Tag: Startups

Capture investment opportunities created by megatrends

Pave gets Y Combinator to back better startup compensation tools, again

Pave, a San Francisco-based startup that helps companies benchmark, plan and communicate compensation to their employees, has raised a $46 million Series B. YC Continuity led the round, which also saw participation from Andreessen Horowitz and Bessemer Venture Partners. The round comes eight months after Pave closed a $16 million Series A round. Today’s financing…
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10 August 2021 0

Extra Crunch roundup: Influencer marketing, China’s tech clampdown, drafting growth teams

Before you hire a marketing consultant who doesn’t understand your products or commit to a CMO who has several years of experience — but none in your sector — consider influencer marketing. If the phrase evokes images of celebrities hawking hard seltzer, think again: An influencer can be as humble as an enthusiastic Reddit user…
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10 August 2021 0

FreshBooks reaches $1B+ valuation with $130.75M for its SMB-focused accounting platform

FreshBooks, a Toronto-based cloud accounting software company focused on SMBs, announced today it has secured $80.75 million in a Series E round of funding, as well as $50 million in debt financing. Existing backer Accomplice led the equity financing, which the company described as “an inside round” that propelled FreshBooks to unicorn status with a…
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10 August 2021 0

5 ways AI can help mitigate the global shipping crisis

Ahmer Inam Contributor Ahmer Inam is the chief artificial intelligence officer (CAIO) at Pactera EDGE. He has more than 20 years of experience driving organizational transformation. His experience includes leadership roles at Nike Inc., Wells Fargo, Sonic Automotive and Cambia Health Solutions. With the fourth quarter now upon us, every industry faces a challenge in…
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9 August 2021 0

Extra Crunch roundup: Build a founding team, choose a VC and recruit your board

Assembling a startup team is harder than assembling 10 IKEA dressers, and the stakes are much, much higher. Starting with the assumption that 90% of startups will fail and the most successful ones take an average of six years to IPO, founders must make careful decisions about whom they invite to join the core team.…
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6 August 2021 0

Raise, a startup building Africa’s Carta, gets backing from 500 Startups

As startups in Africa continue to grow and raise money at a ridiculous pace, so too will their cap tables expand. Most African startups’ bulk of VC money is from foreign investors, making it imperative for African startups to incorporate abroad, especially in the U.S. The processes for incorporation are quite complicated, and even though…
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6 August 2021 0

Best Buy investing millions in Brown Venture Group, a firm exclusively backing BIPOC founders

Last summer, in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, Best Buy committed to “do better” when it came to supporting communities of color. As part of the retail giant’s self-proclaimed mission to better address underrepresentation and technology inequities, the company announced today that it is investing up to $10 million in Brown Venture Group. Minnesota-based…
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5 August 2021 0

Nigerian digital freight provider MVX lands $1.3M to help shippers move cargoes faster

In Africa, chartering vessels and processing ocean freight can be challenging. The sector is largely inefficient and fragmented. Merchants also struggle to access finance to perform cross-border trade in the continent. A couple of digital freight companies are tackling this problem, like Nigerian-based MVX. The company today is announcing its $1.3 million seed round to…
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5 August 2021 0

What’s the board’s role in an early-stage startup?

Gregg Adkin Contributor Gregg Adkin is vice president and managing director at Dell Technologies Capital, the global venture capital investment arm of Dell Technologies. What’s the board’s role in an early-stage startup? Startup founders frequently ask me about the role of a board of directors. A board can be a crucial asset in an early-stage…
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4 August 2021 0

What Square’s acquisition of Afterpay means for startups

On Sunday Square announced it was gobbling up Afterpay in a deal worth $29 billion at the time of announcement. Alex followed up yesterday with more details on why the deal made sense for Square and Afterpay over here, but we wanted to ask some notable VCs what it means for the startup market. For…
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3 August 2021 0