Morning Innovators ⚡ In less than 5 minutes, we’ll cover…

🥳 The best funding opportunities, events and jobs in the Start-Up world this week
📰 This week’s biggest news stories in the Start-Up world
🥂 How this Start-Up is helping independent hotels unlock extra revenue
✉️ How physical mail brings your customers back around
📱 An AI tool that helps you create viral videos fast

✨ Last week’s most clicked link, was this link taking you through to Baobab Ventures’ new $15m fund to back global Pre-Seed + Seed technical Startups.

Happy hustling,

Rich

🎤 Opportunities + Events

🍀 Clover have launched a new €30m fund to back Founders changing the future of work with €100k - €200k tickets - submit your pitch here!

🌱 Arāya Ventures have completed their first close of $8.25m for their $30m fund to invest in FinTech, HealthTech, Commerce and the Future of Work - contact the team here!

🥗 FoodLabs have raised a third fund of €105m to back early-stage FoodTech startups in Europe with cheque sizing ranging between $100k - $2m - submit your pitch here!

We now have a community of thousands of Start-Ups and Founders, here are the hottest Start-Up job opportunities from the Innovators Uncensored community on our very own Start-Ups Job Board!

💼 Start-Up Jobs

🧑‍💻 Senior Software Engineer, DevAlly
📊 Head of Product, SuperFI
✈️ Founding Software Engineer, TRVLR

🦄 Salesforce Challenger Brevo becomes Europe’s newest unicorn with €500m share sale. Sifted

🛍 Google’s AI try-on app Doppl adds a shoppable discovery feed. TechCrunch

🤝 Meta acquires AI device startup Limitless. TechCrunch
 
📱 Women backing women fund secures £30m investment. UKTN

Planning a trip for business or pleasure?

Final Rentals, a pioneering car rental fintech headquartered in Wales, has revolutionised the industry with its innovative approach and product-centric strategy. By addressing key challenges within the car rental sector, Finalrentals has experienced remarkable growth, increasing its size sixfold in the past 12 months. The company's expansion is not limited to growth metrics alone; it has also successfully established a robust global presence, extending its footprint across the EU and the Caribbean.

Book your rental here!

Everyone tells you that you have to keep your email list warm, and you do. However, when everyone is doing email, sometimes you have to stand out in other ways (Ironic coming from an email newsletter, I know).

Gusto Snacks have run some incredible marketing campaigns over the years, but this one might be my favourite. They ran through their email list to find every previous customer who hadn’t opened their emails for over 2 years. If you hit the 2 year hiatus criteria, you received a letter in the post with a discount code and a clever play on words to get your attention.

If your customers have gone quiet, how can you do something outside of the normal to get them to re-engage?

Each week we highlight our favourite tools - either something we’ve been using in our businesses, or tools that our Start-Up community have recommended.

CyberCut AI helps creators and teams produce viral videos fast. Auto-slice long footage into social-ready clips, generate marketing videos, add high-precision subtitles, edit by text, access an AI asset library, try virtual model try-ons, and use a full AI toolkit.

Enhance My Stay - The Platform Helping Independent Hotels Unlock Hidden Revenue

Reimagining Hotel Revenue: What Enhance My Stay Does

Enhance My Stay is a hotel-tech company on a mission to help independent and boutique hotels compete with the giants. The platform gives hotels a custom-branded upsell system that engages guests before they arrive - offering upgrades, experiences, and add-ons that boost revenue without adding operational strain.

The focus has always been clear: big hotel chains have entire departments dedicated to optimisation and upselling. Smaller hotels don’t. Enhance My Stay levels the playing field, using clean, data-driven technology to unlock revenue that would otherwise go untapped.

Getting the First Customers: Relentless Outreach & Tight Targeting

Winning the first customer took graft. Gary (The Founder) focused his early efforts on boutique hotels with fewer than ten rooms, starting locally so he could visit, call, and iterate closely with owners.

It was classic founder hustle - cold emails, cold calls, and targeted outreach until the first “yes” arrived. That early niche focus wasn’t just tactical; it helped the team sharpen the product by getting feedback from owners who felt overlooked by mainstream providers.

The Pivot: From Personality-Based Booking to Hotel Upselling

Enhance My Stay wasn’t the original plan. Gary’s first concept, Porter, matched travellers to hotels based on personality and preferences - a curated alternative to the massive booking platforms.

But competing with billion-dollar incumbents proved a dead end. Then Covid hit, the travel industry ground to a halt, and the team faced a crossroads.

Rather than fold, they pivoted.

Independent hotels suddenly needed new ways to make money, especially with limited in-person interactions. The team built an early prototype for an upselling platform - bare-bones, functional, and delivered fast. Working hand-in-hand with hotel partners, they iterated relentlessly.

The pivot stuck. It solved a real-world problem at the exact moment hotels needed it most.

Early Talent: Right Place, Right Time

The company’s first helping hand arrived through sheer luck - a colleague looking for a side project who happened to have the perfect skill set. Later, Gary brought in another key team member from a past startup relationship.

Talent didn’t arrive because of flashy salaries or corporate perks; it arrived because Gary sold the vision. People wanted to be part of what Enhance My Stay could become.

Fundraising: A Journey Through Setbacks, Pandemic Chaos, and Persistence

Fundraising was anything but smooth.

Before Covid, Gary had secured soft commitments from early angels - including a former colleague who introduced him to even more potential investors. Then the pandemic hit, global travel collapsed overnight, and every commitment evaporated.

It forced a complete reset.

The breakthrough came when Gary took a gamble and purchased a premium package on the Angel Investment Network. The gamble paid off - a handful of angels showed interest, creating the momentum needed to close the round. Those first believers added credibility, which made subsequent conversations far easier.

Combined with the backing of trusted professionals from his network, Enhance My Stay finally secured the funding required to grow.

Where They Are Today

Enhance My Stay has evolved from a pandemic-era pivot into a technology partner for independent hotels who want to operate with the sophistication of major chains - without the cost or complexity.

It’s a story of resilience, reframing struggles, and staying adaptable in an industry that changed overnight.

Next week I’ll be highlighting another awesome Start-Up, as well as sharing all the usuals including funding opportunities, Start-Up news, plus plenty of awesome tips, tricks and tools.

P.S. Connect with me on LinkedIn…