#pre seed funding

[startupsteroid1]

Kickstart Your Startup with Pre-Seed Funding

Secure essential early-stage capital with Pre-seed Funding. This initial investment helps turn your innovative idea into a viable business. Use the funds to develop your product, conduct market research, and build a strong foundation, setting the stage for future growth and success.

[vegaequity]

Pre-Seed Funding Landscape: A Comprehensive Guide

Dive into the intricate world of pre-seed funding with this comprehensive guide. Whether you're a budding entrepreneur or an investor looking to explore early-stage opportunities, this resource provides invaluable insights into the prelude to startup financing. From understanding the fundamentals of pre-seed funding to identifying key stakeholders and crafting compelling pitches, embark on a journey that demystifies the process and equips you with the knowledge to navigate the complexities of securing initial capital for your venture.

[unicornvc567]

what is seed funding for startups

In the vast landscape of entrepreneurship, seed funding serves as the initial spark that ignites the journey of a startup. It’s the crucial injection of capital that propels innovative ideas from conception to reality. Seed funding is often the first formal investment a startup receives, providing the necessary resources to validate its concept, develop a minimum viable product (MVP), and take the initial steps toward growth. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll delve into the intricacies of seed funding, exploring its significance, process, sources, and challenges.

What is Seed Funding?

Seed funding, also known as seed capital or seed money, refers to the initial investment made in a startup during its early stages of development. This funding typically occurs in the pre-seed or seed stage, where the startup is still refining its business model, conducting market research, and building its founding team. Seed funding is crucial for startups as it enables them to transition from the ideation phase to the execution phase, laying the foundation for future growth and attracting further investment.

Significance of Seed Funding

Validation of Concept: Seed funding provides startups with the financial resources needed to validate their business concept and test its feasibility in the market. This validation is essential for attracting subsequent rounds of funding and gaining the confidence of investors.

Product Development: With seed funding, startups can develop a prototype or MVP that demonstrates the value proposition of their product or service. This allows them to gather feedback from early adopters and iterate on their offering to better meet the needs of their target audience.

Team Building: Seed funding enables startups to assemble a core team of talented individuals who share the vision and passion for the venture. These initial hires are instrumental in driving the startup’s growth and executing its strategic objectives.

Market Traction: Securing seed funding enables startups to acquire their first customers, generate initial revenue, and demonstrate traction in the market. This traction not only validates the startup’s business model but also attracts further investment from venture capitalists and angel investors.

The Seed Funding Process

Preparation: Before seeking seed funding, startups need to prepare a compelling business plan or pitch deck that outlines their value proposition, target market, competitive landscape, and financial projections. This document serves as a roadmap for investors to understand the startup’s vision and potential for growth.

Identifying Investors: Startups can seek seed funding from a variety of sources, including angel investors, venture capital firms, accelerators, and crowdfunding platforms. It’s essential to identify investors who have a track record of investing in startups within the relevant industry or sector.

Pitching: Once potential investors have been identified, startups pitch their business idea and investment opportunity to them. This pitch may take place in formal settings such as investor meetings, pitch competitions, or demo days, where startups have the opportunity to showcase their product or prototype.

Due Diligence: Investors conduct due diligence to evaluate the startup’s business model, market opportunity, team, and financial projections. This process helps investors assess the risk and potential return on investment (ROI) associated with the startup.

Negotiation and Term Sheet: If investors are interested in funding the startup, they will present a term sheet outlining the terms and conditions of the investment, including the amount of funding, equity stake, valuation, and rights of the investors. Startups negotiate these terms to ensure they align with their long-term goals and objectives.

Closing the Deal: Once the terms have been agreed upon, the seed funding round is closed, and the investors provide the agreed-upon capital to the startup. This funding is typically disbursed in multiple tranches based on the achievement of predetermined milestones.

Sources of Seed Funding

Angel Investors: Angel investors are affluent individuals who provide capital to startups in exchange for equity ownership. They often invest in startups within their industry or sector of expertise and play a hands-on role in mentoring and advising the founding team.

2. Venture Capital Firms: Venture capital firms invest in startups with high growth potential in exchange for equity ownership. They typically participate in later-stage funding rounds but may also provide seed funding to promising startups with a compelling business model and market opportunity.

3. Accelerators and Incubators: Accelerators and incubators are programs designed to support early-stage startups by providing funding, mentorship, and resources in exchange for equity or a small investment. These programs often culminate in a demo day where startups pitch their ideas to a room of investors.

4. Crowdfunding Platforms: Crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and Seedrs enable startups to raise capital from a large number of individual investors in exchange for rewards, pre-orders, or equity. Crowdfunding allows startups to validate their idea and generate initial traction while accessing capital from a diverse pool of investors.

5. Government Grants and Programs: Some governments offer grants, subsidies, or tax incentives to support innovation and entrepreneurship. These programs provide non-dilutive funding to startups to help them develop new technologies, create jobs, and stimulate economic growth.

Challenges of Seed Funding

Limited Resources: Startups often face resource constraints, including limited funding, manpower, and expertise, during the seed stage. This requires them to prioritize their activities and make strategic decisions to maximize the impact of their available resources.

Valuation and Dilution: Determining the valuation of a startup in the early stages can be challenging, leading to negotiations between founders and investors. Additionally, raising seed funding often requires startups to give up equity, resulting in dilution of ownership and control.

Market Validation: Validating the market demand for a product or service is essential for the success of a startup. However, achieving market validation can be difficult and time-consuming, especially in industries with long sales cycles or complex customer acquisition processes.

Competition: Startups face competition not only from existing players in the market but also from other startups vying for the same customers and resources. To stand out in a crowded market, startups must differentiate themselves through innovation, quality, and customer experience.

Execution Risks: Even with seed funding, startups face execution risks related to product development, market penetration, and scalability. It’s essential for startups to execute their business plan effectively and adapt to changing market conditions to achieve sustainable growth.

Want Seed Funding for your start up busines

Website: https://www.unicornivc.com/

Contact Us : https://www.unicornivc.com/contact.php

Conclusion

Seed funding plays a pivotal role in the startup ecosystem, providing entrepreneurs with the financial resources, mentorship, and support needed to turn their ideas into successful businesses. By understanding the significance, process, sources, and challenges of seed funding, startups can navigate the early stages of development more effectively and increase their chances of long-term success. As the lifeblood of innovation and entrepreneurship, seed funding continues to fuel the growth of groundbreaking ideas and shape the future of industries worldwide.

[strautmaskreplica]

hey kid...

want a free ttrpg?

Dog and background by @b-marsollier

The demo version of A Fool's Errand is available for free on itch!

A Fool's Errand is a tarot-fueled science fantasy roleplaying game about playing the Fool, keeping the gods in check, flirting with godhood yourself, and preventing the next Big Oops.

4-6 Players (including GMs)

Play with a deck of tarot cards in lieu of dice

Session 0 mechanics heavily baked in

~2-4 hours per session

Great for campaigns (4+ sessions)

Modular and replayable with tons of GM support to pick up & play

Interested? A Fool's Errand is funding starting October 22nd. Pre-save so you don't miss it!

The Game

A Fool’s Errand uses tarot cards to tell an expansive science fantasy story over several phases.

First, the group collaborates on the Big Oops - the biggest calamity in this world’s history. Players pinpoint what the world lost when the previous Fools reached their journey’s zenith, and which Major Arcana consorted or clashed with each other along the way.

Then, players create their Fools - Android or Human characters who become intertwined with the Major Arcana gods (including those who had a hand in the Big Oops), and whose journeys are led by unique tarot decks built with choices made in character creation.

Finally, the player’s characters play in the post-calamity, exploring both the waking world, and the Dream & Digital Networks - the surrealistic subconscious realm of Humans & Androids, respectively. Both are places of heightened power and quantum knowledge accessible to the Fools.

Players’ unique decks determine success, failure, and when a Major Arcana can’t help itself but to intervene in the adventure. Characters always have the option to accept the obligations from the Gods, or deny them.

Can they keep the Gods in check, contend with calamity, and spare the world another Big Oops?

Character Creation

Players build their Fools by selecting three motivations, each tied to a different Major Arcana. Included among these choices are the key Major Arcana who involved themselves in the previous Big Oops.

Each Major Arcana has a list of motivations to choose from. These three selected motivations provide a springboard for players to conceptualize their character. The three chosen Major Arcana are then inserted into the player’s play decks.

Players then expand upon their character builds by selecting their Lineage (Human or Android), Archetypes (Influencer, Inquirer, Operator, Outlaw, Protector, and/or Virtuoso), Skills, and Power Trees (a list of abilities themed after the Minor Arcana and branching into either Magic or Tech).

Characters pursue their motivations by exploring both the post-calamitous waking world and the Dream and Digital Networks. All the while, the Major Arcana intervene, planting seeds for players to clarify and satisfy their requests, or “Obligations”. As the Obligation Tracks fill up, the Fools flirt with godhood and draw closer to the advent of their own Big Oops.

Get This Game!

Head here to help us fund a physical print of the game!

[letteraddressedtothefire]

✨ Pre-Birthday Preparations Timeline for Xavier: A Global Celebration of Our Star Prince ✨

As Xavier's birthday draws near, the fandom is buzzing with excitement across the globe! Our community has been hard at work since May, creating memorable ways to celebrate our beloved Prince of Philos. From our CN Star Sisters to Xavier’s Little Stars, the love for our Light has transcended borders, uniting us in preparing for his special day.

Aside from our international cupsleeve events, here’s a sneak peek of some of the highlights of our preparations:

⭐️CN Star Sisters and Global Little Stars gathered heartfelt written and audio messages to be sent to a satellite in honor of Xavier.

⭐️Collaboration with the elemeo food app, where fans could collect points (wishing stars) to help fund Xavier’s birthday.

⭐️Announcement of personally-sponsored 100K boarding passes with Xavier’s image at Beijing Capital International Airport.

⭐️Donation of 2 solar street lights to rural areas.

⭐️Xavier’s Little Stars symbolically purchased and named twin stars in the sky “Starhunter and Moonchaser” in Xavier’s honor.

⭐️Another symbolic buying and naming of a star in the sky "Xavier-Lumiere" with its own star website and virtual reality access (personal project).

⭐️10+ shopping malls were rented for Xavier's birthday with giant LED screens, interactive photo walls, and decorations.

⭐️The Stellaris fan site was launched to unite Xavier’s global fanbase.

⭐️Milk tea collaboration kicked off, distributing 6,000 custom cup sleeves across 20 stores.

⭐️A personally-funded tree-planting project in Sabah, Borneo.

⭐️300+ Xavier billboards across the globe, including LED light shows, giant screen previews, sky curtain screens, LED office buildings, and LED screens on one of the most crowded subway tunnels in China.

⭐️The “Seeds of Hope” (tree-planting) and “Nourishing Hearts” (food for the needy) fundraising campaigns were launched by Xavier's Little Stars.

⭐️A personally-rented yacht where 6 other Xavier stans were invited to celebrate.

⭐️Ferris Wheel collaboration

⭐️52 movie theaters to broadcast Xavier videos before every movie on October 16th.

…and more!

This celebration is more than just a birthday party— it’s a symbol of the unity, passion, and light that Xavier has brought to all of us. Swipe through the supporting graphics for a full timeline of events and stay tuned for even more projects, events, and surprises that will make this celebration truly unforgettable! Let’s keep shining our light for Xavier. 🌟

The real countdown starts on September 16, leading up to Xavier’s birthday on October 16. Celebrate with us!

Thank you to every Star Sister, Little Star, and Global Stan for making this celebration shine as bright as Xavier himself! 🌟

Disclaimer: these projects and events are fan-hosted and not affiliated with the official Love and Deepspace game.

[saezurumurmurs]

A BL Platform For Everyone

NB: Please reblog this for visibility!

A little over two years ago, me and my BL crew were in our little chat sharing recommendations. 

Cat had an impressive spread sheet, Marcie and I had iCloud Notes, and it was pretty much chaos.

I looked at it and said out loud, "There has to be a better way for us to keep track of our reads and share recommendations. There has to be right?"

Cat said she wished someone would build a BL app with everything already there. Me, a developer of almost thirty years, paused while a floodlight (not a light bulb) went off in my head.

“Well I could maybe build one… cause like, I build stuff. How would that be?”

By the end of the conversation Cat had invited me to build an app for BL. 

Four weeks later, in late February of 2022, digitaljuicy.com was online. 

In the last couple of years, I’ve been listening to the fandom, paying attention to feedback, poured over analytics, read your responses to the Reader’s Survey and continued to craft a platform with all this in mind.

What I have been building is 100% for us... there is nothing but BL and it is an attempt to encompass ALL of BL. Not just the bits and pieces.

But for two years I've been struggling. Struggling in many ways, but specifically to get what I wanted out of the platform. I tried and failed so many times.

In September of 2022 I tried to raise venture capital to build the platform I wanted for us. I pitched it to accelerators and true blue venture capital.

Juicy is what is called 'pre-seed'. Which means were still so new and evolving, under-resourced and while there was interest, there was no joy. No funding was raised.

In December 2023, I realised it was time to rethink Juicy. i have been on the deepest dive for months rebuilding Juicy from the ground up and preparing the framework for the mobile app.

I’ve built something I want to use… and wild, I’m building it and using it as a fan at the same time. I'm at the point where it's impossible not to want to share.

And what kind of platform do I mean? At its most basic level:

You can track your reads, watches and plays

You can review and recommend the titles to the community, your friends, strangers on Twitter, your friend you're trying to corrupt outside the fandom. Your poison.

Timelines for you, for titles, for episodes, chapters… just about everything. I mean everything: The creators, the publishers, the studios, the actors... you can leave reviews and status posts on EVERYTHING. No algorithms, no force feeding... just discovery, recommendations and honest reviews by this community about our community and the industry we feed.

Collections! Lists of stuff you're reading, dropped, want to read, want to buy, love or hate, all pretty and organised and shareable..

A growing database resource of titles, tagged up to its eyeballs with a minutiae of data.. with reading an streaming links and anything else we find that we think is relevant.

But it is also a lot more than this.

I wanted it to be more than what it was. I want to turn Juicy into a mobile app, add some more functionality and more specifically, platform all of BL for its non-Asian fandom.

We get left out of so much, I feel like we need our own thing. 

I don’t know about ya’ll, but I was tired of being banned on social media for sharing content. How you gonna ban me for saying a 2D fictional character needs to be shot with shite and strung with cobweb? But they did… and I know it’s not just me.

What about the creators? How do they interface with the non-Japanese or non-Korean fandoms? On which misogynistic hell site?

What about the publishers and merchandisers? What about the little Etsy sellers? Why does BL have to hidden away in the databases of mangaupdates, anisearch and anilist? Why does every single manga tracker out there seem to have pitiful listings for BL? 

Is it because we’re a female or queer audience? 

Look at this lil video I made:

Either way, I’ve long felt it’s time for us to do our own thing. So I’ve been building it. Pixel by pixel. Feature by feature on my own.

Juicy has been a small chat group, but I’m the only developer. We’ve always been clear about what we wanted to build: A platform for the fandom, the creators, the publishers, the merchandisers… my goal is a one-stop platform for BL and I am damn close to presenting this new iteration.

This was and remains the core of what I’m building: The largest English platform for BL on the planet. The functionality is one thing, but building a database like that is not a one-person job.

So now I need your help.

First to keep the servers online, so I can continue to build and develop and finally, finally release the mobile app. I can't tell you how much I want that.

I’m close to pushing the new Juicy 3.0 out, and I’m very in love with the work I’ve done since December. It’s a new look, and it works 1000 times better than the previous iterations of Juicy.

I just have hit a wall financially, and need your help and support to get it over the line.

Juicy's ass is fat and I been carrying her mostly alone for two solid years. 

I’m going to launch a Kickstarter for this project in a bit so I can hire another developer  to help with the trickier bits and fine tune the mobile app, but for now, I felt a Patreon would at least help us keep the servers up and maybe, just maybe allow us to afford a few crucial bits that will elevate your experience as a user.

And because I’m a developer, and I can do some pretty kinky shit with APIs and such, if you support this Patreon campaign, you will get some nice feature perks on the platform automagically. You won’t have to pay again to access these perks in-app later.

As many perks as I can cook up anyway, not the least of which will be access to some of the nicer functions and features I’ve already built into the platform.

When the mobile app launches, you will get it first and for free! Plus we’ve been talking about a lot of other ways we can make the platform fun beyond what I've done already.

I plan to monetise the platform in various ways, but in a profit sharing model. You contribute to the database, you contribute content, you get a share of whatever the platform makes. This is already built into the system. This will be open to anyone willing, but to Patrons first.

Finally, I'm limiting the number of people who can subscribe via Patreon to 1000 people. Once we hit that number, the rolls will be closed to new membership, and everyone directed to the platform to pay for any services or merchandise.

My goal for this group of Patrons is that you become an exclusive and tightly knit inner circle.

My hope is that you will help me actively shape what Juicy will become. Your votes and say will carry weight. Your feature requests considered and if possible implemented first.

You will get access to exclusive merchandise, exclusive giveaways and promos (like free stuff), and exclusive programming from the team.

With your help we will produce an exclusive podcast for Patrons only discussing all things BL and Juicy (honestly our conversations are generally wild and hilarious... it will be a rollick for sure), along with other content for Patrons only. We've even planned watch parties and other fun shit... I swear, we want you all to be our greatest ambassadors so we are planning as many treats as we can.

Your access on the platform will be specific to your Patreon subscription and your treatment will be VIP for the life of your subscription.

Finally, the way my auADHD are set up, I have no interest in the dramas of the BL fandom, so this is never going to be about gatekeeping access to anything. It’s about making more access possible. You can help bring us all together and make us stronger as a group.

So do you think Digital Juicy sounds like something you’d like in on?

Okute Sea

Saezuru Murmurs

[solarpunkbusiness]

Endless Food Co has raised €1 million in pre-seed funding to advance its innovative chocolate alternative, THIC (This Isn’t Chocolate), aimed at tackling sustainability and supply chain issues in the chocolate industry.

The funding round was led by Nordic Foodtech VC, with participation from EIFO and Rockstart, and will enable the company to scale production, establish a pilot plant, and expand its team.

Endless Food Co’s THIC is made from ‘upcycled’ brewer’s spent grain, a primary byproduct of beer brewing, and serves as a sustainable, cost-effective alternative to traditional chocolate. Unlike cacao, which faces growing supply challenges due to climate change, THIC is positioned as a scalable solution that reduces reliance on cacao and addresses environmental and ethical concerns in the chocolate industry.

[bijoumikhawal]

Bite the Hand that Starves You: Chapter Four

Fic as of this chapter contains: discussion of abortion, references to drug use, intersex and trans characters, torture/graphic violence, colonialism and its aftermath, implied sexual violence, disassociation

Kardasi: Peikirvi - would translate to something like "concubine", specifically refers to an individual that socially presents as male, and was assigned such at birth, but can carry children (and often could impregnate someone else), who is legally bound to someone. Usually this is done with a pre-existing couple who has fertility issues.

---

It wasn't a baby. In terminating it, you were admitting that- it wasn't a baby. It never breathed, thought, or spoke.

Garak wished there was something physical that made sense. He knows if he asked, they'd show him some vial, or petri dish, with an unidentifiable clump, and that didn't feel right. It didn't feel like something worth funding over. In terminating it, you were admitting that it wasn't.

It wasn't a baby, so of course it didn't look like one, and it wasn't worth fussing over. Not once it was gone, anyway.

“Everything checks out.” Dr. Ammshah said. “I also talked over a few options for your care going forward with Dr. Bashir. First, I know you said you wished to keep all your organs, but we still can do a tubal detachment-"

“No.”

“I thought you might say that.” Dr. Ammshah looked away- purposely a display of deference. “In that case, there are implants available which don’t need to be replaced more than once every kashmim. It’s a lot longer lasting than the shots preferred in the Federation, and if you ever want to have children, it’s not too difficult to remove. I know you’ve had issues with an implant before, so let me reassure you: this implant has no electrical components. The worst it can do is move somewhere it shouldn’t.” She's rolled her sleeves up- most likely a nervous habit. It reveals inked scars on her forearms.

Garak thought for a moment. “Doctor Bashir.” The observation of her arms is distant and evokes no feeling in him. He knew from the moment Julian said her name why she had been eager to help him in particular.

His head turned to Garak quickly- he hadn't stopped paying attention, but hadn't expected to be called upon. “Yes?”

“If I were to do shots, would I be allowed to keep the doses on hand and self administer them, or would I have to come to the infirmary every time?” His own arms are unmarked. It was too dangerous, given who would see his bare skin, for Tolan to give into that form of sentiment- to permanently have Garak carry evidence with him.

“Normally I give patients a few doses and they self administer. I see no reason why you'd be different.” It was not said with anything but pure neutrality.

“I wanted to be sure. I'd rather use the shots, in that case.” His name would have become fetid in her mouth if she knew of Garak outside the boundaries of this room and those marks.

“Would you like me to go ahead and give you the first dose?”

Garak nodded. No more incidents like this. At last.

The first time he sees Kel, the stripes of her childhood have faded, and he assumes she is Barkan’s. So did everyone else. As her age of emergence approached, its clear to everyone they'd assumed wrong. One time at Bamarren, in the garden, and Barkan a week late coming back for Palandine's cycle-

It must've been embarrassing, when Barkan realized. Most peikirvi fucked the wife too, at least once. Historically, it was thought all they did was transfer the husband's seed, with a little of themselves- ultimately, they were not recorded as the father in that case. They knew better now.

Barkan never allows the two of them in the same bed without him as a physical barrier. They went back to Prime a few times- Garak has his own room in the historic Lokar home after the ceremony.

Dr. Bashir put the hypospray down next to his hand. “I'll go ahead and have the pharmacy retrieve a few more doses for you so they're ready when you leave.”

Garak’s hand curled around the handle. “Thank you, doctor.”

The round circle of metal (always cold) went a half inch past the end of his neck ridges, under the chin, like always.

He never sleeps well there. He kept remembering- one time he'd been helping prepare guest rooms, and fell asleep on top of an heirloom silk quilt. Mila never locked him in a closet, but she'd roll out a mat of rough sticks and make him kneel on it in front of the estate cenotaphs for hours.

He'd lived decently on his own as an Order agent, but never that decently.

“Do you have any questions for me?” Dr. Ammshah asked.

“No.” He'd already dismissed the one from earlier. Except- “If this happens again, will Dr. Bashir need to call on you?”

She turned to him. Like with now, and the examination, she'd had Dr. Bashir take careful watch. “I think that may be something at his discretion. Normally, I would have someone observe quite a few procedures before trying to undertake one. But usually I'm dealing with residencies, not a full fledged doctor. Most likely, I'd still end up supervising over video at least.”

Dr. Bashir inclined his head. “I do think I’d be able to handle it, but yes, I would most likely call you just in case.”

The Lokars have silk quilts too- they'd been very fashionable, six to eight generations ago. Barkan has him on top of one once. The whole time Garak is thinking about the launderer, a quiet young thing, and wondering how the hell he was going to clean it.

The Garak cenotaph on Tain’s estate was blank in his childhood (Tolan is on it now), but the message was clear- you will die here.

Garak nodded and leaned back. “I don't plan on this happening again.”

It was better if it wasn't a baby. If it was, where would he bury it? Where you buried your dead was your home. What name would be put on the cenotaph he did not have, on a station with no soil deeper than his knee?

---

Jabara sat next to him, jarring him out of his thoughts. “You're three hours into overtime today.”

Julian wished he could say he hadn't noticed, but he had. Perfect internal clock and everything.

Dr. Ammshah would be leaving in a few days. A check up after a day, a few days of buffer in case of a last minute emergency, then she'd be on her way back to Vulcan. Which left him with one less pair of hands soon.

“I'm just trying to make sure everything goes smoothly.” Julian rubbed a hand over his face. “How's setting up the storage bay going?”

“It's going fine. It hasn't really been used since the last time we needed it, so it didn't need to be cleared out.”

He had been to send his earliest cases home with a minder. That freed up eight beds, with more flagged as being viable to go home under the same conditions. However, he still had more patients coming in- both newly ill and those who'd tried to tough out what they'd assumed was a bad dining choice at first. The surgical suite had a few beds in it now.

Calculations in his head guessed that at least they'd seen a slowdown starting the day Dr. Ammshah left. “That's good. Are any beds ready yet?”

“A few. Yaatare wants to move the first patient over in the next hour or so.”

“I'll want to look things over first.”

“I know. And I was hoping I'd have to comm you to tell you instead of finding you still here.” Jabara stared scalpels in the side of his head.

“Everyone's doing overtime right now.”

“When was your last day off?”

Julian sighed. “Jabara-”

“You're comfortable telling off the rest of the medical staff and any Starfleet officer you see for poor work habits like too much overtime, but you set a poor example.” Jabara leaned back. “You asked me to be blunt with you from the beginning sir, so- it gives the impression that you're a hypocrite, or that you don't trust your staff.”

Julian flinched. It wasn't the first time Jabara told him that- the fact that she fully took him up fully on the request to be blunt was why he preferred working with her. “You want me to check on the storage bay and go back to my quarters.”

“At least. I also frankly don't want to hear you came back here any sooner than eight hours from now. Ten would be better.”

Julian put his hands up. “Alright. I'll go.”

---

Quark’s was perhaps not the best place to unwind if your stress came from how busy you were. Normally the sights- bright lights, Dabo attendants covered in glitter and rhinestones, flashes of brilliant color everywhere- sounds- shrieks of delight and anger, the wheels turning, glass clinking, conversations- smells- all kinds of food, astringent alcohol, a bit of sweat, cleaner (Quark never allowed vomit to sit the way he never let a paying customer's glass sit empty)- made it exciting.

Right now, Julian was just regretting his choices, holed up in a corner alone. Quark had taken one look at him and mixed something without even asking what he was in the mood for- it was vaguely reminiscent of a hot toddy. Julian found he didn't mind it.

He wiped the red foam from the corner of his mouth and sighed.

“I don't usually see you here by yourself.”

Julian managed a smile as Jadzia slid into the seat across from him. “Well I'm not by myself now, am I?”

“Mm. Is this how it usually works for you?”

“How what works?”

“Dates. You sit alone, looking sad and pretty, and someone eventually walks over.”

“Ah, so I'm pretty.” Julian said, sipping his drink. “And no, usually I'm here for fun and enjoying myself.”

Jadzia peered at his mug. “Oh, Quark gave you a Sweet Howler.” She grimaced a bit. “I heard kunowaat was going around. I didn't realize it was this bad.”

How badly was this going to hit him in the morning? Julian sighed. “It's not the worst thing to deal with. A steady, high, clean water intake, and a constant drip of diozaine, and basically anyone who catches it will live. It's just resource intensive and… annoying."

“I can imagine. I'm glad I'm vaccinated.”

“We've been working on that.” Julian muttered. “I told other Starfleet Medical doctors on Bajor to make it a top priority, but the problem with Bajorans and vaccines…”

“We still haven't built up everyone's trust after the Occupation.”

“No. Especially not in rural areas, like where it started this time.” Julian looked up at her. “Enough about work. How have you been? Any interesting holosuite programs you've discovered?”

Are you alright after the Joining Council almost let you die to save themselves some face?

“I've been okay. And no, no new interesting programs have made their way into my clutches.”

I've been okay, often meant something very different, Julian found.

“And which ones does the major like?” Julian asked.

“I don't think she has a preference yet.”

“Really?”

Jadzia shrugged. “She likes a little of everything, and nothing in its entirety out of what I've introduced her to. We've been trying out more programs recently…” she cocked her head. “Some people are just a bit picky. That makes it all the more special when you do find what they like.”

Interesting.

“How has Bareil been?”

Jadzia gave him a puzzled look. “Why would I know?”

Julian tapped his fingers on the side of his mug. “You just mentioned you've been with the major a lot lately. I thought she might’ve mentioned something.”

Jadzia doesn't quite buy it, still giving him an odd look. “She hasn't, really. Since when are you interested in what vedeks are doing, Julian?”

“Well, he's not just any vedek. If I'm to live right next to Bajor I ought to know what's going on with… politics.”

Jadzia squinted at him. “Do you know something I don't?”

“About Bareil? No.”

“Hm.” Jadzia leaned back.

“Are you going to report me to Odo?” Julian said lightly.

Jadzia softened a bit, not that she was especially hardened in the first place. “For all I know, he put you up to asking me.” She looked around, then peeked under the table. “Doesn't look like he's nearby, though.”

“You can't tell.”

“Well, not anymore.” Jadzia admitted. “It used to be something was a little off about whatever form he took. He's gotten better recently. A spare jacket in one of the labs turned out to be him and made me jump half a Quark into the air a few days ago.”

Julian snickered. “Half a Quark… I'll have to remember that one.”

---

Garak sat on the floor.

His holding cell was now an apartment. A ransacked apartment- Garak had accidentally slept in his shop last night, and Dukat hadn’t hesitated to seize the opportunity to target him in his tantrum- but just. An apartment.

He wondered if he'd be pushing his luck to request different quarters now.

He looked around, taking stock, and halted on an ajar wall panel. He yanked at it, heart pounding, and the metal bent- the red box was still there. Garak cradled it in his lap for a moment.

The recitation mask stared up at him. And kept staring.

Garak picked it up and threw it at the wall.

It only bounced off. The mask was lightweight, but the stone was strong and resilient.

Garak let out an angry sigh- bordering on a growl, really- as he got up off the floor. He picked up a chair leg that had broken off.

The mask gave him no more satisfaction than a clunk.

Garak tried, all night- throwing it, stomping on it, putting it under a table leg and then pushing down with all he had- the mask did not break.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Ben Makuch at The Guardian:

Some far-right extremists have fled Telegram for a new haven: SimpleX, a messaging service that just secured over $1m in funding with the help of Jack Dorsey, once the CEO of Twitter, now known as X. The migration from Telegram began after the app’s founder and chief executive, Pavel Durov, announced a crackdown on illegal content and cooperation with law enforcement requests. Just weeks ago, Durov was arrested in France on a litany of charges that allege Telegram helped spread child sexual abuse material and fuelled criminal activities among its users. Some of those users are far-right extremists who are now avowedly nervous to use the app and have pivoted to SimpleX, an obscure secure messaging app promising unparalleled privacy and encryption options. The app is perceived as a safer alternative and consequently gaining momentum, because it does not require any user authentication or identifications in the form of an email or phone number, which SimpleX says “radically improves your privacy”.

[...]

Steven Rai, an analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), said several extremists he monitors could see the upside of replacing Telegram with SimpleX. “SimpleX has numerous security features that extremists view as advantageous compared to Telegram – in addition to having end-to-end encryption activated by default for all messages, it boasts being the first chat platform that circumvents the need for user IDs,” he said. Rai continued: “On most social media platforms like Telegram, accounts are assigned a unique identifier that remains static even when users change their display name, which allows law enforcement and other investigators to track them across time and space, find out who they are communicating with, and possibly identify them.”

All of these features combined, became a selling point for far-right extremists to begin downloading SimpleX, which has the option for one-to-one messaging and broader chat groups – similar to Telegram. “Nothing is bulletproof,” said one far-right user in a discussion on SimpleX about how the app was better than Telegram, “but [SimpleX] doesn’t need your email or phone number (unlike Telegram and such) and doesn’t store chats on their server”. In August, the company announced more than 100,000 downloads of its Android app and that it “raised a $1.3m pre-seed round” of funding led by Dorsey and a Boston-based venture capital firm. “Jack, we are super lucky to have your support and investment,” said the company in an online press release. “Thank you for believing in our ability to build a better messaging network!” Dorsey had sung the praises of SimpleX on X in 2023, calling the app “promising” and potentially better than Signal, a well-known secure-messaging app considered the gold standard among privacy experts.

[...] The near “Whac-A-Mole” game of chasing extremists on alternative social media apps is a long-running problem among national security officials trying to limit the online activities of terrorist organizations. During its heyday in 2014, Islamic State used everything from the question-and-answer site Ask.Fm to Facebook, Instagram and X as recruitment sites. Bans on bigger apps led to Telegram eventually becoming the choice platform for most terror groups looking to find new members. Things did begin to change as the Dubai-based app came under more and more public scrutiny. As early as May 2023, IS members signaled that SimpleX could be a new haven for covert organizing.

Far-right extremists have begun to migrate from Telegram to SimpleX over Telegram’s crackdown on illegal content in the wake of Pavel Durov’s arrest and greater privacy protections.

[xxfeng-superiorityxx]

How are your current economic/political relationships with your fellow Sols?

Politically? We get on well, as we must for a prosperous New Kunlun. Economically? Well, that's a more involved answer.

You see, when Yi proposed the creation of New Kunlun and the Eternal Cauldron project, he made something very clear to us: we weren't going to another planet, not long-term. For the energy needs of every part of the project, we would need to be stationed next to a star. That meant there was never going to be any mining, or any new seeds for foodstuffs beyond what Goumang could engineer herself, or any extra-societal trade, nothing like that. Once New Kunlun left Penglai... that would be it. Nothing new was really coming into the pot, aside from Apeman brains (and other biomatter).

All of the Jin, and pre-Kunlun rations, and art, and fineries of Penglai that could be here with us right now came with us at launch. We brought vast amounts of these resources, as much as we could feasibly manage, so that we had something to fall back on when all this got solved, but vast doesn't mean infinite. Because this was the case, every Sol's... department, for lack of a better term, received their funding up-front.

We technically are still the presiding Sols over the budget, and perform reviews of spenditure to advise the Sols in their projects using raw materials, but... let's be real. It's not like we could cut anybody's funding if they did something we didn't like. That part's no longer really enforceable (which is the reason why we primarily stick to trying to keep our district the best place it can be, as our primary duty).

Suffice to say, our faith and investment in the Eternal Cauldron project was a very up front matter.

[bitcoinversus]

Tim Draper Leads $2.5M Round for Bitcoin Payment Startup Ark Labs

Ark Labs raises $2.5M in a funding round led by Tim Draper to develop faster, cheaper #Bitcoin transactions

Billionaire investor Tim Draper has spearheaded a $2.5 million pre-seed funding round for Ark Labs, a promising startup focused on advancing Bitcoin transactions by making them faster and more cost-effective. Ark Labs, is working on a protocol designed to simplify Bitcoin payments, making the cryptocurrency more accessible for everyday global…

[ofcruelheart]

* ◟ : 〔 RICKY WHITTLE, CIS MAN, HE / HIM 〕 ATLAS COSMATOS , some say you’re a FORTY FIVE YEAR OLD lost soul among the neon lights. known for being both CHAMELEONIC and BRUTAL, one can’t help but think of SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL by THE ROLLING STONES when you walk by. are you still the VULTURE, LEADER, ACTIVIST SHAREHOLDER for THE NEON PARIAHS, ARGUS MANAGEMENT, even with your reputation as THE VULTURE? i think we’ll be seeing more of you and GROTESQUE SCARS AND BURNS HIDDEN BENEATH PRESSED THREE PIECE SUITS, HOLDING BACK BILE AT EVERY INHALE OF UNFAMILIAR POLLUTED AIR, SEAMLESSLY SWITCHING BETWEEN BRUTAL AND BIDDABLE; AMENABLE AND CRUEL, although we can’t help but think of TOM RIPLEY ( THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY ) + THOMAS SHELBY ( PEAKY BLINDERS ) + MAD MAX ( MAD MAX: FURY ROAD ) whenever we see you down these rainy streets.

Name: Atlas Cosmatos Age: 45 Gender: Cismale Pronouns: He/his Orientation: Bisexual Affiliation: The Vulture, Neon Pariahs Civilian Occupation: Activist Shareholder at Argus Management History (TLDR below): tw - mentions of violence

Life in the wastelands, a harsh and treacherous sculptor, whittles existence to its barest form. Here, in this unforgiving expanse, what starvation and desperation do not erode into oblivion, mutates, sprouting teeth and thorns. His memories do not stretch beyond this barren theater; recollections of boyhood, tenderness, or a family that should have been, are as elusive as shadows at dusk. He is a child of the brutal winds and the cruel landscape, claimed wholly by their merciless embrace; hunger, too, stakes its relentless claim on him. In this desolate realm, survivors cluster like moths to the faint glow of hope. They glimpse the neon shimmer of a distant city, a beacon in the darkness. Yet, to their discerning eyes, these luminescent promises are but harbingers of a more insidious demise—luring them into a complacency that whispers of a slow, unnoticed death. In this seductive embrace, their hard-won teeth and thorns are dulled, their very essence smothered in a deadly ambrosia, filling their lungs and dreams with a sweet, suffocating fragrance. In the wasteland's crucible, one among them is shaped into a leader, his voice the loudest in denouncing this illusory Eden. The replicants, mirroring man's form yet surpassing him in lethal prowess, become the fallen angels of this dystopia. Anunnaki, the purveyor of this numbing nectar, weaves dreams laced with poppy seeds, its CEO a mere idol of false salvation. Their scornful laughter soon transforms into rallying cries of freedom and revolution. Survival—collective, unyielding survival—demands the dethroning of these deceptive beacons. Navigating the city's labyrinth, they adapt with a predator's grace. To blend into this urban jungle, to mimic its inhabitants, is a lesser challenge for those sculpted by hardship. They are artisans of survival, wearing many guises. Atlas, among them, embodies this adaptability. Armed with fabricated credentials and a magnetic charisma, he infiltrates a hedge fund as an activist shareholder. His mission: to wield his stake like a weapon, pressuring corporations to sever ties with Anunnaki. His tactics are manifold: proxy wars, media blitzes, resolutions, legal battles, and negotiations. His shadowy work extends beyond the boardroom—sabotaging Anunnaki's supply lines under the cloak of night. His next stratagem looms: to amass a significant share in Anunnaki itself. But Stoneage, a privately owned company, a fortress impervious to his financial arsenal, presents a more formidable challenge. Here, the Neon Pariahs must innovate anew. Their directive is clear: to dismantle the replicants by any means necessary, a relentless war against the shadowy figures of this new world order.

Wanted Connections

Any and all replicants for him and the pariahs to hunt. He's made sure to equip all pariahs with tasers hehe

Enemies of the Neon Pariahs - aka those loyal to Anunnaki and Stoneage

Companies he has pressured with shareholder activism

Detectives who may be suspicious of his records and sudden appearance - careful of what you may find. Perhaps those hired or working with Anunnaki/Stoneage?

[harinibw]

Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market faced significant declines today, with Bitcoin trading below $59,000 and major altcoins also in the red. Solana, Dogecoin, and Toncoin dropped 8.27%, 7.44%, and 6.53%, respectively. The overall market capitalization fell to $2.26 trillion, down 4.42% in the past 24 hours. Despite the losses, Bitcoin’s dominance increased to 51.06%, reflecting a cautious investor sentiment.

Amid the downturn, several cryptocurrencies showed notable gains. Hivemapper (HONEY) led with a 42.9% increase, followed by Beta Finance (BETA) with an 18.7% rise. Other gainers included DADDY TATE (DADDY), Chainflip (FLIP), and NATIX Network (NATIX).

Recent funding rounds indicated ongoing investor confidence. QED Protocol secured a $6 million Seed round, and onaji raised $2.5 million in a Pre-Seed round. Additionally, Wallet Guard was acquired by ConsenSys, signaling strategic growth in the industry.

[ailtrahq]

Welcome back to Chain Reaction. subscribe here Annyeong, or hello, friends! While I’m typically based in New York City, this week I’m reporting from Seoul, South Korea for Korea Blockchain Week. The week has been jam-packed with a number of conference events as well as offsite side events and networking happy hours. I’ve listened to a number of panels surrounding topics like web3 gaming, enterprise Blockchain adoption (I moderated one), institutional adoption, regulatory climate and investing in Asia. I also kept busy with a of interviews with local experts on the Market evolving out east as well as people who flew in to meet with startups based in the region. This means I’ll be putting out more articles on TechCrunch based on these conversations in the coming days and weeks…so keep an eye out for that. Meanwhile, there was some News that transpired in the web3 world, so let’s get into it. This week in web3 Crypto funding in August wasn’t as good as the numbers may lead you to believe (TC+) blockchain tech needs a ‘ChatGPT moment’ to scale enterprise adoption (TC+) MetaMask now allows crypto cash-out to PayPal and banks, but fees could be high Gleen’s tech-savvy chatbot for Discord and Slack attracts Solana founder in oversubscribed round The US can’t kill crypto: Real regulations are coming The latest pod For this week’s episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Charlie Shrem, founder of the bitcoin Foundation, general partner at Druid Ventures and host of the Charlie Shrem show. Before all that, he was the co-founder and CEO of BitInstant, which was a bitcoin payment processor that started in 2011. Shortly after founding the company, he was charged with operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, and for allegedly attempting to launder over $1 million through the now defunct dark web marketplace Silk Road. He spent a little over a year in a low-Security prison as a result. Now, Charlie is a vocal advocate for clearer crypto regulation, he’s a crypto investor, podcaster and even a movie producer. We discussed how the bitcoin and crypto ecosystems have changed (and stayed the same) over the past decade as well as how his incarceration shaped his view on the industry. We also talked about: Need for regulatory clarity in the U.S. Crypto projects and sectors he’s following How the bitcoin ecosystem is growing Friend.tech Advice for listeners Subscribe to Chain Reaction on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the latest episodes, and please leave us a review if you like what you hear! Follow the money Story Protocol raised over $54 million in round led by a16z crypto Domain name startup D3 Global raised $5 million in a seed round led by Shima Capital Cross-chain communication protocol Socket raised $5 million from Coinbase Ventures and Frameworks Kotani gets $2 million pre-seed to help African workers send money home via crypto GenTwo raised $15 million in a Series A funding round led by Point72 Ventures What else we’re writing Want to branch out from the world of web3? Here are some articles on TechCrunch that caught our attention this week. Our favorite startups from YC’s Summer 2023 Demo Day, Day 1 (TC+) Clubhouse is trying to make a comeback Tech companies are finding their profitability groove (TC+) Here’s why some investors are sitting out of YC Demo Day (TC+) EU confirms six (mostly US) tech giants are subject to Digital Markets Act

[sassysophiabush]

You all know that throughout the years of our friendship and business partnerships, fighting for equity and seats at the table are what drive us. In that spirit we are pleased, as partners and investors, to announce our first investment of 2023: Oya FemTech Apparel @wearoya. We are thrilled to be supporting a founder that’s raised $1.3 million in an over-subscribed pre-seed round because of what they’ve created. Mitch and their team — led by four women engineers — have developed an innovative textile-based technology and product offering at Oya. They are solving a problem that many established brands have continued to overlook. Mitch’s story began in college athletics and she followed it to the lab. “As a collegiate female athlete, I found myself struggling with recurrent vaginal health hurdles and in the dark about why. Then, many years later, I discovered the leggings I had been wearing were the culprit. Unfortunately, most performance wear is made with spandex blends, which trap moisture and do not breathe. This is not good for women athletes who need ventilation and moisture control,” said Mitchella Gilbert, Co-founder, and CEO of Oya Femtech Apparel. “I took it upon myself to solve the issue by creating a line of performance wear designed with women’s health in mind.” And not only is Mitch an innovator, but they’re making sure the newest and best tech will always meet their rigorous standards, perusing a utility patent, which will protect both the product’s integrity and the consumers who wear it as the company grows. As investors and entrepreneurs, we know that relatively 2% of venture capital funding is allocated to women, and of that, roughly 0.05% to Black women. When we find underrepresented, passionate founders with great ideas, it is a privilege to invest in them, and work alongside them. We’re proud to be a part of this team. And we love to see innovators like Mitch setting ever-higher bars for the care of our bodies and our health. We are excited to be among the supporters seated at this table. #WearOya #PhysicianTested #AthleteApproved #FemTech