Welcome to Founders in the Cloud

A newsletter for founders covering startups

Author

Mark Birch
April 26, 2023

Just start.

That is the phrase rattling in my mind as I press play on this newsletter. It has been a long while since I launched a newsletter from scratch, but I am hoping I learned a few things from the over 300 posts for DEVBIZOPS and Enterprise Sales Forum newsletters combined.

Cutting to the chase, this newsletter is all about startups. While not entirely new ground (startups were often a topic in previous newsletters), the focus here is on new tech-enabled companies that are building innovative solutions and diving deep on the people, communities, and ecosystems that enable startups to thrive.

Why the emphasis on startups? When you look at the pace of innovation and the speed by which new markets and categories are being created, it is startups that are driving the change by and large. The innovation they create in turn generates jobs, prosperity, and economic growth.

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If you want to know the future, look at what startups are building.

Startups are also where I have spent nearly half my career. Beginning with my own startup 15 years ago, I have been an operator and investor in startups as well as an advisor and mentor to many founders. In that time, I have seen the good and the bad, the lessons learned along the way, and the good fortune to experience a few celebrations for startups that had a big exit.

My heart is in startups and that is where I feel the pull to help. This is also why I joined AWS. You might wonder what possessed me to join a massive, global company that is the definitely not a startup. First, it was the opportunity to take a role, Startup Advocate, where I get help startups every day. Second, the culture at AWS in many ways feels like a startup where I am given the freedom to build and experiment.

Now that I have shared my abiding love for startups, what exactly is in this newsletter for you, my dear readers? Every week, we will send a newsletter that is sectioned into three parts:

  • Content – an essay covering a key startup trend, recent insight, or lesson learned

  •  Community – short profiles on people making waves in the startup ecosystem

  •  Events – gatherings that we will attend or would be valuable for you to attend

Hopefully you are reading this because you are interested in startups or already involved in one. Why read this newsletter though? Because we are distilling knowledge drawn from many conversations with startups we speak to around the globe. In this way, we can provide a genuine and unfiltered view into what is really happening with startups so that you can take those insights to guide your startup journey.

I said “we” a lot in the past few paragraphs, and that is because this newsletter is not just the musings of one person. This is a collaborative effort of the AWS Startup Advocate team that is scouring the world to help startups and share what we learn with you. Every week or so, we will rotate and you can hear from a different voice and perspective.

Before I say goodbye for this very first edition of Founders in the Cloud, I have a favor to ask of you. Please take a few seconds to share this at least one other startup person in your network. If it is easier, share this over social media like LinkedIn, Twitter, or your preferred social site.

Thanks again for joining us on this brand-new journey and catch you next week!

It is a big travel week and more ahead for the team! You can find us at the following spots speaking, interviewing startup founders, and learning more about the community. Come say hello if you are also attending these events!