⚡ How this Start-Up Pivoted 4 Times in 3 Years Before they Made their First Sale

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 pivoted 4 times in 3 years before they made their first sale
⌚️ How using your competitors USP can get you an advantage
🤔 A tool that enables you to compare software offerings in seconds

✨ Last weeks most clicked link was this link taking you through to the Rare Founders Demo Day, giving you the chance to pitch to 400+ top investors!

Happy hustling,

Rich

🎤 Events/Opportunities

🏆 The Stelios Philanthropic Foundation are running their Young Entrepreneurs awards, with £300,000 in prize money up for grabs, you can apply here!

💸 Guiness Ventures are looking to invest in health + tech related companies. See more details here, on this LinkedIn post.

🎇 TechSpark are running their ‘Pitch me’ sessions, enabling you to practice your pitch in front of a panel of seasoned professionals. Check it out here!

💼 Start-Up Jobs

📈 Head of Growth + Performance Marketing, Founder Coach
🧑‍💻 Fullstack Engineer, Notably
🧑‍🎨 Business Designer, Modal

🏛 UK Government announces grand AI plan with infrastructure investment taking centre stage. Sifted

🚙 eBay acquires Caramel to reduce risk and complexity of online car sales. TechCrunch

💸 Intel spins off its corporate venture arm, Intel Capital, into a standalone fund. TechCrunch

🍏 Apple goes to trial in £1.5bn UK competition lawsuit. UKTN

Carta is a platform that helps people manage equity, build businesses and invest in the companies of tomorrow. Our mission is to unlock the power of equity ownership for more people in more places. Carta is trusted by more than 40,000 companies, over 8,000 investment funds and a million employees for cap table management, venture capital solutions and more. In the UK, we support founders who are raising money through SEIS/EIS, helping with Advance Assurance, round modelling and more. To find out more, take a look at their website, or get in touch with [email protected].

With Apple watches being so dominant in the wrist watch category these days, and far more technologically advanced than most, how could a brand like Timex ever compete?

Well, they were able to take all of Apple’s unique propositions regarding their watch offering, and flip them in the most genius way!

Timex knows that most of us are inundated with emails, and we don’t want to be constantly reminded of that! (Ironic coming from an email newsletter). So, what Apple position as a strength, they have actually made a weakness by adding the copy ‘Know the time without seeing you have 1,249 unanswered emails’.

If there is a strong competitor in your market, how can you use their USPs to your advantage?

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

CompareYourTech is an online platform to discover software solutions and service providers, with a wide range of features including Video Channels, Project Management Features, Deals and more.

Timeleft: Bringing Strangers Together Over Dinner 🍽️

The Vibe: Goodbye Loneliness, Hello Connection
Timeleft is fighting human loneliness and flipping the script on how people meet—no swiping, no profiles, no awkward small talk through a screen. Instead, they’re connecting people over a simple yet powerful concept: dinner with strangers. Here’s how it works:

1. Take a quick personality test.

2. Book your spot.

3. Show up to a restaurant address on a Wednesday night.

4. Meet five strangers with similar interests and vibe over great food.

It’s simple, it’s fun, and it’s proof that great connections don’t need to be complicated.

Co-Founding: A Match Made in Start-Up Heaven
Maxime and his Co-Founder, Adrien, weren’t strangers—they worked together on a previous Start-Up, so the trust and teamwork was already there. The Co-Founder was a growth expert, and when Maxime had the idea for Timeleft, he knew exactly who to call. Easy decision, perfect fit. Knowing how Adrien worked, what he was good at and how their relationship worked was key in getting Timeleft off the ground. Going into business with someone you’ve previously worked with is a huge advantage.

First Customers: Small Groups, Big Impact
The problem with dating apps is that you usually need a massive user base to make matches, but Timeleft? It only needs six people at a table to work. Thanks to personal networks and social media, the Founders built a small but mighty community, which is exactly how they got their first customers. In the early days, Maxime would rush around Lisbon every Wednesday, dropping off card games and other activities at restaurants. Not only did this help him build excellent relationships with restaurant owners, but he also participated incognito in the first 60 dinners (yes, 60 weeks in a row!) to observe the product from the inside.

The beauty of this model? It’s incredibly scalable. There are always six people ready for dinner in any city, anywhere in the world.

How It All Started: A Bucket List Pivot
Timeleft didn’t start with dinners. The first product was built to help people achieve bucket list dreams, like climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. The problem? Organising those huge, life-changing adventures with strangers wasn’t exactly easy—or practical.

After months of no traction, Maxime and the team pivoted to something smaller: introducing people within their city. When they realised one-on-one meetups weren’t always ideal, they shifted again to group activities.

The big lightbulb moment? Dinner. It was simple, enjoyable, and a universal way to connect. They started with a basic Typeform and WhatsApp group, and within months, over 200 people in Lisbon and Paris were dining together weekly. It took 3 years and 4 pivots to make their very first Euro. It then took 7 months to reach €1m ARR, and another 7 months to reach €10m ARR. In the first 12 months after the pivot, Timeleft is in 325 cities across 61 countries—proof that the best ideas often come from trial and error.

First Employee: From Community to Crew
Timeleft’s passionate community doesn’t just love using the product; they want to be part of building it. Whenever the company posts a job, they’re flooded with applications from people who believe in the mission, with over 20,000 job applications received in 2024. This is how Timeleft were able to hire and build the team out in the early days. It’s also something they continue to do! It guarantees that your employees have a passion for your product, as they’re keen users of it themselves!

Funding the Dream: A $2M Start
In the height of the 2021 tech boom, Maxime raised $2 million on just an idea. Fresh off a successful exit and armed with a solid resume, he went out to America, knocked on doors and pitched the concept. The first investment was the hardest to secure, but once it landed, introductions followed, and things started rolling.

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…