Morning beehiivcommunity!

This newsletter tackles the dilemma, “How do I know what I don’t know?” with pointed predictions, practical takeaways, and curated NYC events to help founders and CFOs expand options and build resilience.

Don’t Get Outgrown by Your Startup: Stage by Stage Best Practices for Founders

Founders who thrive over the years don’t just pivot their product—they pivot themselves.

The biggest and cruelest irony is that the traits that drove early startup success can become liabilities later unless founders recognize the need to evolve.

As your startup grows, the behaviors that once helped you survive can quietly start to restrict you. The best founders keep upgrading how they think, lead, and operate.

In my longer post, I share stage‑by‑stage best practices: five each for Pre‑Seed, Seed, Series A, and Series B+. Each focuses on personal resilience, effective leadership, and sustainable growth. You’ll find practical takeaways and broader framing to help you assess your current priorities and anticipate what’s coming next.

You can read the full post HERE.

Expert Tips for Startups

CFOs at the Frontline of AI Risk: Event Wrap-Up

Recently, four experts explored how CFOs can harness AI’s upside while protecting trust, resilience, and the bottom line.

Brett Wilson, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, IOmergent, stressed that companies of all sizes must address their cybersecurity posture now, even if they are only beginning to adopt AI. Brett warned that as pricing models change, companies risk building agentic systems today that could become financially unsustainable tomorrow, so each one must make a thoughtful decision between ROI and security. 

Dan Rochkind, CFO, Lerer Hippeau, described the current AI landscape as a “Wild West,” with tools evolving rapidly and companies adopting whatever works in the moment. Accurate data, however, remains crucial. On the potential threat to jobs, Dan noted that the economy constantly reinvents itself and that capable people continue to find their place.

Samrah Kazmi, CISO and Chief Innovation Officer at RESRG, noted that the leaders in the AI era will not be the fastest adopters, but those who operationalize AI safely, responsibly, and sustainably. Samrah emphasized that while you can’t truly future‑proof a business, you can start with low‑hanging‑fruit processes, run them through AI carefully, and ensure clear accountability through human judgment.

Sanj Sanampudi, CEO, Numeral, highlighted the difference between predictive models and deterministic systems. Models can deliver fast, concise predictions, but they idealize the underlying data, which can mask risk. He argued that a CFO’s core job is business continuity and that speed cannot come at the expense of stability. Sanj underscored the need for strong controls around data portable across systems.

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Build What Matters, Without Burning Out

For founders, the gap between big ideas and consistent follow‑through is where companies fail. But plans don’t matter until you do something with them.

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