CA new study says if you want to be a founder one day, where you work first can more than double your odds of raising a Series A.
MMore than double? From where you work?
CMagnus Grimeland posted that on X. He founded Antler, the early-stage investment firm.
CThey looked at more than fifty-one thousand European seed-stage startups.
CFounders who stayed at an employer that reached Series A or beyond had a fifty-five percent conversion rate. Everyone else: twenty-three percent.
MThat's a real gap.
CIf you want to raise, the study suggests going to work at a startup that already proved someone would fund it.
MHold on. That sounds like selection, not school. The people who join those companies were already more connected.
CNo, no— it's not just network. You see how they priced a round, how they hire, how they survive.
MAnd the ones who never worked at a funded startup? They're not all clueless. They just didn't get the badge.
CThe badge is the whole point. Investors trust people who've seen it work.
MI'll give you that it's a strong correlation. But 'more than double' sounds like a magic formula, and it isn't.
CGrudgingly, fine. It's not a law of physics. But if you're twenty-two and want to start something, the data is loud.
MBut cap the hype. A job is not a lottery ticket.
CNever said it was.
CI still say the study undercuts the old 'go to Google or McKinsey' advice.
MDoes it? Antler only looked at whether your employer got funded, not whether the founder could've raised anyway.
CIt's not just the name. It's the playbook you take with you.
MSo it's a filter for people who already knew someone.
CThe study says more than double. That's not nothing.
MI'm not saying nothing. I'm saying that opening line is overselling.
CIt's not overselling if the number is fifty-five to twenty-three.
MFor a specific sample. Europe, seed stage, certain years.
CAlways the specific sample.
MAlright. You win the stat. I'll give you that.
CI take no pleasure in this.
MDifferent world entirely: Reuters posted on X that Blue Origin pushed the New Glenn launch to January.
CJanuary? New Glenn is Jeff Bezos's heavy-lift rocket, and it's been grounded since May.
MSources and an internal memo say January twenty twenty-seven.
CAt some point 'cautious' becomes 'can't launch.'
MThat's the wrong comparison. After a launchpad explosion, you don't rush a heavy-lift orbital rocket.
CSpaceX blew up plenty and still flew. Blue Origin is just... parked.
MYou'd rather they light the candle and lose the pad again?
CI'd rather Bezos delivered heavy lift this decade.
MThe memo says January twenty twenty-seven. That's a date, at least.
CA date they've moved once already.
MBecause the pad blew up in May. That's a good reason to slow down.
CFine. But the company needs a flight, not another memo.
MYou know what? We agree on that.
CSo now you're defending a delay?
MI'm defending not testing a rocket on a broken pad.
CThen fix the pad faster.
MThat's the whole January plan.
CIf January holds.
MYeah. Big if.