TC Early Stage 2021
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TC Early Stage will dive deep on how to fundraise for your startup
Despite the fact that capital is abundant and dozens of startups get funding every day, the process of raising institutional capital is anything but simple.
From getting an investor’s attention to nailing your virtual pitch meeting to the legal aspects of your term sheet, there is plenty to navigate.
Luckily, TechCrunch Early Stage is bringing together some of the biggest VCs to share how to manage the process proactively and successfully secure capital from the right VCs.
Just take a look at the fundraising sessions going down at TC Early Stage, which takes place later this week on April 1 – 2.
How to Get an Investor’s Attention – Marlon Nichols, MaC Venture Capital
Marlon Nichols is an expert in early-stage investments, having invested in countless successful ventures such as Gimlet Media, MongoDB, Thrive Market, PlayVS, Fair, Wonderschool and Finesse. Right now, there is more seed-stage fundraising than ever before, and Marlon will speak on how to get noticed by investors, how to grow your business and how to survive in the crowded, competitive space of tech startups. He will provide insights on how to network, craft a great pitch and target the best investors for your success.
How to Nail Your Virtual Pitch Meeting – Melissa Bradley, Ureeka
The rules of the pitch meeting have changed. Instead of traveling across the country, wasting time in planes, trains and automobiles, founders can take upwards of 30 meetings in a day from the comfort of their home. Entrepreneur and VC Melissa Bradley will outline how to make the most of that half hour on Zoom and lock in the next one.
How to Kick the 10 Worst Startup Habits – Leah Solivan, Fuel Capital
With voices across the internet giving their two-cents on how to run a great business, Fuel Capital’s Leah Solivan will share a list of things that a founder should NOT do. Avoid the pitfalls that could break your momentum, or worst case, your company, and ask Solivan your own questions.
Bootstrapping and the Power of Product-Led Growth – Tope Awotona, Calendly and Blake Bartlett, OpenView
Building a bootstrapped company forces you to be creative. For Calendly, it pointed the company toward a product-led growth model built on virality. Hear from Calendly’s Tope Awotona and OpenView’s Blake Bartlett as they cover pro tips on bootstrapping, PLG and when a profitable company should consider raising capital.
Four Things to Think About Before Raising a Series A – Bucky Moore, Kleiner Perkins
Founders looking to raise Series A capital know that it’s an entirely different ball game than seed-stage funding. Hear Kleiner Perkins partner Bucky Moore outline the most important ways to mentally prepare for heading into Series A fundraising.
Fundraising Terms That Affect Your Business – Dawn Belt, Fenwick & West
With each funding round, there is an exciting opportunity for growth, but it’s important to fully understand the implications of those terms. Fenwick partner Dawn Belt will discuss the key legal terms to focus on in your seed and Series A rounds and how they affect the control and operational freedom of your company.
TC Early Stage takes place on April 1 – 2 and is jam-packed with breakout sessions led by tech leaders, from VCs to operators. Each session will include audience Q&A so founders can get answers to their specific questions. On Day 2, we’ll be holding a pitch-off with some fantastic companies.
All in all, it’ll be a fantastic event. You should def come hang out! Get a ticket here.
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Announcing the TC Early Stage Pitch-Off startups
Next week, TechCrunch is hosting Early Stage — a virtual bootcamp for founders to gain the critical insight needed to launch and scale their companies. Day one is all about how-to’s. What about day two? April 2 is the inaugural TC Early Stage Pitch-Off featuring 10 exceptional early-stage startups.
The Pitch-Off is split into two segments. For the semifinals, each company will pitch for five minutes followed by a Q&A with our expert panel of judges. Check them out here, you might see some names you recognize. Three startups will make it into the final round — same pitch but a new batch of judges with a deeper Q&A.
We know you are excited to see who has made it. Tune in on April 2 to watch TC’s first Early Stage Pitch-Off event. Without further ado:
Session 1: 9:00 a.m. – 9:50 a.m. PDT
Clocr (Austin, Texas) — Clocr provides an all-in-one digital legacy planning and disbursement platform backed by patent-pending security.
Crispify (Tel Aviv, Israel) — Crispify provides air-quality monitoring and management solutions for mobility-as-a-service fleets like Uber, Avis and Zipcar.
Fitted (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) — Fitted is the ultimate closet management service. [Fitted] combines a subscription laundry service with integrated technology that assists urban dwellers discover, clean and donate their clothes.
hi.health (Vienna, Austria) — hi.health provides zero friction financing for out-of-pocket health expenses, currently in Germany. The offering enables direct reimbursement solutions for pharmacies, medical product and service providers — where previously the insured person had to spend their own money and then file for reimbursement.
Pivot Market (Miami, Florida) — Pivot Market is a B2B marketplace where consumer brands gain immediate distribution in physical stores. Brand rent spaces inside B&M stores and stores earn money by managing those spaces on behalf of the brands.
Session 2: 10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. PDT
Soon (Salt Lake City, Utah) — Soon’s patent-pending cash flow algorithm automates investing from start to finish, with the best combination of simplicity and wealth generation in a personal finance solution. Soon functions across all assets from your checking account to your savings and more.
Nalagenetics (Singapore City, Singapore) — Nalagenetics designs and develops preemptive genetic tests for developing markets. By combining genetic, clinical and behavioral data from patients, Nalagenetics builds localized risk-prediction models for minorities, starting with Asian populations
The Last Gameboard (Boulder, Colorado) — Gameboard is a gaming device and platform that unleashes the power of digital media with tactile movements of physical game pieces, creating a new genre of phygital gaming for tabletop fans.
Attention Quotient by Mindwell Labs (New York, New York) — Mindwell Labs is a precision healthcare technology startup. Its first consumer product is AQ
— the first personalized mental fitness tracking and training app that uses our unique biomarkers to measure and improve attention.
FLX Solutions (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) — FLX Solutions is pioneering functional applications for robotics with highly intelligent robots that are miniaturized to operate in spaces that humans and traditional robots cannot easily access. Our first product, The FLX BOT, is a patented 1″ diameter snake-like robot that is able to fit into these spaces to inspect, map, and then autonomously perform any required maintenance.
Finals: 11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. PDT
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Dual-event ticket prices to TC Early Stage 2021 increase this Friday
We’ve all heard the adage, less is more. But when it comes to learning all the complex ins and outs of building and launching a successful startup, more is definitely the way to go. Enter not one, but two bootcamp experiences for the early-stage crowd: TC Early Stage: Operations & Fundraising on April 1-2 and TC Early Stage: Marketing & Fundraising on July 8-9.
Here’s another relevant adage: A penny saved is a penny earned. Kill two adages with one click, buy a dual-event pass at the early-bird price and you’ll save $100 or more. More knowledge for less money — what’s not to love?
Big, fat caveat: Procrastinate at your own peril. Prices on dual-event passes go up this Friday, March 26 at precisely 11:59 pm (PST).
Both TC Early Stage events focus on the essential skills every founder needs to succeed, and you’ll learn from leading industry experts. Each bootcamp features a discrete set of speakers, range of topics and presentations, but they’re all dedicated to helping founders in the early stages of the startup journey build a solid foundation.
We have a tremendously talented group of people ready to share their expertise and experience with you. Check out the TC Early Stage agenda for April.
Here’s another cool commonality: Day two of each bootcamp features a TC Early Stage Pitch-Off. You’ll tune in live to watch 10 global early-stage companies pitch to a panel of top VCs. The ultimate winner will be featured on TechCrunch.com, receive an annual Extra Crunch subscription and attend TC Disrupt this September — gratis.
Contenders for the April pitch-off are ready to go, but we’ll be opening the application process for July soon, so keep checking back for your chance to bring the heat.
We’re busy building out the agenda for July’s TC Early Stage: Marketing & Fundraising, but we’re thrilled to share that Lisa Wu, a partner at Norwest — with investments like Calm, Plaid, Opendoor and Grove Collaborative — will join us to discuss how to ace a one-hour pitch. Spoiler alert: think like a VC.
Get more and spend less is the best possible adage (okay, we made that up). But hey, saving $100 or more on a dual-event pass to TC Early Stage in April and July is just a smart way to go. Buy your pass before the deadline hits this Friday, March 26 at 11:59 pm (PST).
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Superhuman CEO Rahul Vohra is coming to TechCrunch Early Stage in July
The frequent difficulty of founders finding product-market fit has been a topic of constant (and ever-evolving) discussion at TechCrunch conferences over the years.
Superhuman founder and CEO Rahul Vohra will be joining us at TechCrunch Early Stage: Marketing & Fundraising in July to dive into the much-obsessed topic of product-market fit. We’re looking to dig into what exactly finding product-market fits means to the startup ecosystem of 2021.
The repeat founder’s email service platform has raised more than $33 million in funding from firms like Andreessen Horowitz and First Round Capital, providing users with an algorithmically-sorted email app that has set a lot of trends in emerging enterprise software on both the design and go-to-market strategy front.
The startup is oft-referenced as a prime example of the “consumerization” of enterprise software trend which has seen more and more workplace SaaS apps level-up their focus on user-centric design. We’ll ask him how he feels about the fact that “Superhuman for X” has grown to be a fairly common formula for workplace elevator pitches.
We’ll also talk with him about how he found an audience for a $30 per month subscription app and how the company has scaled its product to meet their customers’ other needs. In addition to the hat he wears as the founder of Superhuman, we’ll ask him about how he views the challenge from the other side of the table as a prolific angel investor. The fund that he manages with Eventjoy founder Todd Goldberg announced a $7 million fund last year and the duo has backed several startups, including Clubhouse, Mercury and Coda.
We think it’s going to be a conversation you can’t miss and it’s just one part of a two-day event exploring the many aspects of early-stage startups this July. And if you move fast, you can check out Rahul’s session in July as well as all of the great content happening at TC Early Stage: Operations & Fundraising in April with a dual event ticket — check out the entire April event agenda lineup here.
Our first TC Early Stage event is coming up fast, so be sure to grab your dual event ticket to TC Early Stage on April 1-2 and July 8-9 to save $100 or more before prices increase this Friday.
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Talking product-market fit with Sean Lane, whose company tore through 28 products to become a unicorn
Occasionally, it’s easy for startups to achieve so-called product-market fit, but more often, it’s a struggle. Perhaps no one knows this as well as Sean Lane, co-founder and CEO of Olive, a company whose software completes so many tedious administrative healthcare tasks for hospitals that it is currently valued by investors at $1.5 billion.
Somewhat amazingly, the nearly nine-year-old company raised $380 million of the $445 million it has raised altogether just last year. In fact, Olive is now growing so fast, and clicking along so well, that Lane just raised $50 million in funding last month for a second startup that uses Olive’s same tech platform. He’s CEO of that startup, called Circulo, too.
It’s impressive. It also took Lane around 28 big and small pivots to build the kind of high-growth, fast-scaling businesses that he always wanted to create — moves he’s going to discuss with us at TechCrunch’s upcoming two-day, all-virtual TC Early Stage event coming up April 1 and 2.
The idea: to save other founders from having to undergo the same anguishing twists and turns by sharing what he learned along his own path.
Lane had some help. Specifically, he has long credited one of his early investors, Mark Kvamme of Drive Capital, for helping identify a big opportunity amid of sea of smaller opportunities. As Lane told the outlet Columbus CEO a few year ago, before meeting Kvamme, he had a nice life in Baltimore, with a house on the water with his wife. Lane, who was once a U.S. Air Force and National Security Administration intelligence officer, was angel investing, co-running a tech incubator and had co-founded a company called CrossChx to link fingerprints to electronic medical records.
A chance encounter with Kvamme, a Silicon Valley VC who had moved to Columbus, would change everything. To wit, after Lane talked with him about his endeavors in Baltimore, as well as having bigger ambitions to create an “internet of healthcare,” Kvamme persuaded Lane to abandon his various projects, relocate to Columbus and focus entirely on a newer, better CrossChx.
That’s now looking like a smart bet by Kvamme, who wrote CrossChx — later renamed Olive — its first check. But even with Kvamme’s support, Olive’s success hardly happened overnight. Lane has said he met with plenty of resistance as he tried and scrapped numerous products. As with many growing startups that veer in a new direction, there were painful layoffs. He also eventually parted ways with his co-founder, Brad Mascho, who left the company in late 2017 in an apparent cloud of exhaustion. He’d “worked his butt off for a good four years,” as Lane told Columbus CEO.
It’s many of these tough points in Olive’s trajectory — and particularly those product pivots — that we’ll be talking about in a few short weeks at our upcoming event. Indeed, for those who’ve struggled with their own ambitions, or their own product roadmaps, or who’ve wondered what they could be doing better or smarter or faster to grow their own companies, this is one conversation that should not be missed.
Even better, our talk with Lane is just one part of a two-day event exploring the many aspects of early-stage startups — check out the entire agenda line up here.
It’s coming up fast, so be sure to grab your ticket to TC Early Stage on April 1-2 — and, by the way, you can save $100 or more when you get the dual-event ticket for both our April and July events. The latter is coming up July 8 and 9. You can learn more here.
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Early-stage investor Mayfield shows how to scale up your biotech startup at TC Early Stage in April
Founders in the earliest stages of startup life face a hefty learning curve. Just some of the core competencies you need to lock down include how to raise VC funding, recruiting the right people, finding product-market fit and building a killer go-to-market team. The list goes on and on…and on. You’ll learn about all those topics and more at TechCrunch Early Stage Operations & Fundraising taking place on April 1-2.
Do you science? Are you inspired to use biology as technology? If your entrepreneurial interests lean toward the scientific side of the startup equation, you don’t want to miss this special session — brought to you by Mayfield — at TC Early Stage 2021 on April 1-2.
Scientist Entrepreneurs — Scaling Breakout Engineering Biology Companies
Arvind Gupta and Ursheet Parikh, early-stage investors, company builders and Mayfield partners, along with Po Bronson, NYT bestselling author and managing director of IndieBio, will discuss scaling startups and touch upon three seminal areas that influence trajectory: fundraising, hiring and product design. Their insights draw on their experience with companies including ingredients-as-service leader Geltor (which raised a $91 million Series B in 2020); CRISPR platform Mammoth Biosciences (its dream team includes co-founder and Nobel Laureate Jennifer Doudna); and Endpoint Health (started by GeneWEAVE’s founding team and former YC Bio Partner Diego Rey).
Whether you’re a biotech entrepreneur, a researcher or a scientist tackling the daunting challenges of human and planetary health, this session will help you build a stronger, more successful startup as you take your product to market.
Mayfield will follow up this session with even more content at Disrupt 2021 in September. These sessions will reveal company-building insights from entrepreneurs, investors, industry leaders and policymakers. Mayfield invests in exceptional people whose mission in life is to create a better world — not just for our generation but for future generations as well. If you science, don’t miss your opportunity to learn from leading investors who have partnered with iconic biotech and health IT entrepreneurs — from Amgen and Genentech to Mammoth Biosciences.
Get your ticket for the April TC Early Stage event here. Or get a dual-event ticket for the April and July events for double the knowledge across operations, marketing, recruiting and fundraising — and save up to $100.
Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at Early Stage 2021 — Operations & Fundraising? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.
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3 days left to save on early-bird pricing for TC Early Stage — Operations & Fundraising
In a mere 72 hours, early-bird pricing disappears for TechCrunch Early Stage 2021, our two-part founder bootcamp series focused on the building blocks you need to grow your company. The first event, TC Early Stage Operations & Fundraising, happens on April 1-2 — that’s two program packed days of education, connection and opportunity.
The second event, TC Early Stage — Marketing & Fundraising, takes place July 8-9. Pro Tip: Each bootcamp stands alone and features different topics, content and speakers. Attend one or both events — it’s up to you. But know this: You’ll save more and learn twice as much when you score a dual-event pass at the early-bird price. Beat the deadline, buy your passes before Feb 27 at 11:59 p.m. (PST) and save up to $100.
TC Early Stage is all about helping new startup founders (pre-seed through Series A) learn the essential skills required to build a successful startup. No need to reinvent the wheel — you’ll have access to the leading experts across the range of specialties. Much like an accelerator (compacted into two days), you’ll learn about legal issues, fundraising, marketing, growth, product-market fit, tech stack, pitch decks and recruiting. We’re talking highly engaging workshops with interactive Q&As.
On day one you’ll hear from experts like Eghosa Omoigui, the founder and managing general partner of EchoVC Partners, a seed and early-stage technology venture capital firm serving underrepresented founders and underserved markets. He’ll discuss ways to keep your eyes on the big picture and avoid the blind spots that lead to fragmentation and oversights.
Day two features the TC Early Stage Pitch Off! Out of the hundreds of applications we received, we selected 10 founders to pitch on stage for five minutes to a panel of prominent VC judges — followed by a five-minute Q&A. Three founders will move into the finals and pitch to a new panel of judges and endure a more in-depth Q&A. The winner receives a feature article on TechCrunch.com, a free, one-year subscription to ExtraCrunch and a free Founder Pass to TechCrunch Disrupt 2021.
Wondering whether it’s worth your time and money?
“You learn from industry leaders and seasoned founders — people who’ve already been there and done that. They were genuine and honest about industry expectations. Plus, they shared firsthand accounts, which made them more relatable.” — Chloe Leaaetoa, founder of Socicraft
Don’t reinvent the wheel. Go to TechCrunch Early Stage 2021 (in April and July), learn from the best, connect with other early-stage founders and build a stronger startup. The early-bird price disappears in three days on Friday, Feb 27 at 11:59 p.m. (PST). Buy your pass today and save up to $100.
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Just two weeks left to score early-bird passes for TC Early Stage
Tackling the learning curve that comes with building a startup is not for the faint of heart. So many questions, so little time to search out reliable, actionable advice. Enter TechCrunch Early Stage 2021 — two distinct, virtual bootcamps designed specifically for early-stage founders and open to entrepreneurs and startup enthusiasts.
Budget-friendly tips: TC Early Stage part one takes place April 1-2, and you have two weeks left to score the early-bird price and save up to $100. Founder passes cost $199 and Innovator passes (for investors and other startup fans) cost $299. The early-bird deadline ends at 11:59 p.m. (PST) on February 27. Buy a dual-event pass to learn and save even more (TC Early Stage — Marketing and Fundraising runs July 8-9). The TC Early Stage April and July bootcamps feature different speakers, topics and content.
At TC Early Stage, you’ll take part in interactive sessions and learn from the leading experts and investors who span the range of the startup ecosystem — operations, product lifecycle, fundraising and recruiting for starters. Here are just two examples of the people ready to help you move your startup dreams forward.
Learn from folks like Alexa von Tobel as she leads a discussion on Finance for Founders. Got questions about raising Series A funding? Don’t miss Bucky Moore of Kleiner Perkins as he breaks down that complicated topic.
Ready for an awesome plot twist? We’re adding an exciting opportunity on day two of both TC Early Stage bootcamps — the TC Early Stage Pitch-Off. Ten early-stage startups will get to pitch live to a global audience of investors, press and tech industry leaders. That kind of exposure can change a startup’s trajectory in the best possible way.
You’ll find all the Pitch-off details here — how it works, who qualifies to compete, what competitors receive and the prizes in store for the ultimate winner. Or cut to the chase and apply for the April 2 pitch-off here before the clock hits 11:59 p.m. PST on February 21.
Whether you’re competing or watching, Katia Paramonova, founder and CEO of Centrly (who attended Early Stage 2020), says a pitch critique shows you ways to strengthen your pitch deck:
The pitch deck teardown session was great. VCs reviewed my deck and gave specific, actionable advice. Watching them provide comments on other decks was helpful, too. We’re incorporating the feedback and when we start fundraising, the improved slides will make it easier for VCs to understand our value proposition.
TC Early Stage Operations & Fundraising takes place on April 1-2. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn the essentials of building a stronger startup. And don’t miss out on early-bird savings. Buy your pass (remember, you’ll save more and learn twice as much with a dual-event pass) before 11:59 p.m. PST on February 27.
Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at Early Stage 2021 — Operations & Fundraising? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.
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