Who is behind The Realistic Optimist?
The Realistic Optimist was founded by me, Timothy Motte, in 2021.
I previously co-founded GrowHome, a startup connecting Palestinian founders to mentors and investors in the Palestinian diaspora (my co-founder was Palestinian). I also worked for Collective, a VC-backed startup in Paris. I'm French and still live in Paris.
In January 2026, I was joined by Aakash Athawasya as COO. We work with commissioned writers for long-form articles, and freelancers for tech/product matters.
If you want to follow how the RO is being built behind the scenes, you can subscribe to my personal blog here.
Who owns The Realistic Optimist?
At the end of 2025, The Realistic Optimist closed a €110K seed round. Ticket sizes ranged from €1,500 to €20,000. Investors (all angels, no funds) include RO readers as well as my personal network. I retain over 90% ownership of the publication.
What's The Realistic Optimist's mission?
The globalization of tech has created a new economic sector: the global startup scene.
The global startup scene has the potential to create unprecedented socio-economic progress. For that potential to be attained and desirable however, decision makers need access to quality information. The Realistic Optimist's mission is to produce that quality information.
We're kind of building "The Financial Times for the global startup scene" if you will.
The Realistic Optimist barely covers my home market. Why should I read it?
We believe the best founders, VCs, and operators think (and read) global. Because there is:
- Inspiration to gain from markets that are ahead.
- Practical lessons to learn from markets that are similar.
- Competitive advantages to glean from markets that are behind.
How should one use The Realistic Optimist?
Two, complementary ways:
1) As an evergreen resource
Save the RO website's tab in your browser. Visit our 100+ library of existing articles whenever you're exploring a specific continent, country, vertical... By using the "search" icon on the top right, you can filter by continent, country, and vertical.
2) As a discovery mechanism
Every week, you will receive new RO articles directly in your inbox. These will introduce you to new startups, new markets, new verticals...
How does one get in touch with The Realistic Optimist?
Email tim@realisticoptimist.io or DM me on LinkedIn. I'll respond fast.