We are happy to launch this week's newsletter by sharing a new important project: the TipsClear list. This is a database of investors who are committed to carrying out initial checks and conducting start-up cycles to growth, based on the recommendations of the founders that we have received as well as the lessons learned from our own research.
Our goal is to quickly help the founders speak to investors who are serious about writing checks to them when they need it most. You can filter by vertical area, round size and location to find the best people for you. Today you will see 391 investors based on more than 1,200 recommendations in 23 main sectors. Since its launch on Tuesday, we have received 600 more recommendations and we are counting quickly, so we will be providing another big update next week.
My colleague Danny Crichton, who leads the project, has written a FAQ for people who want to know more about the methodology or how to submit a recommendation. For Extra Crunch subscribers, he also compiled a list of the 11 investors who received the most positive recommendations, and an explanator explaining why some investors get very good " NPS founder " scores.
Now stop reading this for a minute and check it out.
Brad Feld explains how to influence your chances of success
Connie Loizos met longtime VC Brad Feld of Foundry Group, who has a new book on startup ecosystems. Part of it is theoretical, as you can read in the full interview, but Feld links his points to more tactical advice. Here's a great example:
TC: Your new book is about complex systems. How do the founders balance the need to manage these complex systems with the fact that control of these complex systems sometimes escapes them?BF: The first step is to get rid of the notion that you can control systems and focus on what you can influence [because] in the context of what you can influence, which begins to become a place of concentration where you put your energy.
An example of this would be in the present moment. If you have existing investors and haven't asked your existing investors directly how much money they have set aside for future financing and what you need to do to get that money from them, you don't focus what you can influence. .
The worst thing your investor can do is say, "I'm not going to tell you." But if your investor is really on your side and wants to see you succeed, chances are your investor will say, "Okay, well, you know. . . 'There could be wishful thinking [talk] and [dollar] ranges and language without commitment, but you will have at least a frame of reference whether zero dollar, a little money or a lot of money. And you can start to understand, "Well, what should we do given this moment?
Edtech returns to school
Natasha Mascarenhas interviewed eight major edtech investors for Extra Crunch about the latest changes taking place in space, especially as its importance increased during the pandemic. "Investors differed on the sub-categories that benefited the most," she writes, "but it is clear that the pandemic has not raised the entire edtech space. One investor noted that the pandemic had made them even less interested in ISAs, while other venture capitalists emphasized the value of the financing instrument more than ever before. She also took a look at a wave of global acquisitions in the vertical sector.
A commitment to support international students
The Trump administration has given up on forcing international students to leave the country if their classes were online this week, shortly after being sued by some major universities and 17 state attorneys general. Following the push against most worker visas and other anti-immigration measures, everyone concerned expects more problems. To this end, TipsClear's resident legal expert in immigration, Sophie Alcorn, co-founded a new effort to support international students. Here are more details:
We are proud to announce the Community for Global Innovation (CFGI), a movement that centralizes how businesses and individuals around the world can stand in solidarity with international students and the belief that everyone deserves a chance to succeed. CFGI is a constellation of the best startups, VCs, professionals, non-profit organizations, international students and graduates. We are committed to supporting international students, creating awareness and effecting change.
Thanks to the platform, companies make the CFGI commitment to support international students: "If you are international, no problem. In our team, everyone has a chance. We have also teamed up with Welcoming America, a large American not-for-profit organization, to accept donations to make the United States more inclusive of immigrants and all residents. We are actively seeking the support of volunteers, corporate donors and community members such as the founders of international startups who know it is time to share their stories.
An immersive cat future
Podcasting, social audio and virtual reality combine in a potentially new trend, writes Lucas Matney for Extra Crunch this week. " While centered audio platforms are attracting investor interest, the founders of virtual reality are trying to make 3D audio the next evolution, presenting technology in a completely different way from voice chat platforms. 'today. While some of these efforts have been going on for some time, the fledgling platforms are much more interesting, as social efforts like Clubhouse are taking off and investors continue to nibble on audio startups. The best examples so far include High Fidelity and Teooh.
Around TipsClear
Ready, ready, network! CrunchMatch is now open for Early Stage 2020
Everything you might want to learn about fundraising will be covered at the early stage of TC
Marketing, public relations and branding, oh my God! TipsClear Early Stage goes down on July 21 and 22
Here is your chance to meet Sequoia partners at TC Early Stage
Register for next week's Pitchers & Pitches contest on 07/23
TipsClear talks about virtual events and event technology
Learn how to build a business that puts profits and users first, and VCs last, at Disrupt 2020
Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd disrupts 2020
Emily Heyward will teach you how to make your mark impressive at TC Early Stage
The whole week
US beat China on app store downloads for the first time since 2014 due to the impact of coronavirus
China Roundup: Tech Giants Take Position On Data Control From Beijing To Hong Kong
Legal clouds gather on US cloud services after CJEU decision
Smartphone deliveries to India cut in half in second quarter 2020
Equity Monday: India's digital economy draws attention, three funding cycles and profit season
Extension rounds help some startups play the offense during COVID-19
How Thor Fridriksson's Trivia Royale gained 2.5 million downloads in 3 weeks
Investors Seeking Chromium Startups
As businesses accelerate their digital transitions, employees detail a changed workplace
Unsurprising Wave of Video Focused Startups Trying to Improve Video Calls
#EquityPod
Hello and welcome to Equity, TipsClear's venture capital podcast, where we unveil the numbers behind the headlines. This week has been full of news of all kinds, but as we have recorded, Danny and Natasha "not Tash" Mascarenhas were still excluded from their Twitter accounts after a proletarian revolution on the social platform saw the class. Blue Checkmark in power forced into silence. It's not really what happened, but it sounds better than what really happened at Big Social. Anyway, Twitter accounts or not, the three of us got together to analyze a wave of news:- The new TipsClear list that Danny spent a long time compiling has arrived! It's live! You can find it here. Its good.
- And, if you want to know which VCs were even more celebrated by the founders, go here. (If you're upset that you haven't made a list, please email Danny, not the show!)
- By the way, Google is investing billions in Reliance Jio after everyone else in the world has done the same. Google buys slightly less Indian telecommunications than the search giant, but in between, it makes more than $ 10 billion in transactions. Maybe Reliance Jio has finished raising funds? Finally?
- According to reports, Udemy is looking for more capital at a higher valuation, providing Natasha with the perfect time to let us know what's going on with edtech.
- Regarding the funding rounds, I was excited about the macro tour TipsClear covered this week, Danny wanted to discuss the Browser Company's similar $ 5 million size tour and Natasha told us about LiteBoxer for $ 6 million in new capital combined.
- In closing, we talked about IPOs for a hot second. The IPO window is open, and now that nCino and GoHealth have gone public, we want to know who is next.
From Alex Wilhelm:
