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When it comes to newer consumer-social startups, the environment they're entering is turbulent — investor checks have dwindled, users are facing subscription burnout, and successful advertising models require massive scale. AdvertisementSo how are the emerging, buzzy social startups approaching monetization in 2024? "There's really only two monetization business models for consumer products," said Tiffany "TZ" Zhong, founder of new social platform NoSpace and early-stage VC firm Pineapple Capital. 3 ways new social-networking startups are approaching monetizationWhile some newer social startups are already monetizing their product, many are still pre-revenue and experimenting with different models to see which will make sense for their product and audience. And Verse CEO Bobby Pinckney told BI that the social platform, centered around music, plans to add a premium subscription that will unlock advanced AI tools, analytics, and templates.

Persons: —, there's, Eric Wittman, Tiffany, Zhong, VCs, Bianca Ambrosini, Ambrosini, Marlon Nichols, Nichols, Emma Bates, Andrew Kahn, Danial Hashemi, Alexandra Debow, Bobby Pinckney Organizations: Service, Meta, Business, Pineapple, Mac Venture Capital, Twitter, Crush Ventures, Crush, BI Locations: Berlin

☆ Why 7 prominent VCs are investing millions in new social startups like Diem, Lex, and 222
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Sydney Bradley | Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Mervana Parekh is a principal at Acrew and has invested in social startups like Diem, Afterparty, and Anything World. Best Nights VC. Nichols is a founding managing partner at MaC, which recently invested in social startups like Spill and Swsh. Boyce has backed a slew of new social startups, including Diem, Lex, Koodos Labs, and Swsh, alongside associate Rhian Horton. In 2024, Best Nights is looking to invest in companies that facilitate travel experiences after hearing people say their best nights have happened during trips or vacations, said de Silva.

Persons: —, Connie Chan, Mervana Parekh, Peter Boyce II, Marlon Nichols, Catalyst, Web3, Peter, Diem, Afterparty, Lorrain de Silva, Andrew Kahn, Miley Cyrus, Lorde, Kahn, Aaron Matusow, Dan Kruchkow, Nichols, Elizabeth Weil, Kevin Weil, John Smothers, Boyce, Lex, Rhian Horton, Lorrain, Silva, BestNights, Aaron Leithäuser, Gen Z, Peter Boyce, de Silva, Acrew Organizations: Service, Business, Acrew, Stellation, MaC Venture, VCs, Stanford University, Startup, Pudgy Penguins, Crush Ventures, VC, Crush, MaC Venture Capital, MaC, Catalyst, Koodos Labs, Big Tech Locations: 1kx, San Francisco , New York, Lisbon, Acrew, San Francisco, Berlin, Los Angeles and New York, Los Angeles, New York, Rythm

☆ Elon Musk laid him off. Now he’s aiming to build a social network that’s better than X
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

They wanted it to be everything most social media struggles to be: positive, safe and inclusive. And as the user base of the platform now known as X splinters, so does Black Twitter, the community of Black users that was a big part of Twitter’s growth and culture. Legacy social media platforms have repeatedly failed to anticipate how their products might be manipulated or misused until something goes wrong. Alphonzo Terrell, co-founder of the social media app Spill, demonstrates how the platform works during an interview with CNN. CNNEven with AI content moderation models, other social media companies often fail to catch harmful content that makes it onto their platforms.

Persons: Alphonzo Terrell, he’d, Terrell – who’d, –, Elon Musk, Terrell, DeVaris Brown, “, ‘, ’ ” Terrell, who’s, Brown, Musk, ”, Maya Umemoto Gorman, …, ” Terrell, Brown —, Kenya Parham, weren’t, Elon, Maya Iman ‘, they’ve, “ That’s, Alphonzo Terrell “, Paul Barrett, they’d, it’s, — don’t, Jalaiah Harmon, Taylor Lorenz, Latoya Lee, ” Lee Organizations: New, New York CNN, Twitter, Elon, CNN, Spill, Washington Post, HBO, Showtime, YouTube, Intel, Cisco, Microsoft, NYU Stern Center for Business, Human, Apple, Kapor Center, Social, Mac Venture, Netflix, Disney, Amazon Prime, VH1, Pew Research Center, New York Times, California State University Fullerton Locations: New York, Los Angeles, Kenya, Spill, Georgia

☆ Spora Health's founder painted a rosy portrait of his healthcare startup. The reality is more complicated.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

The way Dan Miller told it, his startup Spora Health was crushing it, providing high-quality care to "thousands" of people online. The startup had secured at least one big contract, with Apple, according to three former Spora employees and another source close to Spora. Four of them told Insider they either no longer worked with Spora or hadn't seen Spora patients in a year. Two doctors listed on Spora's website as "featured Spora providers" also told Insider that they no longer worked for the startup. Another former clinician said she only ever treated a handful of Spora patients.

Persons: Dan Miller, Miller, Spora, it's, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna didn't, paychecks, hadn't, he's, It's, —, we've, " Miller, Shelby Livingston, Rob Price, Emmalyse Brownstein, Ryan Pickrell, Gloria Dawson, Stephanie Hallett, Alcynna Lloyd, Hayley Peterson Organizations: Company, TechCrunch, Spora, US Securities and Exchange Commission, Apple, Aetna, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Human Ventures, MaC Venture, SEC Locations: Spora, Level's, slivingston@insider.com

☆ Young startups are feeling the pinch as seed funding succumbs to the VC winter
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

There were 441 seed rounds recorded on Carta in the second quarter of this year, the slowest quarter for deal activity since early 2019. Funding for early-stage startups leveled off in the second quarter of this year. That has to do in part with a greater number of seed startups trying to raise extension rounds, multiple investors said. Carta data shows the median seed valuation hit $13.7 million in the second quarter, which is significantly higher than any quarter prior to 2021. "The founders that are raising seed rounds are raising them for decent cash and at decent valuations — healthy on both fronts," said Peter Walker at Carta.

Persons: That's, Jenny Fielding, Fielding, Carta, Andreessen Horowitz, they're, Marlon Nichols, Lily Lyman, —, it's, Brian Sugar, Sugar, Peter Walker Organizations: Carta, Ventures, New, Sequoia, Greylock Partners, MaC Venture Capital, Fund, Sugar Capital Locations: New York, Boston, Carta

From Karat to Spill, venture capitalists are betting on creator-focused companies in 2023.Insider is highlighting 14 VC firms that are backing startups in the space right now. About three years ago, the "creator economy" was a fiery buzzword that emerged out of the bustling influencer-marketing and social-media industries. By 2021, the space had raised approximately $939 million in venture capital, according to Crunchbase data. Insider is highlighting over a dozen VC firms, as well as their partners who specialize in creator-focused startups, that are funding the next wave of creator-economy companies. Here are 14 VC firms funding the creator economy in 2023:Note: Firms are listed in alphabetical order.

Persons: Marlon Nichols, Nichols, Karat Organizations: MaC Venture

☆ MaC Venture Capital hires TCG veteran Jennifer Randle as its first chief operating officer
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

MaC Venture Capital has hired Jennifer Randle as its first COO. In less than three years, MaC Venture Capital has become a presence in the tech ecosystem that cannot be ignored. Jennifer Randle, a finance and operations veteran, has joined MaC as its first chief operating officer — a sign of a maturing firm with more personnel and funds to manage. In this role, Randall will support firm operations from finance and accounting to investor relations and IT. In April of 2023, according to data gathered by Venture Forward, Deloitte, and the National Venture Capital Association, Black investors made up only 4% of investment partners with decision-making responsibilities.

Persons: Jennifer Randle, Randle, MaC, —, Randall, Peter Chernin, That's, Marlon Nichols, Nichols Organizations: MaC Venture Capital, Chernin, nab, MaC, Capital Partners, KPMG, Venture, Deloitte, National Venture Capital Association Locations: America, Mansa

From Karat to Spill, venture capitalists are betting on creator-focused companies in 2023.Insider is highlighting 14 VC firms that are backing startups in the space right now. By 2021, the space had raised approximately $939 million in venture capital, according to Crunchbase data. Many startups have raised money in 2023, from pre-seed stages to larger later-stage rounds. Insider is highlighting over a dozen VC firms, as well as their partners who specialize in creator-focused startups, that are funding the next wave of creator-economy companies. Here are 14 VC firms funding the creator economy in 2023:Note: Firms are listed in alphabetical order.

Persons: Marlon Nichols, Nichols, Karat Organizations: MaC Venture

☆ Investing in Space: Here are the rockets chasing to compete with SpaceX's Falcon 9
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

SpaceXCNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. Overview: Chasing the FalconNo rocket has been better-described as a "workhorse" than SpaceX's Falcon 9. Aside from Blue Origin's New Glenn, the early theme is rockets that are close to the capability of Falcon 9 and less expensive. – CNBC, which the lawsuit says were used for NASA projects including the International Space Station and the Space Launch Systems rocket. – Firefly Aerospace: The rocket builder says the deal will bolster its launch, spacecraft, and lunar lander businesses.

Persons: CNBC's Michael Sheetz, Phil Smith, SpaceX's, Glenn, Smith, –, Smith doesn't, CNBC ULA, Tory Bruno, Jeff Bezos, ULA, – Read, Shepard, Bob Smith, Jim Free, Artemis, HawkEye, – Hydrosat, Leonardo DiCaprio, – Momentus, Westinghouse EchoStar's Hughes, – EchoStar, Iris Lan, Sumara Thompson, King, Lan, – NASA Celeste Ford, Ford, – SpiderOak Melissa Quinn, Quinn Organizations: SpaceX CNBC's, SpaceX, Falcon, Boeing, NASA, CNBC, CNBC Department of Defense, Ukraine, Starlink, Pentagon, –, Space Station, Systems, CNBC SpaceX, Cargo, International Space, FAA, Intelsat, Japan Airlines, Embraer, – Intelsat, Rocket, ONE, Washington, Spaceflight, Aerospace, Aerospace Spacecraft, York, MaC Venture Capital, Broom Ventures, Veto, TechCrunch Viasat, Air Force, Viasat, Westinghouse, U.S . Department of Justice, – NASA, Ford, Stellar Solutions Locations: Florida, China, Russia, Colorado, Ukrainian, Bellevue , Washington, Cortado, Cornwall

☆ Venture capital for Black entrepreneurs plummeted 45% in 2022, data shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Dixon is one of many Black entrepreneurs who struggled to secure funding for their businesses and relied on venture capital financing earmarked for diverse founders. While Dixon and many others have ultimately succeeded, Black-led businesses and Black founders have historically faced disparities in securing VC funding. Overall, Black entrepreneurs typically receive less than 2% of all VC dollars each year while companies led by Black women receive less than 1%, according to data from Crunchbase. That drop is the largest year-over-year decrease Black entrepreneurs have seen over the past decade. "Venture capital is a very privileged and exclusive industry, and has always been that way.

☆ Bill Gates' climate investment firm is backing this reusable rocket startup
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Stoke Space is developing a clean-fueled, rapidly reusable rocket that can deliver satellites into earth's orbit, while protecting the earth itself by creating fewer emissions. Stoke Space is still in the first stages of testing the rocket and is a long way off from taking satellites into space. But its plans are ambitious and built around the idea of launching more satellites to combat climate change. We started thinking many years ago around how do we deploy more satellites focused on climate problems? In addition to Breakthrough Energy, investors include Spark capital, Toyota Ventures, Point72 Ventures, MaC Venture Capital and NFX Ventures.

☆ Here's the 11-page pitch deck that landed car financing startup Zevvy $5.4 million to bring used EVs to the masses
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Nora Naughton | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Zevvy is an auto financing startup looking to make EVs more affordable. It's offering potential EV drivers shorter leases, pay-per-mile terms. Check out the 11-page pitch deck it used to raise $5.4 million for its next expansion. Zevvy, founded in 2021 as Flux EV, just finished a $5.4 million seed funding round led by MaC Venture Capital. Here's the 11-slide pitch deck that sold Zevvy's new investors on its vision for the future of financing electric vehicles.

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