In the past, aspiring journalists moved to New York, actors traveled to Hollywood, and brilliant tech founders moved to the Bay Area to attract capital and talent.
But San Francisco is not the center of the startup universe, and it won’t be for a while.
Cities like Boulder, Detroit, and Austin had tech ecosystems long before the pandemic forced VCs to start booming, and social media has leveled the playing field when it comes to networking and PR.
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As Elizabeth Yin, co-founder and general partner of Hustle Fund, reviewed our own analysis of disruption in TechCrunch last week, we noticed two years ago.
“Looking at my portfolio, my companies that are active on Twitter have an easier time raising money because investors feel they know them.”
Correspondent Dominique Madori Davis shares a conversation with Yin, Mike Assem (founding partner of M25) and Accel partner Rich Wong, offering tips for startup founders who don’t live in the 415 area code, and about “emerging markets on their radar.”
If you’re interested in the full discussion, there’s a link to a video at the end of the article. Stay tuned for more announcements from TC Disrupt in the coming days.
Thank you for reading
Walter Thompson
Editorial Manager, TechCrunch+
@your main actor
5 tips to get started in the crowded web3 game market
Image Credits: Chelsea Sampson (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images
Every online product needs some network effect, but gaming is unique: there’s no way to build monetized products without a large, loyal and enthusiastic customer base.
Play-to-play (P2E) is particularly vulnerable to this problem, which is why “building a successful game in the long term means developing monetization strategies that are marketable,” says Corey Wilton, co-founder and CEO. CEO of Mirai Labs, the game studio behind Pegasi.
In this P2E Founders Primer, Wilton shares tips on how to approach investors, explains why tokens are not a reliable fundraising vehicle, and discusses the recent “Monetization of Web 2.0.”
A preliminary checklist for technical due diligence for beginners
Image Credits: Pixel image (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images
On Tuesday, Matt Van Italie, founder and CEO of Codebase Analytics, shared a guest post for founding teams looking to start technical due diligence before an investment or acquisition.
On Wednesday, senior managers tasked with helping C-level executives and VCs follow up on a detailed checklist of “Is the codebase secure enough for investment?”
- Product road map
- Code quality
- Code, network and information security
- Enrollment of intellectual creativity
- Development process
- Engineering team contributions
- DevOps
Pitch Deck Teardown: Palau Project’s $125K Pre-Seed Deck
Image Credits: The Palau Project (Opens in a new window)
Fundraising comes in many forms, but since early seed founders often solicit money from family and friends to validate their idea, it can be emotionally charged.
To raise money for the Palau Project, which allows consumers to discover the environmental impact and nutritional benefits of packaged foods, founder Jerome Klottens has put together a 22-slide deck with a goal of $500,000.
In the end, the group raised just $125,000.
Dear Sophie: How can early-stage startups improve their chances of getting H-1Bs?
Image Credits: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch
Dear Sophie,
We have an early-stage biotech startup in private.
Are we eligible to claim a co-founder in the lottery for H-1B on STEM OPT? Is it worth it or are there better options?
– Budding Biotech
3 VCs explain how founders can stand out when planting
Image Credits: Kelly Sullivan (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images
There is much wisdom in Corny’s inspirational writing. For example, this quote from historian and philosopher Will Durant:
We are the ones who do it over and over again. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
A great pitch requires more than aesthetics and storytelling skills: Investors expect founders to understand their market and competitors and help them prepare before the meeting begins.
Jomayra Herrera, partner at Rich Capital, says, “I generally recommend the teaser version of the deck, with enough information and understanding of where you are in terms of your company’s journey.”
“Just enough information so that we can come prepared to the meeting.”
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 bringing their capital-intensive products to market.
“But what happens when the money suddenly dries up?” asked Omar Khalil, a partner at Sante Ventures. he asked.
In a guest post for TC+, he shares five strategies for biotech startups trying to stay warm during the winter.
It is still too early to tell if this is a short-term correction or a new normal for the foreseeable future.
