A few years ago I was driving in a rural area on the coast north of San Francisco and found myself running low on gas. In fact, the fuel light flashed urgently.
My cell phone couldn’t pick up a signal to direct me to the nearest gas station, so I put the engine in low-power mode and drove on instinct. I knew the car had a spare tank, but I had no idea how far it would take me.
Founders who fail to implement good treasury management practices during a recession are as reckless as I was that day – how far can your company go on smoke?
“Your cash reserves mean nothing if you can’t get to them in time to pay your current expenses,” writes Michael Dombrowski, corporate treasury advisor at Rho.
In a guest post from TC+, he shares the basic steps for creating a cash management plan for startups that have closed an extension or need to make the most of their precious catwalk.
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Move over, operators – consultants are the new non-traditional VC
Image Credits: Getty Images
According to PitchBook, 30 funds received nearly two-thirds of all new venture capital raised in the first half of this year.
Nevertheless, Rebecca Szkutak found that several consultancies that take early stage startups to the next level are now launching their own venture capital funds.
“Over the past two to three years, we have been asked by many founders to participate in their cap table,” said FNDR Founder and CEO James Vincent.
“The founder wants us on a trip. We spent time with them and showed great intimacy. We don’t do it with everyone.”
Strategic Warfare: How to Hire and Retain Top Analytics Talent
Image Credits: designer491 (Opens in a new window) /Getty Images
Especially in the beginning, non-technical founders are vulnerable when it comes to hiring technical staff. How do you know if someone can deliver if you have no experience yourself?
Analytics can be just as much a black box as engineering, which is why hiring managers need to look beyond the skills list on resumes to find more effective ways to sort candidates, writes Chuck Soha, general manager at StoneTurn.
In an article with suggested pre-screening techniques and sample questions, he says companies should rely on case studies during the interview process, “which ultimately improves the experience for both the employee and the employer.”
Proptech in Review: 3 investors explain why they are optimistic about technology that makes buildings greener
Image Credits: Andriy Onufriyenko (Opens in a new window) /Getty Images
Investors working at the intersection of climate technology and proptech are looking for potentially profitable startups that can reduce emissions and improve the built environment.
It’s a balancing act with big risks, but given the benefit to category winners and the health of the planet, “the potential market is huge,” reports Tim De Chant.
For his second proptech investor survey in a three-part series, he interviewed:
- Jake Fingert, managing partner, and Lionel Foster, investor, Camber Creek
- Anja Rath, Managing Partner, PropTech1 Ventures
- Othmane Zrikem, chief data officer, A/O Proptech
Dear Sophie: How should I prepare for my visa interview?
Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/ukbusinessupdates.com
Dear Sophie,
Our startup has just been admitted to the winter batch of a top accelerator!
My co-founder with an H-1B just got fired from Big Tech, but he’s fine because his immigration attorney files a change of status to B-1 within the 60-day grace period. I’m a little nervous because I’m outside the US and don’t have a B-1/B-2 visitor visa yet.
How can I pass the visa interview? What kind of questions will I get? How should I prepare?
— Tenacious in Tobago
5 methods to leverage digital advertising during a recession
Image Credits: Richard Druy (Opens in a new window) /Getty Images
When Apple gave its customers more privacy control, it turned mobile advertising on its head. According to a survey by data science company Proxima, 40% of respondents said the iOS privacy policy change had a negative impact on their business.
To stay flexible, Alex Song, CEO of Proxima, says marketers should experiment with shifting their campaigns to platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram.
“For the remainder of 2022 and beyond, the decision is not whether to advertise, but where, how much and how to improve performance.”
Pitch Deck Teardown: Hour One’s $20 Million Series A Deck
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Startups approach language learning from every angle: Hour One uses AI to deploy avatars that convert text into video.
In 2020, the Founders raised a $5 million seed round, but earlier this year it raised $20 million more through a Series A. Here’s a full rundown of the company’s unedited 11-slide deck:
- Cover slide
- “At a Glance” Summary Slide.
- Solution slide
- Market size slide
- Value proposition slide
- Product slide 1
- Product slide 2
- Target group slide
- Case Study Slide
- Team slide
- Closing slide
