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Hello, crunchers!
Our favorite reading was today. ConnieA piece of advice for startups with the government as their target customer.
In honor of Black History Month, we want to share some good news with BIPOC founders as additional funding is available: Dominic Madori Nex reports that Cubed has launched a $40 million HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) Founders Fund. Meanwhile, Natasha M Kapor Capital’s new hires are raising a $50 million venture fund dedicated to social impact innovators and innovators of color. – Christine And came
TechCrunch’s Top 3
- Young and vulnerable: Carly Hackers are busy exploiting a two-year-old VMware flaw to launch a large-scale ransomware campaign targeting thousands of organizations around the world, it reports. More than 3,200 VMware servers were affected, she wrote.
- Magic is in me.: Hey, GitHub Copilot, the code-generating platform magic is hot on your tail. Kyle Magic, which has secured $23 million in new funding led by Alphabet CapitalG, “will significantly reduce software development time and financing costs,” according to co-founder and CEO Eric Steinberger.
- Returning the health industry to a good workforceLabor marketplace ShiftMed says higher pay for travel nurses over the past three years has eaten into hospital budgets as burned-out nurses leave the industry. Christine Reports. It has received $200 million to address the gap in that nursing shortage.
Startups and VCs
Today is the return of the veteran founders’ day, it appears. Natasha L Spotify co-founder Daniel Eck is back with Neko for another spin on preventive healthcare. Sarah Zenli founder Antoine Martin writes that Amo has launched a new social app.
Good news for chickens and vegans: Rebel, a startup striving to build a “better chicken,” has raised at least $20 million in new funding. Harry Reports. The Seattle-based, venture-backed company calls its production technology “the most advanced plant-based meat production system on the planet.”
not enough? So, let’s tear down the fairy-trees and see what falls:
- J/K, can we have our money back please?: Jacqueline FTX reports that it wants politicians and PACs to return their contributions.
- Self driving in yikes-ville: EV SPAC Canoo agrees to sell $52 million in stock to stay afloat Kirsten Reports.
- Triple threat, testedSimple HealthKit is taking health equity to home diagnostics and treatment. Christine Reports.
- Up, up and upVoyager Space continues to grow at $80 million for private space station Starlab. Arya.
- For everyone: Roman As reported, French VC fund Ovni Capital will secure a new €50 million fund and support startups with international ambitions.
Provide feedback to applicants (good or bad) to improve the quality of technical interviews.
Image Credits: we are (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images
“White coat syndrome” occurs when patients are diagnosed with artificially high blood pressure because they worry about visiting the doctor.
Technical interviews are the same: In a study that collected data from 1,000 people who took 100,000 interviews, a quarter of the candidates who passed initially thought they would be rejected.
“Our research shows that 43% of all candidates consistently underperform their technical interview,” said Allen Lerner, founder and CEO of Interview.
In a general TC+ post, she offers a playbook for gathering and sharing “honest (and sometimes brutal) feedback” and asking questions that create objective metrics after an interview.
“Only about 25% of candidates perform consistently from interview to interview,” Lerner writes. “This means that the candidate you rejected today may be the person you want to hire in six months.”
Three more from the TC+ team:
TechCrunch+ Our membership program helps founders and startup teams stay ahead of the pack. You can register here.. Use code “DC” for 15% off annual subscription!
Big Tech Inc.
PayU’s LazyPay has become the latest victim in the war between IT services and apps in India. Manish He wrote. But if you think about it, it’s for good reason: The country is cracking down on the misuse of consumer data. Speaking of blocked apps, Manish It also writes that India is blocking more than 230 betting and lending apps, some of which have ties to China.
Meanwhile, bad news, it’s Dell’s turn. The company said it would lay off about 5 percent of its workforce globally. Ron Reports. And if you have this on your BINGO card, you can mark “The move was an unfortunate result of the current economic climate.”
More news to follow, so grab a drink and a snack and let’s dive in:
