The Long-Term Stock Exchange raises $50 million in new fundingThe Long-Term Stock Exchange has raised $50 million in Series B funding led by Founders Fund, with new investors joining existing ones like Andreessen Horowitz, Obvious Ventures, and Initialized Capital. Why it matters: Silicon Valley's big tech "startups" have increasingly delayed going public, in part because of the pressures of quarterly performance they must explain to stockholders. The LTSE, a brainchild of "Lean Startup" author Eric Ries, seeks to build a stock exchange without these traditional short-term pressures. [ Axios ] How San Francisco billionaire Tom Steyer, the richest Democratic candidate, spends his moneyTom Steyer does everything really big. That is one inescapable conclusion to be found in 10 years of tax returns released by the San Francisco billionaire and 2020 Democratic candidate on Thursday, which offer a revealing window into how the wealthiest Americans spend their money. That wealth has allowed Steyer to accumulate enormous political and philanthropic power — the very type of power that’s come under more scrutiny than ever in Democratic politics. [ Vox ] Lord & Taylor Will Be Sold to Le Tote, a Clothing Rental Start-UpThe clothing rental craze is coming for the struggling department store. Hudson’s Bay said on Wednesday that Lord & Taylor, the beleaguered department store chain founded in 1826, would be acquired by Le Tote, a seven-year-old clothing rental start-up. In an unusual deal, Hudson’s Bay, the chain’s parent company, will continue to own Lord & Taylor’s real estate and cover Le Tote’s rent at those properties for three years. [ NY Times ] Latin America’s Kaszek Ventures Closes on $600M Funds, Underscoring Region’s Growing AppealKaszek Ventures has closed on two funds totaling $600 million to continue, and ramp up, its investing in Latin American startups, TechCrunch reported this morning. The funds marks the eight-year-old firm’s fourth and fifth, according to its Crunchbase profile, and combined are triple the amount of the $200 million fund it last closed in July 2017. Kaszek raised its first fund in September 2011. That totaled $95 million and was backed by Sequoia Capital. The firm then closed a $135 million fund in 2014. Kaszek, which is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina and has offices in Sao Paulo, Brazil and Mexico City, gets its name from a combination of its co-founders Hernan Kazah and Nicolas Szekasy. [ Crunchbase ] How This Unconventional Oxford Startup Plans To Win The Fusion Energy RaceFusion energy startup First Light Fusion is working towards demonstrating "first fusion" before the end of the year, in their Oxford-based laboratory. If they succeed, they join only a few companies and research groups on the path to demonstrating "gain," where the energy created outstrips the energy required to start the reaction, which they hope to do by 2024. [ Forbes ] From Instant Pot to Instagram: Critical Lessons in Startup Community BuildingA thriving, connected community of passionate users is on nearly every early-stage founder’s wishlist. It can serve as a shorthand that their startup has signs of product/market fit, generate a word-of-mouth viral growth loop, and help carve out a brand that’s known for deep ties and offline connections. [ Firstround ] Anaplan Buys Predictive Analytics Startup MintigoNew York-listed business performance management company Anaplan, Inc. has agreed to buy Israeli predictive analytics company Mintigo Inc., one person familiar with the matter told Calcalist on condition of anonymity. Financial news outlet The Fly first reported on the deal on Tuesday, saying that Anaplan announced the deal during its earnings conference call. [ Calcalistech ] India’s Vedantu raises $42M to expand its live and interactive online tutoring platformIn recent years, investors in Silicon Valley and beyond have been pumping more cash than ever into the sci-fi idea of self-driving cars. But modern companies like Tesla and Google are not pioneers of the autonomous vehicle. Rather, they are advancing an 80-year-old prototype. Which US companies had the biggest valuation jumps in 2019?Valuation step-ups in the private market continue to be one of the crucial indicators in evaluating the overall health of the venture landscape, especially as companies raise bigger and bigger rounds and strive to meet investor expectations. In 2Q, VC-backed companies in the US pulled in more than $25 billion for the sixth consecutive quarter, and many of those rounds came with lofty valuation gains. [ Crunchbase ] Koru Kids raises £10M Series A for its childcare platformKoru Kids, the London-based startup that helps you find and manage childcare, has raised £10 million in new funding to scale its platform. The Series A round is led by Atomico, with Atomico partner Niall Wass joining the company’s board. Also participating are previous investors AlbionVC, Forward Partners, Samos, JamJar, Rocket Internet’s Global Founders Capital and 7Percent. It brings the total amount raised by Koru Kids to £14.1 million. [ Tech Crunch ] A startup founder’s guide to the 6 things you need to do to bootstrapNearly two years ago, I wrote a feature highlighting three male immigrant entrepreneurs sharing their challenges starting companies in the U.S. I thoroughly enjoyed researching and writing that article so I wanted to revisit the topic. This time I’ve focused on three female immigrant startup founders. Their stories are profound. [ Startup Daily ] The Gender Gap in VC Funding Is Even Worse for These WomenWhen Daniela Perdomo went out this year to raise another round of funding for GoTenna, her mobile communications startup, an investor told her that he assumed the chief executive officer of a tech company would look more like Reid Hoffman. [ Vox ] Tel Aviv Venture Capital Firm F2 Capital Raises Second, $75 Million FundIsrael-based venture capital firm F2 Capital Ltd. has raised $55 million in commitments for its new fund, F2 Capital 2, according to a Monday filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). F2 capped the fund at $75 million, according to the filing. [ Calcalistech ] Make Friends With the Monster Chewing on Your Leg, and Other Tips for Surviving StartupsIn September 2015, Molly Graham shared a new article with her Twitter followers, writing that it contained “All the things I know about scaling and how to try to do it well.” As it turned out, this collection of lessons from her experiences building teams at Google, Facebook, and Quip would strike a chord in the startup world. Her mandate charging readers to give away their Legos is still one of the Review’s most widely read articles — and it’s become a timeless, oft-cited metaphor for how to thrive inside of a rapidly scaling company. [ Firstround ] 60 Company Builders Share Their Advice for Startup FoundersEach week in our Seven Questions newsletter, a member of the Sequoia community shares hard-won advice for founders — from the lessons they lean on daily to moments they realized they were wrong (and how they got back on track). Read on for the answers to a question on every entrepreneur’s mind: “What one piece of advice would you give someone starting a company?” andsign up here to get Seven Questions delivered to your inbox. The growth rate needed to exit/IPOWe looked at the revenue growth of 146 tech companies prior to going public to see how fast you need to grow prior to IPO/exit. Data is below. The “S1 filing” is the year the company filed their S1; an S1 is like a prospectus every company must file prior to going public and it contains full year financials. Observations are below. SaaS. Software companies posted median revenue of $106mm in the year prior to going public with 55% median growth. The range of growth was wide: the minimum level of growth was 6% by Survey Monkey, while the highest growth rate was Horton Works at 587%. The median level of revenue needed to go public has increased over time. For companies that filed their S1 in 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015, median revenue levels each year were $219mm, $193mm, $134mm, $128mm, and $129mm. Alternatively, the median levels in 2012, 2011, and 2010 were only $87mm, $81mm, and $45mm. The bar to go public/exit is rising. [ Linkedin ] Dalton Caldwell - All About PivotingYC Partner and Head of Admissions Dalton Caldwell talks about pivoting for startups and shares his advice on when and how founders should consider it for their companies. Tim Brady - Building CultureYC Partner Tim Brady covers the importance of building a strong and coherent culture early and shares six things that you can do now to help you create a solid foundation for your startup. Curated by Venture Pulse Team. Find us on : [ Venturepulse.org, CrunchBase, AngelList ] |