Former TechCrunch editor-at-large Mike Butcher is launching Pathfounders, a new startup-focused title on newsletter platform Beehiiv covering global tech and venture capital. The team kicks off with two full-time staffers and two weekly columnists, publishing on the website and email newsletter, with podcasts and events in the pipeline.
Butcher told Press Gazette: “The market needs a tech title that actually links startup action with VC money.” While Europe will be a focus, the site promises to connect dots globally — from Silicon Valley to emerging tech hubs.
“We’ll cover startups in AI, defense, energy — basically anything that’s interesting,” he said, adding, “A lot of the content will be market-curiosity driven.”
On market gaps, Butcher said: “Honestly, it’s not so much a gap as a huge opportunity. There’s a tech explosion happening worldwide right now, supercharged by generative AI”.
The target audience is “startup founders and C-level execs inside tech companies.”
TechCrunch comparison:
Butcher was founding editor-at-large at TechCrunch in 2007, covering startups and VC globally. He left TechCrunch in June 2025 after about nine colleagues were made redundant when the brand exited the UK and Europe post-Regent LP acquisition. Pathfounders will share some editorial DNA with TechCrunch but “for a different part of the world. TechCrunch is an elephant; we’re a gnat,” Butcher joked.
Other ex-TechCrunch staffers launched Resilience Media, covering defense tech, which recently expanded after a fundraising round. Butcher contrasted the two: “Pathfounders isn’t a niche vertical; we’re chasing high-growth startups across all tech horizontals.”
Tech publishing trends
Journalism in tech is shrinking — layoffs hit TechCrunch, Business Insider, CNET, Digital Frontier, and Informa Techtarget this year. “The industry is shifting to content marketing,” Butcher said. “Companies pay influencers, marketing firms, boost CEOs on social — there’s little credibility in that,” he added. “What people really want is a filter on who’s actually doing something interesting — and that’s what we aim to deliver.”
Pathfounders leverages “deep, long-term investor relationships,” often hearing about investments first. The site will “use its network” to surface underreported stories with global writers, starting late this year and into next. “Anyone can publish online,” he said, “but not everyone has the contacts we’ve assembled.”
There will be two full-timers — Butcher and senior reporter Amelia Isaacs — plus two weekly columnists. Isaacs came from Digital Frontier; columnists Chris Stokel-Walker and Kit Eaton wrote for top outlets like WSJ, NYT, and Gizmodo.
“They represent what’s hot in hardcore tech,” Butcher said, adding “more talent is coming. I plan to hire freelancers, take pitches, maybe bring on correspondents from other regions,” he said.
Pathfounders is free-to-read, supported by sponsors and advertisers. “There’s fatigue with paywalls,” Butcher said. “We’ll also run events, podcasts, and other multimedia.” Ad revenue will come from display and direct sales, “not programmatic,” with a focus on long-term sponsorship.
Pathfounders joins Beehiiv’s invite-only Media Collective, which offers legal support, tools, and platform perks. The Nerve, another Beehiiv launch, is reportedly one of the platform’s biggest successes. The Pathfounders podcast drops “in the next month or so,” likely weekly at first. “I’ll host, bring on the team, feature guest posts, and focus on what’s happening in the industry that week,” Butcher said.
“Tech publishing has to adapt to platforms,” he said. “From print to websites to newsletters to podcasts — and now AI — the landscape keeps shifting. But smaller, nimble publishers like us have a huge opportunity: low overhead, remote, expert in our sector.”
