This week's startup news and trends will be the subject of a new weekly column. This will be in your inbox if you subscribe here.
The value of a startup accelerator and demo days has been discussed for decades. The programs promise napkin-stage founders help with everything from finding their co-founders to hitting product-market fit. The promise of activation energy has led to the creation of billion-dollar companies such as Coinbase and Stripe.
Entrepreneurs ask the same question every few months: Is precious equity worth access to a network? Is the true value of the program just a stamp of approval? Is demo days outdated? Is a new round of financing the best outcome for founders? Is it too big to stand out in the crowd?
The institution stays relevant even if it isn't perfect, because we keep trying to change it. Asking questions is the first step in changing the way things are done.
In January, I wrote a piece about how startup accelerators need to think about value add services in a different way. The check size was increased from $125,000 to $500,000. We will see the first cohort impacted by these changes next week, and YC went more remote, more international and more ambitious on the impact it wants to have.
We're changing the way we cover demo day to better reflect what we think is the most important part of the program, which is seeing how a large cohort of startup thinking about the biggest problems in a certain subsector. It feels like demo days have completely deviated from a traditional presentation and pitch to investors, and more so offer a snapshot of a startup and the growth plus personality of its earliest days.
In the rest of the newsletter, we will talk about the outlier world of fintech, an Instacart discount and a nonprofit overlap. You can support me by forwarding this newsletter to a friend or following me on social media.
This time, Ramp raised at an $8.1 billion valuation. Less than a year ago, the company hit the magic number and is approaching the decacorn valuation. Jeez.
It feels like an outlier from the market turbulence we have been reporting on over the past quarter. Is the financial services sector protected from a broader venture pull back or valuation correction? Alex and Mary Ann said on Equity that it's a fintech world and we're just living in it.
Mentions of honorable nature.
The image is from TechCrunch.
We have another data point in the larger market re-correction happening to many success stories with the reduction of Instacart's valuation.
As Alex Wilhelm points out, DoorDash, another food delivery company, has seen its price-sales ratio fall from highs the year prior while the company that is trying to scale its food delivery service is doing so. Instacart, still private, may save itself from a bumpy reaction by cutting its paper valuation before its stock market debut.
I think the eggs and ham are not green.
jayk7 (opens in a new window) is an image.
The trend of wealthy people donating their money incryptocurrencies was looked into by a reporter. The story explores how a rush of donations to support Ukraine may spark a broader interest in the community to support causes via coins.
Beyond the cultural overlap in donations and the view of a more democratic way to support causes, there is a technical benefit. The difference between traditional philanthropy and creator utility was explained by change founder Sonia Nigam.
The smart contract technology allows impact to live in the product itself, and then give in perpetuity … we’ll see NFT collections go live, and they’ll set a goal; [for example] that of all secondary sales, 2% goes to combating climate change for life. Now, on every single resale, the creator’s initial intent is never lost, which is what gets them really excited. And for nonprofits, unlocking recurring channels for giving is always the number one goal.
There is a chain reaction.
The image was created by Bryce Durbin.
We get to hang out with each other. Soon! The Early Stage is in San Francisco on April 14. Join us for a one-day founder summit featuring some of your favorite people. Don't be surprised if the panels are a little more spicy than usual, the team has been itching to get back in person.
You can grab your launch tickets here.
We have a new senior reporter, Jacquelyn Melinek. She is already asking the big questions on the stage and on the site.
Failure is complex in the world of startup.
There is a person seen on a website.
The quantum tech group is an independent company.
Musk has a plan to scale the car.
Arc is a London/SV program to find and mentor outlier startups.
Okta says hundreds of companies have been affected by a security breach.
It was seen on the tech site.
The product-led growth plan.
The value of assets in the DeFi protocols is up 3x from a year ago.
It is time to hold investors accountable and abolish pro-rata.
How long does it take to get an International Entrepreneur Parole?
Next time.
N.
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