Capital invested in a business for profit.
The state distributes grants, and professional pitchers emerge whose main product is not software but applications. It creates tax incentives for IT, and holdings register "pocket" departments for offshore purposes. It funds courses, and schools produce quantity over quality. It orders tenders, and contractors build software systems that live from one report to the next.
Every headline "startup raised $1M" triggers the same dopamine cycle in your brain as winning in a casino. At least in a casino, they honestly tell you the odds. In startup media, the 90% failure rate is hidden behind the attractive figures of funding rounds. I analyze the mechanics of this trap using data from Carta, Kruze, and the Kazakh venture ecosystem.
We are told: "Fail fast!" But they forget to add: "...if you have a trust fund backing you." For an investor, your failure is just a statistic in their portfolio. For you, it's a credit pit and game over. We analyze from the perspective of mathematics and neurobiology why advice from the Valley is dangerous for a solo founder.
$1.3 billion valuation. 15 million users. Hundreds of reviews with the word "scam." A class-action lawsuit in preparation. The story of Higgsfield AI is a perfect case of how impressive figures for investors are built on toxic customer relations.
During the war, the natives of Melanesia built airplanes out of straw, hoping that the gods would send cargo. Modern entrepreneurs do the same: they copy the morning routines of billionaires, buy courses from info-businessmen, attend business breakfasts. And they are genuinely surprised why their straw airplanes don't fly.
A 30-fold growth in a year, a valuation of $10 million, presentations in San Francisco, top 10 startups in Kazakhstan. And then - delays in payments to partners for 3-4 months, a mass exodus of children's centers, and many parents paying banks for subscriptions with limited choices.
$4.2 million on marketing, $2.7 million in revenue. "The math doesn't add up." That's how the CEO of 1Fit explained the closure in Malaysia. This is not an isolated case: most Kazakhstani founders launch blindly. We analyze the systemic problem and how to solve it.
In 2018, Buffer used half of its cash to buy out the shares of venture investors. They received only a 40% return over four years—a failure by VC standards. But for founder Joel Gascoigne, it was a victory: the company remained independent, profitable, and true to the principles of radical transparency.
"Zuckerberg wanted to buy a Kazakh startup for hundreds of millions!" - a catchy headline. However, the founders themselves say they haven't spoken with Zuckerberg. Let's delve into the story of Higgsfield: what is actually confirmed, where the $1.2 billion figure came from, and why the real facts are just as impressive as the hype.
A company representative came into the comments, threw around accusations, and then started deleting their messages. As proof, there are links to local media. I'm analyzing what lies behind the claims of "$100M ARR in 5 months" and why Stripe says something a bit different.