Your Weekly B2B is Here! 💡

Welcome to this week’s edition of Blank2Bank - your power-up to build smarter, grow faster, and stay ahead. Whether you’re launching a startup, scaling your side hustle, or mapping your career path, this is where you get sharp, no-fluff insights and tools to fuel your next big move. Let’s build. 🚀

Table of Contents

• This Week in Business & Tech 🗞️

• Tool of the Week 🛠️

• Career & Hustle Tips 💼

• This Week in AI 🤖

• Your Newsletter, Your Paycheck: Start Earning with beehiiv 📧

• Bonus Tools 💎

• Job Hunt Playbook 🔍

• Build Your Own Thing 🚀

• Insights by Tezons 🧠

• Work with Tezons 💼

• Quote of the Week 💬

This Week in Business & Tech 🗞️

1️⃣ Business: HG Chases $100B with Precision Software Play

London-based private equity powerhouse Hg is closing in on $100 billion in assets under management, cementing its position as the UK’s No. 2 buyout shop. The firm’s laser focus on niche enterprise software, including its planned London IPO for Visma, continues to pay off.

Under CEO Nic Humphries, Hg has built its reputation on deep vertical expertise, specialising in scalable B2B software companies. As returns from mega-funds decline, Hg’s precision approach shows that targeted bets can outperform broad plays. If you’re building in a vertical, there’s power in depth.

🔍 Tip: Identify a narrow vertical where you can serve 10–20% faster, cheaper, or better than the alternatives—then dominate it.

2️⃣ Finance: ASML’s Slowdown Sends Shockwaves Through European Tech

ASML, the Dutch chip-making titan, saw its stock tumble 7.7% after warning of slower growth in 2026. That ripple sank broader European tech stocks, exposing the interconnectedness of supply chains and sentiment.

The downgrade underscores a lesson: forecasts from market leaders often foreshadow broader trends. When ASML sees a slowdown, it’s not just a semiconductor issue - it’s a global signal.

🔍 Tip: Track guidance from leaders in your ecosystem. Early caution often becomes your opportunity to adjust strategy proactively.

3️⃣ Marketing: Oakley Rebrands Through Space-Age Partnerships

Oakley is redefining itself through unexpected partnerships - with Meta, Prada, and even NASA, to create space-ready, hyper-grip eyewear. This isn’t just co-brand marketing, it’s storytelling at a new level, blending tech, performance, and lifestyle.

Aligning with brands outside your traditional lane can amplify credibility. By associating with innovation and adventure, Oakley elevates its identity.

🔍 Tip: Brainstorm one non-obvious brand or industry partner that can reposition how your product is perceived, and pitch the value before calling.

Tool of the Week: Zapier 🛠️

Zapier automates workflows by connecting over 5,000 apps like Gmail, Slack, Shopify,and Google Sheets. Ideal for marketers, developers, and operations teams, it lets you automate repetitive tasks without writing code. Create custom triggers and actions called Zaps to streamline tasks like data entry, notifications, and CRM updates. Zapier saves time, reduces errors, and keeps your tools in sync for better productivity.

Career & Hustle Tips 💼

Build a “Win Network,” Not Just a Rolodex

Networking isn’t about list-building, it’s value building. Instead of collecting contact info, craft two-way relationships: share wins, insights, and genuine help. That way when an opportunity arises, you're already top of mind.

When you offer value first, maybe a relevant article, feedback on a project, or an intro, you create trust. Over time, your network becomes a source of support, referrals, and collaboration, not just connections.

🔍 Tip: This week, pick one person in your field you admire. Share something of value with them, an article, a relevant insight, or feedback, without requesting anything in return.

This Week in AI 🤖

The Talent Wars Are Back and Meta’s Spending Big

Meta is reportedly offering up to $100 million in bonuses to recruit top AI talent from OpenAI, Google, and Apple. Their objective: fast-track AGI ambitions with bold investments in infrastructure and leadership.

This talent arms race signals that innovation is now driven by teams as much as tech. Meta’s bet isn’t just on ideas, it’s on assembling the perfect mix of brains and scale. Startups and side hustles need to think similarly: it's not only the product, but the people behind it that define impact.

AI Infrastructure Is the New Competitive Advantage

Alongside talent recruiting, Meta is building massive data centres (Prometheus, Hyperion) to power models at scale. Their message is clear: future wins belong to those who control compute and deployment.

This trend reveals a shift: AI isn’t just algorithms - it’s infrastructure, culture, and runway. You might be building something small today, but your growth strategy must include how you'll scale technically and operationally.

🔍 Tip: Draft a one-page micro-plan for your project or side hustle that outlines how you’d scale technically, whether via cloud services, lean ML tools, or strategic partnerships - even at MVP stage.

Your Newsletter, Your Paycheck: Start Earning with Beehiiv 📧

Turn Your Passion into Profit with Blank2Bank & Beehiiv

At Blank2Bank, we use Beehiiv to bring you our best insights every single week. Whether you’re dreaming of a full-time gig or a side hustle that actually pays, a newsletter is your golden ticket, and Beehiiv makes it a breeze. From paid subscriptions and sponsor shout-outs to easy-to-read analytics, you’ll see who is opening, clicking and loving your content. No tech headaches, no extra fees. Just you, your voice and a growing community ready to support you.

Ready to get started? Join Blank2Bank on Beehiiv today and watch your newsletter and your bank balance grow!

Sign Up Here 👉 https://www.beehiiv.com?via=Tezons-Official

🔍 Tip: Create a “must-open” subject line by teasing a key takeaway or surprise in your newsletter - curiosity drives opens. For example: “How I turned 5 minutes of work into £200 this week…

Bonus Tools 💎

Discover 3 handpicked tools that bring extra value to your business toolkit. These bonus picks are carefully selected to help you boost productivity, streamline your workflow, and unlock new growth opportunities. Check them out and level up your game!

Job Hunt Playbook 🔍

Stand Out by Publishing, Not Applying

Instead of firing off CVs, become a visible contributor. Create and share ultra-focused content in your target domain, like a blog post, mini-report, or Twitter thread. Then directly DM hiring managers or recruiters with: “Thought you might find this useful.” This positions you as both proactive and knowledgeable.

The goal: lead with value, not desperation. Content gives you a platform, and the outreach becomes less cold: you’re offering insight, not asking for a job. You’ll stick in their memory long after the next candidate text.

🔍 Tip: Write a 200-word piece on a recent development in your industry (AI, marketing, e-commerce). Post it and send it to one recruiter or manager with a note that you thought it’d be useful - no ask, just value.

Build Your Own Thing 🚀

Turn Daily Frustrations into Profitable Ideas

Every frustration is a seed. Ask yourself: what recurring pain slows you or your peers down? Pick one tight pain point in your workflow or life that you personally experience, it’s your best fuel for insight.

Once identified, validate it fast: chat with three others, run a 5-question poll, or record quick anecdotes. Use this feedback to build an MVP, such as a newsletter, automation, bot, or simple monetised guide, that delivers relief.

Your early users should shape the idea. Iterate in real time, refine messaging, and aim for minimal viable monetisation - subscriptions, micro-payments, or consult hours. Growth comes when you solve something real, fast.

🔍 Tip: This weekend, write down one daily painpoint. Spend 30 minutes sketching a one-page solution, then ask two friends or peers to test it informally, just to see if it resonates.

Insights by Tezons 🧠

How to Build a Personal Brand That Drives Business in 2025

In today’s digital economy, personal branding is more important than ever for founders and small business owners. Customers no longer just buy products – they buy relationships and stories. People trust people. In fact, recent surveys show that 92% of consumers trust recommendations from people (even strangers) over brands. When a founder actively shares their story and vision, the entire company gains credibility. As branding expert Gary Vaynerchuk puts it: “It’s important to build a personal brand because it’s the only thing you’re going to have… you can’t hide anything, and more importantly, you’ve got to be out there at some level.” Founder-led marketing humanizes the brand, boosts exposure, and ultimately drives sales. In this blog, we’ll explain why personal branding matters and how you can develop a powerful personal brand strategy step by step…

Continue reading here…

Work with Tezons 💼

Join the team building for the next wave of digital growth. Tezons is a sharp, fast-moving digital agency working at the intersection of strategy, brand, and AI. We don’t do fluff - just real work that moves businesses forward. Explore our open roles below.

Quote of the Week 💬

That's it for today!

Before you go we’d love to know what you thought of today's newsletter to help us improve The Blank2Bank experience for you.

Until next time,

Blank2Bank Team