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Learn how COVID-19 has disrupted the startup world
What early-stage startup founder wouldn’t love to have a crystal ball? Especially now with a pandemic wreaking economic uncertainty across industries in every corner of the world.
We don’t have mystical powers, but we do have the next best thing, and it’s available exclusively to early-stage founders exhibiting in Digital Startup Alley at Disrupt 2020. Sign up today for our interactive webinar, COVID-19’s Impact on the Startup World, scheduled for August 19th at 1pm PT/ 4pm ET.
What does the future of work look like? In what ways will startups need to adapt, and how can they course-correct both during and after COVID-19? These are some of the challenging topics our expert panel will address, and they’ll take questions from the viewing audience, too.
Which brilliant minds will offer their perspective, tips and advice? None other than Nicola Corzine, executive director of the Nasdaq Entrepreneurship Center and Cameron Stanfill, a VC analyst at PitchBook. Jon Shieber, a TechCrunch writer who covers venture capital and private equity investments will moderate the conversation. It’s an interactive webinar, folks, so don’t be shy — bring your questions, comments and ideas to the table.
If you haven’t purchased a Disrupt Digital Startup Alley Package, go grab yours now. You’ll be able to attend this webinar and the next one, too (more on that in a minute). But here’s the most important part — you’ll showcase your tech, talent and products to thousands of Disrupt attendees from around the world. Boost your brand recognition, and connect with potential customers, partners, investors, media and other influencers across the startup ecosystem. You never know who you’ll meet exhibiting in the Alley or where a chance connection might lead.
“Exhibiting in Startup Alley gave our company and technology invaluable exposure to potential customers and partners that we would not have met otherwise. A company that does 15 billion in annual sales thinks our tech is a fit for their ecosystem, and we’re excited to continue building that relationship.” — Joel Neidig, founder of SIMBA Chain.
Now that you’re all set with your Digital Startup Alley exhibitor pass, circle August 26 on your calendar for the final webinar we scheduled for exhibitors’ edification.
August 26 — Fundraising and Hiring Best Practices
Moderated by TC’s Natasha Mascarenhas, panelists Sarah Kunst (Cleo Capital) and Brett Berson (First Round Capital) discuss two essential topics for startup success. Securing funding may feel like the hardest part of growing a startup, but hiring the right people ain’t no walk in the park either. You need to get a handle on both areas, and these folks can help you do just that.
Exhibitors, sign up for the August 19 webinar, COVID-19’s Impact on the Startup World. And to the rest of the early-stage startup founders out there — don’t miss your chance to be an exhibitor at Disrupt 2020 — buy a Disrupt Digital Startup Alley Package today.
Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at Disrupt 2020? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.
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Hear how to scale to $100M ARR at Disrupt 2020
At Disrupt this year TechCrunch is digging into the $100 million annual recurring revenue (ARR) threshold. To help us explore the software revenue milestone, we’re bringing in a number of CEOs that have already reached it: Egnyte’s Vineet Jain, GitLab’s Sid Sijbrandij and Kaltura’s Michal Tsur.
Join us on the Extra Crunch stage to hear this session, along with several other sessions around how founders can navigate the choppy startup waters. You can snag a ticket here.
The modern software world, often called software as a service, or SaaS, operates against a well-defined set of inflection points. These include $1 million ARR, a key moment for startups looking to raise their first Series-defined round of capital; the $10 million ARR mark, at which point the same companies become hard to kill; and $100 million ARR, at which point startups can start to prep for a public offering, or regular, large capital raises from private investors.
It’s that last milestone we want to explore. With three executives from companies that we’ve included in our series on $100 million ARR companies, we’ll dig into what they had to learn the hard way as they grew to material business scale, what went well and what they might be able to share with startups that aspire to a similar level of success.
That we’ll be hosting the conversation during a mini-IPO wave will make it all the more exciting; these three business leaders will certainly have at least one eye on the public markets. And as we’ll have the chat in the shadow of COVID-19, we’ll learn about how the highly valued private companies have had to adapt to a changed economic environment and working setup.
We’ll lean into lessons, learnings and other operational questions with the CEO of Egnyte, an enterprise content and management service provider; the CEO of GitLab, a DevOps company that has long had a distributed-employee model that is incredibly pertinent to the current moment; and the president of Kaltura, a software company that powers online video for other companies.
Since TechCrunch started compiling a list of companies that had either reached $100 million ARR, or were on their way, we’ve collected dozens of firms to the list. The three we’re talking to are among the most interesting. At a minimum, the conversation should be an interesting look into the next set of leaders in the software and startup space. See you there.
You can read our entries from the $100 million ARR series on each firm below:
Disrupt is happening for five action-packed days — September 14-18 — and if you want to partake in this session (or any other session on the Extra Crunch stage), you’ll need to get your Digital Pro Pass for just $345 for a limited time. Or if you are a founder, showcase your startup in Digital Startup Alley for just $445 for you PLUS another member of your team. Get your pass today!
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Extra Crunch Live: Join Anu Duggal for a live Q&A on August 20 at 11am PT/2pm ET
Rent the Runway and Glossier became unicorns within the same week in June 2019. That same year, only 2.7% of venture capital dollars went toward female-founded companies.
Silicon Valley’s disconnect between the monetary success of female-founded companies and funding them in the first place is disheartening. The conversation is there, but the dollar sign momentum remains missing.
Anu Duggal founded the Female Founders Fund before both were even a tangible reality. In 2014, the entrepreneur launched her first fund to invest in female-led startups. It took her 700 meetings over two years to make that first close, she said. Years later, venture capital has slightly taken note. But the Female Founders Fund, or “F Cubed,” has tracked female-led wins and bet big on the underestimated asset class.
Her early focus on female founders hasn’t evolved, but the landscape has. And in an unprecedented world of remote deals and democratization of venture capital, we’re even more excited to have Duggal join us on Extra Crunch Live this upcoming Thursday at 11 a.m. PT/2 p.m. EST/6 p.m. GMT
Those tuning in and taking notes are encouraged to ask questions, but you have to be an Extra Crunch member to access the chat. If you still haven’t signed up, now’s your chance! With the subscription, you’ll also be able to check out all of our stellar previous guests on-demand (watch those episodes here).
Female Founders Fund has provided seed institutional capital to entrepreneurs with over $3 billion in enterprise value. The firm has cut checks into women-led companies such as Rent the Runway, Billie, Tala, Peanut, Thrive Global and Zola. The fund has also attracted limited partners like Melinda Gates and Girls Who Code founder Reshma Saujani.
Duggal herself has a fascinating trajectory into technology investing. At 25, she started a wine bar in Bombay called The Tasting Room. She went on to get an MBA from London Business School, and co-founded Exclusively.in, an e-commerce company that got acquired by Indian fashion e-commerce company Myntra in 2011.
Hear from Duggal on August 20 about how the investment landscape has changed for female founders, what she thinks of as a success story and if 2020 feels different than 2014. And Extra Crunch fam, make sure to bring your thoughtful questions for me to ask her live on air.
You can find the full details of the conversation below the jump.
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Facebook’s former PR chief explains why no one is paying attention to your startup
At TechCrunch Early Stage, I spoke with Coatue Management GP Caryn Marooney about startup branding and how founders can get people to pay attention to what they’re building.
Marooney recently made the jump into venture capital; previously she was co-founder and CEO of The Outcast Agency, one of Silicon Valley’s best-regarded public relations firms, which she left to become VP of Global Communications at Facebook, where she led comms for eight years.
While founders often may think of PR as a way to get messaging across to reporters, Marooney says that making someone care about what you’re working on — whether that’s customers, investors or journalists — requires many of the same skills.
One of the biggest insights she shared: at a base level, no one really cares about what you have to say.
Describing something as newsworthy or a great value isn’t the same as demonstrating it, and while big companies like Amazon can get people to pay attention to anything they say, smaller startups have to be even more strategic with their messaging, Marooney says. “People just fundamentally aren’t walking around caring about this new startup — actually, nobody does.”
Getting someone to care first depends on proving your relevance. When founders are forming their messaging to address this, they should ask themselves three questions about their strategy, she recommends:
- Why should anyone care?
- Is there a purchase order existing for this?
- Who loses if you win?
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Thoughts on ‘self-driving money,’ day trading and product development from Wealthfront’s Andy Rachleff
Andy Rachleff founded Wealthfront a decade ago to give investors a better and smarter way to manage their wealth, building on core academic research showing that a carefully balanced portfolio of low-fee ETFs outperformed more aggressive strategies. Since then, the company has taken in billions of dollars of invested capital under management and expanded into new banking services, including high-interest checking accounts.
Rachleff and I talked on Extra Crunch Live about where Wealthfront is heading as it speeds toward its second decade, how he sees the competition from other, more active trading platforms like Robinhood and his advice for startup founders looking to build enduring products and companies away from the daily status quo.
Self-driving money*
Rachleff began our conversation talking about the future of Wealthfront, which is increasingly moving beyond its wealth management app to new services.
“Our vision is to automate all of your finances — we call this self-driving money,” he said. That platform is expected to role out in September, and include features like easy direct deposit and automated bill pay, with any savings left over automatically moving to the right investment assets that meet a user’s chosen risk tolerance.
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How to get what you want in a term sheet
One of the most exciting moments in the life of every newly christened founder is the sweet relief of seeing a term sheet come in from an investor. After weeks, perhaps months (but hopefully not years!), of work fundraising and pitching, there is nothing like getting that email with a PDF attached to it laying out the terms and conditions of the VC relationship going forward.
Of course, that rejoicing dampens quickly as all the specific nuances of the deal suddenly come to the forefront. It’s one thing to get the valuation you want, or the amount of capital you are seeking, but what about the setup of the board of directors? What should you do about deal terms that may shape your startup for a decade or more?
The reality of term sheets, as our guest Lior Zorea discusses, is that the terms you agree to early on at a startup tend to be the terms that will carry through for the life of the company. That means getting that first term sheet right is critical for ensuring the financial and capital success of your business.
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Minted.com CEO Mariam Naficy shares ‘the biggest surprise about entrepreneurship’
At TechCrunch Early Stage, Minted CEO and serial founder Mariam Naficy got into the weeds with us on some of the topics founders don’t often discuss. What’s the difference between expectations and reality when it comes to entrepreneurialism? How do you split responsibilities between co-founders? What’s the key to being great at hiring?
We also talked about some of the harder parts of being a leader, including how to handle layoffs and what to do with an employee who likes to rock the boat.
Minted is an e-commerce platform that connects indie designers with customers for products like stationary, art and home goods. The company has raised nearly $300 million and generates hundreds of millions in revenue. And it’s not Naficy’s first stint as a founder: she previously co-founded Eve, which she eventually sold for $100 million+, according to reports.
We covered a lot of ground in the interview, including some questions from the audience, which you can check out in the video below. You’ll also find a lightly edited transcript of the conversation.
The most surprising part of being an entrepreneur
I didn’t realize what was, I think, one of the biggest differences, which is how much, if you are successful, you become a leader of people, whether you are a reluctant leader of people or an enthusiastic leader of people. If you’re successful, your company will inevitably grow and you end up, believe it or not, being a role model for people. People actually look at you and they emulate your behavior and that is not something that I expected.
I thought I was just going to be making products and selling products. I just didn’t think that it was gonna be such a people job — a management job, a talent development job, a leadership job — and that people would care when you walked in the building every day whether you said hello to them in the morning. They would actually notice whether you said “hi” or not to them at the coffee bar when you’re half asleep. What you do every minute actually matters. Every minute of the day. So I think that’s probably the biggest surprise about entrepreneurship.
Being a sole founder versus starting out with a co-founder
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Find out how TechCrunch is taking Disrupt virtual this Friday
Talk about a pivot. The global pandemic rewrote the rules for in-person events, and it set us on a crash course to transform TechCrunch’s annual three-day Disrupt — a conference that draws more than 10,000 attendees — into a 100% virtual experience. Daunting? You bet. Challenging? Heck yeah.
It’s been quite a process, and we’re guessing you might have a few burning questions about what to expect from a virtual Disrupt 2020 experience. Join us for a special Ask Me Anything session on Friday, August 14 at 12 p.m. PT / 3 p.m. ET for a chat with TechCrunch’s editorial manager, Jordan Crook; director of Operations, Joey Hinson; and director of Marketing, Alexandra Ames.
They’ll discuss the physical-to-virtual transition, how the virtual format works and how you can participate in Disrupt — for the first time — from anywhere around the world. Yes, a virtual Disrupt will look and feel different than a physical one, but the benefits and opportunities remain as numerous, real and viable as ever.
Disrupt 2020 — September 14-18 — spans five full days, giving you more time to meet investors, introduce innovative products to a global market and discover hundreds of new startups in Digital Startup Alley. Connect with tech journalists eager for a great story, build partnerships and brand awareness, schedule 1:1 video meetings and attend speed-networking events. Cheer on international competitors in the Startup Battlefield and interact with some of the most influential people in the startup world.
Got questions about the first-ever online Disrupt? Register today for our AMA session this Friday, August 14 at 12 p.m. PT / 3 p.m. ET and get the answers from the people who made it happen. You can even submit your questions here in advance. Then buy your Disrupt pass, buckle up and tap into a world-class opportunity to keep your business moving in the right direction.
Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at Disrupt 2020? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.
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Digital Startup Alley exhibitors: Tune in tomorrow for free media training
Tomorrow’s a big day for early-stage startup founders preparing to exhibit in Digital Startup Alley at Disrupt 2020. We’re kicking off the first of three exclusive, interactive webinars to help exhibitors make the most of their Startup Alley experience.
Tune in tomorrow, August 12 at 1 p.m. PT/ 4 p.m. ET for The Dos and Don’ts of Working with the Press. Presenting your company to the media is both a skill and an art form. It takes thought and practice — and media training can help you craft a compelling story. Hundreds of journalists from around the world will be on the lookout for compelling stories at Disrupt 2020, and this workshop can help you catch their eye.
Positive media exposure is essential for early-stage startups. It can drop a spotlight on your business, help attract potential customers and jumpstart your funding. Or, as Luke Heron, CEO of TestCard and veteran Startup Alley exhibitor puts it:
“Coverage is the life blood of a startup. Cash at the beginning of the start-up journey is difficult to come by, and an article from a credible organization can help push things in the right direction.”
During tomorrow’s media training, TechCrunch writers and editors Greg Kumparak, Anthony Ha and Ingrid Lunden — experts at interviewing startup founders — will discuss best practices when it comes to talking with the press. You’ll learn what journalists look for and how to avoid pitfalls that could tank an interview.
If you’re still on the fence about exhibiting in Startup Alley, consider this: Disrupt 2020 spans five days and it’s the biggest, longest Disrupt ever. You’ll be able to network with thousands of attendees from around the world. And if you purchase your Disrupt Digital Startup Alley Package today, you can attend tomorrow’s media training.
You’ll also be able to attend two more webinars exclusively for Startup Alley exhibitors later this month. Check ’em out and mark your calendar now!
- August 19 — COVID-19’s Impact on the Startup World with panelists Nicola Corzine, executive director of the Nasdaq Entrepreneurship Center, and Cameron Stanfill, a VC analyst at PitchBook.
- August 26 — Fundraising and Hiring Best Practices with panelists Sarah Kunst of Cleo Capital and Brett Berson of First Round Capital.
Got your Digital Startup Alley Package? Then tune in tomorrow for The Dos and Don’ts of Working with the Press and get ready to make your best possible impression with the press at Disrupt 2020.
Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at Disrupt 2020? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.
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Argo AI co-founder and CEO Bryan Salesky joins us at TC Sessions: Mobility 2020
This year’s TC Sessions: Mobility on October 6 & 7 will be a fantastic opportunity to find out all the latest on advancements in autonomy, micromobility, transportation AI and much more. Argo AI co-founder and CEO Bryan Salesky is among the best-positioned people in the world to speak to all those topics, and how they intersect with both the startup world and legacy automaker giants like Ford and Volkswagen.
Salesky has a long history of focusing on the intersection of robotics and transportation, dating all the way back to his work at the Carnegie Mellon University National Robotics Engineering Center, and CMU’s DARPA Urban Challenge winning competition entry in 2007. He was also an early team member for Google’s self-driving car project, which would eventually become Waymo, overseeing the search company’s self-driving sensor, computer and vehicle hardware platform.
Since founding Argo AI in 2016, Salesky has also been at the center of some of the biggest and most influential developments in the autonomous vehicle industry. The startup first made waves with a $1 billion investment from automaker Ford in 2017, which gave Ford a majority stake in the venture. Then in 2019, Volkswagen announced a $2.6 billion investment in Argo, putting it at the center of the self-driving stack of now just one, but two of the world’s largest car companies.
As of July, Argo’s valuation sits at around $7.5 billion, making it a unicorn many times over. We’ll hear from Salesky how the company is helping both these industry heavyweights prepare for an autonomous future. We’ll also talk about the path to commercialization of these services, and how soon we can think about seeing them in active use as consumers.
Get your tickets for TC Sessions: Mobility to hear from Bryan Salesky, along with several other fantastic speakers from Porsche, Waymo, Lyft and more. Tickets are just $145 for a limited time, with discounts for groups, students and exhibiting startups. We hope to see you there!
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