Welcome to Startups Weekly. A nuanced take on his news and trends in this week’s startup from Senior Reporter and Equity co-host. Natasha Mascarenhas. Subscribe to receive this in your inbox here.
After a mass exodus of talent in the tech industry, we began to see laid-off talent building ambitious, ambitious, purposeful companies. I’m talking about a legal analyst fired from Better.com launching a legal tech startup, or a Twitter safety chief launching her Twitter rival with safety at the core. That’s it. Refreshing, refreshing.
something in the water? A breeding ground from a particular subset of companies? Is it easy to start a company these days? Unfortunately, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what the reframing risks will be in 2023. It may just be that 2022 is over. Or maybe the great reset of technology reminded some that it was time to take the leap. .
Note that only a few people can afford to take this risk, especially after unplanned loss of the safety net provided by their employer contract. In previous articles, we’ve seen some tech workers do more due diligence on potential employers, take two of his jobs known as overhiring, and change their mindset about personal finances. We rebuilt it and looked at how it responded to the risks.
Those who can afford to jump into the building may be a smaller cohort, but they have a story to tell. is creating a new era of dull (and humble) founders.
If you want to learn more about the state of the job market, there are two add-ons. A recent article by Ron Miller gives you some much-needed hope as to why the tech job market isn’t as volatile as we think. This list compiled by her SEO champion Alyssa Stringer also has a comprehensive list of all layoffs for 2023.
In the rest of this newsletter, we talk about one of the tech industry’s biggest startup competitions, a new podcast, fundraising honesty, and some surprising data about fading trends.As always you can follow me twitter Or continue the conversation on Instagram. I also write on my personal blog. If you want to follow along with 1,821 others who have come to hang and have too many words.
Inside the startup battlefield
Ready for your newsletter? There’s a new podcast on the TechCrunch Podcast Network that invites you to join one of the world’s most anticipated startup competitions, TechCrunch Disrupt’s Startup Battlefield.
Important reasons are: This four-part series gets you into the whole process behind the contest, from submission to winner, and I’m already eagerly awaiting the next episode (although I was literally in the front row when this all happened. ). A must read for prospective applicants, curious VCs, and anyone interested in the storytelling behind early-stage startups.
Listen to the first episode here or find the podcast.
Image credit: TechCrunch
“You can keep fundraising forever”
We spoke with Meena Harris, founder of Phenomenal Media and niece of Kamala Harris VP, and Helen Min, former head of marketing for top tech companies like AngelList and Plaid. Together they launched Phenomenal Ventures. It just closed her $6 million debut her fund with top-tier investors to back enterprise SaaS, fintech, and future commerce companies.
Important reasons are: There was an outspoken opinion that VCs were filling up my DMs. The funding process for Phenomenal Ventures’ fund took about a year, according to Min. “I’ve been very transparent about this and I wish more people were. It added that it closed the first half of the fund in the first three weeks.
Ultimately, with the market slowing and the LP frozen, Harris and Min decided to stop raising funds after the initial close. “There is a real trade-off between the time you spend raising capital and the time you can actually spend on deal flow, meeting founders and helping portfolio companies. We did,” Min added.
Image credit: Maria del Rio (opens in new window)
follow up
In her latest work, TC’s Sarah Perez asks, “Was there a Twitter leak, or was Twitter just suspended?” She checks out how various Twitter alternatives have worked since Elon Musk took over his Twitter, ushering in both the voice leak and the rise of clones.
Important reasons are: In her words, “The data shows that many apps continue to grow to a lesser extent, while others show slower growth. But at least new It also shows that Twitter itself wasn’t significantly affected when it came to app installs.” But that’s not all. She also explores how Twitter usage was affected by a string of critical yet tumultuous coverage, and how she fits into the conversation Reddit and Discord.
Image credit: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch
etc
Saw it on TechCrunch
Neeva launches its generative AI search engine internationally as ChatGPT hype reaches feverish pitch
China’s gaming industry shrinks for first time in years
How a Brazilian startup’s pivot to corporate cards paid off
Security breach?don’t blame the employees
Seen on TechCrunch+
On-demand delivery trilemma
When it comes to fundraising, anchor the company with the words “why now?”slide
A decade of fintech failures: 4 innovations that didn’t live up to the hype
Silicon Valley goes to war
5 Buyer Red Flags to Look for During the M&A Process
chat next week,
