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☆ Elon Musk has become a 'detriment' to the value of his companies, say 79 CEOs in new Yale School of Management poll
  + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: +4 min
79% of CEOs surveyed at a Yale summit believe Elon Musk has become a detriment to the value of his companies. A new poll of CEOs by Yale School of Management showed that 79% of the 100 executives that were surveyed believe Musk has become a "detriment" to the value of his companies. A screenshot from Yale School of Management's 2022 survey of 100 CEOs, asking whether Elon Musk has become "a detriment" to the value of his companies. Yale School of ManagementThe survey was conducted at the invitation-only Yale CEO Summit held last week. Though, shares of the EV company appeared to respond positively to the possibility of Musk stepping down as CEO of Twitter on Monday.
☆ Elon Musk's Crackdown at Twitter Offers Hope to Fellow Tech Founders
  + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: +9 min
But there's one group, almost unnoticed in the midst of the online firestorm, that has been cheering Musk on from the sidelines: other tech executives. To some founders, Musk is simply a monstrous version of the executive they wish they could be. Musk is getting rid of perks like free meals in the Twitter cafeteria — and other tech executives are taking note. Musk's slash-and-burn approach gives tech executives cover for making unpopular decisions. But now, as tech companies cut back to prepare for a recession, the "rough waters out there" have forced his staff to "reevaluate" their demands.
☆ The M&A market just went out with a bang after a terrible year, and it could be a sign of good times to come
  + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: +6 min
(Hint: it's not on Wall Street.) Meanwhile, the largest deal of the year — Microsoft's $68.7 billion bid for Activision — might not even happen, thanks to regulators. But credit unions and community banks aren't happy with the new terms, The Wall Street Journal reports. Big tech nabs from Wall Street. Company culture on Wall Street: not great!
☆ VCs say superpowered software, a dearth of new funds, and rampant M&A among the tech trends to watch in 2023
  + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: +1 min
We asked investors from firms like Accel, Sequoia, IVP, and Lightspeed to share their forecasts. Party rounds are out, unicorns are in, and the venture market will get worse before it gets better. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest tech news and scoops — delivered daily to your inbox. Loading Something is loading. We asked them to reveal the hot sectors they're eyeing, the trends that will fizzle, and the new realities of fundraising — for both startups and venture fund managers — in a tech downturn.
☆ See the pitch deck that startup Assembly used to convince investors to bet $10 million on its approach to business software
  + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: +5 min
Assembly is a software app aimed at helping businesses manage their teams and projects. Here's the pitch deck it used to fundraise at an interesting time for the business apps category. Instead of splurging on a dozen business apps, they want "one single Swiss Army knife," said Hunter Walk, an Assembly investor. "One of the things we're trying to do is help you speed up your work," Purvis said, "and make it more delightful." Read the pitch deck Assembly used to woo clients and to land a preemptive funding offer in 2022:
☆ 27 women in venture capital who made partner or higher at firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed in 2022
  + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Melia Russell | Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: +1 min
But more firms made moves to close the gender gap in 2022, hiring and promoting female partners and general partners. PitchBook data indicates that the share of women in decision-making roles at venture firms held steady year over year, with women representing 16% of general partners at firms with over $50 million in assets. To toast their success, Insider is recognizing the women in venture capital who made partner or general partner for the first time in 2022. You can read more on Europe's new female partners here. Let us know who we missed — investing partners or general partners only, please — by contacting Melia Russell at mrussell@insider.com
☆ Andreessen Horowitz's buzzy tech publication Future is shutting down
  + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Rob Price | Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: +12 min
A source familiar with Andreessen Horowitz's content strategy confirmed to Insider that Future is shutting down. An Andreessen Horowitz spokesperson declined to comment on the record. Joe LonsdaleIn this new climate, many tech and venture firms' media strategy has shifted from glorified marketing to a more full-fledged editorial operation. In 2021, an army of more than two dozen marketers at Andreessen Horowitz doubled down on this approach. Disclosure: Melia Russell's husband is a former employee of Andreessen Horowitz.
☆ 7 recruiters at high-flying venture firms like Accel, Index, and Lightspeed share their best tips for jobseekers
  + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: 1 min
"Be honest about why you need to find a new role"Lauren Illovsky is a talent partner at Gradient Ventures. Gradient VenturesPeople who get laid off might be tempted to try to hide it from recruiters. There's no need for tricks, said Lauren Illovsky, a talent partner at CapitalG, a firm that's backed by Alphabet. "In this climate, you don't need to worry about reputational damage from being let go due to a company restructuring or change in company priorities," Illovsky said. She tells people to treat a layoff like any other job transition.
☆ VC firm IVP warns startups to 'surgically pare down expenses' with a looming recession. Here's the deck it shared with execs.
  + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: +4 min
In a new presentation, the VC firm IVP tells startup leaders to batten down the hatches. Insider has exclusive access to the firm's deck, titled, "Thriving in a Bear Market: A CFO's Guide." That has ripple effects for venture-backed, private companies that rely on outside investment to operate and grow. In the first half of 2022, venture firms raised $83 billion in new funds — the highest amount over a six-month period for the industry, according to a recent report by Silicon Valley Bank. "The market environment is definitely going to favor companies with real market differentiation," Vashee said.
☆ Drive Capital's Mark Kvamme is raising a fund that's like a sovereign wealth fund for Ohio, one month after stepping down from the $2.2 billion venture-capital firm he cofounded
  + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: +4 min
In October, Mark Kvamme said he was stepping down at Drive Capital, the venture firm he founded. The so-called Ohio Fund will raise money mostly from Ohio institutional investors, sources said. The new fund — whose working title is "Ohio Fund" — has drawn comparisons to a sovereign wealth fund, because Kvamme plans to raise capital from mostly Ohio institutions. Unlike the venture firm he founded, the Ohio Fund will invest in multiple asset classes, including other funds, public stocks, private companies in Ohio, and infrastructure, sources said. He stayed one year before striking out on his own with ambitions to start a venture firm.
☆ In a tech downturn, breakout stars of venture capital are going abroad to hunt for funding. Here's why.
  + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: +9 min
The flow of capital motivated more investors to split from established firms and raise their own funds, but it hasn't always been easy. For years they've gone abroad to raise capital from limited partners, mostly wealthy individuals and family offices. This isn't new territory for international investors. He continues to use his personal wealth to back startups and venture funds mostly stateside, including Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Brianne Kimmel's Worklife Ventures. Even those with ties to international investors may struggle to raise funds as fears of a global recession escalate.
☆ Tiger Global, Coatue, and other hedge funds tried to upend venture capital. It backfired and now they're 'licking their wounds,' VCs say.
  + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: +10 min
New investments by Tiger Global and Coatue fell 60% and 67%, respectively, this year. "They're licking their wounds," said Nihal Mehta, a founding partner at Eniac Ventures, whose portfolio includes the marketing-tech startup Attentive, a crown jewel of Tiger Global and Coatue's portfolios. Speaking to founders, Mehta hears crossover funds come up less and less in conversation, and partners at some crossover funds tell him they're pulling back from new deals, though crossover funds haven't disappeared altogether. Crossover funds found themselves with billions of dollars in deployed capital and few exits in sight. Last month, Tiger Global and Coatue both revealed they are seeking to raise new funds earmarked for early-stage startup deals.
☆ How the same mistake led to thousands of layoffs across the Tech industry
  + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Matt Weinberger | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: +5 min
Tech CEOs all made the same dumb mistake, and it's cost thousands of jobs. In his first remarks to Twitter employees, Musk said that the service's success is far from guaranteed and that bankruptcy is an option. Meta insiders say they have little to no visibility into who, exactly, got let go in the culling of 11,000 jobs. Shopping on social media is the wave of the future; just ask Elon Musk. Keep updated with the latest tech news throughout your day by checking out The Refresh from Insider, a dynamic audio news brief from the Insider newsroom.
☆ Sequoia Capital took a $213 million bath on FTX after the crypto exchange imploded. That's not that bad, VCs say.
  + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: +6 min
FTX investor Sequoia Capital has marked down its position to $0 as the crypto exchange crumbles. Sequoia Capital now views its $213.5 million investment in FTX as worthless as the crypto exchange teeters on the brink of collapse after an eleventh-hour deal to salvage the business fell apart. "Somehow Sequoia capital turned a FTX write down to zero into a humblebrag. It invested $150 million into FTX through its third growth fund, which Sequoia said totaled less than 3% of that fund's capital commitments. In its letter to investors, Sequoia said it does "extensive research and thorough diligence" on every investment it makes.
☆ Scoop: Andreessen Horowitz beats out Benchmark and NEA to lead Series A funding round for Partiful, the 'Eventbrite for Gen Z'
  + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Ben Bergman | Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: +3 min
Andreessen Horowitz beat out other firms to lead Partiful's series A round, according to sources. Neither the cofounders of Partiful nor Andreessen Horowitz responded to a request for comment. After an intense bidding war, Andreessen Horowitz beat out rival VC firms, including Benchmark and New Enterprise Associates, to lead Partiful's series A funding round, according to three people with knowledge of the financing who were not authorized to speak publicly. Andreessen Horowitz also did not respond to a request for comment. Venture investors, eager to find the next buzzy consumer app, have marveled at Partiful's growth.
☆ The 39 most important VCs in the Midwest, according to other VCs
  + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Melia Russell | Samantha Stokes | Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: +2 min
A report says Midwest startups took in over $15 billion in funding from July 2021 to June 2022. This list showcases the top investors across the Midwest from cities like Chicago and St. Louis. It hasn't been an easy year for tech startups as valuations have tanked and funding has dried up, resulting in widespread layoffs. For this list, we asked venture capitalists from across the country about the Midwest investors to know. To qualify, an investor needed to be a resident of the Midwest, but their firms and portfolio companies could be anywhere.
☆ How fintech super-connector Rex Salisbury went from A16Z's first fintech team hire to solo capitalist with a $20 million debut fund
  + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: +4 min
Salisbury's deal flow comes from a community of fintech founders he's cultivated over the years. That surprised Salisbury, the lone partner at new fintech firm Cambrian Ventures, given that he'd never met the OatFi founders before. Though, Salisbury defied the first-time fund manager's curse when he closed $20 million for his inaugural fund in June. "I want people to have gotten value in some sense before we invest, or even if we never invest," Salisbury told Insider. When Salisbury left the firm, he took a part of the brand with him.
☆ Women in venture capital are writing the rules of maternity leave and bending the male-dominated culture to their will
  + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Melia Russell | Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: +13 min
And with more women entering the male-dominated venture industry, firms are being forced to craft maternity leave policies on the fly to accommodate new mothers. Forty years ago, the clubby male world of venture capital admitted so few women that maternity leave as a benefit was effectively nonexistent. "There is no playbook about how to take maternity leave or raise a family while also accelerating your career as an investor." Lux CapitalLike in many male-dominated industries, maternity leave as a benefit for investors doesn't come up in conversation until someone needs it. Though, the best policies, investors said, give women choices about how they operate on leave, rather than prescribing a one-size-fits-all leave.
☆ Here are 39 startup founders using their business chops to help other founders prosper
  + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: +1 min
Many startup founders are also active startup investors. Behind a great startup founder, more often than not, is another founder advising and investing in their potential. Founders often seek out other founders to join their cap tables because they know what it takes to build a successful and enduring company. Even in a funding crunch, these startup founders and operators are still writing lots of checks, three dozen investors tell Insider. For this list, we reached into our network of founders and investors to identify those who both run companies and invest.
☆ $17.5 billion tech juggernaut Miro quietly snapped up video-chat startup Around in the ongoing battle to catch Zoom
  + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Ben Bergman | Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: +3 min
It was acquired by Miro in June but both parties kept quiet until contacted by Insider. Terms were not disclosed though one source put the value of the deal as high as $300 million. Miro, a visual collaboration company last valued at $17.5 billion, has quietly acquired Around, a next-generation video conferencing app. "A Zoom video call is basically a telephone connected to a video camera," Zane said. "We want to get the community to give us feedback in terms of the problems that we are solving."
☆ Startup founders are panicked amid a market meltdown, but most VCs don't want to hear it. 'It's like don't ask, don't tell.'
  + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: +12 min
"It's like don't ask, don't tell," Josh Felser, a successful founder and outspoken investor, said. The following report on how startup founders are coping with the funding crunch was originally published on August 4. Seven Seven Six partner Katelin Holloway. Her investor, Seven Seven Six, pays for its founders to participate. Caleb Frankel, whose Seven Seven Six-backed startup, EarlyBird, helps families invest in their kid's financial future, wants desperately to have kids, but he and his wife have struggled with pregnancy loss.
☆ A former Shopify exec is taking a page out of the e-commerce company's playbook to build planning software for parents
  + stars: | 2022-10-05 | by ( Madeline Stone | Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: +6 min
With Maple, parents can create and assign tasks like paying the bills, planning a family trip or birthday party, and doing chores. "The next Martha Stewart is going to be made on Maple," Perry said. For example, a Disney aficionado created a guide for visiting Disneyland that parents planning a trip could find within the Maple app's browser. "Planning the trips, planning for summer camp, planning for Disneyland, planning the week's meals, the college financial planning — whatever they're planning, there is a family in need of that same exact information." The Shopify App Store, which has more than 7,000 apps geared toward online sellers, also provided some inspiration for Perry.
☆ How the cloud-software startup Gusto won over investors and small businesses by breaking away from the pack
  + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: +7 min
Still, tools for small businesses is a huge market — one that a tech industry that has focused on the more lucrative enterprise market has largely ignored. According to the Small Business Administration, there are 32 million small businesses in the US employing about 61 million people, nearly half of the country's private workforce. As companies grow and chase larger enterprises as customers, they lose sight of the discrete needs of small businesses, she said. The startup hopped on pandemic-era workplace trends, adding products for small businesses to apply for government loans and for employees to access their wages between paychecks. GustoGusto has ruthlessly prioritized areas like payroll and tax-filing that small businesses need to run.
☆ Startups are being squeezed as VCs seek an old dot-com-era clause to sell back their shares, according to a deals lawyer
  + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: +3 min
Venture capitalists are now attaching "redemption rights" to their investment offers. Signing off on these terms can put stress on startups to raise more funds or find a buyer before an investor's redemption rights set in. But as the private markets boomed, power shifted from investors to founders, and venture firms stopped seeking redemption rights. It seems redemption rights are now back on the table with the ongoing uncertainty in the private markets. As for redemption rights, Kirby tells investors it's not in their best interest to get that term.
☆ Why an early investor in Blue Bottle Coffee and Sweetgreen says he's found the 'holey grail' in a Hawaii doughnut chain
  + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com   time to read: +6 min
Founded by two siblings, Holey Grail sells doughnuts made-to-order with local ingredients. Since it opened, Holey Grail has attracted long lines of customers — and hungry startup investors. Holey Grail DonutsInvestors like True say they've sniffed out a multi-million dollar opportunity with Holey Grail, one that defies the norms of an industry that has focused on the more lucrative software market. With $9 million in funding from investors like Collaborative Fund and Lee Fixel, Holey Grail wants to change up the multibillion-dollar doughnut market. But Holey Grail isn't the only food chain to benefit from the cravings of tech's monied elite.
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