How students are founding, funding and joining startupsThere has never been a better time to start, join or fund a startup as a student. Young founders who want to start companies while still in school have an increasing number of resources to tap into that exist just for them. Students that want to learn how to build companies can apply to an increasing number of fast-track programs that allow them to gain valuable early stage operating experience. The energy around student entrepreneurship today is incredible. I’ve been immersed in this community as an investor and adviser for some time now, and to say the least, I’m continually blown away by what the next generation of innovators are dreaming up (from Analytical Space’s global data relay service for satellites to Brooklinen’s reinvention of the luxury bed). [ Tech Crunch ] The science and data behind the subscription box crazeThe subscription box service may someday become an icon of 2010s nostalgia, much like what America Online was to the '90s and gelatin-enveloped tuna was to the '60s. Debt Financing Firm Kreos Launches $800 Million Debt Credit FundLondon-headquartered debt financing firm Kreos Capital is launching a 700 million euros (approximately $800 million) growth debt fund for European and Israeli companies, Kreos announced Wednesday. Kreos’ sixth fund has already made its first financing deals in January and intends to commit between 250 million euros and 300 million euros (approximately $286 million and $343 million) annually, over the next few years. The new fund will give out loans of up to 50 million euros (approximately $57 million) per deal. [ Calcalis Tech ] The Mastermind author Evan Ratliff explains how tech enabled a drug kingpinOn the latest episode of Recode Decode, journalist and Pop-Up Magazine co-founder Evan Ratliff spoke with Recode’s Kara Swisher about his new book, The Mastermind: Drugs, Empire, Murder, Betrayal. It traces the rise and fall of Paul Le Roux, a programmer-turned-drug kingpin who used his tech savvy to avoid capture for many years. Early in his illegal exploits from his base in the Philippines, he created a network of “rogue pharmacies” for distributing painkillers to buyers, all purchased online as easily as an Amazon transaction. [ Re/Code ] The most powerful person in Silicon ValleyIt’s a bright September morning in San Carlos, California, and Masayoshi Son, chairman of SoftBank, is throwing me off schedule. I’d come, as he had, to meet with the people he’s tapped to run the Vision Fund, his $100 billion bet on the future of, well, everything. After almost four decades of building SoftBank into a telecom conglomerate, Son, an inveterate dealmaker, launched this unprecedented venture two years ago to back startups that he believes are driving a new wave of digital upheaval. He has staked everything on its success–his company, his reputation, his fortune. We’d both arrived with the same basic question: Where is this massive vehicle heading? But because I wasn’t the one footing the 12-figure allowance, I understood that I’d be the one to wait. [ Fast Company ] Spotify has bought two podcast startups and it wants to buy moreSpotify is a streaming music company that wants to become a podcast company, too. Not only has Spotify acquired Gimlet Media, a podcast producer and network, for around $230 million — a deal Recode told you about last week — but it has also bought Anchor, a startup that makes it easier for people to record and distribute their own podcasts. [ Recode ] Calm Raises $88M Series B To Become Mental Health’s First UnicornMeditation was once seen as a new-age practice done mostly by yogis. But sometime over the past few years, meditation became more mainstream. Many would say that’s in large part thanks to companies like Calm. [ Crunchbase ] Canadian venture capital firm Framework Venture Partners launches $115 million AI startup fundCanada’s artificial intelligence (AI) startup scene is certifiably red hot. Companies like Element AI, Rubikloud, Interset, Mnubo, and Maropost have collectively raised close to $200 million alone, and in the second quarter of 2018, Canadian AI startups attracted $169 million (CAD $222 million) in venture capital financing — up 104 percent year over year. That’s coming off of a record 2017, when venture investment hit $400 million. [ Venture Beat ] Transitioning from Academia to Data Science - Jake Klamka with Kevin HaleJake Klamka founded Insight. Insight provides intensive 7 week professional training fellowships in fields such as data science and data engineering. Insight was in the YC Winter 2011 batch. Tink, the European open banking platform, scores €56M in new fundingTink, the European open banking platform headquartered in Sweden, has deposited €56 million in new funding. Leading the round is U.S.-based Insight Venture Partners. Existing backers Sunstone, SEB, Nordea Ventures and ABN AMRO Digital Impact Fund also participated. [ Tech Crunch ] Investec raises $45 million to reach first close of Emerging Companies Fund 1After announcing its launch last November, investment bank Investec has raised $45 million to reach the first close of its Emerging Companies Fund 1 (IEC Fund). Investec is the largest investor in the fund, with additional capital raised from high net worth individuals and family offices. Aimed at companies worth between $10 million and $200 million, the fund will invest between $3 million and $5 million in each business. The fund is managed by Hein Vogel and David Phillips, who developed and launched the Investec Emerging Companies division in 2016. [ Startup Daily ] Instacart CEO apologizes for tipping debacleOn the heels of a recently filed class-action lawsuit over wages and tips, as well as drivers and shoppers speaking out about Instacart’s alleged practices of subsidizing wages with tips, Instacart is taking steps to ensure tips are counted separately from what Instacart pays shoppers. [ Tech Crunch ] Delivery Hero grows revenues to €687 million, mostly thanks to Middle EastGerman-founded online food delivery company Delivery Hero has published its financial results in 2018, reporting revenue growth of 64.6 percent year-on-year to €687 million. The company also reported €105 million in revenues from its operation in Germany, which was recently purchased by Takeaway.com for €930 million, pending final approval. [ tech.eu ] E900 Justin Kan of Justin.tv, Twitch, Atrium: live-stream video pioneer, YC, failures & successesJustin Kan, co-founder of Justin.tv, Twitch & Atrium, shares lessons pioneering live-stream video, early days at YC, learning from failure, selling as a superpower, strengthening core & building startups from the joy of exploration Roofr Raises $3M To Make Roofing TransparentSometimes high-tech meets the physical world in a particularly tactile manner. That’s the case with Roofr, which fuses sky-high photography and your roof. The Y Combinator-backed startup has raised $3 million in new seed funding to make the roofing industry more transparent for clients and contractors. The startup uses aerial imaging to give customers quick estimates online and connects them with local roofing contractors in their area. Crosslink Capital led the company’s seed round, which brings Roofr’s total funding to $4 million. [ Crunch Base ] The Most Overvalued Startup in the World?WeWork is the 4th highest valued startup in the world but it may not survive the next recession. This includes a paid sponsored promotion which had no part in the writing, editing, or production of the rest of the video. E899: News Roundtable! Zach Coelius, Dave Mathews: FaceTime, Titan, flying cars, Facebook, DeadpoolNews Roundtable! Zach Coelius & Gadget Guy Dave Mathews: Apple's self-driving Project Titan is dropped, FaceTime eavesdrops, predictions for flying cars, latest Facebook scandals, the largest privacy breach ever (again!), journalism lay-offs, & the return of Deadpool (fallen startup of the week) “I’m moving out of state”: How some Uber and Airbnb employees are trying to avoid California income tax2019 will create a lot of millionaires in Silicon Valley. It also means it’ll create a lot of ex-Californians. The highest-taxed state in the country has long motivated the wealthy to look for cheaper states in which to park their fortunes. But the most appealing time to flee is now, just before a historic amount of new money is created in a year expected to be the biggest IPO bonanza since 2000, slated to feature highly valued startups like Uber, Airbnb, Lyft, Slack, Peloton, and Pinterest. [ Re/Code ] $3 billion in venture capital in Australia in 2018 and growingExpected returns from capital funding investments is increasing, particularly for Venture Capital (VC) and Angel Investor groups. That's the takeaway from a report by William Buck Chartered Accountants and Advisors. Mark Calvetti, Director of Corporate Advisory, says “Our experience shows that the expected rate of return from capital funding investments by Venture Capital groups in 2018 were between 30% to 50%. Whilst the expected rate of return by angel investors was even higher at 35-65%." [ Fin Feed ] Gig economy tech companies like Instacart have been accused of tip theft. But the problem is bigger than that.Last week, Instacart — the most popular app for delivering groceries to people’s houses in the US — received widespread criticism for allegedly denying their shoppers their hard-earned tip money. It started when one Instacart shopper shared a receipt that seemed to show that the company was eating into his $10 tip and using that money to help subsidize the worker’s pay, netting him only 80 cents in base pay on a delivery. First, Instacart denied any accusations of tip theft, calling that shopper’s situation an “edge case” and a “glitch” in the company’s new pay model, which it says is designed to reward shoppers more fairly. [ Re/code ] Top 10 Learnings from the Redpoint Free Trial SurveyAt Saastr yesterday, I presented the top 10 learnings from the Redpoint Free Trial Survey that we distributed in October. The data confirmed many rules of thumb but also raised some interesting new questions about the best way to use trials. When we distributed the survey, we never would have expected the response. About 600 companies submitted data. They span single digit ARR businesses to publicly traded SaaS companies. These businesses sell at every price point and sell to every operational buyer. From product to sales, from legal to marketing. We processed the data with 1000+ lines of R code to parse the insights from the data and test for statistical significance. [ Tomasz Tunguz ] Healthcare Venture Capital Funding Is Off To A Record Start In 2019Healthcare startups raised $2.61 billion in venture capital fundraising last month, according to analysis of deals conducted by VC database Pitchbook for Forbes. That’s up 37% from the $1.9 billion raised during the same month last year, and it’s the highest amount raised in January on record since Pitchbook began tracking funding in 2008. (The next highest was in January 2015 when startups raised $2.16 billion.) [ Forbes ] Eclipse Ventures in Palo Alto just added two more big wheels as general partnersMike McNamara retired from the electronics manufacturing giant and services business Flex last December after 12 years as CEO of the company — and another 12 working his way up to the corner office — but he didn’t say at the time where he was headed. As it turns out, McNamara had decided to join Eclipse Ventures, a four-year-old, Palo Alto, Calif.-based firm led by Lior Susan, who’d previously founded LabIX, a hardware investment platform backed by Flex, when it was still called Flextronics. [ Tomasz Tunguz ] Transitioning from Academia to Data Science - Jake Klamka with Kevin HaleContinuing our series on what's next for education startups, in this a16z hallway conversation general partner Connie Chan talks with deal and research team operating partner Frank Chen about apps and services she's seen in China that might inspire entrepreneurs here building lifelong learning services. These Chinese apps are taking full advantage of the mobile form factor; experimenting with non-advertising revenue models; using machine learning to turbo-charge teachers in lower cost geographies; and much more. |