Halsey Minor has lived many lives. One of the founders of CNET, Minor entered tech media at a time when the closest thing most of us had to the web was a spider spinning cobwebs on an old NES. Born in Charlottesville, Virginia, Minor worked for Merrill Lynch during the rise of the internet in […]
Setting up high-conversion lead magnets that deliver value
Sales stand and fall on leads, but attracting prospects and optimally converting them into buyers is an art that many have yet to grasp.
African tech took center stage in 2021
Two years ago, the African tech ecosystem saw newfound attention from global players that translated to the continent’s best year of receiving venture capital. From varying sources, it is estimated up to $2 billion went into African tech startups in 2019. With high-profile visits from the most famous Jacks (Ma and Dorsey), a long-awaited first […]
Southeast Asian startups to watch in 2022
As someone who covers Southeast Asia startups and funding stories, the best word I can think of to describe 2021 is “whoa!” This was the year that global investors not only started to pay close attention to the region’s tech ecosystems, but also began putting real money into them. Backed by international LPs, Southeast Asia-focused […]
Purple Dot, a waitlist and pre-order platform for the fashion industry, raises $4M
Because of the unpredictable nature of the fashion industry, fashion brands often have to ‘guestimate’ demand for their products, and if they get that demand wrong, they have to deal with the wasted inventory. All too often clothes end up being incinerated unnecessarily, adding to their environmental impact. UK startup Purple Dot has an ecommerce […]
Demand Curve: How Ahrefs’ homepage educates prospects to purchase
This post tears down the homepage of Ahrefs, covering the key sections of a landing page so that you can apply their conversion tactics and copywriting strategies to your startup’s homepage.
As EU’s VAT reform ramps up, marketplaces must focus on compliance to avoid tax risk
On July 1, 2021 there was a big change in the European Union’s Value Added Tax (VAT) law, impacting online retailers, marketplaces and their e-commerce businesses across the EU.
Flink, the Berlin-based instant grocery startup, is now valued at $2.85B after raising $750M in a round led by DoorDash
Instant grocery delivery continues to be a very frothy market, but today comes news of a major funding round for one player in it that investors believe will still be standing after the hype has died down. Flink, the Berlin-based startup that sells food and other essentials at supermarket prices and aims to deliver them […]
TradeDepot raises $110M from IFC, Novastar to extend BNPL service to merchants across Africa
Startups digitizing B2B e-commerce and retail in Africa continue to grab the headlines after the pandemic paved the way for widespread offline retail and commerce disruption. TradeDepot, a Nigeria- and U.S.-based company that connects consumer goods brands to thousands of retailers and help out with distribution, has raised $110 million in new equity and debt […]
Alibaba undergoes major management reshuffle
Alibaba is reassigning roles to four of its executives in one of the biggest reshuffles in its recent history, the company announced on Monday morning. Maggie Wu, the e-commerce titan’s former chief financial officer, will step down next April and be replaced by Toby Xu, current deputy CFO. Wu will continue to be a partner […]