We’ve all been there. (Or at least I have.) You’re getting ready to vacate a property you’ve rented, only to be told by the landlord that you won’t be getting your security deposit back. This happened to me the first time I ever rented a place in the late 90s. I was shocked, but more […]
Extra Crunch roundup: Build a founding team, choose a VC and recruit your board
Starting with the assumption that 90% of startups will fail and the most successful ones take an average of six years to IPO, founders must make careful decisions about whom they invite to join the core team.
Venture capital probably isn’t dead
Venture capitalists are chatting this week about a recent piece from The Information titled “The End of Venture Capital as We Know It.” As with nearly everything you read, the article in question is a bit more nuanced than its headline. Its author, Sam Lessin, makes some pretty good points. But I don’t fully agree […]
Stage 2 Capital launches $80M Fund II targeting B2B software startups
The firm’s approach combines venture capital expertise with a diverse community of over 250 limited partners and go-to-market experts who work with portfolio companies to accelerate revenue growth.
Best Buy investing millions in Brown Venture Group, a firm exclusively backing BIPOC founders
Last summer, in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, Best Buy committed to “do better” when it came to supporting communities of color. As part of the retail giant’s self-proclaimed mission to better address underrepresentation and technology inequities, the company announced today that it is investing up to $10 million in Brown Venture Group. Minnesota-based […]
Founders must learn how to build and maintain circles of trust with investors
Founders should definitely pursue big rounds at sky-high valuations, but it’s important that they recognize how important it is to manage who they allow into their mentorship circles.
Allocations sees a world where myriad, smaller private equity funds are the norm
This morning Allocations, a fintech startup building software to help smaller private equity funds form and operate, announced that it has closed a $4 million round at a $100 million valuation. The startup also shared a host of performance metrics, including that it reached a $4.6 million revenue run rate in June, and a $6 […]
Cent, the platform that Jack Dorsey used to sell his first tweet as an NFT, raises $3M
Cent was founded in 2017 as an ad-free creator network that allows users to offer each other crypto rewards for good posts and comments — it’s like gifting awards on Reddit, but with Ethereum. But in late 2020, Cent’s small, San Fransisco-based team created Valuables, an NFT market for tweets, and by March, the small […]
Octane raises $52M at a $900M+ valuation to help people finance large recreational purchases
Most of the time when people get loans, it’s for big life purchases such as a house or a car. But not every big purchase is a necessity. Some are more for fun, and the financing options for those types of buys — such as motorcycles and ATVs — are more limited. Today, Octane Lending, […]
Early Affirm employees raise $70M for SentiLink, an identity verification startup
SentiLink, an identity verification technology startup, has raised $70 million in a Series B funding round led by Craft Ventures. Felicis Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and NYCA also participated in the financing, which brings the company’s total raised to $85 million since its 2017 inception. The company declined to reveal at what valuation the money […]