Welcome to Startups Weekly, this week’s spotlight on startup news and trends by Senior Reporter and co-host of Equity Natasha Maskerenhas To receive this in your inbox, subscribe over here.
Sometimes, due to the nature of the startup game, we spend on the “newest”. Companies want to build pain points they never dreamed of disrupting; VCs want to invest in emerging trends before they become household names. And tech entrants are told to be diligent, because you never know who’s going to answer your cold email. For entrepreneurship to feel fun and welcoming—not a being, but a feeling—newness should be one of its top qualities.
After all, it will only be “it” once.
But one question I’ve found myself asking myself over the past year, especially when some people in power talk about past failures and learning cycles, is the benefit of being late. It’s semi-obvious: When you’ve done this whole entrepreneurial thing before, you’ll understand what mistakes to avoid, and you’ll easily know which investors to avoid.
But it’s not as simple as a story either. There is a difference between being new and inexperienced, in the same way that there is a difference between experience and procrastination. How do you know where you are in the overall timeline – especially when the stories feel better to tell at the extremes?
This week on Fairness, I interviewed Sara Oh, the founder of Twitter rival T2 after working as Twitter’s human rights advisor. I asked her how it felt to quickly build a replica of her former employer. She seemed unconcerned, and I immediately told her: All is fair in love and measure.
But the best answer she gave me was the late-bird advantage she had, building a company in a world she knew all too well. Joining the social wave of consumers today, before anyone even thinks about characters and retweets, the co-founder thinks they’ll achieve more.
“There’s a lot we know about the gaps in trust and safety in the industry, the databases we need, or the models that need to be built, or some of the standards that models need to live up to, right, a whole laundry list. There’s things I wish I had in my previous roles that I don’t have now. “We’re at a point where we’re having those conversations,” Oh said. She added that when some of the first social media platforms were created, there weren’t “historical case studies or precedents” for many of the current controversies. From the ugliers on the street — my words, not hers — T2 addresses tensions around virality, doxxing and more. It can refer back to how it handles.
It got me thinking about that big realization combined with the start-up. Perhaps, it’s the wonderful balance of being old and new that helps a startup take off. In this case, we don’t know how the old or new experiments will work on Twitter, but we do know that this time has never been more important.
For the rest of this newsletter, we’ll talk about CEOs, startup accelerators, and the rare buzz we hear about a tech company and its public market ambitions. As always, you can follow me Twitter Or Instagram.
Goodbye, chief executive officer
Also at this week’s fair, employees spoke about how portfolio founders are deploying capital — particularly how they’re paying more attention to hiring trends. Becca’s latest post for TC+ — use code EQUITY for 50% off with an annual membership — goes into why a hiring slide in the pitch deck shouldn’t be part of a presentation pitch.
Wait for further investigation.
Here’s why this is important: We know that companies are laying off workers to cut costs, but those who are hiring may be taking a more conservative approach, both in terms of job types and salary levels. All that said, if you’re hiring, there’s definitely an opportunity for talent. But it will not be easy all of them Especially when employers are looking to hire cheap talent with less desirable staffing goals to find their next gigs.
Image Credits: Microstock (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images
The golden moon
NextView Ventures has launched its fourth accelerator program, aiming to support nearly half a dozen founders with $400,000 in funding and mentorship opportunities. It is also offering at least one position to a team built around former colleagues who were laid off in the wake of last fall.
Here’s why this is important: The accelerator partners are open to supporting founders even if they only have a half-baked idea or an area they want to explore. Even in a disciplined market, there are still some companies that are comfortable to seed with startup business ideas. Rob Goh, founding partner of portfolio companies NextView Ventures, said the team is “half a step ahead of what we normally think.”
Image Credits: Soil (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images
follow up
Streep is finally seeing his way out. The payments giant has set a 12-month deadline for public disclosure of direct listing or private market transactions, such as fundraising arrangements and tender offers, sources familiar with the matter said.
Here’s why this is important: Do I have to state the obvious? Tech companies’ public markets are left, insert unwanted, boring adjective here. If Stripe starts the trend, we’re in for an exciting time next year. But some are doubtful about the schedule. After all, it’s easier said than done.
Image Credits: mask0553 (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images
etc. etc.
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I’ll end with an evergreen reminder that I’d love to start happy hours and VC nights in San Francisco, so Let me know if you are throwing one! And if you’re still working on your social engine like I am, I’m also always game for a 1:1 coffee chat or lunch.
Thanks to the rest of you, as always, for reading. 2023 is already coming up, isn’t it?
talk soon
N
