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VERTICAL SAAS IS BACK  How startups are dominating long‑tail industries – and why horizontal software lost its magic
StartupsMay 31, 2026

VERTICAL SAAS IS BACK How startups are dominating long‑tail industries – and why horizontal software lost its magic

Salesforce would sell to every company, regardless of industry. HubSpot would do marketing for everyone. Workday would handle HR for anyone. The logic was seductive: build once, sell infinitely. But that logic has cracked. A new generation of startups has discovered that the biggest opportunities are not in the center of the market. They are in the long tail – the obscure, idiosyncratic, underserved industries that horizontal software ignores. Plumbing companies. Funeral homes. Daycare centers. Auto repair shops. Dental offices.

THE SECONDARY MARKET BOOM  How startup employees are cashing out without an IPO – and why private liquidity is the new exit
StartupsMay 31, 2026

THE SECONDARY MARKET BOOM How startup employees are cashing out without an IPO – and why private liquidity is the new exit

For most of startup history, there was only one way for employees to turn their stock options into real money: wait for an IPO. That could take a decade. If it happened at all. And if the company succeeded. Many did not. But that brutal calculus has changed. Over the past three years, a new ecosystem of secondary markets has emerged – platforms that allow employees, early investors, and even founders to sell their shares to private buyers long before a public offering. The result is a revolution in startup liquidity, one that is reshaping compensation, retention, and the very meaning of "building for the long term." The numbers are staggering. According to Forge Global, one of the largest secondary trading platforms, $60 billion in private shares changed hands in 2025 – up 150% from 2023. Carta and Hiive have seen similar growth. And the trend is accelerating. "Employees used to have one lottery ticket: the IPO," says Kelly Rodriques, CEO of Forge Global. "Now they have multiple liquidity events along the way. They can buy a house, pay for college, diversify their portfolio – all while staying at the company. That is a game‑changer.

DEFENSE TECH GOES MAINSTREAM  Why VCs are no longer afraid of the Pentagon – and how a new generation of startups is building weapons for the 21st century
TechMay 31, 2026

DEFENSE TECH GOES MAINSTREAM Why VCs are no longer afraid of the Pentagon – and how a new generation of startups is building weapons for the 21st century

For decades, there was an unwritten rule in Silicon Valley: don't do defense. The Pentagon was slow, bureaucratic, and morally suspect. Top engineers wanted to change the world with social media and self‑driving cars, not missiles and drones. Venture capitalists who funded weapons makers were seen as pariahs. That rule has been incinerated.

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