The future belongs to those who build.

Q2 felt loud. AI noise everywhere. Demos. Drops. Decks. But beneath the volume, something else stirred:

🔧 People getting to work.
👣 Teams starting from zero.
🏗️ Founders building new systems, not just new sites.

At Builders, we saw it firsthand. The real movement? Quiet. Intentional. Built from scratch. So this month, we’re skipping the hype and spotlighting what it actually means to build forward—with structure, partners, and purpose. Let’s dive in.

Studios aren’t a trend. They’re a test.

Everyone’s talking about AI-powered venture studios. Few are actually doing the reps. We are. In public. In sprints. In sweat.

From launch loops to live interviews, we’re building an AI-first studio platform that compounds intelligence over time. Not a fantasy. Not agent autopilot. A system where data from every venture makes the next one sharper. As we put it:

We shared our full AI Studio Blueprint — now live, full of swimlanes, stage gates, agentic layers, and hard-won lessons. It's not theory. It's our process, made visible. 🔗 Read it here

Inside the loop: What building looked like this month

• Bootcamp round 2 → Midway magic: This cohort is flying. Sharper sessions. Deeper founder honesty. We introduced a new fishbowl interview format—founders became researchers, mentors became targets, insights flowed fast.

• CTO Network → Scaling sharpness: Real builders want rooms that challenge them. So we’re building them. The Builders CTO Network is expanding—with frontier sessions, a flagship festival, and an intel loop that top tech leaders actually read.

• Investor House # 10: What started as a no-pitch experiment is now a ritual. 10 editions. Dozens of deals sparked. Lessons logged. Trust earned. Next one’s coming in September, want in? Let’s talk.

• Top 8 AI Startup Studios in Europe: We put together a list of studios that are actually building—not just betting. From Berlin to Rotterdam, these teams are shipping real AI-native ventures. We’re proud to be among them. 🔗 See the list

• Team joy → Summer boat ride: The Builders crew hit the water to mark the start of summer. Celebrating momentum. Recharging together. Always building forward.

Ventures in motion: New signals, real traction

• Avery ✓ Founding Engineer onboarded. One down. One to go. The hiring engine we built is now hiring itself. Still looking for another sharp engineer ready to scale a signal-rich system. 🔗 Apply here

• Everday ✓ Engineering role open. New users, new loops, and a team that’s sharpening every layer of workforce performance. Want to shape the next chapter? 🔗 Join us

• Cortena ✓ Named + live. Bruno picked the name, built the brand, and launched the landing page. Cortena is here. It’s early. It’s lean. And it’s already live at cortena.ai.

👀 What we’re reading (and writing):

• AI Venture Studio Blueprint: The full stack we’re building, publicly

• Studios kill momentum by overpaying too early: Hunger builds sharper companies

• Context is the new product: What persistent data can unlock

• Building smarter with a tight stack: How we run the studio lean (and smart)

Final word: Build or watch. Your call.

This isn’t a boom cycle. It’s a builder’s era. Less noise. More nerve. Less show. More shipping.

The truth is, the future doesn’t just belong to those who dream. It belongs to those who build. See you in the loop.

Forward, always,

Michael van Lier
Managing Director at Builders