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Silicon Valley Bank was shut down by regulators on Friday. The news has made startup founders worried that they won't be able to pay their employees next week. Startup founders still reeling from Silicon Valley Bank's implosion have something new to stress about: whether they'll be able to access enough money to cut employee paychecks next week. "Lots of startups are missing payroll in 2-4 weeks if a) Silicon Valley Bank doesn't have the deposits b) SVB doesn't get sold or c) SVB isn't rescued." "If you're a startup founder dealing with this, I'm here to help any way I can," Ayush Sharma, founder and CEO of payroll and compliance startup Warp, tweeted.

☆ Here's an exclusive look at how startup HeadRace raised $6 million in seed funding from Greylock to help headhunters beat the hiring slowdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Marketplace startup HeadRace helps connect recruiters with employers looking to hire. The startup has raised $6 million in seed funding from Greylock, Susa Ventures, and Breyer Capital. After going through the exhausting process of hiring dozens of employees while at Uber and Flexport, Korsos was inspired to change the hiring system. Although hiring has slowed in large, public companies, it's actually accelerated in early-stage startups looking to fill a number of specialized roles, Korsos told Insider. Moving forward, the startup plans on using its seed funding to build out its technology offerings and improve its scalability, Korsos told Insider.

☆ Trump Hush-Money Probe Enters Final Stages
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Corinne Ramey | Joe Palazzolo | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Former President Donald Trump has said the probe is motivated by politics. Manhattan prosecutors are in the final stages of presenting evidence to a grand jury about Donald Trump’s alleged role in paying hush money to a porn star on the eve of the 2016 election, teeing up a long-awaited decision on whether to bring charges against the former president. The grand jury has heard or will soon hear testimony from all the individuals who played key roles in the hush-money deal and its aftermath, according to people familiar with the matter. Michael Cohen, who represented Mr. Trump in the hush-money deal, said Friday that he was meeting with prosecutors to do some more work before his coming grand-jury appearance.

☆ The unraveling of fintech darling Vise
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +28 min

It was April, and more than two dozen salespeople who worked for the fintech startup Vise had been ordered to a multiday off-site at the W Hoboken hotel in New Jersey to share exhaustive reports on their performance. Even salespeople at bigger, established, top-tier investment-management firms typically wouldn't close $250 million in a year, multiple sales employees said. (K-means clustering is an unsupervised machine-learning algorithm often referred to as a form of AI, Vise's founders said). (Vise's founders disputed this, saying the company received updated financial data only once a day for its portfolio-construction engine.) And to address its "leaky funnel" of overestimating prospective sales, Vise was to stop outreach to new clients while it onboards and upsells to existing clients, the document said.

☆ Stripe, Instacart, and Reddit valuations fare better in Fidelity's latest filings, but it's still a sobering reminder of how far the tech market has tumbled
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Stripe, Instacart, and Reddit fared better month-over-month in Fidelity's latest holdings report. The valuations of Stripe, Instacart, and Reddit all fared better in Fidelity's latest monthly holdings report, with Stripe seeing an over 20% bump from the previous month, according to recent filings. Although promising, the new valuations still serve as a sobering reminder of how far the tech industry has fallen from its 2021 highs. Faced with a muted welcome from the private markets, Stripe might not be the only company looking to the public markets for liquidity. But the public markets may prove more pain.

☆ Exclusive: Buzzy generative AI-powered search engine Perplexity AI taps NEA to lead funding round at a $150 million valuation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

AI search engine startup Perplexity AI is raising a funding round led by NEA, Insider has learned. The deal aims to raise between $20 and $25 million at a $150 million post-money valuation, according to sources. The fundraise continues the trend of large rounds and valuations in the buzzy generative AI space. AI search engine startup Perplexity AI is in talks to raise a funding round led by NEA, according to three people with knowledge of the financing who were not authorized to speak publicly. Perplexity AI cofounder and CEO Aravind Srinivas declined to comment.

☆ In the midst of the AI boom, investors are doubling down on diligence. Here are the five questions VCs are asking every generative AI startup during pitches.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Buzzy generative AI startups have so far avoided the troubles plaguing the rest of the tech world. Here are the five diligence questions investors are asking generative AI startups, according to VCs. But for generative AI startups, 2023 has been much of the same — and that hasn't been a bad thing. Insider spoke with eight of these VCs about the top five questions they're asking generative AI startups during diligence processes. One hallmark of generative AI startups are their eye-staggering round sizes.

Austin has emerged as a hub for relocating tech talent during the pandemic. Investors in Austin closed 416 deals in 2022 worth $4.9 billion, according to PitchBook. For this list, we asked VCs from across the country about which Texas investors we need to know. To qualify, an investor needed to be a Texas resident, but their firms and portfolio companies could be anywhere. Check out Insider's list of 46 top investors in Texas.

☆ Here's an exclusive look at the 21-slide pitch deck Gable, a hybrid workforce management startup, used to raise $12 million in Series A funding from Foundation Capital and SemperVirens
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Gable helps distributed companies manage flexible office spaces for their workforces. The startup connects employees with coworking spaces to book and helps execs manage office budgets. Gable recently raised $12 million in Series A funding, led by SemperVirens and Foundation Capital. Additionally, the startup will launch new products in the upcoming months, including event management and headquarter management tools, she added. Here's an exclusive look at the 21-slide pitch deck that landed Gable $12 million in Series A funding from SemperVirens, Foundation Capital, and others:

☆ Young VCs thought the good times would never end. They did, and now they're pissed.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Insider's Stephanie Palazzolo and Madeline Renbarger have a fascinating report on how young venture capitalists who came from investment banking and consulting are not having a good time. I encourage you to read Stephanie's and Madeline's story, which has all the juicy details about the current environment for young VCs. I've written a lot about how young investment bankers view their jobs as a means to an end, as opposed to an actual career. Timing has a lot to do with why young VCs are feeling like they've gotten such a raw deal. Click here to read more about why some young investment bankers are regretting their move to venture capital.

☆ Here's an exclusive look at the 12-slide pitch deck three siblings used to raise $17 million in funding from Coatue for their mobile app performance startup
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The four Liberman siblings have been building companies together for nearly two decades. Their latest venture, Product Science, just raised $17 million in Series A funding. Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck that scored the startup millions from Coatue and others. Although app delays aren't noticeable to most users, there's a long tail of consumers on older devices whose experiences can be significantly hindered by poor app performance, Liberman said. Here's an exclusive look at the 12-slide pitch deck Product Science used to raise $17 million of Series A funding from Coatue, K5 Global, and Peter Fenton from Benchmark:

☆ 'I feel like I got catfished': Young VCs who left investment banking and consulting jobs are having career second thoughts in the downturn
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

For young investors who pivoted to VC in the middle of the recent market downturn, the reality hasn't been quite as glamorous. From window shopping to bargain huntingMany young investors eagerly filled junior-associate positions at VC firms, expecting the breakneck rate of deals common in 2020 and 2021 to continue. With fewer deals to go around, there's more pressure than ever for new VC associates to bring in hot investments, young VCs told Insider. One investor told Insider that they didn't regret the pivot from tech-investment banking to venture capital in the second half of 2021. Some young investors like Nicole DeTommaso, who left investment banking to intern at Harlem Capital in 2020, started posting regular detailed Twitter threads on how to break into venture capital in the second half of 2021.

☆ CRV partner Anna Khan shares the 5 key elements of a successful startup pitch and the one mistake founders should avoid
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But for CRV general partner Anna Khan, pitches boil down to five key elements and one to avoid. Here's Insider's exclusive chat with the investor about what she looks for in a startup pitch. The CRV general partner recently tweeted about a founder who thanked her for being engaged during his startup pitch, saying, "Most people just stare at me for 30 minutes and then pass a week later." The investor shared with Insider what she considers the five elements of a successful startup pitch — and one popular rule of thumb that founders should avoid. Interestingly enough, having a large legacy competitor isn't necessarily a bad thing for vertical-software startups, Khan said.

☆ Investor Brianne Kimmel is doubling down on AI with a new bootcamp and $20 million pledge to back hot, new startups in the space
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Worklife Ventures founder Brianne Kimmel is launching a bootcamp for AI startups. Her firm has pledged $20 million to invest in those AI companies that complete the bootcamp. As part of the AI bootcamp, her firm is committing $20 million to invest into companies that complete the program. "I grew up in northeast Ohio, and a lot of friends from my high school are using this technology," Kimmel said. Formerly a grant program, AI Grant now makes $250,000 investments in AI companies.

☆ Markets are kicking off a make-or-break stretch with inflation, jobs, and more Fed policy looming
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell warned — once again — last week that rates may eventually end up higher than markets anticipate as the fight against inflation remains far from over. Now, ahead of the CPI report, let's check in with the outlook for stocks. To Bernstein strategist Matthew Palazzolo, today's inflation reading will kick off a momentous five-week stretch for equities. The jobs report on March 3, the next inflation report on March 14, and the Fed meeting on March 22 will shape the rest of the year for stocks, he explained to my colleague George Glover. Your best bet for where the stock market's going this year can be found in the two-year Treasury yield, according to Mohamed El-Erian.

☆ These are the startups to bet your career on, based on 3 key factors
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

I'm Diamond Naga Siu, and a little more than a year ago, I bet my career on Insider. A few key factors molded my decision: the editor (AKA my boss), my team, the ability to have journalistic impact, and our company's trajectory. Although I made the jump in very different economic circumstances, these are integral factors to consider for anyone's next career steps. They found the 43 startups to bet your career on this year, looking at a variety of factors, including the founding team, the market, and its stature among investors. From left to right: Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, Nikhil Mathew, Jaleh Rezaei, and Anurupa Ganguly Promise; Mutiny; Prisms; Marianne Ayala/InsiderThese are the startups to bet your career on.

8baseAlbert Santalo, the founder and CEO of 8base. 8baseHQ: MiamiYear founded: 2017Total raised: $15.2 million, according to the companyWhat they do: 8base is a low-code platform for building "serverless" web applications, meaning it takes care of the back-end programming for its users. Why you should bet your career on them: As companies perpetually look for ways to maximize their IT budgets, 8base's platform could help developers save time and money by eliminating the need for "back-end" programming for some apps. Since its launch, 8base has secured strategic customer partnerships as well with a mix of startup clients and big firms like IBM and NATO. The startup is also a Techstars accelerator alum and raised a fresh $10.6 million Series A round in 2022.

☆ Here's an exclusive look at the 20-slide pitch deck generative AI startup Regie.ai used to raise $6 million from OpenAI-backer Khosla Ventures
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Regie.ai is a generative AI startup that automates content creation and management for sales teams. Check out the 20-slide deck that landed Regie $6 million in Series A funding from Khosla Ventures. Together, the two founded Regie.ai, a generative AI startup that automates content creation and management for sales teams. Regie signed its term sheet with Khosla Ventures in October 2022, as excitement around generative AI started to pick up, Sridhar said. Here's an exclusive look at the 20-slide pitch deck Regie.ai used to raise $6 million in Series A funding from Open-AI backer Khosla Ventures:

☆ How Moonhub, an AI recruiting platform, raised $4.4 million from OpenAI-backer Khosla Ventures and Google Ventures without a pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Moonhub is an AI startup aiming to make the recruiting process more automated and less biased. The company scrapes billions of public data points and makes them easily searchable for recruiters. The startup recently raised $4.4 million in seed funding from Khosla Ventures and Google Ventures. OpenAI-backer Khosla Ventures and Google Ventures were equally enthusiastic about Moonhub's mission, recently providing the startup with $4.4 million in seed funding. Luckily, she was able to leverage her network to raise the round in less than two weeks, she said.

☆ A company-wide Zoom meeting versus individual calls: Insiders reveal how multi-billion-dollar startups Clari and Workato slashed jobs.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( April Joyner | Stephanie Palazzolo | Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Unicorns Clari and Workato are among the latest startups to cut jobs. Workato laid off 10 percent of its workforce, and Clari had its second round of cuts in a year. Clari's layoffs caught the startup's staffers off guard, according to one employee Insider spoke to. Though the layoffs were unexpected, the former Workato employee said, they appreciated the way the company delivered the news. The former Clari employee Insider spoke with said that the spate of layoffs had prompted them to reconsider their dedication to the tech industry.

☆ The 13 top VC firms dedicated to investing in artificial intelligence and machine learning that founders should know
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Insider rounded up the top 13 AI- and ML-focused VC firms that founders should know. These funds have invested in hot startups like Adept, Hugging Face, Weights & Biases, and Synthesia. In a year marked by turmoil and uncertainty, artificial intelligence has been a bright spot for tech investors and startup founders alike. Despite the hype, a group of VCs have been so bullish on AI and ML that they've created entire firms dedicated exclusively to investing in the space. Here are the top 13 venture-capital firms dedicated to artificial-intelligence and machine-learning investing that founders should know:

☆ The CEO of buzzy healthtech startup Vial, which slashed up to 50 jobs last year, asked remaining employees to write positive Glassdoor reviews
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Vial's CEO asked workers to post positive Glassdoor reviews to counter negative ones, Insider found. In a month, 20 positive reviews for Vial flooded the site, raising its rating from one to 3.8 stars. On December 12, Simon Burns, a cofounder and the CEO of the healthtech startup Vial, sent a Slack message in his company's "random-kudos" channel. He included a link to Vial's Glassdoor page and asked other employees to "give her a hand, review us on Glassdoor." In earlier days at the startup, negative employee reviews on Glassdoor cited a toxic culture, a disconnected leadership team, and a lack of industry experience.

☆ VCs have swapped out tennis rackets and golf clubs for pickleball paddles. Here's why the sport has become one of the hottest hobbies in Silicon Valley.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Pickleball has exploded in popularity in recent years, becoming America's fastest-growing sport. From building relationships to escaping stress, here's why VCs are obsessed with the sport. In the background, pop music floated through the air as the group prepared for a trying battle of wits and athletic prowess — pickleball. Once reserved for the quiet neighborhoods of suburbs and 55-plus retirement communities, pickleball has exploded onto the tech and VC scene in recent years, investors say. A networking toolAnd other aspects of the sport make it an ideal pick for a hobby or networking tool, VCs added.

☆ From PayPal to Facebook, Silicon Valley has long been obsessed with the idea of company "mafias." Take a look at ex-Square staffers who have created more than $40 billion of startup value.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Samantha Stokes | Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The idea of Silicon Valley "mafias" first emerged with the Oracle, Facebook, and PayPal mafias. Former Square staffers have gone on to launch startups worth nearly $40 billion cumulatively. Silicon Valley insiders have long been obsessed with the idea of startup "mafias." The "PayPal mafia" was perhaps the most infamous company that spawned the founders of tech giants like YouTube, Yelp, Tesla, and LinkedIn. Facebook and Oracle also have their own mafias of former employees that have produced iconic tech companies like Salesforce, Asana, and GoodRx.

To identify the most important VCs in LA, Insider surveyed more than 75 local investors. Nearly 4,000 venture-backed startups hoping to be the next household-name company called LA home in 2022, according to Telstra Ventures. VCs closed 1,311 deals in LA worth $23 billion in 2022, trailing only the Bay Area and New York, according to PitchBook. To identify the most important VCs in LA, Insider surveyed more than 75 local investors and sought input from its editorial team. Here are 2023's most important VCs in LA, organized alphabetically by the investor's first name.

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