💡10 Founders Who Just Raised Millions

Is Your Amazon Strategy Actually Working? Here’s What Top Brands Do Differently.

At Cartograph, we’ve worked with some of the most innovative brands in CPG—OLIPOP, Starface, and Rao’s—and understand the nuances of selling consumables on Amazon.

Are you a fast-growing brand in Food & Beverage, Supplements, Beauty & Personal Care, Household, Pet, or Baby?
Growing 50%+ YoY?
Do you know your Amazon profitability (and are you happy with it)?

We’ve spent the past 7 years helping CPG brands scale profitably on Amazon. What makes Cartograph different:
• Deep CPG focus
• No more than 4 brands per team
• Monthly P&L forecasts within 5% accuracy
• Daily reporting via Slack

Click below to get a custom, human review of your Amazon account—not just another automated report.

Get An Amazon Audit

💡 10 Founders Who Just Raised Millions

💡 10 Founders Who Just Raised Millions — Are You Next?

From ClimateTech recycling breakthroughs to AI pipelines, cybersecurity, healthtech, and martech tools—early-stage funding momentum is showing no signs of slowing down.

🔹 ChemFinity Technologies ($7M) is pulling critical minerals from waste streams.
🔹 Zipline AI ($7M) is building open-source infrastructure for AI data pipelines.
🔹 Palabra.ai ($8.4M) is reimagining speech translation with AI.
🔹 Swept AI ($1.4M) is stress-testing AI agents for reliability & compliance.
🔹 vibecode ($9.4M) lets anyone build mobile apps in plain language.
🔹 July AI ($1.04M) is helping grads & pros get AI-ready.
🔹 Better Medicine ($1.2M) is using AI to fight kidney cancer.
🔹 Innerworks ($4M) is strengthening cybersecurity.
🔹 Spike AI ($1.9M) is optimizing marketing strategies with automation.
🔹 BetterPic ($2.5M) is creating AI-powered professional headshots.

💡 The signal? AI is everywhere—from education to cybersecurity to fashion—and angels + VCs are doubling down at the earliest stages.

👉 Want to know who’s next in line to back founders like you? I’ve put together a massive list of angel investors who are actively looking to fund early-stage startups. Whether you’re launching your first venture or scaling up, these investors could be your next big backer.

📋 12 Startup Checklists Every Founder Must Nail

📋 12 Things Every Founder Must Do First

Most founders jump in with passion. But passion without a plan? That’s how startups fail fast.

Before you launch, here are a few non-negotiables you can’t afford to miss:

✅ Validate your idea → Market fit > passion
💡 Plan financially → Estimate costs, forecast profits, avoid surprises
📊 Build your team → Don’t go solo; align strengths early
🧑‍🏫 Find a mentor → Experience saves years of mistakes
🛠️ Setup legally → Registration today = fewer roadblocks tomorrow
📣 Market smartly → Brand + funnel = growth engine

These are just a taste of the 12 most critical steps that can make or break your startup’s foundation.

🚀 Whether you’re a first-time founder or scaling up, this checklist gives you a clear, practical roadmap — so you don’t leave success to chance.

🔽 Download the full eBook checklist below and kickstart your startup journey the right way.

🤖 AI Tools That Find & Close Leads For You

💼 Lead Gen Tools That Make Sales Teams Unstoppable

Winning in sales is about speed and precision. These tools give modern sales teams the unfair advantage—whether it’s filtering fake leads or automating follow-ups.

1️⃣ Mocke — Mock email campaigns & test reply rates before launching.
2️⃣ Leads Ward — AI-powered form filtering to stop bad leads at the gate.
3️⃣ Sellinger AI — Fully automated conversational LinkedIn outreach.
4️⃣ mention.click — Spot Reddit conversations where your product fits.
5️⃣ Webhound — Build custom datasets from the web in minutes.
6️⃣ FunnelYT — Track leads directly from your YouTube videos.
7️⃣ Knowledge — Person-level sales intelligence with behavioral insights.
8️⃣ Clado — 800M+ people profiles for global search & enrichment.
9️⃣ Revfx Account Lookalikes — Find lookalike accounts with AI precision.
🔟 Ciro — Build, score & enrich your perfect prospect list in <5 min.

⚡ From smarter outreach to hyper-precise prospecting, these tools are redefining lead generation.

👉 Want more? I’ve compiled a growing list of AI-powered sales & lead gen tools to keep you ahead of the curve. Explore the full list here.

Top Publishers Hand-Selecting Amazon Brands to Promote this Holiday Season

This holiday season, top publishers are handpicking Amazon brands to feature in gift guides, newsletters, and reviews — driving high-intent shoppers straight to storefronts.

Levanta is connecting a select group of 7–9 figure brands with publishers ready to promote products to millions of buyers.

See if your brand qualifies

🎯 Startups Buzz

✨ The “Bold Dumbass” Strategy That Actually Works

Arjun Mahadevan’s unorthodox playbook shows how bold moves, not perfection, win attention and growth — a mindset shift digital marketers can borrow for campaigns.

👉 Learn from Arjun’s strategy

📈 From 0 → $10M ARR in 18 Months

Bessemer’s startup playbook reveals growth tactics founders used to scale fast — insights marketers can adapt for funnel optimization and customer acquisition.

👉 Read the scaling playbook

📰 Why VCs Are Writing Newsletters to Win Deals

VCs are turning to newsletters as their growth engine — a signal for marketers on how owned media builds influence and drives pipeline.

👉 See why newsletters are a power move

🌍 Pitching Goes Multilingual (Even for Teens!)

Startup competitions are embracing multiple languages, proving that storytelling + inclusivity matters — a reminder for marketers to think beyond English-first campaigns.

👉 Explore the global pitch shift

🦄 10 Pre-Seed Deals That Could Be Unicorns

GoingVC dives into early-stage bets with breakout potential — a treasure trove for marketers tracking industries where budgets (and demand) will explode next.

👉 Check out the pre-seed standouts

💡 50 Pre-Seed Funds Every Founder Should Know

Papermark compiles a list of the most active pre-seed investors — a handy resource for marketers to identify sectors where new product launches will emerge.

👉 View the full pre-seed list

🎯 WEB PICKS

🖥️ Anthropic Drops a Claude AI Agent That Takes Over Your Chrome
Imagine ChatGPT, but baked right into your browser—this agent could change how you browse, work, and multitask online.

🐕‍🦺 Whistleblower Claims DOGE Exposed Social Security Database on a Public Cloud
Billions of records could’ve been at risk—one of the biggest alleged leaks tied to a meme-inspired tech project.

💰 Meta Pours Tens of Millions Into Pro-AI Super PAC
Zuck is betting big on AI policy influence—this move could shape the future of U.S. AI regulation.

🌾 This AI Startup Helps Rice Farmers Fight Climate Change
From fields to food security—AI is tackling one of agriculture’s toughest challenges.

📚 Libby App Adds AI Discovery… and Readers Aren’t Happy
AI-powered book recommendations sound smart, but not everyone wants algorithms reshaping their library.

🌍 NotebookLM’s New Video Overviews Feature Now Speaks 80 Languages
Global creators can now auto-summarize in their native tongue—massive for accessibility and reach.

⚖️ Parents Sue OpenAI, Blaming ChatGPT for Their Son’s Suicide
The lawsuit raises tough questions about AI responsibility, mental health, and accountability.