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Welcome to Startups Weekly, a fresh look at this week’s startup news and trends. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here.
Sequoia takes things seriously. The well-known venture firm is known for reacting to macroeconomic events with grandiose remarks aimed at portfolio companies and sometimes the entrepreneurial scene as a whole. Most recently, Sequoia produced a 52-slide deck first reported by The Information titled Adapting to Endure; the paper reads as a follow-up to his infamously ill-timed March 2020 memo, “Coronavirus: The Black Swan of 2020.”
The firm isn’t always right in its predictions — which may be why it’s sticking to internal musings this time instead of an average publication — but it does a service by providing a snapshot of how one of the most enduring and successful firms of all time thoughts of a looming downturn.
“Our intention in gathering today is not to be a beacon of darkness,” the deck reads. “But we also believe that victory in the coming years will depend on making tough, decisive choices in the face of uncomfortable challenges that may have been masked during the glut and distortion of free capital over the past two years.”
Sequoia’s board largely followed the same script that other venture firms use: extend the runway, focus on sustainable growth and recognize that an economic recovery may be a long way off. However, there were some tidbits that stood out, like a subtweet I assume was about Tiger Global, and an accurate explanation of how founders should define fluff these days.
For my full take on this topic, read my TechCrunch+ column, “Sequoia is the latest venture capital firm that wants you to take the crisis seriously.” In the rest of this newsletter, we’ll present a founder’s perspective on this moment in tech, a pitch deck breakdown, and a deal that may have slipped under your radar this week. As always, you can support me by forwarding this newsletter to a friend or follow me on twitter or subscribe to my blog.
Let’s have a heart-to-heart
In Equity this week, Heart to Heart CEO Josh Ogundu joined us to talk about his perspective on the early stage founder market. Ogundu told us what he’s rethinking, the importance of honesty and what to do before considering firing. It’s not very often that we have guests on the show, so when we do, you know it’s going to be good.
Here’s why it’s important: So much of the advice, as the introduction to this newsletter indicates, comes from investors. Still, it’s the founders who experience the change and make the tough decisions, so consider this episode a belated reality check.
Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch
Pitch Deck Teardown
Our own Hae Jan Kamps has launched a weekly series reviewing startup pitches in the form of a witty column. Most recently, he reviewed Lumigo’s Series A, which helped the startup raise a $29 million round.
That’s why it’s important, he says: “I’ve been coaching startups for a long time, and the #1 challenge we always run into is that there’s no shortage of advice on how to make a good pitch deck (hell, I wrote a book for that), but what has always been missing is a good library of actual, real-world performance tests that have managed to raise money. When I rejoined TechCrunch and started talking to founders about fundraising rounds, I realized this might be my chance. In this week’s teardown, we talk about what worked in the deck and where the company could have made further improvements. This is information not available anywhere else, and it has been such a fun project so far!”
Deal of the week
It certainly seems like the layoff announcements are the new stories for the funding round, but I really think it’s helpful to balance out the doom and gloom with some growth-focused news. And no, I’m not just talking about new crypto funds. Planet FWD announced this week that it has secured $10 million so the consumer products industry can track carbon emissions. It’s not a big deal.
That’s why it’s important through a reporter Christine Hall: “Time is of the essence to reduce emissions, p [CEO Julia Collins] noting that there are less than 100 months left to meet the global 2030 target of at least a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels. Household consumption of things like food, which impacts the earth, energy and water, accounts for 60% of global emissions, she added.
Image Credits: Peter Daisley (opens in a new window) / Getty Images
During the week
Seen on TechCrunch
Report: Substack, the highly touted newsletter platform, has dropped plans for a Series C
4 Investors Discuss the Outlook for the US Cannabis Market in Q3 2022
Manish Maheshwari, former head of Twitter India, is leaving for a new startup
The founder claims the YC-backed fintech startup is “copy and pasting” his business
Everything You Wanted to Know About Elon Musk and Twitter (But Didn’t Want to Ask)
Seen on TechCrunch+
Questions arise about Y Combinator’s role in the startup patch
Sequoia’s Jess Lee explains how VCs think about their deals
Perhaps faster delivery times are a poor choice from a unit economics perspective
Dear Sophie: Does the International Entrepreneur Parole have any advantages over an O-1 visa?
Can Recurring Revenue Funding Drive Growth in a Turbulent Market?
Until next time,
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