venture capital for startups
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The 3% gap in no-code
Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast (now on Twitter!), where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines.
Up top the crew this week was the regular contingent: Danny Crichton, Natasha Mascarenhas and myself. As a tiny programming note, we’re going back to posting some videos on YouTube in a few weeks, so make sure to peep the TechCrunch channel if that’s your jam.
And we did a special episode on the SPAC boom, if you are into financial arcana. For more on SPACs –> here.
The Equity crew tried something new this week, namely centering our main conversation around a theme that we’re keeping tabs on: The resilience of tech during the current pandemic-led recession.
Starting with the recent economic news, it’s surprising that tech’s layoffs have slowed to a crawl. And, as we’ve recently seen, there’s still plenty of money flowing into startups, even if there are some dips present on a year-over-year basis. Why are things still pretty good for startups, and pretty good for major tech companies? We have a few ideas, like the acceleration of the digital transformation (more here, and here), and software eating the world. The latter concept, of course, is related to the former.
After that it was time to go through some neat funding rounds from the week, including:
- Dumpling raising $6.5 million to help individual shoppers build their own Instacart.
- Kibbo’s shot at making the #vanlife happen for more folks, something that we think is a good fit for the pandemic and the mobile professional.
- Sora’s $5.3 million raise for no-code HR connective tissue, something that I was rather bullish on but drew some chat about no-code itself, and if the trend is more hype than substance.
All that and I have a newsletter launching this weekend that if you read, you will automatically be 100% cooler. It’s called the TechCrunch Exchange, and you can snag it for free here.
Equity drops every Monday at 7:00 a.m. PT and Friday at 6:00 a.m. PT, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts.
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TechCrunch is back in Berlin January 15th
We just could not stay away! In December, TechCrunch held Disrupt at the Berlin Arena. We were wowed by the Berlin startup scene and just couldn’t get enough. In fact, Germany’s own Blik became the 2017 runner-up of Startup Battlefield Berlin. Well now we are back, and we want to meet more of your startups. TechCrunch is holding an informal Startup Battlefield meet and greet… Read More
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Automakers accelerate their interest in startups
It’s no secret that automakers have shown more interest in startups lately. Nor is it any secret what’s driving that surge, given the massive shifts the industry faces from the rise of electric cars, autonomous vehicles, ride-hailing services and other emerging technologies and transportation business models. We set out to quantify combined investment by automakers in startups… Read More
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For startups, VC funding is always in season
We’ve entered the dog days of summer. For many, that means time on the beach, backyard barbecues and, if you’re like us, seeking out the blissful respite afforded by a solid air conditioning system. In the land of startups and venture capital, however, summer can mean something a bit different. Read More
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How startups outside the Bay Area can fundraise in a big way
Raising venture capital is tough for any startup. But it can be a little more difficult when you’re located outside of Silicon Valley. More difficult, but definitely not impossible. You earn a million dollars a year and can’t get funded?
The funding environment is so overheated that it often seems like no idea is too silly to attract investment. You might be surprised by how many companies struggle to raise money — even those that manage to bootstrap their way to a million dollars (or more) in revenue. Read More
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Unicorns along the Wasatch: Utah’s flourishing startup and enterprise scene
Silicon Valley has traditionally been the startup Garden of Eden, but it’s no longer the only game in town. Utah — specifically Salt Lake City and its ecosystem — has become a formidable breeding ground for startups, even developing its own unicorn herd. Here’s why we only did three deals last year
There has been a huge disconnect between private and public company valuations over the last few years. This isn’t the first time I’ve said it. It probably won’t be the last. During this period of froth, companies were able to raise capital at increasingly ludicrous valuations, and entrepreneurs turned fundraising into a sport. Deals closed peaked in 2014, but all-time… Read More
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Startups need to do due diligence, too
I hear a lot of horror stories about investors. Many are misunderstandings. Some are just outright false. Then there are those that are true. Sadly, there are a lot of those. This kills companies. I’ve watched great entrepreneurs with brilliant ideas sink because they’ve been fucked around and because they made poor choices. I wanted to write something that will help people. Here… Read More
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Turning your idea into a funded company
The cost of entry to the startup world has decreased dramatically in the last decade. We’re now at the point where the tools that were once only available to enterprise users have made their way into the hands of everyday users. Access to bleeding-edge innovation is no longer limited to an elite few. This transformation has been called the consumerization, or democratization, of tech. Read More
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