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TSL Monthly Roundup: Our First IRL Event. Community Shoutouts. Robin AI's Big Win. Steve Jobs. Our Takes on AI.

#1 April edition 🌸

Author

The Startup Leap
April 04, 2025

Hey there - and welcome to the first edition of our monthly newsletter 👋🏾

🌸 Spring is here? And we are officially into Q2 (how did that happen?) and for many, April is that sweet spot - goals are clearer, plans are in motion, and there’s still plenty of time to shape the year ahead.

Whether you're deep in build mode or making your next big move, we’re here to help you keep the momentum going.

This month, we’re bringing you:

Enjoy the read! đź’ś


🎧Missed Last Month’s Conversations?

Catch up on the founder stories that defined March:


International Women’s Month Dinner (our first IRL event!🔥)

Last week, we hosted our first ever in-person event - and what better moment to bring it to life than International Women’s Month.

In collaboration with HSBC Innovation Banking, we gathered an incredible group of women from across the startup ecosystem for an intimate dinner in London - founders, operators, and leaders building in climate, fintech, femtech and more.

The theme of the night was “Founders First” a celebration of women leading with vision, taking risks, and creating what doesn’t yet exist.

It was an evening of honest conversation, shared experience, and a powerful reminder of what happens when women show up and back each other.

Some around the table were guests of the pod - like Marta Krupinska (Co-founder of CUR8) and Jo Goodall (Co-founder of Luna, whose fellow founder Jas joined us on the pod).

Huge thanks to everyone who joined us, and and for those who couldn’t be there, don’t worry - more events to come this year!

To every woman building something bold: your ambition matters. Your voice belongs in the room. And the table is only getting bigger from here. đź’ś

🌟TSL Shoutouts: What our listeners are saying

Dive into the full conversation on YouTube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts!


đź“šBook of the Month

Each month, we’re spotlight a book that’s made a lasting impression on one of our podcast guests - offering a window into how they think, build, and lead.

Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs offers an unfiltered look at one of tech’s most influential founders.

Drawing on countless interviews and Jobs’ own words, the biography explores the extremes of his leadership style - creative genius, obsessive product focus, and a famously difficult personality - all in pursuit of building products that changed the world.

Why it stuck with Tunde:

In our conversation with Tunde, he shared how the book introduced him to the concept of Jobs’ “reality distortion field” - the almost magnetic ability to get others to believe in, commit to, and act on ambitious ideas that initially seem impossible or unrealistic.

"Since I found out about that, I started to study it… and I realised every founder has that, or needs that, if you’re trying to solve a big problem."

For Tunde, this idea helped him see that culture isn’t just a set of values or policies.

It’s the way a founder communicates belief, brings others into the vision, and gets them to buy into the long game.

Strategy starts with belief - and belief, in many ways, starts with the founder.

đź“– Got a book that's changed how you build? Hit REPLY and let us know!

Dive into Tunde’s episode on YouTube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts!


🚀 Celebrating our Pod Guests Wins

We’re always cheering on our pod guests - and this month, we’re spotlighting a huge milestone from one of our own.

Robin AI has landed the #2 spot on the Sifted 100: UK & Ireland’s Fastest-Growing Startups 2025, with a 640% two-year CAGR.

Founded in 2019, the legaltech startup has raised over ÂŁ55 million, with a team of 100+ across London and New York, and clients that include seven of the Fortune 500.

Huge congratulations to Richard Robinson, the ex-lawyer turned founder behind it all, and the entire Robin AI team.

🎧 New to Richard’s story? Catch it on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

🧠Reflections From Your Hosts

As we roll into April, we’ve been thinking a lot about the role of AI - not just in business, but in how it’s reshaping how we live, build, and lead.

See our takes below on where we think things our heading:

  • Maria: Lately, I’ve been reflecting a lot on Artificial Intelligence. There’s no doubt it will change the world, that much is clear. But I believe its impact goes even deeper.

    AI won’t just reshape the world around us; it will reshape us, fundamentally influencing how we live, think, work and also evolve as human beings.

    See my bold AI predictions HERE.

  • Yvonne: Generative AI has made some astonishing leaps recently - especially with agents now able to use tools and complete complex tasks autonomously, and at a fraction of the cost we imagined just months ago.

    But the infrastructure needed to reliably scale and deploy these systems is still catching up.

    Key layers like accountability (clear, verifiable reasoning), context (embedding a company’s knowledge and goals), and coordination (working smoothly with people and other agents) are still underdeveloped or missing entirely.

    That’s left a clear gap between what today’s AI can do and what most organisations are actually ready to implement.

    That said, builders are now focused on filling in these missing pieces - confident that bridging this readiness gap is what will truly unlock AI’s everyday potential.

    What do you think? Do you agree? Hit REPLY to let us know!


đź’¬Community Highlights

This is your space! Whether you want to ask us or the future guests questions, share your business, or spotlight your latest project, we’d love to hear from you.

  • Got a burning question for an upcoming guest? Send it our way - you could see it featured in an episode!

  • Building something exciting or hitting a milestone? Tell us about it, and we might showcase your story in the next newsletter.

  • Have a question or dilemma? Let us know via this link and we may answer it on the pod!

Hit  REPLY to this email, and let’s put your story in the spotlight!

✨ Thank you for reading!

Let us know what you loved, what you’d like more of, or any questions you’d love us to explore in future episodes!

Catch up on previous newsletters here, and if you think someone else would enjoy it, they can sign up here.

You can read more about TSL on our website and follow us on our YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, X and TikTok channels so you never miss an update!

Want to sponsor this newsletter, have any burning questions for experienced founders or suggestions? đź“° → drop us an email! 

TSL Team đź’ś