What’s UpNext: Signals from the Global Startup Circuit
The F1 Circuit of the Startup Ecosystem. Tracking founders, momentum, and signals as they emerge.
Welcome to What’s UpNext, your weekly briefing on the founders, stories, and signals shaping what’s coming next in global tech.
In this issue, we recap what stood out at Web Summit Qatar, track two pitch stages where momentum is building this week, and spotlight founders tackling real-world challenges in clean technology and energy.
You’ll find insights from the road, coverage from WHX Dubai Xcelerate and TechArena TOP46, and two featured founder stories exploring what it actually takes to scale clean technology systems and move faster on replacing diesel today, not someday.
We also share an updated look at where the UpNext World Tour heads next and how partners can get involved as the journey continues.
Thanks for being here, here we goooo!
Event Recap
Web Summit (Doha, Qatar)
Last week in Doha, Web Summit Qatar brought together founders, investors, operators, and ecosystem leaders from across the globe, reinforcing the region’s growing role as a leading hub for early-stage innovation.
The energy felt intentional. Conversations were grounded. Founders weren’t pitching abstract futures — they were building for real problems, regional realities, and near-term execution. The signal was clear: this wasn’t about spectacle, it was about substance.
At the center of the week was the PITCH competition. From hundreds of startups, a small group stood out by combining strong problem definition with credible paths to adoption. The winner, Plantaform, set the tone with a focused, scalable approach to food security and sustainability, alongside finalists and standout teams advancing health, AI, hardware, and infrastructure.
We followed the competition from the early rounds to the finals, highlighted the winner, runners-up, and standout startups, and mapped the signals shaping what comes next — not just for the region, but for the global startup ecosystem.
Check out our full recap and standout founder list below.
Edwin J. Frondozo
Flashpoint POV
Founder Spotlight
Through our collaboration with Flashpoint Global, we’re diving deeper into the human side of innovation — the beliefs, tensions, and turning points that shape how founders see the world they’re creating.
Every spotlight explores a founder’s point of view—not just what they’re building, but why it mattersnext.
Latest Features
Dr. Paul Newton
Dr. Paul Newton
This Week
WHX Dubai Xcelerate (Dubai, UAE) and TechArena TOP46 (Stockholm, Sweden)
This week, our focus turns to two pitch stages where meaningful momentum is taking shape: WHX Dubai Xcelerate and TechArena TOP46.
In Dubai, WHX Xcelerate puts healthcare innovation front and center. Founders here are not experimenting at the edges. They are addressing delivery, access, cost, and outcomes in one of the world's most complex and regulated sectors.
At the same time, in Stockholm, TechArena TOP46 continues to raise the bar for early-stage ambition. The competition has become a proving ground for founders who pair strong problem clarity with category-level thinking.
Across both events, a common thread is emerging. Strong technology is expected. What separates the standouts is clarity of problem, clarity of narrative, and clarity on what comes next.
We are tracking pitches, spotlighting founders, and capturing signals from both stages this week. Full recaps, standout startups, and founder highlights coming soon.
UpNext World Tour
What’s Ahead on the Road
As the UpNext World Tour continues to take shape, here’s a look at where we’re heading next as part of our ongoing coverage roadmap.
These are the events where we’ll be tracking emerging signals, spotlighting founders, and connecting with ecosystems shaping what comes next.
- 4YFN @ MWC Barcelona — Spain | Mar 2–5
- START Summit — Switzerland | Mar 19–20
- Skinnovation — Austria | Mar 25–27
- Canadian Innovation Exchange (CIX) — Canada | Mar 25
Coverage varies by event and may include both in-person and remote coverage. More details will be shared as the tour takes shape.
More events will be added as they are confirmed. If you are planning to attend any of these or think there is an ecosystem we should be paying attention to, let us know where we should show up.
UpNext Global Partners
As the UpNext World Tour continues to roll out, we are still opening the door to a small number of new partners.
UpNext Global is built to spotlight founders and startups across global ecosystems, giving them visibility, context, and narrative as they scale. Our partner program is designed for organizations that want to engage earlier, go deeper, and help shape what comes next.
We work across three partner tracks:
Capital Partners
Connect with founders early and gain visibility into emerging startups across global ecosystems.
Growth Partners
Bring your expertise to founders who are actively building and scaling.
Ecosystem Partners
Elevate your startups and extend the reach of your accelerator, EDO, or innovation program.
Interested in partnering with UpNext Global? We’re opening a limited number of conversations.
Final Thought
Stop Being a Spokesperson
There’s a difference between showing up and standing for something. Lately, that difference has been impossible to ignore.
Across pitch stages, interviews, and private conversations, I keep seeing the same pattern. Many founders are present. Few are positioned. They can explain what their company does, but not the world it’s trying to create. They speak on behalf of a product, not from a point of view.
Being a spokesperson is safe. It’s reactive. It keeps you close to features, updates, and talking points. But it doesn’t move people.
Founders who break through operate differently. They don’t just communicate progress. They articulate direction. They frame the problem in a way that makes their solution feel inevitable. And once you hear it, you can’t unsee it.
That’s the power of narrative.
In an era when AI has flattened content, lowered the cost of creation, and flooded every channel with noise, clarity has become the real advantage. The founders who stand out aren’t louder. They’re clearer. They’re not just pitching products. They’re inviting others into the future they’re building toward.
This season on the road reinforced that lesson again and again. The next wave of breakout companies won’t be defined by who posts the most or ships the fastest. They’ll be shaped by founders who stop being spokespeople and start becoming narrators.
That shift changes everything.
Gratefully,
Edwin
Read more reflections like this on Future POV, my personal Substack on clarity, conviction, and building movements that last.
