TechCrunch+ Recap: Dry Powder Slow Fuse, Landing Page Basics, Generative AI Hype

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It’s impossible to plan for everything that can go wrong while building a startup.

A definitive guide should include chapters like “So You Hired The Wrong Person” and “5 Ways To Tell If An Investor Is Lying To You.”

Mentors and advisors are helpful, but startups move at breakneck speed. Investors say they want to add value, but it’s hard for founders under pressure to know exactly when to ask for help.

Prior to becoming co-founder and CEO of TigerEye, Tracy Young held the same role at construction productivity software startup PlanGrid.

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She drove the company to $100 million in recurring profit before it was acquired by Autodesk, but “it took me years to analyze the mistakes I made in my first startup,” she wrote to TC+. I’m here.

Young looks back at the “five major failure points” on every founder’s journey and shares tactical advice for dealing with internal conflicts, loss of product-market fit, and other setbacks. increase.

“If these reflections help even one founder make one less mistake, I think the effort is worth it.”

On Thursday, January 19th at 10am PST/1pm EST, Tracy Young will join us on Twitter Space to discuss how we address these and other common founder challenges. Talk about how you did it. Ask questions and join the chat!

One last thing: TC+ Roundup is TechCrunch’s fastest growing newsletter. Thank you for reading and subscribing!

Walter Thompson
Editorial Manager, TechCrunch+
@yourprotagonist

3 Questions Founders Should Ask Investors in Q1 2023

Money is power and VCs know it.

This is one reason why so many founders do poor due diligence with their investors, says Talia Rafaeli, partner at early-stage European VC fund Kompas. .

Rather than telling entrepreneurs to attend pitch meetings to win favorable terms, Raffaelli talks directly to investors about liquidity, exit expectations, and how they plan to add value over time. I advise you to ask.

“Just because the economic climate is tough doesn’t mean power dynamics automatically favor those with cash,” she says.

“The best working relationships are those built on fair ground with honesty and clarity.”

Will Record Levels of Dry Powder Cause a Delayed Explosion of Startup Investments?

Waves of layoffs and discount office furniture ads on Craigslist have subtext. Technology investors have raised about $290 billion in dry powder.

Raphael Mukomilow and Pierre Bourdon of Picus Capital said:

After tracking uninvested capital by year going back to 2006, the pair noted that “crises within the investment climate are often followed by years of systematic return outperformance, and history repeats itself.” I discovered that there is a way.”

husband! Is generative AI already in a bubble?

Generative AI is making headlines with apps like Lensa AI, DALL-E and ChatGPT, but is it a strong investment?

Several VCs responding to a recent TechCrunch+ survey “said the growth of the technology was too reminiscent of cryptocurrencies,” wrote Rebecca Szkutak.

“Everybody’s piling up faster than they should.”

When will IPOs return? There may be clues in the past

Natalia Holgado Sanchez, Head of Capital Markets at Secfi, examined the impact of five recessions since 2002 to see how well privately held start-ups have held up.

For each period, Sanchez examined the inspiring events, the similarities and differences between this recession and past crises, and how startups were affected.

“Based on historical data, the IPO market opened on average 18 to 24 months later,” she found. “Given it’s been about nine months since the window closed, we could see some movement by June 2023.”

Dear Sophie: How can I move my H-1B to a new startup in 2023?

Dear Sophie

I made up my mind: This is the year I finally realize my dream and create my startup! I’m here.

How do I transfer my visa to a startup? How do I configure my startup for immigration success?

— restless & solved

Learning Growth Marketing: How to Set Up Your Landing Page

In the first of a five-part series on growth marketing basics, Jonathan Martinez explains how to create a crucial part of every company’s sales funnel: landing pages.

This overview includes basic steps for writing a clear headline, providing social proof that builds credibility for your visitors, and crafting a call to action that delivers results.

Next week, Martinez, who has helped startups like Uber, Postmates, and Chime scale, shares his tips for launching paid acquisition channels.