Startups Weekly is grateful for your interest. Get the weekly digest delivered to your inbox every Saturday. Register hereThis week, I spoke with my editor about the usual: future stories, podcast's future and the existential fear of imposter syndrome in the midst of extreme change for the past year. This was the most talked about topic. It's amazing!The conversation was very helpful as it helped to put words to the stresses and to give weight to the small things that are often overlooked during a year of pandemics. You don't have to bore me with my thoughts loops. However, I will share a few lessons I believe are applicable to Startups Weekly readers. I am sure you enjoy tips and earnest advice based on your clicks.Give yourself grace. This pandemic was confusing, unbalanced, and caused a lot more loss for many people. You may feel that youre operating at less than 100% right this moment. This is because the world is dependent on you for direction. Instead of beating yourself up for being inefficient, consider where your productivity standards come from and whether they are fair. Your problems aren't unique. We are all complex, multifaceted individuals. However, this doesn't mean we are all the same in many aspects of what makes us human. Everybody has insecurities, every person is a problem solver, and everyone worries. You will feel more at control of the turbulence if you believe that your problems and concerns are not unique. This brings me to the next point. Vulnerability is everything. Vulnerability was a central theme in the initial inning of the pandemic. We were all invited into each other's homes, offices, and backyards via Zoom. While that vibe has diminished as we have adapted to distributed work, it does not mean we cannot still try to be vulnerable with one another. You will feel closer when you let your voice be heard, even in times where it is easier to remain silent.You can take what you want from the advice above (or these tips from a fellow entrepreneur), however, I believe it boils down to the belief that humans should come first and job roles second. This is an incredible time in the world. Ending stigmatization of mental health is a worthy goal.This newsletter is the rest about a cyberattack against AfterSquare, a VC company, and an EC-1 regarding 911. We are excited to announce that TechCrunch will be launching a new newsletter before we move on. This week in apps by Sarah Perez launches Saturday, August 7. Register here to stay informed about all the apps. You can also find me on Twitter @nmasc_.Cybercriminals target VC firmRansomware attacked Advanced Technology Ventures, a Silicon Valley Venture Capital firm with assets of $1.8 billion. According to Zack Whittaker, cybercriminals took personal information from 300 ATVs limited partners. These people are also known as those who contributed millions of dollars to its fund.Here's what you need to know: This attack stole crucial information about a sensitive part of venture capital. Due to competitive advantage and secrecy, VC firms don't often disclose all their LPs. A limited partner might not want other partners to know about their funds. However, the firm may not want competition to see who they are backing. Whittaker says that ransomware groups will continue to hunt big-game animals and that LP lists should be considered by other VC firms.The money that is behind the moneyAfter Square paysSquare purchased Afterpay, a buy-now, pay-later giant for $29 billion. This week saw fintech boom. Afterpay will integrate its services into Squares Seller or Cash Pay ecosystems. The deal is expected to close next year. Mary Ann Azevedo broke the news as the sector heat up. Alex Wilhelm explained why Square chose that number.Here's the scoop: Everybody is creating their own BNPL service in-house, starting with Shopify (! From Shopify (! ), to PayPal, to, reportedly Apple. Ryan Lawler, a reporter, provided more context about what this deal means to startups.Bain Capital Ventures' Matthew Harris told TechCrunch that as the BNPL space becomes more saturated, he doesn't see much headroom/new angles in consumer BNPL spaces. It will be difficult for new entrants achieve escape velocity.He believes that BNPL models have the potential to penetrate the B2B market, where companies can substitute/enhance traditional invoice finance and trade credit.Fintech friends:911's 411TechCrunch's Managing Editor Danny Crichton dived into emergency response and 911 in our RapidSOS EC-1. This company has raised over $190 million and has created an emergency response data platform to help first responders in high-intensity circumstances. Crichton says that it is almost certain to be integrated into your smartphone as of right now, processing more than 150,000,000 emergencies annually.Here's what you need to know: The RapidSOS story, from its early days in a pizza-oven kitchen to its pivot without product design shows how much you can accomplish in ten years of stagnation on Capitol Hill.The series is in four parts:Around TCTechCrunch is pleased to announce that Ryan Lawler has been back! Ryan Lawler is back at TechCrunch! He's working with ExtraCrunch to provide you more analysis of the fintech industry. He is particularly interested in fintech's B2B aspect. This includes everything from startups creating infrastructure and tools to help companies deploy their own financial services, to corporate cards and startup banking, as well as the spend management services TechCrunch readers will use. He would love to hear from you if you are an employee of a relevant company, have invested in those companies or are a customer of one of these companies. You can email him at ryanlawler.techcrunch@gmail.com.I have not given you a discount code for quite some time, so please use code EQUITY to get a great deal on your Extra Crunch Subscription.The Disrupt Agenda is alive. Check out our September lineup and purchase your tickets.All weekTechCrunch: SeenExtra CrunchTalk soonN
