These Future Of Work Startups Won Big
A host of companies are seeking to re-engineer the future of work. And the market is rewarding them.
At the forefront are startups that support rapidly growing international remote teams with onboarding and payroll automation across many countries. Closely following are companies that focus on recruitment, reskilling and compensation. READ MORE
High Valuations and Large Fundraises Still Exist
Venture capital funding may be slowing worldwide, but some later-stage startups are shrugging off the gloomy numbers and raising funding at higher valuations.
These companies are outperforming their peers in specific sectors, and garnering a larger proportion of funding dollars. READ MORE
Top 5 Questions To Ask Investors Prior to Partnership
Is it your first time holding a funding round? Do you take the money? Before you say yes, there’s something important you need to remember – your value.
Your startup is ultimately what will generate the rewards for your investors. Therefore, there are a few things you must consider before choosing who will lead your round. Here are a few questions to help guide your thinking. READ MORE
3 Tips For Startup Founders Navigating An Economic Downturn
As a venture investor in enterprise software startups, I often remind new founders that the road ahead will be far from easy and that it’s important to stay level through all the highs and lows of building a company.
That is especially true during global economic downturns like the one we’re experiencing now. For founders who want to make their ventures not only survive but thrive in today’s tumultuous market, here are three key things I recommend they do to stay on track toward a successful future. READ MORE
For Private Equity Firms, Buying New Companies and Laying Off Employees Isn’t Cutting It Anymore
As the mergers and acquisitions market slows down, private equity firms can no longer generate sustained growth by constant dealmaking. Instead, they’ve become more reliant on the value creation process to drive up profit. READ MORE
How The Newly Imposed SEC Cybersecurity Rules Impact Private Funds And Investors
Most forward-thinking corporations understand the benefits of taking a proactive approach to cybersecurity. If investments haven’t been made from the desire to protect customer and client data, it is seemingly being invested in by organizations that do understand the potential negative impacts on brand and reputation should they not take it seriously. If investments aren't being made at all, surveying companies leads me to believe that it's due to C-Level disbelief that their organization is seen as a target or that they are storing data attractive to a threat actor. READ MORE
$350 million for WeWork co-founder shows how broken and biased venture capital is
A reported $350 million investment into a new, yet-to-be-launched real estate venture founded by a controversial businessman has drawn criticism from women entrepreneurs.
The investment, which was made and publicly shared by venture capital powerhouse Andreessen Horowitz, is in Flow, the new company of WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann. READ MORE
Venture Capitalists are Pouring Money into Web3. Here's Why.
Venture capital (VC) investment into the Web3 sector has been on fire this year, with several established VC firms launching a Web3 and crypto arm. Paradigm's $2.5 billion fund and Electric Capital's $1 billion fund are just a few examples.
So why are these firms so optimistic on Web3 investments? READ MORE
Startup funding dry spell may be ending, but uncertainty remains
Several months after just about every venture firm told their portfolio companies to prepare for a funding drought, some investors are saying the health of the startup ecosystem may not be as dire as it once seemed.
"Deals where we would consider leading a Series C or D—that was dead six months ago. That's starting to pick up again," said Mitchell Green, founding partner of growth equity firm Lead Edge. READ MORE
A Gen Z VC speaks up: Why Gen Z VCs are trash
In the eternal words of Kanye Omari West: “Scoop-diddy-whoop, Whoop-di-scoop-di-poop, Poop-di-scoopty.”
Now that we have that out of the way, let’s get to the meat. Objectively speaking, and much to my chagrin, I’m a Gen Z. Pew Research defines Gen Z as anyone born after 1996, and, being born in October of 1999 (the ’90s were the best three months of my life!), I certainly qualify as one. READ MORE
The majority of early-stage VC deals fall apart in due diligence
Covering Five Flute’s fundraising and tearing down the deck the company used to raise its $1.2 million seed round had me wondering: How the hell do investors decide whether to invest in a company at the earliest stages? READ MORE
Everyone Loves A Platform, Especially Biotech Investors
Venture investment in biotech can be a long, arduous, high-risk undertaking. But two scientists from UCLA and Caltech have found a way to boost the cancer drug development pipeline.
Their platform, 1200 Pharma, taps into medical and scientific breakthroughs to help bring potential cancer drugs to patients in record time. Today, the platform is able to accelerate the pace at which drugs are created and potentially bring more therapeutics to market. READ MORE
Can A Sale Stave Off Layoffs? VCs Say ‘No’
Headlines of tech-related layoffs are even more prevalent than reports of the drop in venture funding.
As of mid-August, more than 38,000 workers in the U.S. tech sector have been laid off so far in 2022, according to a Crunchbase News’ layoff tracker. Much of that bloodletting is due to the dip in venture funding startups are realizing, as their runways narrow and hard decisions are made. READ MORE
Raising Startup Funding Used to Be Easy—Not Anymore
In 2021, when Roshan Patel was raising his startup Walnut’s first round of funding, his email inbox overflowed with interest from investors. Venture capitalists loved his idea of applying the fast-rising concept of buy-now, pay-later, a $100 billion industry, to health care bills. Patel secured $3.6 million that spring and kept in touch with a few investors who might chip in more as the company grew. READ MORE
Private equity wades into cybersecurity subsector consolidation
The fragmented identity and access management subsector of cybersecurity needs consolidation, and private equity firms are taking the opportunity to combine vendors and create players that can compete better in the marketplace. READ MORE
As a startup founder, you really need to understand how venture capital works
Before you raise money as a cash-strapped fledgling startup, it can feel like every problem you are experiencing would go away if you just had some money in the bank. At TechCrunch, it often seems as if every other startup story is about yet another fun company raising satchels full of venture capital. READ MORE
How Venture Capital Can Help Young People Make an Impact
Gen Z and millennials are more impact-minded than any previous generation. Growing up as digital natives, they've been exposed to the challenges facing our world in real time and are highly aware of the need to make a difference.
Constant headlines remind them of the mounting urgency to take action on climate change, social injustice and income inequality. They see firsthand how tech can be used to create solutions to these pressing problems. And they're not content to wait for someone else to fix things. They want to be the ones making an impact. READ MORE
How this venture capitalist is challenging tradition to solve the diversity problem in the renewable energy industry
In 2019, Anthony Oni showed up to the first pitch meeting for his startup and noticed a stark difference between himself and the lenders seated across the table. The room reflected much of the venture capital industry: white men.
"When I walked into the room, I remember thinking, none of these investors look like me," Oni said. READ MORE
Carbon-Tech Draws Record Venture Funding as Investors Hunt for Impact
Carbon and climate startups have attracted record investments at a time when other industries are struggling to tap funds from venture capitalists.
Buoyed by corporate and government pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions, a record $1.4 billion poured into climate and carbon-focused startups in the second quarter of this year. That’s in stark contrast to the broader market for venture funding, which faces its largest quarterly percentage drop in nearly a decade, according to CB Insights. READ MORE
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