The Decentralized StartupsIf someone were to ask what the most successful startups of this decade are, the answer would likely be Snap (market cap $22bn). Uber and Airbnb might also be on the list although those companies were launched in the prior decade (2009 and 2008 respectively). But what might be missed is the massive success of the decentralized startups, most notably Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) this decade. [ Fred Wilson, AVC ] MuleSoft latest tech unicorn IPO, VC's big winners - Lightspeed Venture Partners, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners and New Enterprise AssociatesEnterprise tech company MuleSoft made its debut on the public markets Friday, pricing shares at $17—above its announced range of $14 to $16—and raising $221 million in the process. The stock opened for public trading at $24.40, up 44%, and closed Friday at $24.75, giving the company a market cap of just over $3 billion. VC's Big WinnersMuleSoft had raised about $260 million in equity funding, which includes a $128 million round in 2015 at a valuation of $1.5
billion. VC backers include Lightspeed Venture Partners (17% pre-IPO stake), Hummer Winblad Venture Partners (15.7%) and New Enterprise Associates (14.2%). Your Startup Doesn't Have a Morale Problem. It Has a CEO ProblemRecent troubles at New York startup Thinx highlight the need for untested CEOs to get help sooner than later. Running a fast-growing--and highly public startup--is nothing if not thrilling. And while you may love being the center of attention, it's no fun when the spotlight gets too hot. Just ask Miki Agrawal, the rock-star entrepreneur and co-founder of Thinx, a feminine hygiene products company in New York City. Shortly after announcing her departure as CEO, a new investigation by Racked uncovered a range of deficiencies at the company, from weak maternity leave programs and poor wages to hostile negotiations. Citing unnamed current and former employees, the report describes a dysfunctional workplace that drove nearly a third of its 35-person staff to leave Thinx since January. The company, which is already in the throes of searching for a "professional CEO," says it plans to investigate the allegations highlighted in the report. "We are actively working to address and improve our corporate culture," a Thinx spokesperson told Inc. "We look forward to updating the community as new leaders and corporate processes are put into place." [ Inc. ] Fundraising Secrets from “the Crowdsourceress” Alex DalyInvesting in the Retail of the FutureSapna Shah, Angel Investor, talks to AngelStory about fundraising tips, learning from startup failures, and how to spot trends in the startup eco-system. Sapna Shah, Angel Investor with Red Giraffe Advisors, bravely states what many people are thinking but don’t have the courage to admit. And Sapna learned this through her own entrepreneurial experience. Since becoming an investor 3 years ago, she’s invested in 12 companies and done two follow on investments, almost all in the retail tech, fashion tech, and e-commerce segments. This Biotech CEO Doesn’t Have A PhD, But He Did Leave School Under A CloudGabriel Otte has been identified on many websites, including his own company’s, as having a PhD. But he does not. The CEO of Freenome, which is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, left a PhD program at the University of Pennsylvania, where a professor raised questions about some of his research, BuzzFeed News has learned. [ BuzzFeed ] Uber president Jeff Jones is quitting as management turmoil at the ride-hailing company deepensHe is leaving after apparently deciding the current controversies are too much to handle. Jeff Jones, the president of Uber, is quitting the car-hailing company after less than a year. The move by the No. 2 exec, said sources, is directly related to the multiple controversies there, including explosive charges of sexism and sexual harassment. Jones, said sources, determined that this was not the situation he signed on for, especially after Uber CEO Travis Kalanick announced a search for a new COO to help him right the very troubled ship. [ Re/code ] Why this Google engineer gave up on Silicon Valley and moved back to IndiaBy all accounts, including her own, Nupur Dave had the dream life. A native of India, she had spent the past decade living in the US. She was working at Google at the perk-filled "Googleplex" headquarters in Mountain View, California, at a job she loved. And she had obtained a permanent residence, her green card. She was a manager for a part of Google called Network Content Distribution, the network tech that makes Google run faster (in geek speak: it's Google's homegrown alternative to a content distribution network like Akamai). [ Business Insider ] Bra startup True&Co sold to Calvin Klein owner PVHTrue&Co., an e-commerce company founded with the mission of disrupting the lingerie industry by creating a new business model for selling bras and other undergarments, has been sold. Phillips Van Heusen (PVH), owner of Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Izod, among other iconic brands, has acquired the startup and plans to use it to move deeper into online sales and big data analytics connected to that. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but sources with direct knowledge of the deal said investors mostly got their money back, but nothing more. The deal value was in the “tens of millions.” True&Co had raised a reported $13 million from a strong list of investors that included Crosslink Capital, Cowboy Ventures, First Round, SoftBank, SoftTech VC and the VTF (fomerly the Vegas Tech Fund). [ Tech Crunch ] EVAN SPIEGEL HAS LOST $2 BILLION SINCE SNAPCHAT’S POST-I.P.O. PEAKThough it skyrocketed in the days immediately after its public market debut earlier this month, Snapchat parent company Snap has seen its stock slide in recent weeks, as investor euphoria in the disappearing photo- and video-messaging company has cooled. While early investors raced to pick up shares of Snap and sent its stock surging 44 percent on the day of its I.P.O., multiple analysts have since assigned Snap a “sell” rating. Nearly two weeks later, Snap’s stock is still falling: on Friday, Snap’s stock briefly fell below $19 per share—just about $2 higher than its I.P.O. price. [ Vanity Fair ] |