7 VCs give founders their best fundraising adviceIt's no secret that women secure a minute amount of venture capital funding compared to their male counterparts. In 2017, women-only founding teams raised just 2.2% of all VC in the US. SoulCycle Is Testing Non-Cycling ClassesWhen I first heard that SoulCycle had opened a new location in New York City that was quietly trying out a new menu of mat-based workout classes—that is, classes without bikes—I immediately wondered, why? The company had become a consumer sensationthanks to one thing only: its disruptive and original cycling classes. With the kind of brand awareness the company still enjoys from its core product, why try to get into the market for regular classes, with its vast sea of options and new entrants almost daily? [ Fortune ] Menlo Ventures is making its first real bet on crypto as Bitpay raises $40 millionVenture capital firms over the last year or so have wrestled with how forcefully to lean into investing in startups linked to cryptocurrencies:
Hanging Around Facebook's Lobby Helped These Founders Make $2 Million in 2 YearsWhat's the best way to build a successful B2B business when you're first starting out and have no track record? Start with small companies and easy "wins" and then work your way up to the big leagues, right? Jeremy Parker and Josh Orbach, co-founders of Swag.com decided to take the opposite approach, and they've proved that you can win faster by ignoring conventional wisdom and starting at the top--even when you don't have any contacts or relationships to help you get in the door. [ Inc. ] The Crypto Hedge-Fund Bubble Is Starting to DeflateThe reckoning is starting for crypto hedge funds. Demand and profits are drying up at many of the more than 150 funds that popped during last year’s spectacular surge in Bitcoin -- which brought cryptocurrencies to the attention of scores of institutional and individual investors. This year’s 50 percent plunge in the value of Bitcoin has many investors thinking twice. At about $7,000, the currency is at its lowest since November. [ Bloomberg ] Exploding rockets, the Great Man Theory and other reasons space is heating up againAs part of my recent article on the new privately-funded race for space—with $2 billion in VC capital invested in 2017, per PitchBook data, beating the previous seven years combined—I chatted with Tim Fernholz (pictured), space reporter at Quartz and author of the new book "Rocket Billionaires: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the New Space Race." [ Pitchbook ] Taxes are tricky for cryptocurrency investorsTax day is just two weeks away, but there are still a lot of unanswered questions for those who have gains (or losses) to report from investments in cryptocurrencies. Bottom line: The IRS hasn't issued any guidance besides a short memo in 2014, even through the global cryptocurrency market cap grew from around $18 billion to over $600 billion last year, according to CoinMarketCap. [ AXIOS ] Denver companies launch Pivot to Colorado campaign targeting Silicon Valley talentE20: "Angel": Ask an Angel! Runway, syndicates, advising, updates, due diligence, pro-rata, legalE20: "Angel" podcast: Ask an Angel! Jason Calacanis & Ed Roman answer questions on startup runway concerns, syndicate hit rates, advising best practices, founder updates, due diligence, pro-rata rights, investment legal structures & more Utah education technology unicorn Pluralsight files for IPOZuora Sets $9 To $11 Share Price For Its IPO Publishing blockchain startup, Po.et hires VP of engineeringHoney — the under-the-radar coupon startup — has held talks to raise around $100 million in a new investmentHannah King CEO of Woven Futures at Startup Grind TallahasseeHow Startup Parachute Health Is Bringing E-Commerce To Your CrutchesThe $5 billion South Korean start-up that's an Amazon killerSimona Abis: Man vs. Machine in Investment ManagementTelegram messenger service raises $1.7 billion from cryptocoin |