In an earlier era, aspiring journalists moved to New York, future actors made pilgrimages to Hollywood, and brave tech founders moved to the Bay Area to raise capital and talent.
But San Francisco is no longer the center of the startup universe, and it hasn’t been for a while.
Cities like Boulder, Detroit and Austin had emerging tech ecosystems long before the pandemic forced VCs to take pitches via Zoom, and social media has leveled the playing field when it comes to networking and PR.
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“We noticed a few years ago, when we looked at our own analytics, that most of our deals came through Twitter,” said Elizabeth Yin, co-founder and general partner of Hustle Fund, at ukbusinessupdates.com Disrupt last week.
“When I look at my portfolio, my companies that are active on Twitter actually have an easier time raising money because investors feel like they know them.”
Reporter Dominic-Madori Davis moderated a discussion with Yin, Mike Asem (founder of M25), and Accel partner Rich Wong, who suggested aspiring founders who don’t live in area code 415, spilling tea about “the emerging markets on their radar.” .”
If you’re interested in the whole conversation, you’ll find a link to a video at the end of the article. Stay tuned for more TC Disrupt summaries in the coming days.
Thank you for reading,
Walter Thompson
Editorial Manager, ukbusinessupdates.com+
@yourprotagonist
5 tips to get started in a crowded web3 gaming market
Image Credits: Chelsea Samson (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images
Every online product requires a network effect, but gaming is unique: without large, loyal and enthusiastic customers, there is no way to build monetized products.
Play-to-Earn (P2E) games are particularly prone to this problem. Therefore, “building a game that has long-term success means developing monetization strategies that can withstand the ebb and flow of the market,” said Corey Wilton, co-founder and CEO of Mirai Labs, the gaming studio behind Pegaxy.
In this introduction to P2E founders, Wilton shares suggestions for approaching investors, explains why tokens are not a reliable fundraising tool, and discusses the recent “shift to monetization through Web 2.0.”
A Preparation Checklist for Startups About to Undergo Technical Due Diligence
Image Credits: Pixel image (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images
On Tuesday, founder and CEO of codebase analysis firm Sema, Matt Van Itallie, shared a guest post for founding teams about to begin technical due diligence on an investment or acquisition.
On Wednesday, he followed up with a detailed checklist for C-level executives and senior managers responsible for helping VCs determine if their “codebase is safe enough for investment.”
- Product roadmap
- Code quality
- Code, network and information security
- Intellectual property
- Development process
- Contributions from the engineering team
- DevOps
Pitch Deck Teardown: The Palau Project’s $125k Pre-Seed Deck
Image Credits: Palau project (Opens in a new window)
Fundraising takes many forms, but because pre-seed founders so often coax money from family and friends to validate their ideas, it can increase the emotional stakes.
To raise money for The Palau Project, an app that helps users find out the environmental impact and nutritional benefits of packaged foods, founder Jerome Cloetens put together a 22-slide deck with a goal of $500,000.
In the end, the team only raised $125,000.
Dear Sophie: How can early-stage startups increase their chances of getting H-1Bs?
Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/ukbusinessupdates.com
Dear Sophie,
We have an early stage stealth biotech startup.
Are we eligible to petition a STEM OPT co-founder for an H-1B in the lottery? Is it worth it or are there better alternatives?
— Nascent Biotech
3 VCs explain how founders can stand out when pitching
Image Credits: Kelly Sullivan (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images
There is a lot of wisdom in corny motivational writing. For example, this quote from Will Durant, a historian and philosopher:
We are what we do regularly. Excellence is therefore not an act, but a habit.
A good pitch requires more than charm and storytelling: investors expect founders to understand their market and competitors and help them prepare before the meeting begins.
“I generally recommend having almost a teaser version of the deck with enough data and information to give us an idea of where you are in terms of your company’s journey,” said Jomayra Herrera, a partner at Reach Capital. .
“Just enough information to come to the meeting prepared.”
5 ways biotech startups can reduce the risk of long-term sustainable growth
Image Credits: jayk7 (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images
Thanks to R&D and clinical trials, life science startups have long lead times before they can bring their capital-intensive products to market.
“But,” asks Omar Khalil, a partner at Santé Ventures, “what happens if funding suddenly dries up?”
In a guest post for TC+, he shares five strategies for biotech startups trying to stay warm this coming winter.
“It’s too early to know if this is a near-term correction, or if it’s a new normal that will be maintained for the foreseeable future.”
