YC Demo Day is an event organised by Y Combinator and this week the event was held virtually with 86% of the founders participating in the winter 2023 batch living in San Francisco. Of the 282 startup batches, 54 of them are developing generative AI startups according to Natasha Mascarenhas at TechCrunch. As the office tradition dictates, TechCrunch staff closely observed the batches and presented favourite startups without offering investing advice.
The trend of recommerce is attributed to Gen Z’s sustainable shopping habits and consequently major companies such as Poshmark, TheRealReal and thredUP have been going public. These platforms attracted investors and last year around $6 billion was directed to resale platforms according to Brian Schwarzbach at Cathay Innovation.
AI boom has however ignored the existing wealth gap between white and black households. The median liquid wealth for a Black family in the U.S. is $3,630, compared to $79,000 for a white family. This clearly impacts the average FRI and F&F round of $23,000 with the average Black founder raising less than a thousand.
Small, a subscription cat food startup, was able to raise $34 million since 2017 and now is looking to open a cat cafe and expand the business. They shared their Series B deck with TechCrunch leaving out precisely the financial details.
Carta’s “First Cut – State of Private Markets: Q1 2023” report showed that pre-money valuations for seed-stage startups are lower while Series A, B, and C investments are gaining back footing. Redpoint Ventures’ market update report provided good insights for Series B, and C founders in general.
Fouders starting a cybsecurity product business are working in a crowded and rapidly evolving field. In his post for TechCrunch+, Ross Haleliuk, investor and head of product at his own company, offered a few tips and tactics to help security startups better understand the market and build customer relationships that will help make their product a success.
Two podcasts from TechCrunch, Chain Reaction and Found have been nominated for Webby Awards in the Best Technology Podcast category.
When it comes to transferring H-1Bs and green cards to a recently founded startup, the process can be lengthy. It is best to consult a lawyer to be sure to submit all the necessary paperwork. Investors may save money when the startup founders are on H-1Bs and greencards, but finding the right talent is more important to them. The most important factor investors would contemplate while investing in a startup would be the idea/product/business model, rather than the visa costs associated with the founders.
