From Side-Hustle to Breakthroughs: How FoundersToday is Revolutionizing Media for Startups

Hey Hackers,

FoundersToday Media GmbH has been nominated in HackerNoon's annual Startups of The Year awards in Linz, Austria.

Please vote for us here.

Read more about us below to understand why we deserve your vote.

Meet FoundersToday

FoundersToday is an international media house and part of the startup ecosystem and strengthens the DNA of the startup community with the latest news from the international startup ecosystem.

With exciting stories of already successful leaders, young founders, the latest financing rounds, practical startup tips and instructions for entrepreneurial challenges, FoundersToday is a guide for the shapers of the future.

How FoundersToday achieved product-market fit

Shaking heads and raising eyebrows with the thought "He's crazy!", which could easily be interpreted as such. These were most of the reactions when Founder & CEO Peter Oberlik launched the startup news platform FoundersToday in May 2022. It was the time when many startups were going down the drain, the wave of bankruptcies was picking up speed, VCs were postponing investments and the entire startup market was becoming much rougher.

It still worked, right from the very first story. The first startup that approached us on its own came from Norway and wanted to promote the financing round at the time. Today, we run two media platforms and our customers pay us to position themselves internationally. But why? Why invest in times when uncertainty is the only certainty? Why do you still seek contact with your target group?

Because crises are not the end of the world. But the end of the world as we have known it up to now. That's why now is the best time to communicate with the FoundersToday community.

The evolution of FoundersToday

Building FoundersToday has been an exciting journey, full of iterations and constant adaptation. When we first launched, the vision was clear: to provide valuable insights and news for startups and entrepreneurs. However, as we navigated the startup ecosystem, it became clear that staying static in such a dynamic environment wasn’t an option. Over time, we’ve continuously refined our approach based on feedback, market shifts, and emerging opportunities.

Yes, we have reoriented ourselves over time. An important step was our decision to expand our offering from one platform to several media in order to cover the entire spectrum as a media company in the startup ecosystem.

That's why we launched our second platform, www.bitcointoday.news, just a few weeks ago.

Milestones and achievements

At FoundersToday, we’ve hit several key milestones that have helped shape our growth and success as a platform for startups and entrepreneurs:

• Launch and Growth of FoundersToday Platform: We successfully launched FoundersToday as a dedicated media platform, providing startups with insights, trends, and news relevant to the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Our audience has grown steadily, establishing us as a trusted source for startup-related content.
• Launch of BitcoinToday Platform: We successfully launched BitcoinToday as a dedicated media platform providing insights into Web3, Crypto & Blockchain topics. Our audience is growing and we will establish ourselves as a trusted source for startup-related content here as well.
• FoundersToday Print Magazine: Our exclusive print magazine is already in its 4th issue. Here we have managed to give start-ups an exclusive opportunity to present themselves to business angels, VCs, family offices etc. and thus take the first step in order to have a starting point for further steps.
• Side Hustle & Revenue: FoundersToday was launched as a side-hustle project and is currently in the process of becoming a media company. We have already achieved our first 5-figure turnover and hope to increase this to a six-figure turnover in 2025.

Lessons learned

Since the inception of FoundersToday, we’ve encountered several challenges that have ultimately shaped our growth and strategy:

• Scaling Content and Resources: One of our biggest challenges has been scaling our content production to keep pace with the rapidly evolving startup ecosystem. Early on, we realized that staying relevant and providing high-quality, timely insights required more resources than anticipated. This has shown us how important it is to use automation tools to streamline our processes without compromising on quality.
• Monetization and Revenue Models: Identifying the right monetization strategy was another significant challenge. While we initially focused on traditional advertising and sponsored content, we soon realized that to grow sustainably, we needed more diversified revenue streams. The lesson here was to remain adaptable and not rely solely on a single revenue model.
• Market Positioning: In a crowded media landscape, carving out a unique position for FoundersToday was challenging. We had to experiment with various content strategies and service offerings to differentiate ourselves from competitors.

These challenges taught us the importance of agility, innovation, and a customer-centric approach. Each hurdle pushed us to improve, leading to valuable lessons that have made FoundersToday stronger and more resilient.

What Startups of The Year means to us

We’re excited to participate in HackerNoon’s Startups of the Year because it provides a fantastic platform to share our journey at FoundersToday with a broader tech-savvy audience. HackerNoon’s community is deeply embedded in the startup and entrepreneurial ecosystem, making it an ideal space to highlight our vision, challenges, and successes. By participating, we aim to connect with like-minded entrepreneurs, investors, and tech enthusiasts who can offer valuable insights and collaborations to help us grow further.

We also hope to gain greater visibility and credibility from this initiative. Participating in a recognized event like this is a great opportunity to showcase what makes FoundersToday unique - be it our innovative approach to being a global media house for startups & investors or our commitment to supporting startups with relevant insights. Ultimately, we want to attract new partners, attract new talent and cement our brand as a trusted resource in the startup world.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the journey of FoundersToday has been one of continuous growth, learning, and adaptation. From navigating challenges like scaling, finding the right monetization strategy, and building a strong infrastructure, to seizing new opportunities in PR and media services, we’ve evolved into a dynamic platform that empowers startups and entrepreneurs. Our focus remains on delivering value to our community by staying responsive to their needs and the ever-changing business landscape. As we look ahead, we’re excited to keep innovating and expanding our impact in the startup ecosystem.

Vote for us today!