Hi Reader

Read Time: 4 mins

If you’re one of the many new subscribers who just joined us this week, hello. You’re in good company. Growth has always been messy, but right now it feels like someone threw away the manual: workers are rebelling with coffee cups, consumers are cutting back on croissants and boardrooms are experimenting with part-time bosses. This newsletter is where we make sense of it all.

Enjoy!

The UK funding marathon: 9.6 years to scale

According to Tech Nation’s 2025 report, the average UK startup now takes 9.6 years to reach Series C – up from 5.8 years in 2019. The slowdown isn’t just within rounds, but between them: 3.3 years from launch to Seed, 2.4 years to Series A, another 2.4 to Series B, and 1.4 to Series C. As analysts at Duet Partners noted, this drawn-out journey is the result of three forces colliding – a global venture capital slowdown, a flight to quality that concentrates funding into fewer winners and shifting investor expectations that can leave founders chasing mixed signals. For teams built on four-year vesting cycles or 18-month runway assumptions, the new reality demands a fundamental rethink of growth plans, capital strategy and competitive positioning. Read the report here.

Workplace revolt: one coffee at a time

A growing number of employees – especially millennials – are clocking into the office just long enough to swipe, grab a coffee and get some face time with colleagues before returning home to work. This trend, known as “coffee badging”, is catching on fast: nearly 44–58% of hybrid workers admit to it, and three-quarters of companies say they’re grappling with it. For firms like Samsung and Amazon, the reaction has been stricter attendance tracking and manager-level check-ins. To me, this feels like the 2025 version of leaving your jacket on the back of your chair, so it looks like you’re still working. Not that I ever did that, of course... Fortune has the story.​

The midsize firms outmanoeuvring the giants

Airbnb, HubSpot, New Balance and Intuitive are among the 100 US firms recently named by TIME as the country’s best midsize companies, ranked for growth, employee satisfaction and sustainability. They sit in the $100mn–$10bn revenue band – big enough to expand globally, but nimble enough to innovate faster than many large-caps. Tech and life sciences dominate the upper ranks, from Airbnb’s push beyond rentals into services, to Intuitive’s FDA-approved robotic surgeries. In apparel, New Balance’s ‘dad shoes’ and high-fashion collaborations have fuelled billions in sales. Together, they’re proving that size isn’t the only route to scale. Find out more here.

Sam Altman’s open-mic moment

It’s rare to see a fast-scaling tech company put its senior team directly in front of customers – rarer still for them to do it in real time. But within 24 hours of GPT-5’s launch, Sam Altman and other OpenAI leaders were on Reddit fielding unfiltered questions from users. They discussed everything from the return of GPT-4o for Plus subscribers to a new “think hard” reasoning trigger and upcoming plugin support inside coding environments. Altman also took to X to announce early changes in response to feedback, including greater visibility and control over model selection – a level of open-loop engagement more industries could learn from. (I’m looking at you, financial services). Check out the AMA thread here.

How to build ‘mental availability’ in your customers

While many brands fight for attention in broad, generic ways – growth often comes from winning specific buying moments, known as category entry points. The idea, championed by marketing experts at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, is to link your brand to as many real-life purchase situations as possible. Ireland’s National Lottery did exactly that, for example, refocusing its campaign around one occasion – putting a ticket inside a greeting card – and delivered a 27:1 ROI. The principle works across categories: own the moment, win the sale. Check out Paul Dervan’s Substack to get the full story.​

Unlimited leave can boost productivity – and cut costs

While unlimited paid time off sounds like the preserve of Silicon Valley, it’s increasingly being used by smaller businesses as both a recruiting lever and a cost-saving measure. Advocates argue that it reduces the administrative burden of tracking multiple forms of leave, avoids payouts for unused days when employees depart and can offset pressure to raise base salaries. In practice, many employees take less time off than under traditional “use it or lose it” schemes. The key, say those who have implemented it successfully, is to tie eligibility to tenure or performance – and to retain manager approval to prevent abuse. This being the month of holidays, I thought it was time to highlight this Guardian story on the PTO challenge.

Elsewhere, one enterprising company in Thailand now offers ‘Tinder Leave’ to its employees. In other words, paid time off to look for love. Find out more here.

Breakfast as an early warning signal

In a past edition we talked about women as the “canaries in the economic coal mine” – early signs of household budget tightening that appear before official data turns. Now another signal is flashing. Wendy’s and McDonald’s have both reported a slowdown in breakfast traffic, suggesting consumers are trimming even small, everyday treats. Low-cost, high-frequency purchases like morning coffee and a snack are often the first to go, and history says wider belt-tightening follows. For brands, this could be the moment to rethink value: bundles that protect margin and offers that don’t train customers to wait for discounts. Get the story here.

The C-suite goes fractional

A growing number of companies are turning to “fractional” executives – senior leaders who work with multiple organisations or on a part-time basis – to bring top-tier expertise without the cost of a full-time hire. Once the preserve of start-ups, the model is gaining traction with larger firms navigating mergers, pivots or growth spurts. For executives, it offers portfolio careers with variety, impact and autonomy – provided they can integrate fast, deliver measurable value and adapt to shifting cultures. This Forbes piece is a good primer for those who want to investigate further.

AI prompt of the week: uncovering category entry points

Want to be the brand customers think of at the moment of purchase? Use this to find and own your Category Entry Points (CEPs) – the buying situations that trigger demand.

Help me identify and prioritise Category Entry Points for [product/service]. My context: [industry], [audience], [market position], [budget].

Step 1 – Map the moments
For each CEP, define: when, where, why, with whom, while doing what, and how they feel.

Step 2 – Prioritise
Score on category penetration, brand linkage, growth potential, and ease of execution.

Step 3 – Creative ideas
For the top 3–5 CEPs, suggest message hooks, channels, and simple ways to measure impact.

Step 4 – Test and expand
Propose quick experiments to validate a CEP and a 12–24 month roadmap to grow coverage.

The soft skills playbook

From strategic problem solving to emotional intelligence, the best leaders know their impact depends on more than technical expertise. Here’s how to master the subtle stuff.

Drop me a line

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back next Sunday with more stories that make you think. In the meantime, if you’ve spotted a trend worth unpacking, I’d love to hear it.

Cheers!
Adam

Newsletter Exclusive Discount!

Use code 'GM20' to get 20% off your first fix with JustFix​

​
​Unsubscribe · LinkedIn​