Sena Gbeckor-Kove

I’ve been thinking a lot about this. The post below highlights a troubling trend: SaaS companies explicitly opting out of serving the EU market because of regulatory challenges. And honestly, I can relate. As an EU citizen, it’s often easier to start something targeted at the US market and distribute it there than it is to operate within Europe. The US market is massive, vibrant, and—crucially—easier to navigate from a regulatory perspective. On the other hand, Europe, with its patchwork of regulations, feels like a minefield. GDPR, while well-intentioned, often becomes a barrier rather than a facilitator for innovation. Take the cookie banners, for example—those intrusive pop-ups we’re forced to navigate on nearly every site. They’ve become a meme at this point, something everyone ignores or blindly clicks through. What’s the point of regulations like this if they alienate users and stifle innovation while doing little to actually protect privacy? We’re seeing innovation bypass Europe. How did it come to this? Where is Europe heading if the cost of compliance outweighs the reward of serving the market? It’s sad to see, but it’s the reality we’re living in. Unless something changes, I fear this trend will only accelerate. Europe needs to rethink its approach if it wants to compete on the global innovation stage. Would love to hear your thoughts on this. Have you had similar experiences, or do you see a way forward?

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🔔 New Measure release is out! This incorporates lots of feedback collected from moblie devs over the last month and has many bug fixes, stability improvements and useful new features. The best new feature is the ability to browse and search through individual sessions. You can filter through sessions just like you would through Crashes or ANRs. You can also do full-text search through your sessions by User/Session ID, Logs, Event Types, Target View IDs, File/Class names or Exception Traces. Big thanks to devs who have given us feedback so far and we will continue to make Measure even better for mobile devs in the coming releases 🙏 Checkout the full release here: Server & Dashboard: https://lnkd.in/grjYGj4i Android SDK: https://lnkd.in/gpg_qBw6

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Now you can browse and search through individual sessions. You can find out what the user was doing and how was memory and CPU consumption during the usage.

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We've spent quite a lot of time improving Tapir's documentation lately: 1. we've got a new landing page - written with people yet unfamiliar with Tapir's and Scala's ecosystem in mind: https://lnkd.in/dkRT_kPT 2. there's a listing of how-to's, in the form of examples; each example is tagged, described, self-contained and easily runnable using scala-cli. Just copy the content of a single file! https://lnkd.in/dyJknFwx 3. finally, we've got a growing list of tutorials, each in a textual and video format: https://lnkd.in/eUKniQkT That way, we aim to address all 3 aspects of good technical documentation: tutorials, how-to's and reference documentation (that's what we mostly had so far). By no means "Tapir docs" is a done project, but we certainly got better foundations now! #Scala

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Stripe has just made its largest acquisition yet, purchasing the stablecoin platform Bridge for a whopping $1.1 billion. This marks the biggest acquisition in the crypto industry to date and signals Stripe's deepening commitment to integrating blockchain technology into its payment infrastructure. With stablecoins playing a growing role in global finance, this move could reshape how businesses and consumers interact with digital currencies at scale. Exciting times ahead for fintech innovation! 💡 #Fintech #Crypto #Stripe #Stablecoins #Blockchain #Innovation

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I see more and more chatter from people these days claiming that LLMs don’t actually work very well for programming. At the same time I noticed that an opensource project I have been using with customers had many open GitHub Issues going unresponded to even weeks after they were posted. With some time to kill during some long running deployments I picked a hand full and replicated each problem locally. With zero additional language, context or prompts the solution to each ticket could be found by just pasting the GitHub issue into regular chat gpt and trying the solution proposed. All I then did was paste each of those outputs as a comment and the author of each ticket popped up to say the issue was resolved. When people come and ask me about prompting I ask to watch them use an LLM first. After about two minutes I tell them what I have been doing on GitHub and then wait to see if they figure it out. The reason GitHub issues make good prompts is because when you sit down to write them you are asking a question hoping to get the attention of another human being to help you solve the problem you write the appeal and share the information in a particular way and that is one of the best ways to prompt.

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This is a dated take from an ivory tower. The only killer feature #ethereum has left is its market cap which it established by being the first mover. I don't hold it against the Ethereum Foundation but nothing since has been pure or decentralized enough for their liking. Instead of attacking the innovators, who are left to grind off of scraps, why not celebrate the incremental improvements over the status-quo? Rising tides? All Boats? I would be cast out of the industry if I said the things Vitalik has about "crazed" liquidity farmers. Some of us don't have the bankroll-armor to be that judgmental about other peoples ideas and interests. In #blockchain, if it isn't the scammers pulling you down, its the "got mine" maxis pushing you. #rant. https://lnkd.in/ep6AMrm9

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Highlights from the State of Rootstock report by Messari: • New daily verified contracts reached all-time highs • 61.5% Bitcoin hashrate for security • Steady DeFi TVL despite market dips • +20 partnerships and collaborations • Launched BitVMX framework for trust-minimized bridges

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Portuguese Tekever Secures $74M to Scale Dual-Use Drone Used in Ukraine Portuguese drone manufacturer Tekever has secured a significant $74 million funding round, marking a major advancement in Europe's growing drone technology sector. The investment, led by SpaceX-backer Baillie Gifford and the NATO Innovation Fund, positions the company for expansion into the U.S. market while supporting its dual-use drone platform currently deployed in Ukraine, according to TechCrunch. Strategic Investment and Market Position The funding round represents a strategic shift in the drone industry, as smaller, tech-driven startups increasingly challenge traditional defense contractors. Tekever's approach stands out through its vertical integration, controlling everything from airframe design and manufacturing to software development and AI implementation. CEO Ricardo Mendes emphasized Europe's need to accelerate technological growth, particularly given the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. "We have the war in Ukraine on our borders and lagging behind in terms of technological growth," Mendes told Bloomberg News. Screenshot Advanced Drone Capabilities Tekever's flagship drone, the ARX platform, demonstrates advanced capabilities in both civilian and military applications. The sophisticated system can command multiple smaller drones simultaneously while conducting comprehensive surveillance operations. Its adaptable nature allows for quick responses to evolving operational requirements across both maritime and land-based environments. Investment Partners and Future Plans The funding round brought together an impressive coalition of investors, with Baillie Gifford & Co. and the NATO Innovation Fund leading the charge. The latter, a €1 billion defense-focused VC fund, was joined by the UK's National Security Strategic Investment Fund and Silicon Valley's Crescent Cove Advisors. Existing investors Iberis Semper and Cedrus Capital also participated in this substantial investment round. Operational Track Record Tekever has already demonstrated its operational excellence across various critical applications. The company's drones have proven their worth in military operations in Ukraine, while also supporting maritime surveillance missions with the European Maritime Safety Agency. Additionally, they've been instrumental in border security operations with the UK Home Office and in tracking migrant smuggling activities in the English Channel. DroneXL's Take The substantial investment in Tekever reflects the growing sophistication of unmanned aerial systems and their increasing importance in both civilian and military applications. This development aligns with broader industry trends we've observed in drone technology and artificial intelligence integration. The company's success in securing funding from both commercial and defense-oriented investors highlights the evolving nature of the drone industry, where dual-use capabilities are becoming increasingly valuabl...

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🔵Such a pleasure to participate in an enlightening panel discussion at the World Blockchain Summit Global Series, alongside esteemed panelists like Bertrand Levy from The Sandbox. Moderated by José Fernando Pereira from Caerus, the conversation delved deep into the evolving landscape of gaming within the Web 3.0 ecosystem. 💡A few key takeaways from our discussion: ⛓️The Integration of Blockchain in Gaming: We explored how blockchain technology is not just revolutionising the way games are played and owned but also how it ensures transparency and fairness in gaming economies. 👾The Rise of Play-to-Earn Models: The discussion highlighted the shift towards models that not only engage players but also allow them to earn and contribute to the gaming world in meaningful ways. 🚀Challenges and Opportunities: We addressed potential challenges in scalability and user adoption, while also discussing strategies to harness these hurdles as opportunities for growth and innovation. Thank you to everyone who joined the discussion and to the organisers for inviting me to share my thoughts. Looking forward to continuing these important conversations! #blueverseventures #blueverse #WBSDubai2024 #BlockchainInnovation #TechRevolution #blockchainevents #investorconnect #startupfunding #web3 #cryptocurrency #BlockchainSummit #FutureFinance

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Hiring and working with excellent people is what makes starting a company so fun

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It's lonely being a CTO This is one of the most common phrases I hear from CTOs. They aren't talking about being lonely in the traditional sense. They are talking about how as CTOs where they are most often the most senior technical person in the business, there is often no one to turn to for advice and help talk through big strategic things and problems. The CTO community we have created over the past 4 years is solving that very problem! If you are a "lonely" CTO then come an join the largest CTO community for startups across Australia.

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Unlock access to a curated list of 850 venture capital firms focused on #Software and #SaaS. Find the right investors for your startup! https://lnkd.in/d7hRz3tS #vc #startups #venturecapital #privateequity #investmentbanking

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I ran across this post in the Changelog newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eCdjVekq - I like the name slop for unwanted AI-generated content. I love LLMs. They are part of my daily workflow, and I've been exploring them more seriously while on my sabbatical. I wouldn't misrepresent generated content without critical review as my own, but the web seems to be filled with more generated garbage (or 'slop')—content that looks fine at first but isn't accurate or helpful. LLMs (and other generative AI) should help us to make things of higher quality, not just churn out slop more quickly.

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Ever been in a meeting where the CTO starts talking about "complex database work" and you just know—deep down—they're stalling because they really don’t want to do it? Yeah, we’ve all seen it. Instead of tackling a simple feature request, they spin it into some mystical tech problem, drop a line about "focusing on growth, not features," and suddenly your whole idea is on life support. Brilliant deflection. And if you’re using an outsourced tech platform? Welcome to the development queue of death—where good ideas go to die, or get resurrected with a price tag that makes you wonder if you’re paying for an actual resurrection. Even worse, that “innovative feature” you paid through the nose for ends up farmed out to your competitors. Feels good, right? You end up feeling stuck—constrained from growth, forced into clunky workarounds, battling limited resources, and hoping the CTO stops having bad days. But here’s the thing—DIY tools like OpenAI, Claude, Anthropic, and a growing list of others are rewriting the script. The old song and dance of "we can’t because it’s too complex" is getting real tired—if you know where to look. Still hesitating? Keep in mind, while you're sitting there debating, others have already grabbed the tools and moved on. Can you relate? How often have you seen a platform bottleneck your business? In Leadgen, it's practically a rite of passage. Let’s hear your stories—how did you handle it?

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