner workings of London’s startup scene. Read it, add to it, check it regularly and most importantly, do something with it. I hope this guide helps people for years to come. Can’t wait to see what we do on top of all the infrastructure built by those before us. We’re truly standing on the shoulders of giants. 🔥 Link in comments.

@rohansuri_ @NooksHQ Congrats, looking forward to trying it!

We just launched the most powerful agent harness for GTM @NooksHQ AI Assistant sits on top of the best frontier models and gives them the tools to actually run your GTM: - Messaging that's gotten replies and closed deals - Historical context on your prospects and accounts - An action layer connected to every tool you use Hand it an account → It builds the strategy. Let it run overnight→ Your team wakes up to outreach ready to send. This isn't a better chatbot. It's the execution layer where work happens.

@WMK_15 lol who is this 😂👀

I think they need incident.io @Zainmbrk

I would extend this to many young people these days. Probs a product of the internet highlighting a vocal minority of young ultra successful folks leading to more comparison and thoughts of not having achieved enough. Had a few friends express to me in uni that they thought they had already failed in life. Absolutely wild. Many of the most successful people found their craft much later in life.

cs/tech people have a weird obsession with age, essentially deriving their entire value from accomplishing something by a specific age. probably why i’ve met so many 24 year olds who think their life is over because they spent their entire life bragging about what they accomplished before 21 instead of building a life on their own terms

@vibhayellamraju How long are you in London for!

the ai billboard density difference between sf and london is kind of insane saw 2 in 48 hours

@Sohaibashraf97 1. Anton and Mati 2. Jack Dorsey These two come to mind

@Zainmbrk name your 3 fav episodes

which podcast host asks the best questions?

@charlietlamb Best way to discover London fr

@Zainmbrk Nothing better than running round exploring London

Running on tower bridge reminds me of gym treadmills when you virtually run through London landmarks - feels like a simulation

@Andy_AJT 😂😂

@Zainmbrk This is what I’m trying to avoid Zain, this looks ridiculous

Only serious eng orgs use goose neck mics

@remilouf Check out: london-startup.guide

Im in London next week and im always happy to ̶g̶e̶t̶ ̶a̶ ̶d̶r̶i̶n̶k̶ meet with people doing cool things. Reach out!

@Sohaibashraf97 @ether_sh @amasad Huge

absolute pleasure to sit with @amasad for the Muslim Founder Podcast. We spoke about: – His Palestinian heritage – Speaking up about the genocide and the pushback - The Replit journey – Some reflections from the Quran – His advice for aspiring builders

@shlokafc Check out: london-startup.guide

gm london 🇬🇧 going to be here for next two weeks who should i meet? what events do i go to? would love to chat with folks working in crypto/ai, neobanks, founders, vcs, etc dm me!

@metinferatii Haha no way, love that 😂

Ozone coffee from @Zainmbrk guide

Londonmaxxing hard

@alys_key @t_blom Love this

Wrote this week about SNL UK, @t_blom's diagnosis of why Brits take less risk, and the importance of structural support for careers - not just products.

Huge hater of 996 Build a company that: - has incredible people and founders - hires quick and fires quick - uncaps the upside for exceptional performers - are humans first and have humility - has a culture of shipping daily / weekly: “what will be true by end of day” - understands that talking / meeting about the work is not doing the work Then trust that people will work hard and get the thing done Don’t glorify work for the sake of work