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Two years later, their brainchild has officially launched: Cooper, a support system for parents offering one-on-one sessions, virtual events, and other tools. The startup just raised a $2 million pre-seed round co-led by Difference Partners and Kli Capital. XFactor Ventures and multiple angel investors, including the founder of workout brand SLT, Amanda Freeman, also participated in the funding round. "We still dealt with the headwinds faced by female founders in general and particularly who are creating services that will support women," Slome told Insider. Check out the 15-slide pitch deck Cooper used to raise $2 million in pre-seed funding:
Persons: Gabby Slome, Ariel Boorstin, Cooper, Amanda Freeman, Boorstin, Slome, Ollie, Cooper's Organizations: Difference Partners, Kli, XFactor Ventures, of Psychiatry Locations: New York City
Jennifer Campbell left Coinbase to become a partner at Founders Fund. Before Founders Fund, Campbell built and sold a crypto prime brokerage startup. Before Campbell invested at Founders Fund, she got funded by them. Before long, she caught the attention of several funds, including her former backers at Founders Fund, circling the same deals. AdvertisementAdvertisement"I felt like I always knew I wanted to come back to Founders Fund," Campbell said.
Persons: Jennifer Campbell, Coinbase, Campbell, , let's, Fund's, Erin Gleason Organizations: Founders Fund, Fund, Service, SpaceX, Quiet Locations: San Francisco's Presidio, Coinbase, OpenAI
The creator economy buzz has simmered down but some startups are still catching investors' attention. Insider asked over a dozen VCs and angel investors to share which startups are on their radar. Here are 14 startups to watch in the creator economy as 2023 comes to a wrap. Yes, the buzz around the creator economy has fizzled out and consolidation has swept through the industry, but some startups are still catching the attention of investors. Insider asked more than a dozen venture capital and angel investors specializing in the creator economy, from firms including Hustle Fund, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and MaC Ventures, about the creator startups they think are most promising this year.
Organizations: Hustle Fund, Lightspeed Venture Partners, MaC Ventures
Employee benefits startup Kota has raised $5.3 million in a seed round led by Swedish investor EQT Ventures. Kota helps businesses and employees track their enrollment and contributions through integrations with benefits providers. "Europe is very fragmented with lots of different pension and insurance plans making it hard for small companies to offer benefits because it's expensive and often very manual." Kota's seed round was led by EQT Ventures with participation from existing investors Northzone and Frontline Ventures. Check out Kota's 11-slide seed funding pitch deck below:
Persons: Luke Mackey, Kota, Mackey, Van Der Voort, Romain Huet, EQT Organizations: EQT Ventures, Irish, Frontline Ventures Locations: Swedish, Europe, Kota
AdvertisementAdvertisementAn aerial view of a Union Pacific train entering downtown on April 21, 2023 in Austin, Texas. "Now it seems like there's a ton of really, really impressive people," Entwistle told Insider in July. Austinites still feel connected to the tech scene, but aren't ruled by it. AdvertisementAdvertisement"One of the things that we were so grateful for is access to outdoor activities," she told Insider. "Austin was one of the last places towards the end of my time traveling around that I had visited," he told Insider.
Persons: , Brandon Bell, Hailey Eustace, Evan Baehr, Austin, Alicia Teagle, Austin —, Teagle, it's, John Andrew Entwistle, John Andrew Entwistle John Andrew Entwistle, talent's, Entwistle, Eustace, Austinites, aren't, San Francisco who've, Austin wasn't oversold, White, Sarah Hollingsworth, Robert Johnson, Robert Johnson Robert Johnson Organizations: Service, Austin Chamber, Union Pacific, Health, Learn, Apple, Google, Austin, Austin —, Lone Star State Locations: Austin, San Francisco, New York, Texas, Austin ., Austin , Texas, Francisco, Germany, Miami, Savannah, New York City, San Antonio, Lake Austin
It’s Not Just for Throuples Anymore
  + stars: | 2023-10-21 | by ( Valeriya Safronova | ) www.nytimes.com   time to read: +1 min
Since receiving half a million dollars from an angel investor in 2016, Feeld says that it has remained profitable without any additional external support. Recently, Feeld has also made the leap to IRL, hosting 31 in-person socials worldwide this year, with about 200 attendees at each. Feeld would not share how many active users it has or how many times the app has been downloaded. From 2021 to 2022, average weekly active users on Feeld grew by 90 percent, and the app is on track for 65 percent growth in weekly active users this year, according to the company. In that regard, Feeld is doing “exceedingly well,” said Lexi Sydow, head of insights at data.ai, a mobile data and analytics provider.
Persons: Feeld, Bumble, Grindr, Morgan Stanley, , Lexi Sydow, Sydow
Dharma, a travel startup that plans and sells trips hosted by creators and brands, recently announced $4.7 million in pre-Series A funding. Dharma cofounder and CEO Charaf El Mansouri told Insider the company aims to support creators and brands in organizing exclusive travel experiences by dealing with operations and liaising with local travel operators as needed. "By definition, I'm a yoga teacher, not a professional travel manager. The company's big challenge ahead, which the funds from the raise will be used for, is to achieve scale. Here is the 17-page Notion memo that the cofounders used to raise $4.7 million.
Persons: Stephen Ross, Matt Higgins, Eric Cantona, Charaf El Mansouri, Dharma, Emily, Kelsey Wells, Pernod, El Mansouri Organizations: San, Convivialite Ventures, FJ Labs, Tank, Paramount Global, Netflix, Pernod Ricard Locations: San Francisco, Paris, El
VC Marc Andreessen wrote a lengthy missive this week, titled "The Techno-Optimist Manifesto." AdvertisementAdvertisementIt wouldn't be a Marc Andreessen essay if the internet didn't lose its mind over it. Rather, technology, he wrote, can solve for "any material problem" under the sun and herald a new era of "abundance for everyone." The backlash to Andreessen's essay was swift. He runs one of the biggest venture capital firms by assets and perceived importance.
Persons: Marc Andreessen, , Kara Swisher, Andreessen, Ben Collins, Andreessen's missive, Dorothea Baur, Cameron Moll, he's, Gary Marcus, Marcus, what's, Aravind Srinivas, A16z, Collins, Andreessen Horowitz, Del, Johnson Organizations: Service, Securities and Exchange Commission, Facebook, Backstage Capital, Silicon Valley Bank, Venture Locations: Silicon Valley, Del Johnson, Silicon
D3sign | Moment | Getty ImagesIf you have yet to purchase your fall and winter holiday travel and are hoping for a bargain airfare, time is running out. "Travelers are going to miss out on the opportunity to save when they wait too long," said Hayley Berg, lead economist at Hopper. In early October, 85% of Hopper app users who intended to book holiday travel had yet to do so, according to a survey of 500 people. In the last few days before Christmas, travelers could see price jumps of about $40 a day, Hopper anticipates. Fares will likely become increasingly competitive as travelers wait, "judging by the number of people traveling this year," said Elizabeth Ayoola, a personal finance writer at NerdWallet.
Persons: Hayley Berg, Hopper, Berg, airfare, Elizabeth Ayoola Organizations: Travelers, Finance, Air, Getty
The Empowered Investor
  + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Sharon Epperson | ) www.cnbc.com   time to read: 1 min
Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThe Empowered InvestorAccording to recent statistics, 40% of angel investors are women. Combine this with a rising number of women-led startups, and the opportunities for investing by, and in, women are on the rise. Golden Seeds Co-Chief Executive Officer & Managing Partner, Jo Ann Corkran, and Laffer Tengler Investments CEO & CIO, Nancy Tengler, share how advisors can better position clients to take advantage of this growing women-led market opportunity.
Persons: Jo Ann Corkran, Nancy Tengler Organizations: Golden, Tengler
Recent indicators show that women are increasingly eager to put their money to work outside of traditional portfolio offerings. For instance, women accounted for 31.2% of angel investors in the first two quarters of 2022, a slight increase from 30.3% in the same period in 2021, according to a report by Jeffrey E. Sohl at the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire. This is "an encouraging sign that women angels are an increasing active segment in the angel market," especially as women are predicted to control the majority of the net worth in the U.S., the report said. If you have the money and inclination, angel investing is "a window to innovation across the economy," Jo Ann Corkran, co-CEO and managing partner of Golden Seeds, said Thursday at CNBC's Financial Advisor Summit. It doesn't depend on the market cycle and innovation is always happening, she added.
Persons: Jeffrey E, Sohl, Jo Ann Corkran Organizations: Center for Venture Research, University of New, Golden, CNBC's Financial Locations: University of New Hampshire, U.S
Gutsy, a cybersecurity startup, has raised $51 million in seed funding, the company said Tuesday. Founded in 2022 and now emerging from stealth, Gutsy wants to help companies solve their issues in the increasingly complicated and overwhelming world of cybersecurity. Based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Gutsy's cofounders previously built container security startup Twistlock, which was acquired for $410 million by Palo Alto Networks in 2019. The company provides cloud security tools for businesses to manage their data across auditing, governance, and migration, connected via an API. The company's massive $51 million seed funding round came from YL Ventures, a backer of Twistlock, and venture firm Mayfield, alongside a number of cybersecurity angel investors. "
Persons: John Morello, Gutsy, Gutsy's, Morello, Mayfield Organizations: Palo Alto Networks, YL Ventures Locations: cybersecurity, Baton Rouge , Louisiana
Maarten Bodewes, left, and Dimitri O are childhood friends and the co-founders of Loop Earplugs. Maarten Bodewes Co-founder, Loop EarplugsEach co-founder spent roughly $40,000 to get Loop off the ground — "as far as I could go on my money," says Bodewes. "[We] 3D printed different prototypes, different shapes, different lengths of canals, sound entries, different filters that we tested," he adds. "The nightlife part is still driving a lot of our sales," Bodewes says. Source: Loop Earplugs
Persons: Maarten Bodewes, Dimitri O, you've, Taylor Swift, They're, , , Bodewes, Wired, Loop's earplugs Organizations: CNBC, Microsoft, Saturn, Belgian Locations: Belgian, Brussels, U.S, Europe
Shopify's head of customer support, Clovis Cuqui, is departing after more than eight years at the e-commerce company. Cuqui's departure comes amid a period of change for the division , which troubleshoots issues for the millions of merchants using the e-commerce platform. "I look forward to continuing this work in lock step with our incredible crew of 1000s of Support Advisors and team members." The division is also working on a new, enterprise level of support as more large merchants have joined Shopify. Shopify also has been hiring outsourced customer-support representatives through the company TaskUs, many of which are in the Philippines, Insider previously reported.
Persons: Clovis, Glen Worthington, Kaz Nejatian, Worthington, Cuqui, Shopify, Bobby Morrison Organizations: LinkedIn, Support Advisors, Bobby Morrison . Company Locations: Philippines, mstone@insider.com
Liz Wessel has heard more than her fair share of startup pitches in her career as a founder. Now, Wessel is fulfilling that desire to invest and advise founders full-time, by joining the early-stage venture capital firm First Round Capital as the team's newest investment partner. Wessel had met many of the partners at First Round Capital while she was still the CEO of WayUp. She shared that Y Combinator's managing director Michael Seibel counseled her directly on her decision to jump into venture investing full-time. And given the increasingly tenuous state of the seed market, she'll be looking for startup founders that are particularly knowledgable about their customer base and have "strong business fundamentals," she said.
Persons: Liz Wessel, Wessel, WayUp, JJ Fliegelman, Fliegelman, Michael Seibel, Combinator, she's Organizations: WayUp, Yello, Google, First, YC
Without the encouragement of his teacher, he wouldn't have started investing as early as he did — and may not have even started at all. One of the most popular passive investing approaches is to buy an index fund. Insider has spoken to a handful of investors who have used index investing to build wealth . More than 95% of their stock-market money is in three index funds : the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ( VTSAX ), the Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ( VTIAX ), and the Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund ( VEMAX ). But she learned through trial and error that investing in index funds is simple and effective.
Persons: Erik Smolinski's, Smolinski, wouldn't, He's, Erik Smolinski Smolinski, ​ ​, that's, Brennan, Erin Schlagbaum, Chloé Daniels, That's Organizations: Apple, Netflix, Microsoft, Market Index, Vanguard, Index
Evan Luthra, an app developer, entrepreneur and angel investor, told CNBC he lost $2 million dollars in the collapse of FTX. Jake Thacker, an FTX customer in Portland, Oregon, told CNBC he lost hundreds of thousands of dollars shortly after losing his job in the tech industry. "I was like, oh my goodness, there's all these big name people utilizing FTX," Kannegundla said. Bhagamshi Kannegundla, an FTX customer, told CNBC he sold his bankruptcy claim to reinvest in crypto. Years later, if the FTX bankruptcy process recovers more than the 11 cents on the dollar for his claim, the buyer pockets the difference.
Persons: FTX's, hasn't, Evan Luthra, Luthra, FTX, Bitcoin, everybody's, Sam Bankman, He's, Fatih Aktas, Jake Thacker, Thacker, I'm, CNBC Thacker, Bhagamshi Kannegundla, Larry David, Kannegundla, Bhagamshi, Sunil Kavuri, Kavuri, Brett Harrison, Harrison, he's, Anthony Scaramucci, didn't Organizations: CNBC, Manhattan Federal, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Sequoia, Nurphoto, FTX's, FTX, Financial Technologies, Skybridge Locations: Miami, Manhattan, New York, United States, Portland , Oregon, FTX's, Bahamas, U.S, cryptocurrencies
Erik Smolinski had been self-educating on finance since high school, when one of his teachers recommended he look into investing. He went to the school library, picked up a couple of books, and started learning about basic investing concepts. He's read a handful of investing books and shared four of his top picks with Insider. He's a "big fan" of the author, Lawrence McMillan, who has years of experience trading options. Smolinski also likes anything by the author Euan Sinclair, who has ​​decades of professional options trading experience and a PhD in theoretical physics.
Persons: Erik Smolinski, Smolinski, He's, Lawrence McMillan, Richer, William Green, Charlie Munger, Jack Bogle, Jack Schwager, Stan Weinstein, it's, Euan Sinclair, Warren Buffett's, Warren Buffett, There's Organizations: William Green Financial, Top Locations: Bull
Erik Smolinski started working odd jobs, anything from splitting wood to selling Christmas trees, as early as 12. Since he started trading as a teen in 2007, he's only posted two negative years: his first two years. Setting a specific return goal also helps keep him focused during his red-hot years. He created detailed trading logs and plansAs an active trader, Smolinski believes that having both a trading plan and a trading log are essential. It's titled "Wealth Development and Trading Plan" and is broken out into various sections, including "strategy outlines."
Persons: Erik Smolinski, Smolinski, , Mel, he's, that's, I'm, he'll Organizations: Apple, Netflix, Marine Corps Locations: San Diego, San Diego , California
Early-stage climate tech startups Treefera, ReSeed, Vaulted Deep, and Skyqraft have raised a collective $18.6 million in fresh funds this month. It can monitor tree health, carbon sequestration, and the likelihood of a forest fire or drought, which may put the project at risk, in "near-time." Check out the 21-slide redacted pitch deck they used to raise the funds below:ReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedReSeedCarbon sequestration company Vaulted Deep raised $8 millionVaulted Deep, a Texas-based carbon removal and sequestration company, raised an $8 million seed round from Chris Sacca's Lowercarbon Capital. Vaulted Deep already has two injection sites, where waste is injected deep into the Earth. Check out the 11-slide pitch deck below:Vaulted DeepVaulted DeepVaulted DeepVaulted DeepVaulted DeepVaulted DeepVaulted DeepVaulted DeepVaulted DeepVaulted DeepVaulted DeepSkyqraft raised $3.8 million to monitor energy infrastructureSkyqraft, a Stockholm-based startup hoping to improve the resilience of energy infrastructure, also secured $3.8 million earlier this month.
Persons: Morgan, Jonathan Horn, Caroline Grey, Greg Lavender, ReSeed, Baratunde Thurston, Chris Sacca's, Advantek, Louise Gauffin, Gauffin Organizations: Global, Concept Ventures, Twin Path Ventures, Ventures, Thorn Partners, Earthshot Ventures, E.ON, Subvenio, Neptunia Invest Locations: London, New York, The Pennsylvania, Texas, Stockholm
New York had its share of startup investors and venture-backed companies, but it wasn't a hotbed of tech activity. After four years at the company, Wang left but chose to stay in New York to launch Bearworks, providing software to sales reps. In 2014, prior to the run of New York City IPOs, California was the leader, followed by Massachusetts and then New York. During the record fundraising year of 2021, New York startups received almost $50 billion across 1,935 companies. Northern California has long been the heartbeat of the tech industry, but Murat Bicer remembers what it was like for New York startups before the rush.
Persons: Olivier Pomel, Albert Wang, Datadog, Wang, UiPath, they've, San Francisco's OpenAI, Murat Bicer, Bicer, Datadog's, Pomel Organizations: Datadog, Big Apple, Nasdaq, National Venture Capital Association . Massachusetts, ChatGPT, Investors, Bay, RTP Ventures, RTP, Boston, Index Ventures, New York Times Locations: San Francisco, New York, Boston, Datadog, York, San Francisco Bay, East Coast, Yorkers, , New York, California, New York City IPOs , California, Massachusetts, San Francisco's, PitchBook . Northern California, Silicon Valley, West, West Coast, Europe, Pomel
Europe, often a few years behind when it comes to startup trends, is also starting to produce its own solo GPs. After a record-breaking 2021, bigger VC funds in Europe have generally found it more challenging to raise their next funds. Lots of fund managers speak to everyone and waste lots of time going over unqualified leads," she said. In short, knowing who to pitch for investment is crucial when looking to raise funds. One advantage for solo funds in Europe is that smaller funds — often $15 million to $20 million — are easier to return than larger funds, said David Cruz e Silva, an angel investor and LP in smaller VC funds through EU.VC.
Persons: Gloria Baeuerlein's, Robin, Robin Capital, Sarah Drinkwater's, Harry Stebbings, Annelie Ajami, there's, VCs, Ramzi Rafih, Rafih, Carolina Huaranca, Joe Schorge, Masha Butler, Sam Altman's, Butler, David Cruz e Silva, Ajami Organizations: Ventures, London, KKR, Silver, Close, Sequoia, Day One Ventures Locations: America, Sand, Europe, profligacy, Dubai, Carolina, San Francisco, Swiss, London, EU.VC
Angel investors in the creator space range from industry experts to creators themselves. From Karat to Canopy, these angel investors are betting on creator-economy startups. Insider is highlighting 11 angel investors funding startups in the creator ecosystem. Typically high-net-worth individuals, angel investors can be crucial business partners for early-stage startups by providing capital, as well as mentorship and access to robust networks. For later-stage startups, big-name angel investors can help act as ambassadors and advisors.
Persons: Ludwig Ahgren, Nuseir Yassin Organizations: Karat, Nas Daily Locations: Nas
Emata, a Ugandan startup that provides loans to farmers in East Africa, has raised $2.4 million in funding. It's also fundamentally unfair as farmers need capital to grow but a lot of money goes to people with connections, not the best farmers." Kampala-based Emata wants to be tech first in its offering and uses WhatsApp as a loan origination platform, given its popularity in a region where cell data is at a premium. The company claims it grew 7x in 2022 and could point to strong metrics when dealing with investors having already dispersed over $1 million in loans. Funding will go towards expanding the company's tech offering and looking into new verticals.
Persons: Bram van den Bosch, It's, Klarna, Niklas Adalberth's Norrsken, Draper Richards, Marcus Boström, van den Bosch, Emata Organizations: African Renaissance Partners, Zephyr Acorn, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation Locations: Ugandan, East Africa, Uganda, Kampala
"Instead, I wanted this interactive lesson tool where students can express themselves and have agency — the opposite of this lecture model." With Curipod, teachers can create lessons on any school subject using generative AI, first by inputting the subject of the lesson, the grade level, and any additional learning objectives. Curipod is free for teachers and students to use at the moment, with paid tiers for school districts, said Seip. The team only launched its AI product at the beginning of this year, and had not previously sought venture capital funding. Check out the nine-slide pitch deck that Curipod used to raise $4.6 million in seed funding.
Persons: Jens Aarre Seip, Seip, Eirik Hernes Berre, Frikk Fossan, Curipod, GPT3 Organizations: Norwegian School of Economics, Reach, aha, Emerson, Sondo, Edovate Locations: Norway
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