The 11 fastest US startups to a $2B valuation
A $2 billion valuation is plenty newsworthy on its own, but Uptake's $40 million financing last week caught our eye for a couple of reasons:
The Chicago-based company, which provides a predictive analysis SaaS platform for an array of industries, hit that post val in an amazingly short amount of time and having raised a relatively small amount of venture capital—about $90 million in total since its July 2014 founding.
[ PitchBook ]
Aaron Levie on Finding Your Inner Voice When the Outside Shrieks
Box turned fast growth into a unicorn-sized IPO, and the even more elusive post-IPO success. Things didn’t always look so good for the company, dogged by press & industry voices that questioned Aaron’s credentials & Box’s prospects. We dove into why it’s so easy to have the outside view of a company be at odds with what’s happening on the inside, how to know if you’re on the right path, and how to shape your culture to succeed when things get rough. [ The Startup Tapes ]
Startups, Software Development and the Art of Bicycle Maintenance
If you’re philosopher Lao-Tzu, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. But if you’re Edith Harbaugh, it starts with a celeste Bianchi road bike — and the voyage is 3,360 miles. It begins in the Pacific Northwest, hugs the Canadian border, traverses national parks, cuts through the Great Allegheny Passage and ends at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Such treks are laden with lessons, but Harbaugh didn’t expect how much her two-month, cross-country ride would inform how to build software and lead teams. [ First Round ]
Zenefits Is Laying Off Almost Half Its Employees
Roughly 430 employees will lose their jobs in Zenefits’ single largest round of cuts, showing how the embattled startup fell far short of its lofty expectations. Zenefits will lay off 45% of its employees in an effort to slash costs, according to an internal memo this morning that was obtained by BuzzFeed News, a stark acknowledgment by the embattled human resources startup that its onetime expectations for growth were vastly inflated. [ BuzzFeed ]
Airbnb Is in Talks to Acquire Canada’s Luxury Retreats
Airbnb Inc. is in talks to buy Montreal-based Luxury Retreats International Inc. to help it expand in high-end vacation rentals and travel services, people familiar with the matter said.
The Airbnb board of directors is expected to vote on approving the deal this week, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the terms have yet to be finalized. A sale is expected to fetch no more than $300 million in cash and stock, said one of the people.
[ Bloomberg ]
Women Startup Challenge comes to Europe with backing of Craig Newmark
A pitch competition highlighting companies with female founders is crossing the pond for the first time: the next Women Startup Challenge will be held in London on May 3 and open to companies anywhere in Europe. The prize: a cool €50,000. Plus other, unspecified “startup friendly services.”
Basically it’s a standard pitch-off situation. You get on stage, you present to a bunch of judges, they judge, the winner takes the cash and everyone goes out afterwards and has a good time. It’s a partnership with craigslist’s Craig Newmark. [ Tech Crunch ]
How to Build Momentum for Your Startup Idea
Two weeks ago I published The Startup Idea Matrix to help founders with the brainstorming part of the startup journey. I thought I’d take some time to write about what comes after you find an idea that inspires you — specifically, how to build momentum for your idea.
Over the past 7 years as founder and investor, I’ve met a lot of talented founders who were just getting started on big ideas. Some have gone on to build billion-dollar companies and others never even got started.
Kellyanne Conway Promotes Ivanka Trump Brand, Raising Ethics Concerns
Kellyanne Conway, one of President Trump’s top advisers, may have violated federal ethics rules on Thursday by urging people to buy fashion products marketed by Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, legal experts said.
“Go buy Ivanka’s stuff is what I would say,” Ms. Conway, whose title is counselor to the president, said in an interview with Fox News. “I’m going to give a free commercial here: Go buy it today everybody, you can find it online.” [ NY Times ]
Startup Perks Inspired By Children
VC JOBS :
Strategic Private Equity Fund at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, WA
Principal, Comcast Venture at Comcast, San Francisco, CA
Intern - Summer 2017 at PES Associate, Silicon Valley Bank, Menlo Park, CA
Director, Investments GE Ventures at GE Careers, remote, US,
Content Specialist at Minted, San Francisco, CA
VP Strategic Investments at Ericsson, Santa Clara, CA
Operations Internship at Founder Institute - Palo Alto, CA
Investment Analyst at Lockheed Martin, Sunnyvale, CA
Associate at Cleveland Clinic Ventures, Cleveland, OH
Analyst at Wilshire Associates Incorporated - Pittsburgh, PA
Associate, Comcast Ventures at Comcast, Los Angeles, CA
Asset Management Analyst at Jamestown Management Corporation, Atlanta, GA
Valuations Associate - Technology at Silicon Valley Bank, San Francisco, CA
