Codeless MVP strategy, hiring under supervision, A/B development testing • TechCrunch

Americans will spend nearly $20 billion on pizza delivery by 2021.

Most of us can bake at home, but speed and convenience are powerful motivators at dinnertime.

The potential of AI tools like ChatGPT poses a similar problem – should companies license large language models without modifications, or should they customize them and pay very high usage fees?

“While construction looks very attractive in the long term, it requires leadership with a strong appetite for risk in the long term,” writes ML Engineer Tanmay Chopra.

Full TechCrunch+ articles are available to members only.
Use discount code TCP PLUS ROUNDUP Save 20% on a one- or two-year subscription.

In a comprehensive article weighing development costs and technical liabilities for marketing, Chopra encourages readers to consider factors such as product protection and risk before deciding to build or buy.

Since most startups aren’t AI businesses, his post reviews “mid-level approaches” such as rapid engineering, closed-source estimation, and building on open-source solutions.

“If you want to be an AI business, work towards that over time: cleanly store data, start building an ML team, and identify monetizable use cases,” he advises.

Thanks so much for reading TC+ this week!

Walter Thompson
Editorial Manager, TechCrunch+
@your main actor

4 practical steps to turn your prototype into an MVP using no-code

Forget about dogs: No-code development tools can be a non-technical founder’s best friend.

Building a small viable product requires engineering and design skills. Now, Bootstrap founders can iterate without developers to reduce costs and extend their runway.

“Rather than trying to design a perfect and complete MVP release all at once, try to deliver value as quickly as possible and continuously improve your prototype,” advises Catherine Kostereva, CEO and Managing Partner of Creatio.

She shares four strategies for turning prototypes into useful products with no-code:

• Adopt a daily delivery approach.
• Correct spell and decay.
• Manage and resolve dependencies carefully.
• Invest in continuous deployment automation.

Teach Yourself Growth Marketing: How to Perform Growth Testing with A/B Testing

Image Credits: Science photo library (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images

Despite myth, sharks don’t need to swim to keep breathing. Beginners, on the other hand, are not so lucky.

If driving growth is a priority, companies should conduct a series of A/B tests to refine marketing messages and make their product pipeline more relevant to customer needs.

In part three of his five-article series Growth Marketing Fundamentals, Jonathan Martinez explains how to properly administer A/B tests, identify statistical significance when evaluating data, and conduct experiments that maximize reach and impact.

Startups should expect more scrutiny from VCs on their hiring plans

Image Credits: erhui1979 / Getty Images

Now that investors are exercising more caution, early-stage hiring plans are being scrutinized more, reports Rebecca Skutack.

“It’s not ‘don’t hire’ — why do we have to double-click now,” said Angela Lee, a professor at Columbia Business School.

“Why do you need X number of million dollars? Why do you need a Chief Data Scientist and Architect? “

Dear Sophie: How do I convert L-1B to H-1B through the lottery?

Image Credits: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch

Dear Sophie,

I moved from Chile on an L-1B visa and am working in Seattle.

Can I convert my L-1B visa to H-1B with a different company? My understanding is that L visas are limited to working with the issuing company.

– Attractive chili

Pitch Deck Teardown: Orange’s $2.5M Seed Deck

Image Credits: Orange battery charger (Opens in a new window)

EV charging company Orange has raised $2.5 million in seed funding to advance its plan to build a charging network for multi-unit properties, and the founders shared their winning pitch deck with TechCrunch+.

• Cover slide
• mission slide
• Problem slide
• Macroeconomic Market Slide (“Why Now?”)
• Market size slide
• The solution slider
• Value proposition slide
• Product technology spec slide
• Product slide
• Competitive landscape slide
• Competitive advantage slide
• Business model slide
• Cash flow slide
• Go to the market slide
• Group slide
• Counselors slipped
• “The question” slide
• Contact slide
• Appendices cover slide
• Appendix I: Product Shipment Photos
• Appendix II: 3-year financial projections
• Appendix III: Head Count Slide
• Appendix IV: Sources and References