start here
a startup readiness checklist ↗
a practical evidence checklist for south african founders: customer problems, impact, revenue, international potential and the next useful test.
insights
ideas, evidence
and what comes next
our thinking on building businesses, and selected signals from the industries we follow. we connect each development to a question worth asking.
from lab2sky
the decisions behind the work
choosing your route
venture builder, accelerator or venture capital? ↗
understand the different jobs of venture building, startup support and venture capital, and choose the right starting point at lab2sky.
customer discovery
customer access belongs in the first conversation ↗
a practical customer discovery guide: identify the user, buyer and decision maker, test access and turn a pilot into evidence.
international potential
build an international growth case ↗
a founder’s guide to choosing a next market and testing customer demand, distribution, local adaptation and the economics of international growth.
business models
what we look for after the first sale ↗
understand recurring revenue quality through customer retention, delivery costs, collected cash and continuing impact.
investment readiness
prepare the evidence behind a series a story ↗
organise the commercial, financial, team and international-growth evidence for a considered series a conversation.
human evolution
from a health technology to a useful outcome ↗
the questions lab2sky asks about health ventures: evidence, users, buyers, delivery responsibility and a sustainable path from product to impact.
clean power
clean power: start with the customer’s decision ↗
lab2sky’s questions for clean-power ventures: measurable outcomes, the buyer, recurring value, delivery economics and international potential.
signals · selected reading
what is changing,
and why it matters
external developments, with the source and our interpretation kept clear.
curated reading · publication and review dates are shown for each selection. new items are checked before publication. international examples inform our thinking; our venture and investment focus remains south africa. inclusion does not imply a lab2sky investment or endorsement.
continuous care needs a route into healthcare delivery
disrupt africa reports that friendnpal is broadening its approach from direct consumer support to working with healthcare providers and other organisations on behavioural health services.
why it matters to us
the route into care matters alongside the technology. an organisational customer can change who pays, how a service is adopted and who takes responsibility for delivery.
the question we would ask
what evidence shows a better care outcome, and who is responsible for clinical decisions? reported reach alone cannot establish effectiveness.
a service can reveal the opportunity for a recurring product
disrupt africa reports a $765,000 seed round for recycling platform bekia and a planned subscription product built around its operational data. the reported product launch is still ahead.
why it matters to us
working inside a fragmented service can reveal information customers need repeatedly. the opportunity is to turn that insight into continuing value.
the question we would ask
will customers renew, and can the claimed environmental outcomes be substantiated? a planned subscription is not yet evidence of recurring revenue.
the opportunity can sit in the data layer
in its investment announcement, norrsken describes terra labs’ use of satellite imagery and ai for forest-management decisions, alongside partnerships with forest-owner associations.
why it matters to us
space-derived information becomes commercially useful when it answers a specific decision for a reachable customer. distribution is part of the product’s practical value.
the question we would ask
what decision becomes better, who owns the customer relationship and what evidence supports that improvement? this is the investor’s account, not an independent assessment.