Welcome to Startups Weekly. Sign up <\/em>here<\/em><\/a> to get it in your inbox every Friday.<\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s sometimes hard to remember that, as a startup founder, you have influence over aspects of your business that you wouldn\u2019t have if you were a cog in a giant machine somewhere. In one of my past companies, we went very far out of our way to ensure that our packaging was fully biodegradable, but still a lot of fun. In another, we ensured that all our server use was carbon-offset. In a third, we had regular standups and brainstorms to figure out how we could have less of an impact on our planet.<\/p>\n All of which is to say: As a startup founder, you have a beautiful luxury. You are the master of your destiny, and your passions and interests get to be those of your startup. The inverse is also true: If you don\u2019t care about climate change, diversity, or equality, your company as a whole is a lot less likely to make those topics a priority.<\/p>\n One way that this is showing up for me is that, even if you have money to spend, it\u2019s really hard to find genuinely high-quality products that will last you a lifetime. The Sam Vimes \u201cboots\u201d theory of socioeconomic unfairness, often called simply the \u201cboots theory\u201d popularized by Terry Pratchett in the Discworld series, speaks to that. And in my column for the week, All products are garbage, and for good reason<\/a>, I continue the philosophical meandering to see how that might apply to startups, too.<\/p>\n In other news, it caused some nervous giggles in the TechCrunch newsroom that Connie\u2019s promotion was scooped by Axios, but I respect a good scoop, and so I am begrudgingly linking to our arch-enemy\u2019s coverage of our leadership change<\/a>. Of course, we wrote some ourselves, too: Panzer\u2019s retrospective of his decade in the Big Chair at TechCrunch<\/a>\u00a0and Connie\u2019s cigar-puffing reception of the proverbial editorial baton<\/a>.<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Pixabay (opens in a new window)<\/span><\/a> under a CC0 (opens in a new window)<\/span><\/a> license.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Mergers and acquisitions are a crucial part of the startup ecosystem: Acquisitions are one of two ways (the other being an IPO) that startups can get a liquidity event, or an \u201cexit,\u201d as they are often called. It\u2019s pretty rare that a startup goes on an 80-mom-and-pop buying spree, but that\u2019s the phenomenon<\/a> our new editor in chief Connie sniffed out this week.<\/p>\n Apropos IPOs, we have our first Big Tech IPO of the year, and Alex and Mary Ann dove into Instacart\u2019s S-1 document to see what they could learn<\/a>. (TC+)<\/p>\n The other big public listing recently was Better.com, which went public through a SPAC. It didn\u2019t go super well, and the stock took a dramatic nosedive<\/a>.<\/p>\n Big rounds in trouble<\/strong>: Anna and Alex took a look at the new valuation norms and explored just how sharply the late-stage market is on pace to contract this year. In summary: The late-stage venture market is crumbling<\/a>, but maybe that\u2019s okay?<\/p>\n Industrial-scale angel investing<\/strong>: Hustle Fund has been around for a hot minute; it\u2019s doubling down on its mission to build the \u201cYC of angel investing.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Preparing for battle<\/strong>: Disrupt is just around the corner, and this week, Neesha finally revealed the Startup Battlefield 200 companies<\/a> that are going to be at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> road-warrior (opens in a new window)<\/span><\/a> \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Raising money is a perennial challenge for startups, and it\u2019s one of the topics I spend almost all of my time on. This week, we saw a significant uptick in interest in articles around fundraising, so perhaps there\u2019s a lot of startups that are preparing for the fundraising season that kicks off immediately after Labor Day. So, what\u2019s going on? I took a look at the 5 trends in VC funding for pre-seed startups<\/a>.<\/p>\n One of the most-read articles on TC+ this week was my own: Never express your \u2018use of funds\u2019 slide as percentages<\/a>. It\u2019s one of the things to keep in mind when you are trying to explain what you are going to do with that fresh money you are in the process of raising. The \u2018use of funds\u2019 slide is the part of the narrative that almost every founder gets wrong<\/a>. The other thing founders screw up is looking at fundraising as unlocking runway. That\u2019s true, but honestly, nobody gives a crap about your runway: If you can hit your milestones in eight to nine months instead of 18, that\u2019s fine. If you need two years to hit your goals, that\u2019s fine too (as long as you don\u2019t run out of cash along the way). In a nutshell: It\u2019s all about milestones<\/a>.<\/p>\n Incidentally, if you are on the fundraising trail, TechCrunch has an incredible, in-depth guide to almost every aspect of building a deck and getting it in front of investors<\/a>. You need a TC+ subscription, but honestly, it\u2019s the best $99 you\u2019ll ever spend. Hell, even though I write for TC+ and I could probably get a free subscription, I pay for my own, that\u2019s how much I love it.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a few other nuggets to take with you on the fundraising trail:<\/p>\n The order matters<\/strong>: But there\u2019s no such thing as a standard order for your slides. Here\u2019s how to prioritize and think about the right order of slides for your<\/em> story<\/a>.<\/p>\n Nail your marketing story<\/strong>: Founders, \u201cwe haven\u2019t spent a penny on marketing\u201d isn\u2019t the brag you think it is<\/a>.<\/p>\n Think about your last impression<\/strong>: First impressions matter, but it\u2019s good to remember that you have an opportunity to leave a parting gift, too. Make it count<\/a>.<\/p>\n Robot DJ. Image Credits:<\/strong> Getty Images\/Zinkevych<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If you\u2019re the kind of person who marks their calendars for when the new iPhone gets announced, September 12<\/a> is it: The iPhone 15 is coming to pockets near you in just a couple of weeks. Maybe we\u2019ll finally<\/em> get USB-C charging, too<\/a>, after it was left off the iPhone 14 spec, much to my ever-lasting chagrin. Pixel fans have to wait an additional three weeks or so: Google\u2019s Pixel 8 event is set for October 4<\/a>.<\/p>\n Audeze makes high-end gaming and audio production headphones, and it seems like Sony\u2019s PlayStation division took note: Sony is buying Audeze<\/a>, the company confirmed to Brian this week. Sony is also in the news because it finally made the $200 PlayStation Portal in-home handheld official<\/a>, after a few false starts.<\/p>\n Sure, you can open up our gadgets<\/strong>: Brian reports that Apple lends support to California\u2019s Right to Repair bill<\/a>, penning a letter to California state senator Susan Talamantes Eggman, including \u201cApple supports California\u2019s Right to Repair Act so all Californians have even greater access to repairs while also protecting their safety, security, and privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n Welcome to retirement \u2014 here\u2019s your companion robot<\/strong>: ElliQ is a desktop home robot designed to serve as a kind of robotic companion for elderly users. The company behind the friendly-looking companion just raised another $25 million in funding<\/a>.<\/p>\n Walmart succeeding where Amazon fails<\/strong>: Amazon continues to stumble with its drone delivery attempts, so no doubt Walmart is smugly doing a little victory dance as it adds Wing drone deliveries to some Superstores this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n Another Indian unicorn<\/strong>: Manish reports that Zepto becomes India\u2019s first 2023 unicorn with $200 million fresh funding<\/a>.<\/p>\n Moar Face Hugging dollars<\/strong>: Trust me, that headline is weird to everyone. Nonetheless, Hugging Face raises $235 million from investors<\/a>, including Salesforce and Nvidia.<\/p>\n Set your alarm, we\u2019re going on a trip<\/strong>: Flight prices fluctuate throughout the day and week, and Google Flights will now tell you when it\u2019s the cheapest time to book<\/a>.<\/p>\n Join 10,000 startup leaders in San Francisco at TechCrunch Disrupt on September 19\u201321. Last-minute passes are still available. Save 15% with code STARTUPS. Register now<\/strong><\/a>!<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nRoll on up! Roll on up!<\/h2>\n
Let\u2019s talk fundraising<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nHardware\u2019s stepping back into the limelight<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nTop 3 reads on TechCrunch this week<\/h2>\n
Grab your pass to TC Disrupt 2023<\/h2>\n