We’re still in the founder-friendly market, sort of – TechCrunch

Welcome to Startups Weekly, a new human version of this week’s startup news and trends. To receive this in your inbox, Sign up here.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the silos, or lack thereof, within startupland. Sometimes an artificial wall is erected between companies at different stages of growth, when in reality they are all in the same room, clinking glasses and tripping over the same rug.

Let me be more precise. As the late-stage market has cooled for tech companies, many early-stage investors say their portfolio companies aren’t hurt too much because they are years away from an exit and have enough capital to weather the uncertainty. The same energy was on display this week at TechCrunch Early Stage. Stellation Capital’s Peter Boyce II sheepishly told me that based on the term sheet he wrote yesterday, we’re definitely still in a founder-friendly market, while a couple of entrepreneurs not-so-subtly reminded me that experimental staking is still landing significantly. financing rounds.

I believe in optimism and I think of early stage startups right now as a correction, not a reckoning. But, new data from PitchBook and NVCA shows that dollars are changing across the board.

To see my full take, read my TechCrunch+ column: “Let’s Stop Pretending There Are Silos in the Startup World.” In the rest of this newsletter, we’ll cover social fintech, a new TC-1 at Kindbody, and some hostile takeover history. As always, you can support me by forwarding this newsletter to a friend, following me on twitter or by subscribing to my personal blog.

deal of the week

I covered Braid, a fintech social game that wants to make sharing wallets with friends more mainstream. The startup recently launched a new twist on consumer payment links: People can set up a Braid Fund around any endeavor (a fund for this summer’s trip to Italy, shared car gas expenses, or a kitty for monthly book club snacks) and then send a link to friends who want to deposit cash. Then the money goes directly to the wallet and the creator can manage it alone or together with the participants.

Here’s why it’s important: Fintech can’t just build for the smartest, most proactive person in the room, which is why I like that Braid is the middle ground between the friend who’s always in the know about splitting the check at the end of dinner and the one who gets overwhelmed at calculate and divide the tip. Ahem, me. Sharing something as emotional as money definitely brings challenges, which I describe in my article, but it also starts a fascinating conversation.

Honorable mentions:

The Kind Body TC-1

Rae Witte delved into the story of Kindbody, a fertility startup that has raised $154.7 million in known venture capital to date with a revolutionary vision: It’s important to make patients feel heard and comfortable.

Here’s why it matters: We know “holistic health” is the go-to term for digital health companies, so there are natural questions around whether Kindbody’s take on fertility support is really impactful. This, from one of the stories, gives me hope:

Fertility patients have diverse needs and your portal experience reflects that. An LGBTQ+ patient will not be asked the same questions or given the same information as a heterosexual couple because their fertility process is biologically different. When patients register, they include how they identify themselves and the services they are taking advantage of. This personalization continues throughout patients’ journeys, both during visits and through the portal.

The whole series:

Image credits: Nigel Susman

Hostile takeover, anyone?

Elon Musk made headlines again this week with his fixation on Twitter. This time, the billionaire offered to buy Twitter, sending share prices soaring, and TechCrunch investigated the history of hostile takeovers. Simply put, a hostile takeover occurs when a company or person attempts to take over another company against the wishes of the company’s management. It’s spicy.

Here’s why it’s important: I mean, for anyone following the Twitter and Musk saga, it’s important to understand how realistic it is for an acquisition to actually happen. As Kyle Wiggers taught me in his article, these takeovers are usually doomed to failure in some way, thanks to poison pills and balances of power.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, take a minute:

Image credits: HANNIBAL HANSCHKE/POOL/AFP/Getty Images

over week

• TechCrunch Early Stage 2022 was a lot of fun. Thank you to everyone who attended, asked questions and said hi, as it was really exciting for the team to meet readers in person after so long. If you missed the event, a recap of all the panels will be released on TechCrunch+ over the next few weeks, so stay tuned.
• Get tickets to next month’s event: TechCrunch Mobility, a two-day hybrid conference featuring the automotive industry’s top investors, founders and thought leaders.
• Finally, if you missed last week’s Startups WeeklyRead it here: Crypto’s Latest Disruption May Be Investor Expectations and listen to a podcast about it here: Venture need crypto more than crypto need venture.

Spotted on TechCrunch

Faraday Future demotes founder as management shakeup continues

Lydia Hylton on Why She Joined Bain Capital Crypto Despite ‘That Tweet’

Windmill wants to drag window AC units, kicking and screaming, until 2022

SoftBank changes plan for LatAm with new early-stage spin-out, Upload Ventures

Over 14,000 Etsy Sellers Go On Strike To Protest Rising Transaction Fees

Spotted on TechCrunch+

Is Stripe cheap at $95 billion?

Why EV startups should have hit the brakes before merging with a SPAC

Dear Sophie, I did not win the H-1B lottery. What are my next steps?

An inside look at a Ukrainian fintech company adjusting to life during the war

Mayfield’s Arvind Gupta discusses startup fundraising during a recession

Until next time,

north