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☆ Tesla rival Lucid plans layoffs, as manufacturing and production challenges mount for EV startups
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Lucid, a Tesla rival, is planning layoffs. The EV startup is planning to lay off hundreds of employees, my colleague Alexa St. John reported. Lucid has had a challenging few months, as it works to nail down manufacturing and production and get cars on the roads. It's not the only EV company that's struggling. Insider's Tim Levin tested out charging a KIA EV at a former Tesla supercharger that's open to all EVs.

☆ A 27-year-old professional athlete landed a gig at Benchmark. Here's how she's balancing a Nike sponsorship, elite running, and working at the VC powerhouse.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Vanessa Fraser is a professional runner sponsored by Nike. As a professional runner for Nike, she's stared down American records, competed at national championships, and raced to make Olympic teams. These days, she's bringing that intensity off the track and into the world of venture capital. So when the call came from a recruiter working with Benchmark, Fraser was open to listening. In some ways, stepping back from full-time professional running and adding variety to her days have made Fraser an even better athlete, she said.

☆ Founders and VCs reveal why they're sticking with the failed Silicon Valley Bank, at least for now: 'We owe them to keep them healthy'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But for some startup customers of the failed Silicon Valley Bank, there's nothing to fix about their banking situation — yet. After Silicon Valley Bank's ultimate failure on March 10, federal regulators stepped to seize control and announced two days later that all depositors would be made whole. But some founders and VCs, like Shaprio, have chosen to stay with their hometown bank. Although their own business' health comes first, for many, the survival of Silicon Valley Bank is crucial, as a long-standing emblem of the tech community and a figure that welcomed risky startups when traditional institutions turned them down. And Silicon Valley Bank, by being there for 40 years, is the hub of this community, it's the thing the most startups have in common.

Greg Becker, who was the longtime CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, pictured last year. "Looks like Silicon Valley Bank is in some deep shit," Uncommon Capital general partner Jamie Quint tweeted. Startup founders scrambled to get their funds out of Silicon Valley Bank after its collapse. Andreessen Horowitz announced this week that it will continue banking with Silicon Valley Bank "for the foreseeable future" but is crafting a longer-term plan to diversify. Even so, he added, "I think we'd be supportive, as they stabilize, for them to be one of many partners that our founders bank with."

☆ 9 startup founders who banked with Silicon Valley Bank share where they're moving their money: 'We will not get caught like this again'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Samantha Stokes | Stephanie Palazzolo | Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Silicon Valley Bank's failure has left startup founders scrambling for a new home for their money. Last Friday morning, the startup founder Mang-Git Ng zipped up the interstate before sunrise to a Silicon Valley Bank branch in St. Helena, in California's wine country. Ng's plight is similar to countless other founders following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, who waited with bated breath over the weekend on whether they'd ever get their money back. DiversificationSilicon Valley Bank's collapse could forever change how startups stash their cash, at least two investors told Insider. Silicon Valley Bank had exclusivity clauses with some of its clients, according to a CNBC report, forcing them to use the firm for most or all of their banking services.

After a bank run of $42 billion in withdrawals, Silicon Valley Bank was shut down by regulators on Friday. The founders were banking at Silicon Valley Bank and wanted to switch banks immediately after being told by their venture investors that the bank was suffering from "liquidity issues." The go-to bank of Silicon ValleySilicon Valley Bank has been a pillar of the startup of ecosystem for four decades, acting as the go-to financial institution for VC fundraising and building strong ties with founders and investors alike. This helped bolster SVB's reputation as the go-to bank of Silicon Valley in the good times, but exacerbated the crisis when it hit Thursday and Friday. "If you're given responsibility to run this iconic Silicon Valley company, you need some humility."

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.

Silicon Valley Bank's stock price plummeted Tuesday after it announced it would sell fresh shares. Founders who bank with SVB say they're not yet worried and are calling for calm. As a meltdown unfolds at Silicon Valley Bank, startup founders who bank with the storied institution are calling for calm. "They are the go-to bank for Silicon Valley. In essence, a bank run -- Silicon Valley style.

☆ Everyone's freaking out about SVB because everyone else is freaking out about SVB
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But the real star — or perhaps supernova — of Thursday was SVB Financial, which saw shares drop as much as 62%. As you can imagine, the past year has not been kind to SVB. SVB had to sell a $21 billion bond portfolio for a $1.8 billion loss (thanks a lot, interest rates!). It wasn't long before reports started rolling in about VCs instructing their founders to get their money out. Here's more on the tech founders trying to calm everyone down amid the chaos.

Twitter exploded on Thursday afternoon with concerns about storied institution Silicon Valley Bank. Silicon Valley is losing faith in its go-to bank SVB Financial. It's an all out bank run," founder Howard Lerman wrote. If startups are worried the bank can't give them all their money back from their bank accounts, then they might pull their accounts. In essence, a bank run -- Silicon Valley style.

☆ A former AncestryDNA exec launched a startup to 'put an end to allergies.' Here's the pitch deck he used to raise $16.5 million from investors.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Nectar just raised $16.5 million from Harmony Partners, Juxtapose, and Obvious Ventures. The allergy startup was founded by former AncestryDNA executive Kenneth Chahine. The startup just raised a $16.5 million Series A funding round led by Harmony Ventures. They include Y Combinator alum Wyndly, which is expanding access to allergy drops, and Allermi, which prescribes customized allergy sprays. Check out the 34-slide presentation Nectar used to raise its $16.5 million Series A:

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 a look at 14 fintech startups that are tackling healthcare's money problems
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A new wave of startups are tackling financial issues within the healthcare space. Here are 14 fintech-healthtech startups that have raised money from VCs. "If you're thinking about building fintech that really helps the average consumer, a big piece of the wallet is healthcare spend," she told Insider in an interview. From the employee-benefits platform Budgie to the wellness credit card Ness, Insider has compiled a list of startups building at the intersection of fintech and healthtech. Check out Insider's list of 14 startups at the intersection of fintech and healthtech.

☆ 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.

☆ Check out the 13-slide deck health startup OneLeaf used to raise $5.1 million to expand its personalized self-hypnosis programs across the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Its self-hypnosis program aims to help users with wellness challenges, such as weight management and sleep deprivation. That's what inspired him to found wellness startup OneLeaf, which just raised $5.1 million to grow its self-hypnosis program across the US. The Paris-based startup offers users a self-hypnosis tool for to help them face health challenges such as smoking, weight management, and anxiety. Focusing on self-hypnosis as a treatment option makes OneLeaf unique, Cohen-Skalli said, and also positions the startup to grow into other wellness industries. Check out the 13-slide pitch deck used to secure $5.1 million in seed funding.

☆ Tyler Burnett turned a toothache into a VC-backed company. Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck he used to raise $3 million for dental startup Wally Health.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( April Joyner | Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The startup Wally Health provides dental cleanings and preventative care for $199 a year. Take a look at the pitch deck Wally used to raise a $3 million seed round led by Bling Capital. That experience inspired the creation of his startup, Wally Health, which has raised $3 million in a seed round led by Bling Capital. Years before Wally, Burnett had launched businesses in media and fintech back in his native Canada. After raising a pre-seed round, Burnett and his cofounders started building Wally's proof of concept about a year ago in an office in New York's Upper East Side.

☆ From Facebook to Google to Amazon, these are the 40 tech companies most exposed as startups shut down and slash spending on cloud services
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

It's creating risk for tech giants like Meta and Google that provide startups with business servicesHere are the 40 tech companies that are the largest vendors to startups. Cost cutting can mean pulling back on services like cloud expenses and tech giants are among the most prolific providers of this software. Specifically, the money spent on cloud services from Amazon, Microsoft, and Google amounts to one of the most costly items on startup's budget. Tech giants Google and Meta dominate in the advertising category, while TikTok continues to gain popularity, the study found. Check out the 40 tech companies that are the biggest vendors among startups.

☆ TBD Health wants to make STI testing feel like a 'moment of self-care for the day.' Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck it used to win over investors like Tusk Ventures.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

STI testing startup TBD Health just raised $4.4 million in a seed round led by Tusk VenturesThe startup sells at-home testing kits and offers telemedicine consultations about sexual health. Check out the 9-slide pitch deck TBD Health used to raise its seed round. Instead of feeling embarrassed, TBD Health's goal is to help people feel empowered about staying on top of their sexual health. When it comes to sexual health, there are numerous startups targeting the reproductive and fertility space, like women's health startup Maven and surrogacy platform Nodal. Check out the nine-slide pitch deck TBD Health used to raise its $4.4 million seed round from Tusk.

☆ Stripe, Reddit and Instacart valuations take a beating in Fidelity's latest markdowns. Here's how they fared.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Several other startups like Instacart and Reddit have fared poorly in terms of external valuations this year. Year-end numbers in mutual fund filings show that other late-stage startups like Instacart and Reddit also suffered throughout 2022. From November to December, Fidelity dropped the value of its Reddit shares nearly 9%. Its current share value, however, is a 1.5% improvement from the mutual fund's previous markdown in its holdings to $36.90 a share in May. But the public markets might not be the silver bullet needed to pull these companies out of their slumps: Many of Stripe, Instacart, and Reddit's public counterparts are also struggling.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ Stripe's valuation was just slashed 20% by another big mutual fund
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Principal's Large Cap Growth Fund slashed its valuation of Stripe by 20% in December. Mutual funds are continuing to prune the valuations of startups they invest in, and Stripe is once again feeling the heat. Principal's large-cap growth fund, which is sub-advised by T. Rowe Price and Brown Advisory, just slashed the valuation of the fintech startup by nearly 20% at the end of 2020. Given Principal's fund holds 114,126 shares, that means Stripe's per-share valuation dropped from $23 to $18.50 in a month. Fidelity's Contrafund, another mutual fund that has a stake in the payment processor, valued Stripe's stock at $40.12 at the end of November 2021.

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.

☆ Nearly $40 billion of startup value later, here's what the members of the Square mafia have been up to since leaving the fintech giant
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Samantha Stokes | Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Former Square staffers have gone on to launch startups worth nearly $40 billion cumulatively. Insider tracked 15 members of the "Square mafia" to see what they're up to these days. 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. Insider tracked 15 ex-Square employees in their current ventures, ranging from launching multibillion-dollar public companies to running high-profile VC firms.

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