I don’t know about all of you but this last quarter has been absolutely hectic!

The whole American Thanskgiving coming at the end of November also always accelerates that end of year feeling (and still something not used to!)

We’ve continued to meet incredible founders and operators moving to SF, and we expect even more will make the move in 2026 - and we are so excited to continue to grow this community!

We have much planned for the New Year!

More events, more community building, (an exciting new database we are working on (make sure to look out for notice at this so you can “claim” your identity in the database as one of the top Euro founders/operators/investors in SF!) — and hopefully more consistent writing on this Substack! (please hold us accountable to this..)

For now, we know you’re all busy with everything year-end, so this one’s short.

We’re doing a fun social gathering of all the best and brightest Euros in SF for Xmas, Wednesday December 17th evening - join here:

SIGN UP HERE - +1s welcome

Hope to see you all there! And wishing you the best holidays! :)

Subscribe now

Leave a comment

TL;DR: See our Top 10 Founders from the most recent YC batches of 2025; get tips on how to incorporate your company for the first time in the US (and what to budget/account for);

Join our event Sep 23rd in San Francisco alongside Uncork Capital and the founders of ClassDojo and Craft - to meet more European builders in SF!

🎓 The YC European Wave: 2025 Top 10

There has been a clear trend by YC to both target and attract extremely high quality talent coming from Europe. While incubators are generally quite noisy (and YC getting more and more so with 4(!) batches a year so unique value decreasing) we do admit that YC has an outsized advantage for founders currently “out-of-network” in the YC ecosystem (ie those from Europe looking to come out in SF).

YC has shown in recent years to be a strong way to fast track Visa applications/outcomes, build network/gravitas around you and your company and plug very quickly into the SF investor network (alongside being part of O1 Collective of course..)

Here are Top 10 companies from the recent YC batches founded by Europeans now in SF that have all the elements to go far; great team, large market + impressive early traction….

Browser Use (YC W25) - Gregor Žunič & Magnus Müller

Finto (YC S25) - Jonas Morgner & Linus Boehm

Instinct (YC W25) - Alex Piñel Neparidze & Joaquim Dickson & Ashwin Iyer

Interface (YC S25) - Max Raven

mcp use (YC S25) - Luigi Pederzani & Pietro Zullo

Nao Labs (YC X25) - Claire Gouze & Christophe Blefari

NoteLabs (YC S25) - Andrea Pinto & Lucas Giordano

Plexe AI (YC X25) - Vaibhav Dubey & Marcello De Bernardi

VibeFlow (YC S25)- Alessia Paccagnella & Elia Saquand

QFEX (YC S25) - Annanay Kapila & Joshua Wharton

(hot tip: most are actively hiring and growing teams!)

🌉 Starting your company in SF

Many of our community members reach out to ask for support when navigating the move to San Francisco to found a company here - one of the first questions they have is: How do i actually “start” the company legally?

Incorporation Reality

Delaware C-Corp. Full stop. Every European/international founder who ignored this advice regretted it. Your future funding, option plans, acquisition – everything gets messier with alternative structures. You want to make your life as easy as possible here - so just go with this from the get go.

Formation costs about $500 for Delaware filing and you'll need a registered agent. For the whole package: Stripe Atlas does a solid job for the basics at ~$500 all-in. Clerky is another good option with more flexibility if you need it.

Founder equity setup matters more than anything else and is something you want to make sure you do (if don’t already have in place!). We’ve both seen cofounders implode over handshake agreements and not long enough vesting periods so a founder leaves, takes a bunch of the equity and the rest of folks are left disheartened. Document everything. No matter how good friends you are now, the startup journey is a long journey with many unexpected events. Over documenting to begin with saves you many a heartache in the future. Standard is 4-year vesting, 1-year cliff, documented on day one using Carta or Pulley. No exceptions.

Insurance Simplified

You need to get insurance. 100%.

NB: Check if your European insurance extends to US operations for the first 6-12 months. Sometimes you can buy time.

General Liability: Yes, get it ($1M coverage). Costs round $1k a year. Basic protection when physical stuff goes wrong.

D&O: You'll need this when raising your seed round. Budget $5K annually.

My portfolio companies use Vouch – started by founders (prior worked with the Vouch CEO and he is great). Embroker and Founder Shield are solid alternatives too.

Corporate Banking

Mercury works great for international founders. Great interface, no minimum balances, clear fee structure. They can set you up remotely whereas most traditional banks still want you physically present. Brex is great for corporate spending and cards with no personal guarantee.

If not already, convert all your financials to USD if your market is here - for the whole business (even if still some elsewhere). Makes easier to fundraising, numbers and helps you minimise currency fluctuations.

Ongoing Compliance

The real costs aren't formation often – it's ongoing compliance. Budget at least $5K annually in CA for state filings, registered agent fees etc..

If you need lawyer intros, we’re happy connect you with founder-friendly folks like Cooley, Orrick, or Gunderson who have startup-specific packages. Most of our founders spend about $5-8K all-in for proper setup.

🤝 Community Spotlights

We want to hear from YOU. If you're part of a European team that's raised funding, landed a major partnership, hit a significant milestone, or made the move to SF, reach out to us. Your story could be the inspiration another founder needs to make their own leap.

Know someone building the next Stripe or ElevenLabs? Forward them this newsletter. The European tech network in SF is only as strong as the connections we build together.

Need Help Getting your Visa? Some folks we recommend/our community have had success with!
Alma

Plymouth

Extraordinary

🗓️ What's Next

This next month comes with a lot of events across the SF tech community - rebound from summer? Post burning man returns?

October is shaping up to be massive with SF Tech Week (October 6-12) and TechCrunch Disrupt (October 27-29). Plus, YC Demo Day and the continued IPO momentum from our community.

Mark your calendars for our October investor dinner—we're planning something special to celebrate this historic European moment in American tech.

Sep 23rd - Uncork Capital & O1 Collective are hosting an event on building and scaling your company in the US. Sign up here

Until next time

Valerie & Tobias
O1 Collective

At O1 Collective - we have hosted several community events this summer,further expanded the community and also also updated the format of these newsletters to make them shorter, more focused, and packed with different insights each week.

You'll get a gist for the new format over time, but our goal is simple: create something you'll actually read and find genuinely useful and you can read quickly (between all your agent prompting…). As always - -feedback welcome and encouraged!

We'll share the best tech content we've discovered, top fundraising rounds you shouldn't miss, job opportunities, and compelling people profiles. Think of this as your weekly snapshot into the broader euro/international community in the US.

This week focuses on the Top 3 things you should read….

Things You Should Read

So, your an undergrad at Stanford and your parents worked in Tech — of course they see you becoming a founder and entrepreneur to be THE Path for you in your career.
However, you, my reader, as a European, more than likely this is NOT the case. But - don’t be dismayed — embrace this “low status” path your Euro community likely sees you have taken — it sets you up for that true winning moat (and find like minded friends in this community to get you through the hard times…)

→ The Moat of Low Status

Maybe it’s the Tour de France analogy that caught my eye to begin with, but this piece from Rex last week shines a light on what too many founders (and investors) are overlooking. If you are looking to raise money, understanding the underlying economics for the VC fund that backs you will help you stay aligned (and ahead) of what they need from you. it’s also vastly different in the US than in Europe — both from sheer size of funds out here, but also amount of capital. Don’t be sucked into the higher valuation trap; it can quickly unravel and leave you as a founder (and visa holder) in the lurch. Stay sensible. Stay cautious.

→ Fund Math for Dummies

There is a clear advantage to build in Silicon Valley vs staying at home in Europe and how choosing American expansion will set your company up for long-term success. You need some inspiration to get started?…

→ European startups dominate Silicon Valley

Upcoming Events

O1 Collective: Investor Dinner → Calling all full-time investors and active angels/scouts in the Bay Area from Europe - this dinner is for you!

Register here - think great company, great food and great community. Invite others you think should join as well!

more in the works for September and beyond, with some great speakers and great community events in store….

https://www.tryalma.com/

About O1 Collective

O1 Collective exists to help Europeans crack the code of building successful ventures in the US. Whether you're just landing in San Francisco, considering the move, or you've been here for years, our community is here to support your journey.

We're live in SF and expanding to other major US cities soon. The European wave in American tech is just getting started, and we want you to be part of this incredible story!

— and if you are navigating the saga that is Visas - we can’t recommend enough the great team from Alma - they’re the best in town and really do what they say…

Make sure to subscribe below to keep up to date with all community updates!

Subscribe now

…..it’s not just us who are bullish on the outsized impact that immigrant founders have in the startup ecosystem in the US - if you haven’t already - read these pieces on The Immigrant Edge -and why SF really is the place to build

So glad to have you here :)
(and keep reading to see how you can get involved in the community!)

Community Updates

Community in Action: What's Been Happening

Over the past quarter, we've hosted an incredible range of events — from intimate networking dinners to hands-on pizza making workshops to panel events led my multi-$B exited European founders — bringing together Europeans at every stage of their US journey, from fresh arrivals to seasoned operators and founders.

What our community is loving:

• Shared stories and solidarity — there's something powerful about bonding with others who understand the unique experience of building in America as a European

• Cross-pollination across experience levels — first-time founders learning from serial entrepreneurs, early employees connecting with C-suite executives

• Practical knowledge sharing — real insights on everything from US market strategy to navigating visa renewals

• Genuine connections — we're seeing real friendships and business partnerships forming

How we're evolving to serve you better:

We've been using Circle to manage our community, and while it looked perfect on paper, the reality is that everyone already has too many platforms to check. We're hearing that important updates and events are getting lost in the shuffle and people are missing out on things they would have liked to join!

The solution: We're streamlining everything to WhatsApp and Partiful for maximum simplicity and engagement. Expect a smooth transition over the next few weeks as we migrate to these platforms — no more missed events or buried announcements!

This change will make it easier than ever to stay connected and never miss out on the conversations and opportunities that matter most to your US journey.

And to that end - find next event through our new Partiful page! (next dinner here!)

The European Wave: Recent Company & Funding Highlights

It’s been a big quarter for the growing contingent of cracked European founders choosing to build generational companies in the US across all stages of company development, here are some highlights of team we see as destined to the next big thing…

🏆 The Titans

• Grammarly - Ukrainian founders built this writing assistant that raised $1B non-dilutive financing from General Catalyst in May 2025, generating $700M+ annual revenue with 40M+ daily users

• Cursor - raised a $900M Series C from DST Global, A16z, Accel, Thrive and more, just 5 months after its Series B!

🚀 The Scale-Up Stars

• Rillet - the AI-native ERP raised a $25M Series A led by Sequoia

• Artisan - the AI SDR platform raised a $25M Series A led by Gladebrook Capital

⭐ The Rising Rockets

• Solve Intelligence - building the AI platform for patents raised a $12M Series A led by 20VC

• Superglue - part of YC batch earlier this, building and automating complex integrations - post YC round yet to be announced, but one to watch!

The momentum is undeniable — European founders aren't just participating in the US market, they're building the companies that define its future at every stage…

BONUS:—Conduit is building the next generation thought-to-text interface — still in early days, but currently recruiting research participants if folks looking to be part of the cutting edge of AI development…..

Calling All Community Leaders!

As we expand O1 Collective, we're looking for passionate Founding Community Leaders to help us grow and foster even further community development! Are you someone who:

• Loves meeting new people and fostering connections?

• Has a knack for organizing fun, memorable events?

• Wants to help fellow Europeans succeed in the US?

• Thrives on building communities and bringing people together?

We're backed by amazing sponsors and have the resources to create truly impactful experiences. If you're excited about helping us scale this community and making a real difference in the lives of European founders and operators, we'd love to hear from you!

Reach out to us (@Tobias or @Valerie) — let's chat about how you can get involved and help shape the future of O1 Collective! :)

Have a founder you think should know about? Reach out and tell us why they deserve to be officially labeled as one of the most cracked European founders building in the US. We're continuing to feature some absolutely legendary founders who are defining what it means to be "cracked" in the US market. Subscribe to be the first to read these exclusive insights!

Join Our Movement

O1 Collective exists to help Europeans crack the code of building successful ventures in the US. Whether you're just landing in San Francisco, considering the move, or you've been here for years, our community is here to support your journey.

We're live in SF and expanding to other major US cities soon. The European wave in American tech is just getting started, and we want you to be part of this incredible story!

Next Steps:

• Subscribe to this newsletter! (see link below!)

• Sign up for our next dinner event later this month (limited spots available!)

• and also:

  • August Dinner

  • September Dinner

    • more events in the works too - to be announced shortly! :)

• Join our Whatsapp Community! (message us to get the link!)

• Follow us for updates on our fall event series (some exciting things in the works!)

• Consider becoming a community leader (see above) and help us expand the reach and impact :)

Until next time,

Valerie Osband Mahoney & Tobias Nilsson-Roos
Founders, O1 Collective

Subscribe now

Leave a comment

Today, we're featuring Philip Johnston, Founder & CEO of Starcloud, who's pioneering the future of AI by building data centers in space to tackle the AI energy challenge.

A South African entrepreneur with a deep background in mathematics and venture capital, [Your Name] brings a unique blend of structured problem-solving and relationship-driven persistence to the US tech scene, drawing from experiences in both Europe and the Middle East.

If you want to be featured in Cracked or know an exceptional European founder we should spotlight, email us at community@o1-collective.com with a brief note on why they represent the best of European talent building in the US (or reach out to one our founders (Valerie or Tobias) directly. We're looking for founders with unique technical approaches, significant traction, and compelling stories that can inspire our community.

And now — over to Philip…

Philip Johnston - CEO of Starcloud

Origin Story: What was your entry point into entrepreneurship, and was there a specific moment when you knew this was your path?

I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur at some point, pretty much my whole life. I did VC in South Africa before heading to the US for grad school, and decided then that I would look to found after school.

Technical Superpower: What's one technical skill or approach that you believe sets you apart from others in your field?

From age 16 to 23 I pretty much only did Mathematics in some form. I think it gives one a structured approach to problem solving. Though I’m more on the business side now, I like to apply structured/logical frameworks to what are typically considered soft skills, like recruiting, sales, negotiation etc.

Breakthrough Project: Tell us about the project (personal or professional) that challenged you most and ultimately advanced your career or thinking.

Our current business of putting data centers in space is the most challenging, but it doesn’t have a conclusion yet, so I'll pick an earlier example. In my previous company, I spent 6 months convincing the Saudi government to allow us to be the first foreign company of our type to be allowed to operate in Saudi Arabia without a 51% local partner. After basically camping out in the Ministry of Foreign Investment for a few months, they agreed. It taught me the importance of relationship building.

Daily Rituals: Walk us through your typical workday. What habits or routines help maintain your technical edge?
Exercise.

Pivotal Failures: Share a significant failure and how it shaped your entrepreneurship philosophy.

I’ve been rejected (and later accepted) to more things than most people. 4x rejected from McKinsey, 3x from Harvard, 2x from Y Combinator, and many more. It emphasised to me the importance of the Steve Martin quote: “Be so good they can’t ignore you”. Each time I finally got in, I had done so much by that point that I knew they couldn’t reject me. It’s the same with winning customers.

Tools of the Trade: What three tools or technologies could you not live without, and why?

ChatGPT, LinkedIn, WhatsApp

European Perspective: How has being in Europe and now being in the US influenced your approach compared to what you see from US peers?

I think I can better see and appreciate the opportunities here (vs Europe), and that makes me keen to go after them.

Learning System: How do you stay current and continuously level up your skills, especially in such a rapidly changing AI world?

Constant dialogue with ChatGPT!

Team Dynamics: What qualities do you look for in collaborators, and how do you contribute to creating high-performing teams?

I am obsessed with the idea of talent density. I.e. that I would much rather have a team of 10 A players than 11 A players and 3 A-. You might think you can get more done with the 14 people who are all pretty good, and you still have the 10 As so you didn’t really lose much, but I would take the 10 As over the 14 (11As +3 A-) any time.

Future Vision: What emerging technology or approach are you most excited about, and how are you preparing for it?

Robotics. We will try various robotics maintenance applications on our second satellite.

—

Starcloud Company Spotlight

Starcloud is building data centers in space in order to solve the AI energy challenge. We will launch our first demonstrator satellite in August 2025, which will have 100x more powerful GPU compute than has ever been operated in space before.

Team: Who are the founders? Key leaders?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/philipjohnst/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ezrafeilden/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/adioltean/

We win because of the team.

Growth:

Seed stage, raised a $21M seed after going through Y Combinator last summer. We have two launches booked this year and next, which will have paying customers.

Team Culture:

We are deliberately understaffed but with exceptional engineers. We comfortably have enough cash to double the team now and easily enough work, but we will keep it at 10 people until at least after the first launch. We will also not hire any non-engineers for the first 15 people, so that engineering forms the backbone of the company culture.

Join the Team:

starcloud.com/careers

Connect: starcloud.com

https://www.linkedin.com/company/starcloudinc/

Today, we're featuring Andrej Safundzic, Founder & CEO of Lumos, who's revolutionizing cybersecurity through autonomous identity systems.

A German entrepreneur with experience ranging from organizing festivals to launching EdTech startups in Uganda, Andrej brings his unique European perspective to solving the "APP-ocalypse" problem - helping companies manage access across hundreds of apps for humans, AI bots, and machines alike.

If you want to be featured in Cracked or know an exceptional European founder we should spotlight, email us at community@o1-collective.com with a brief note on why they represent the best of European talent building in the US (or reach out to one our founders (Valerie or Tobias) directly. We're looking for founders with unique technical approaches, significant traction, and compelling stories that can inspire our community.

And now — over to Andrej…

Andrej Safundzic - CEO of Lumos

Origin Story: What was your entry point into entrepreneurship, and was there a specific moment when you knew this was your path?

My mentality from the start was simple. Screw it, just do it. Humans are wired to run from risk. When a caveman heard a loud sound, he ran away, not toward it. I decided to add 20 percent more risk to every big decision I made.

My first real step into entrepreneurship was when I was 15. I lived in a small city in Germany and life felt boring. So I started organizing festivals and open airs to make it more fun. Later I went to Uganda. I helped start two edtech companies to fight youth unemployment. One of them, StartHub Africa, is still around today. It works with universities across East Africa to help students start their own companies.

I never sat down and decided I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I just kept seeing things that needed to change. And I kept thinking, screw it, just do it.

Technical Superpower: What's one technical skill or approach that you believe sets you apart from others in your field?

Soccer taught me more about building companies than any book ever could. I played at the highest youth levels in Europe. The best team always had four things. We had purpose, meaning a clear mission everyone believed in. We had principles, values that showed up in the small choices we made on the field. We had a path, real systems and rituals that kept us moving forward together. And we had partnership, the trust and bonds that made us play like one team.

It stuck with me. Today, I obsess over building companies that run like high-performance teams. It is one of the things that gets me up in the morning. I want to create systems where every person knows why they are here, how they show up, how we get better every month and how we have each other's back. Most people just hire great players and hope it works out. I think the magic is in building a team that plays like one.

Breakthrough Project: Tell us about the project (personal or professional) that challenged you most and ultimately advanced your career or thinking.

Launching Tech4Germany was the project that changed everything for me. At 22, convincing the Federal Chancellery, basically the German White House, to trust a small team of young designers and engineers felt impossible. Government gets seen as a slow machine full of grey suits. It is the opposite. There are so many passionate people who want change. We started as a private company, shipped real products for two years and eventually got acquired by the German White House. It was a crazy story. I will always be grateful for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s leadership and trust.

Daily Rituals: Walk us through your typical workday. What habits or routines help maintain your technical edge?

Honestly, I have none. Do the work

.

Pivotal Failures: Share a significant failure and how it shaped your entrepreneurship philosophy.

I launched two EdTech startups in Uganda — EduGlobe and StartHub Africa. They grew to 40 people but ultimately couldn't scale due to funding limits. It was painful to realize that no matter how good your heart or effort is, timing and model fit matter. It taught me: Find the wave. Don't fight the ocean.

Tools of the Trade: What three tools or technologies could you not live without, and why?

Google Maps - I get lost all the time.

European Perspective: How has being in Europe and now being in the US influenced your approach compared to what you see from US peers?

Europe taught me the long game: think in decades, not quarters. The US taught me speed: ship it now, learn fast, be bold. I try to combine both — the American spirit of "why not?" with the European spirit of "make it last."

Learning System: How do you stay current and continuously level up your skills, especially in such a rapidly changing AI world?

You just have to screw it and do it. I try to stay in the details. I have a personal advisory board of people I really respect. I get input from them all the time. Then I make sure I am co-creating with my colleagues at work, not just managing from the sidelines. The best way to stay sharp.

Team Dynamics: What qualities do you look for in collaborators, and how do you contribute to creating high-performing teams?

I look for drive over experience, curiosity over credentials, and joy over ego. I try to set the tone by being first to dive into the details, first to smile, and first to push the bar higher. I don’t always succeed but I try my best. Great people lift each other up. It's contagious.

Future Vision: What emerging technology or approach are you most excited about, and how are you preparing for it?

Autonomous systems — especially in cybersecurity. We’re moving from software assisting users to systems acting without users. Instead of “Software-as-a-Service,” it’s “Service-as-a-Software.” I’m obsessed with designing the autonomous layer that keeps people safe automatically, like an autopilot for digital life. Every product, every system we build now is training us for that future.

—

Lumos Company Spotlight

We are living in the APP-ocalypse. Companies now manage over 600 apps and more users — humans, AI bots and machines — than ever before. It is not simple. Every new app and every new user adds more risk, more work for the companies and more ways for attackers to get in.

That is why we built Lumos. Lumos is the Autonomous Identity Platform. We help companies know exactly who has access to what, while giving users the right access when they need it.

Companies like United Airlines, GitHub and Gap use Lumos because it learns and adapts in real time. You get access when you need it. You lose it when you no longer need it, to keep customer data safe. Lumos runs quietly in the background so teams can focus on building, not chasing tickets.

Our mission is simple: bring cybersecurity into the world of autonomous systems, so everyone can do their job faster, safer and with peace of mind.

We are growing fast. Since coming out of stealth three years ago, we have grown from 20 to over 100 people. Our customer base has grown 10x. We have raised $65 million from top investors like Andreessen Horowitz, Scale Venture Partners and Neo.

If you are excited about this journey or if there is an interesting role you want to chat about, reach out to me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrejsafundzic/

Today, we're featuring Tom Hollands, CEO of AMT, who's revolutionizing marketing through AI.

A UCL-educated physicist turned growth expert, Tom is bringing his unique European perspective and systems thinking approach to create autonomous AI marketing employees. From humble beginnings with a lemonade stand to raising $3.5M from NFX, Tom's journey showcases the distinctive blend of understated excellence and technical rigor that defines European founders making waves in Silicon Valley.

If you want to be featured in Cracked or know an exceptional European founder we should spotlight, email us at community@o1-collective.com with a brief note on why they represent the best of European talent building in the US (or reach out to one our founders (Valerie or Tobias) directly. We're looking for founders with unique technical approaches, significant traction, and compelling stories that can inspire our community.

And now — over to Tom…

Tom Hollands - CEO of AMT

Origin Story: What was your entry point into entrepreneurship, and was there a specific moment when you knew this was your path?

• Lemonade stand aged 8 in minnesota ;)

• Started an education company out of uni and grew it to a waitlist of 100s of parents using a growth hack from a social network called NextDoor. From that point on I knew I wanted to use the systems thinking from my physics background and apply it to commercial problems -> skillset is called “growth”

Technical Superpower: What's one technical skill or approach that you believe sets you apart from others in your field?

• I’m pretty good at breaking social/commercial problems down into first principles, understanding the leverage points in the system, and then cranking the handle to make the feedback loops pop

Breakthrough Project: Tell us about the project (personal or professional) that challenged you most and ultimately advanced your career or thinking.

• Figuring out how to grow Wren.co, a consumer climate company—I was the second hire. Great product with high retention but no WoM. I tried dozens of different growth experiements before hitting on creator/influencer marketing. I partnered with 100s of influencers manually, built automations to scale my workflow and better source and attribute creators, and spent millions of dollars on influencer marketing, all of which was the precursor to the agentic AI product we’re building today at AMT.

Daily Rituals: Walk us through your typical workday. What habits or routines help maintain your technical edge?

• 7am - 10am sales calls + morning meetings

• 10-12 deep work

• 12-13 lunch meeting, usually with my cofounder

• 13-15 flex time, either for deep work or opportunistic meetings (eg hiring)

• 15-19 sales calls + email follow-ups

• 19-20:30 gym/touch rugby/event

• 20:30-21:30 wind down

Pivotal Failures: Share a significant failure and how it shaped your entrepreneurship philosophy.

• Failed loads -> didn’t get into oxbridge / mckinsey / all those shiny early career milestones. This taught me how to grind. I felt like I was underpriced in the market and had to prove myself. Ultimately this feeling of being “underpriced” drove me to entrepreneurship sooner.

Tools of the Trade: What three tools or technologies could you not live without, and why?

• whatsapp -> sales, hiring, fundraising

• Leuchturm notebook -> deep thinking

• Granola -> best ai notetaker by far

European Perspective: How has being in Europe and now being in the US influenced your approach compared to what you see from US peers?

• More open minded about talent. Europeans are more laid back / less brazen in pitching themselves. The person who is best at selling themselves is not necessarily the most competent—I like hiring people who are quiet, understated, savages. There are a lot of European immigrants in SF who fit this mould!

Learning System: How do you stay current and continuously level up your skills, especially in such a rapidly changing AI world?

• Talk to 16 year olds and ask them how they’re using ChatGPT

• Scroll twitter and promiscuously try new tools

• We have a series of reading / AI channels in our slack, I love reading what our engineers post

Team Dynamics: What qualities do you look for in collaborators, and how do you contribute to creating high-performing teams?

• Integrity, curiosity, intensity, courage. I like hiring trustworthy people who question everything, work really hard, and aren’t afraid to take risks.

Future Vision: What emerging technology or approach are you most excited about, and how are you preparing for it?

• Voice agents. They are changing b2c software UX, and very soon they will change the way employees interact with b2b software too.

—

AMT Company Spotlight

AMT is building an Autonomous Marketing Team. We’re unlocking human creativity by building AI employees for every non-creative marketing job. Our first product is Lyra, an AI employee for partnering with influencers.

Leadership Team:

Tom Hollands—CEO, former head of growth at Wren.co (USV backed), founding team at Turpentine (acq by a16z), MSci theoretical physics from UCL

https://x.com/tdoggyholhol

Christian Johnston—CTO, data engineer at Permutive and Panaseer, MSci Math & Comp Sci at Durham

Growth:

Raised $3.5m from NFX, growing 50% MoM.

Team Culture:

We’re a team of kind, curious, competitive former founders who can build and sell.

I asked Christian and the engineering team for help with this question but they said they were too busy building the future of marketing.

Hiring:

A key hire we are looking for is:

Founding Product Engineer
Come to us oh mighty one..

Connect: amt.ai

We’ve got a bunch of exciting updates + some new launches from our community — keep reading to learn more! So glad to have you here :)

Our Journey So Far

Just one month ago, we launched O1 Collective with a simple mission: to create the premier community for ambitious European tech talent building in the US. What started as conversations among friends (Valerie & Tobias (both Euros working in tech in the US)) has quickly blossomed into something special and we’re excited to continue to nurture this community.

We've already hosted great events, met people expanding our network of wonderful folks building in the US, and welcomed exceptional members through our Circle community and WhatsApp group. If you want access, sign up at:

O1 Collective

We have a bunch of resources there on getting your visa, moving to the US and navigating the system there plus events and more…
We' are building this community for you, so do let us know if there are specific resources or support you need!

Community in Action

We believe in the power of in-person connections. That's why we've already hosted our first two live events in San Francisco, bringing together remarkable European founders and operators for meaningful conversations and connections (ask folks about the Chocolate Nemesis Cake, IYKYK….)

This is just the beginning. We have dozens of events planned for the coming months, including some exciting announcements (and some special events, if we say so ourselves) that we can't wait to share with you soon.

Upcoming April Events

We have one more event scheduled for April - a community dinner on April 30th! A few spots left - make sure to sign up via our launch page and then on our circle events page

The European Wave: Funding Milestone

The European presence in US tech is stronger than ever. Here are the top 5 recent funding rounds by European founders building in the US we’ve got on our radar.
Huge hats-off to these teams!

1. Artisan AI - CEO, Jaspar Carmichael-Jack - $25M Series A led by Gladebrook Capital

2. Eleven Labs - Founders Mati Staniszewski and Piotr Dabkowski- $180M Series C led by a16z and Iconiq Capital

3. Listen Labs - Founders - Alfred Wahlforss and Florian Juengermann - $27M Series A led by Sequoia

4. Starcloud - CEO Philip Johnston - $10M Seed led by NFX, a16z, Sequoia

5. Wordware - CEO Filip Kozera - $30M Seed led by Spark Capital

Introducing "Cracked"

Alongside our monthly update newsletter (your reading this now!), we are launching a special, more regular series- Cracked - which will spotlight the most elite teams from Europe building in the US.

Each issue will feature an exclusive interview with a European founder who is successfully scaling in the US. They'll share insights on navigating the unique challenges of the American market and reveal their strategic approach to building the next decacorn….

— first up will be the absolutely elite Tom Hollands and AMT - make sure to subscribe to be on top of the release!

If you want to be featured, or have suggestions or who we should feature — make sure to reach out and let us know why you should be officially labelled as one of the most cracked European founders building in the US.

Join Our Movement

O1 Collective exists to help Europeans crack the code of building successful ventures in the US. Whether you're just landing in San Francisco (we’re live in SF for now, but will be expanding to other cities) or you've been here for years, our community is here to support your journey.

We're just getting started, and we'd love for you to be part of this story!

Subscribe now

Until next time,

Valerie Osband Mahoney & Tobias Nilsson-Roos - Founders, O1 Collective