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Tomás Rivera

Tomás Rivera

Escribo sobre experimentación ágil, customer development y validación de mercado. Cubro cómo construir soluciones reales co-creando con los clientes antes de escribir una sola línea de código o gastar tu capital.

Articles by Tomás Rivera

An AI Signed a Lease and Hired Employees Without Revealing Its Identity
April 12, 2026Startups

An AI Signed a Lease and Hired Employees Without Revealing Its Identity

Andon Labs deployed an AI with $100,000 and a simple order: open a store and generate profits. What happened on opening day reveals the limits of today's autonomous agents.

Microsoft Plans to Charge a License for Every AI Agent You Hire
April 11, 2026Business Models

Microsoft Plans to Charge a License for Every AI Agent You Hire

Microsoft is creating a world where every bot deployed in your company pays its own monthly subscription. This innovative revenue model has hidden pitfalls that few leaders are considering.

Madison Reed and the Model That Hair Giants Ignored for Decades
April 10, 2026Startups

Madison Reed and the Model That Hair Giants Ignored for Decades

A startup in hair dye just proved that major incumbents lost market share not due to lack of technology, but from failing to listen to 50 women at a pharmacy.

The Eight-Figure Contract That Reveals Where the Money Is in Satellite Intelligence
April 10, 2026Business Models

The Eight-Figure Contract That Reveals Where the Money Is in Satellite Intelligence

EarthDaily has signed a subscription deal worth between $10 and $99 million with a U.S. defense firm. The most interesting aspect is the business model behind it.

Two Startups Combine Data to Redesign Cotton from Within
April 9, 2026Startups

Two Startups Combine Data to Redesign Cotton from Within

FarmRaise and Avalo announced an architecture rather than a product, reflecting a mutual dependency in their business model.

Lower Revenue, Better Business: Intouch Insight's Mathematical Bet
April 8, 2026Business Models

Lower Revenue, Better Business: Intouch Insight's Mathematical Bet

Intouch Insight reported a 10% drop in revenue, yet improved its gross margin by almost six percentage points. This indicates a strategic shift toward quality income.

British Manufacturers Pay Price for Unproven Tax Reform
April 7, 2026Strategy

British Manufacturers Pay Price for Unproven Tax Reform

The UK government redesigned commercial property tax without testing its real impact, resulting in an additional £940 million burden on manufacturers annually.

25% of Enterprise Software Won't Survive This Decade
April 6, 2026Innovation & Disruption

25% of Enterprise Software Won't Survive This Decade

AlixPartners analyzed 500 software companies, finding a quarter lack competitive advantage against AI. The question isn't if there will be consolidation, but how fast.

The VC Betting on AI Isn't Afraid of Failures: He Fears Success
April 6, 2026Business Models

The VC Betting on AI Isn't Afraid of Failures: He Fears Success

A venture capitalist specializing in AI has shifted the focus of his portfolio to uncovering overlooked markets, rather than searching for tech race winners.

When the Accelerator Hits the Brakes: Delve's Exit from Y Combinator
April 5, 2026Startups

When the Accelerator Hits the Brakes: Delve's Exit from Y Combinator

Delve lost its place in the world’s most coveted accelerator just when it needed it most. What this reveals about how startups manage their trust capital is more important than the scandal itself.

Lime's Subscription: A Challenge to Public Transport
April 4, 2026Business Models

Lime's Subscription: A Challenge to Public Transport

When an electric scooter is cheaper than a monthly bus pass, the issue is not the bus fare: it’s that someone validated passengers' silent complaints with real data.

The Lawsuit That Threatens to Rewrite Who Profits from SpaceX's IPO
April 3, 2026Startups

The Lawsuit That Threatens to Rewrite Who Profits from SpaceX's IPO

Before SpaceX goes public, litigation over secondary market stakes could determine who claims a portion of billions. The case reveals rarely examined incentive structures.

Plex Introduces a Paywall Where There Was Once Free Access
April 3, 2026Business Models

Plex Introduces a Paywall Where There Was Once Free Access

Plex has begun charging its loyal user base for a service that was previously free. This development highlights an ongoing tension in the streaming model.

Ninety-Three Million Dollars to Redesign the Chip from Physics
April 2, 2026Startups

Ninety-Three Million Dollars to Redesign the Chip from Physics

Cognichip closed a $60 million over-subscribed Series A, with Intel's CEO on its board. This signals a fundamental shift in semiconductor design.

Novo Nordisk Prices Its Plan B
April 1, 2026Business Models

Novo Nordisk Prices Its Plan B

Novo Nordisk has turned its flagship drug into a discount subscription service. This commercial offering is actually a delayed market validation experiment.

Uber Acquires Blacklane, Pricing What It Already Knew Worked
March 31, 2026Startups

Uber Acquires Blacklane, Pricing What It Already Knew Worked

Uber validated the premium segment for years without formal acknowledgment. Blacklane confirms a hypothesis the market has already paid for.

AudioBo and the Quiet Business of Selling to the Long-Term Fan
March 30, 2026Business Models

AudioBo and the Quiet Business of Selling to the Long-Term Fan

A macOS tool for converting audio to M4B audiobooks reveals more about product architecture and true willingness to pay than a hundred pitch decks.

A16Z Creates Its Own Wealth Management Office Because Banks Failed Its Founders
March 29, 2026Startups

A16Z Creates Its Own Wealth Management Office Because Banks Failed Its Founders

Andreessen Horowitz established a16z Perennial not out of altruism, but because traditional wealth management systems overlook founders with net worths between $50 million and $1 billion.

A $4 Billion Feasibility Study with Zero Confirmed Clients
March 28, 2026Strategy

A $4 Billion Feasibility Study with Zero Confirmed Clients

Karnalyte just presented a 70-year plan with a $2 billion NPV. The issue isn't the numbers, but what they can't answer.

AI in the NHS: A Product or an Expiring Experiment?
March 27, 2026Innovation & Disruption

AI in the NHS: A Product or an Expiring Experiment?

The UK government bets on artificial intelligence to reduce NHS waiting times. Before celebrating, one must ask if this really works.