TechCrunch+ Roundup: The Origins of Unicorns, Red Flags for Investors, and Generative AI Compliant with Copyright Laws

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Are you a seed-stage founder building a unicorn?

At TechCrunch Early Stage last month, I spoke with NFX founding partner James Currier about where ideas for billion-dollar companies come from.

Currier, a former angel investor in Patreon, Lyft, and DoorDash, says startups growing into unicorns have three basic defenses.

• Network effect: The more people use your product, the more valuable it becomes.
• Embedding: Integrate services so deeply that customers cannot “pull out”.
• Data Loop: Collect, process, and process real-time data.

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“This is really just talking about big, world-changing businesses with a lot of impact that could be worth $1 billion or more,” he said. “That’s what we’re investing in. And all I’m talking about today is for people who want to build that type of business.”

After giving presentations he previously shared at Harvard Business School, Stanford, and MIT, Currier outlined the mental model unicorn founders employ and gave early-stage entrepreneurs his thoughts on building a founding team. provided candid advice, including

“You have to figure out what you and your team can do. There are all these big pivots you have to take, but you may not have the people for it. Disassembly.”

thank you for reading!
Walter Thompson
Editorial Manager, TechCrunch+

@yourprotagonist

Invisible: 5 red flags for investors

Investors may consider hundreds of offers each year. This means investors need to make decisions quickly. This is not a good system. Prejudice is built into the recipe as it is based largely on relationships.

And given the fast pace of trading, “even the most experienced angel investors and VCs can miss subtle and not immediately obvious red flags,” writes Marjorie Radlo-Zandi.

With years of experience as a mentor, angel, and board member, she shares five scenarios that should give investors a second thought.

Are you spending a lot of money on getting paid?

Not all startups are ready to hire a full-time marketer, but that’s no excuse to throw money out the paid acquisition window.

In his latest TC+ column, growth marketer Jonathan Martinez explains how to use Google Sheets to create a regression spreadsheet to track and optimize your weekly spend and customer acquisition costs.

“The beauty of this kind of analysis is that it clearly shows the optimal spend at the paid channel level,” he wrote.

“If you want to do your analysis and have at least 90 days of data at different spending levels, regression analysis is the way to go.”

Generative AI and Copyright Law: What is the Future of Intellectual Property?

Are AI-generated works subject to copyright protection?

In an article written by Gai Sher and Ariela Benchlouch of Greenspoon Marder LLP’s Innovation and Technology practice group, the authors summarize recent guidance documents published by the United States Copyright Office documents and summarize multiple legal developments in this area. I’m looking into

“Although the future of AI and its legal implications remains uncertain, the emergence of competing interests between authors, AI companies and the general public is becoming apparent,” they write.

How to find the right investors for your startup

You can’t tell a compelling story if you don’t know your audience. That’s why effective founders thoroughly research investors before sending out a pitch deck.

In his latest article, Haje Jan Kamps shares a 6-step process that helps newbies clarify what traits they are looking for and “how to identify investors to invest in spaces, stages and geographies.”

Western Sanctions Against Russia: Tips for Tech Companies Managing Compliance Risks

After the gratuitous invasion of Ukraine, much of Russia’s tech talent fled and the West imposed sanctions to isolate the economy.

The US, EU, UK and other countries recently moved to further punish Russia with additional sanctions “including expanding export controls on drone parts, electronics, industrial equipment and other items,” according to the law firm. Tokoro Blank’s partner, Anthony Rapa, writes: Rome.

In this TC+ post, Rapa provides a detailed overview of the latest export controls and addresses concerns about the continued diversion of sanctioned restricted items to Russia.