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☆ Stripe slashes valuation to $50 billion in new $6.5 billion funding round
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Payment processor Stripe raised $6.5 billion at a $50 billion valuation, the company said Wednesday, a sharp discount from its record valuation of $95 billion in 2021. Goldman Sachs served as the sole placement agent, while J.P. Morgan served as Stripe's financial advisor. "We're very happy as a private company," Stripe co-founder John Collison told CNBC in 2021. In July, Stripe cut its internal valuation by 28%, from $95 billion to $74 billion. Then in January, The Information reported that Stripe again lowered its valuation to $63 billion.

☆ Fintech darling Stripe has first-world problems
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Karen Kwok | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

When it’s a fintech darling previously valued at $95 billion, the whole industry takes notice. Though a solid business model and rapid growth have allowed Stripe to remain private, it has its share of first-world problems. A lower valuation for Stripe is painful for investors who bought in two years ago, and for employees who dreamed of IPO riches. Stripe is raising $4 billion in fresh capital from investors including Thrive Capital, Reuters reported on Feb. 24. Stripe has hired Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan to explore a public listing and to help with its latest fundraising.

☆ Stripe in advanced talks to raise $4 bln from investors - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Krystal Hu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Small toy figures are seen in front of Stripe logo in this illustration picture taken March 15, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoFeb 24 (Reuters) - Digital payments processor Stripe Inc is close to raising $4 billion in fresh capital at a valuation of about $55 billion, people familiar with the matter said. The funding is expected to be completed by the end of March, the sources said, cautioning that the target number could still fall short. Goldman Sachs has also been setting up special purpose investment vehicles to offer wealth management clients opportunities to invest in Stripe, one of the sources said. It processed about $14.4 billion in gross revenue in 2022, compared to about $11.7 billion in 2021, the sources cited above said.

☆ Stripe Sets One-Year Timetable to Decide on Going Public
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Peter Rudegeair | Corrie Driebusch | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Stripe’s last fundraising nearly two years ago valued the company at $95 billion. Stripe Inc. , one of Silicon Valley’s most valuable startups, is moving closer to what could be one of the biggest public-market debuts in recent memory. Stripe co-founders Patrick and John Collison told employees Thursday that executives set a goal of either taking the company public or allowing employees to sell shares in a private-market transaction within the next 12 months, according to people familiar with the matter.

Stripe, the fintech company once valued at $95 billion by private market investors, will make a decision on its plans to go public within the next year, CNBC has confirmed. Co-founders and brothers John and Patrick Collison told employees on Thursday that they will set a goal of taking the company public or letting staffers sell shares through a secondary offering, The Information first reported. The tech IPO market has been frozen since late 2021 after two record-breaking years during the Covid pandemic. In July, Stripe cut its internal valuation by 28%, from $95 billion to $74 billion. Stripe is considering a direct listing or private market transaction and has hired Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan to advise on the deal, CNBC has learned.

It came after Amazon said in November it was looking to cut staff, including in its devices and recruiting organizations. The company had 2,450 employees, according to PitchBook data, suggesting around 490 employees were laid off. In a letter to employees, CEO Logan Green and President John Zimmer pointed to "a probable recession sometime in the next year" and rising ride-share insurance costs. Shopify: 1,000 jobs cutIn July, Shopify announced it laid off 1,000 employees, which equals 10% of its global workforce. Tesla: 6,000 jobs cut

☆ A CEO's apology is a make-or-break moment. Here's how to do it right.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Josée Rose | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

When a CEO or company messes up and trust is broken, the apology must be done right. Trust is the everyday currency of business, PwC's Wes Bricker says. CEOs must be aware that the way they apologize is just as important as the words "I'm sorry." In recent years, a corporation's or CEO's apology has taken on greater significance because customers and employees are often quick to demand that leaders take ownership and show transparency around their actions. Sucher said CEOs were receptive to a framework on how to apologize because "everyone messes up at times."

☆ The year that brought high-flying Silicon Valley back down to earth
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The tech industry, already dominant, only seemed destined to grow even bigger at the start of this year. The spread of the Omicron variant suggested a continued pandemic-fueled demand for digital goods and services, which had buoyed many tech companies. The result was a bloodbath unlike anything the tech industry has seen in the past decade. For years, Silicon Valley has held up its founders as visionaries who can see far into the future. “I do not think venture is cratering, or the tech industry is cratering as an industry.”But for now, at least, there appears to be no end in sight to the pain for Silicon Valley and those who work in it.

☆ Meet the VC firms that want to help immigrants found their own startups so they keep their talents in the US
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Immigrants play a vital role in the US tech industry, and many have founded successful companies. These VC firms and startup incubators can help immigrants on work visas found companies. But that opportunity simply isn't available to a certain key class of tech worker: The immigrants who are in the US on work visas like the H-1B. H-1B visas are sponsored by the holder's employer, meaning that if they lose their job — either voluntarily or as part of a layoff — they generally have to return to their home country within 60 days. Insider spoke with four firms that focus on investing in immigrant founders, which represent a mix of VC firms and startup incubators, about how to pitch them and which types of resources they could provide.

☆ Why corporate leaders like Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, and Evan Spiegel are all apologizing for the massive layoffs at their companies
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Sarah Belle Lin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Since the pandemic, the largest tech layoffs have been at Meta, Getir, Booking.com, Twitter, Uber, Better.com., Peloton, and Groupon, Layoffs.fyi data show. Now companies in tech are reversing some of the huge hiring that they did in the past couple of years, Lee said. Mark Zuckerberg, MetaFacebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks about "News Tab" at the Paley Center, in New York on October 25, 2019. In the memo he wrote: "Many people predicted this would be a permanent acceleration that would continue even after the pandemic ended. Jack Dorsey, ex-CEO TwitterTwitter CEO Jack Dorsey testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in Washington, DC, in 2018.

☆ Layoff memos from tech companies illustrate how leaders need to show authentic regret over job cuts — and how damaging it can be when they don't
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Shana Lebowitz | Rachel Durose | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Job cuts are never easy, but leaders' actions can lessen the sting of layoffs. Cuts at Meta, Twitter, and Stripe offer examples of what works — and what doesn't. Those contrite statements stand in contrast to a November 3 email that went to some 3,700 laid-off Twitter employees, about half of the company's workforce. Instead of apologizing, Musk, who is also the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, doubled down on his claims that the business was losing too much money to avoid workforce cuts. Twitter didn't tell employees why they were losing their jobsThe email to laid-off Twitter employees didn't explain the rationale behind the job cuts, though HR experts said that kind of clarity around what businesses sometimes call a "reduction in force," or RIF, is important.

☆ Analysis: Silicon Valley's greatest minds misread pandemic demand. Now their employees are paying for it.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN Business —In the early months of the pandemic, Facebook only grew bigger and more central to our lives. On Wednesday, however, Zuckerberg reversed course and laid off more than 11,000 employees, marking the most significant cuts in the company’s history. In a memo to staff, Zuckerberg coughed up some of the hardest words in the English language. The Federal Reserve maintained near-zero interest rates at the time, giving tech companies easier access to capital. And private and public market valuations for tech companies only seemed to go higher.

☆ Stripe and Meta's layoff memos are a lesson in accountability and empathy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Rachel Durose | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Stripe's and Meta's memos are excellent examples of how leaders can handle layoff announcements. Similarly, on November 9, Meta cofounder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg released a public, company-wide message about the impending lay-off of 11,000 employees. Why these memos are resonating with workersIn one case, employees at the human-resource platform Compt discussed Stripe's memo in their company Slack. Stripe's memo praises the laid-off workers, stating that they would make "fantastic additions at almost any other company." "This was handled, in my opinion, the best way possible," Amy Spurling, the CEO and founder of Compt, said of Stripe's memo.

☆ Here's a rundown of tech companies that have announced layoffs in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Sofia Pitt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Days after Twitter's new boss Elon Musk slashed half his company's workforce, Facebook parent Meta announced its most significant round of layoffs ever. Last month, Meta announced a second straight quarter of declining revenue and forecast another drop in the fourth quarter. The tech industry broadly has seen a string of layoffs in 2022 in the face of uncertain economic conditions. Lyft: around 700 jobs cutLyft announced last week that it cut 13% of its staff, or about 700 jobs. In a letter to employees, CEO Logan Green and President John Zimmer pointed to "a probable recession sometime in the next year" and rising rideshare insurance costs.

☆ What the wave of tech layoffs tell us about the economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

What’s happening: Tech companies are announcing an alarming number of layoffs and hiring freezes. ▸ Lyft (LYFT) said last Thursday that it will lay off 13% of its employees, or nearly 700 people, as it rethinks staffing amid rising inflation and fears of a looming recession. But other companies won’t be immune to the softening demand from consumers and businesses that tech companies have noted. It doesn’t help that the uncertainty around the platform comes at a bad time for ad revenue-dependent tech companies. More potential supply chain woesThe threat of a US rail strike that could disrupt supply chains is still very real.

☆ The Stripe founders' memo explaining its layoff plan to employees is a remarkably candid look at why so much of tech is in freefall
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Its memo to employees highlights the economic headwinds other tech companies are facing. From Meta to Shopify, tech companies are navigating an uncertain future. It over-hired during the pandemic"We over-hired for the world we're in," the founders wrote. It failed to keep other costs in checkThe founders' wrote: "We grew operating costs too quickly. The open question facing Stripe and other tech companies is what that recalibration looks like, beyond simply cutting costs.

☆ A memo from Stripe's cofounders announcing sweeping job cuts is a lesson for companies everywhere on how to conduct layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Rachel Durose | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Cofounders Patrick and John Collison break down what led to the decision and apologize to workers. Still, Patrick and John Collison, the cofounders of Stripe, laid off 14% of the payment company's workforce in one of the best ways possible. On the same day the Collisons shared their message with employees, Twitter sent an unsigned memo to its workers announcing sweeping layoffs and office closures. Why the memo is resonating with workersIn one case, employees at the human-resource platform Compt discussed Stripe's memo in their company Slack. Patrick Collison serves as CEO, while John Collison is president.

☆ Stripe to Cut 14% of Jobs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Peter Rudegeair | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Stripe CEO Patrick Collison said the company ‘overhired for the world we’re in.’Stripe Inc., one of the world’s most highly-valued startups, said Thursday it is laying off about 14% of its employees and blamed the harsh economic climate. Stripe, a payment processor to fast-growing Internet companies like Shopify Inc. and Instacart, was a big beneficiary of the pandemic-driven surge in e-commerce in 2020 and 2021.

Lyft confirmed its plans Thursday to lay off 13% of its workforce, equivalent to about 700 employees, as the broader downturn in once high-flying tech companies persists. An emerging trendStill, Lyft's announcement adds to the broader trend of hiring freezes and job cuts across the tech industry. Amazon announced Thursday it will pause hiring within its corporate workforce, citing the increasingly "uncertain" economy and the company's spate of new hires in recent years. The payments company Stripe announced Thursday it was cutting 14% of its workforce, equivalent to approximately 1,100 workers. The tech sector had come through a significant portion of the pandemic seeing roaring growth.

☆ Stripe plans to lay off 14% of workers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Online payments giant Stripe plans to lay off roughly 14% of its staff, CEO Patrick Collison wrote in a memo to staff Thursday. Here's Collison's full memo:Earlier today, Stripe CEO Patrick Collison sent the following note to Stripe employees. We will pay 14 weeks of severance for all departing employees, and more for those with longer tenure. We'll accelerate everyone who has already reached their one-year vesting cliff to the February 2023 vesting date (or longer, depending on departure date). We'll cover career support, and do our best to connect departing employees with other companies.

☆ Lyft to lay off 13% of staff
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN Business —Lyft on Thursday said it will lay off 13% of its staff, or nearly 700 employees, as it rethinks staffing amid rising inflation and fears of a looming recession. In a memo to staffers on Thursday, a copy of which was shared with CNN Business, Lyft (LYFT) co-founders Logan Green and John Zimmer said the layoffs will impact every part of the company, and pointed to broader macroeconomic challenges that led to the cuts. But a number of tech companies reported slowing growth in the September quarter, as customers and advertisers rethink spending. “We are not immune to the realities of inflation and a slowing economy,” Lyft’s founders wrote in the memo to staffers. Shares for Lyft are down nearly 70% so far this year.

☆ I made $200,000 last year ghostwriting tweets for superstar VCs. It takes me 5 hours a week. Here's how I found my clients and built a booming side hustle from scratch.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Ghostwriting tweets for venture capitalists is my side hustle. So I have a special CRM I use just for ghostwriting work, as well as a dedicated laptop, a dedicated phone, and a separate email address. VCs would deploy $10 million or $15 million a year into companies trying to raise $1 million or $2 million. My life as a ghostAs a ghostwriter, I never log in to a client's Twitter account. It's important to me that I do all of the ghostwriting work myself, as a side hustle.

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