Aftermarket software startup TigerEye shut down its Series A and set up a board of directors, its co-founders warned:
One thing we would never like to do is the non-strategic three hour board meeting, too much in the weeds.
“Every deck I’ve created and seen is over 80 pages long,” says Tracy Young, co-founder and CEO of TigerEye. “I am not exaggerating.”
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In this TC+ article, she explains how to structure an hour-long board meeting that creates real value for founders and investors. Step One: Replace your massive deck with a three-page memo.
We take Monday, May 29 to celebrate Memorial Day, so I’ll be back with another TC+ roundup a week from today.
Have a fantastic weekend!
Walter Thompson
Editorial Manager, TechCrunch+
@yourprotagonist
Why aren’t venture capitalists flocking to fund cybersecurity startups?
Picture credits: RobertAx (Opens in a new window) /Getty Pictures
The accelerated shift to digital has been great for mature cybersecurity companies: Palo Alto Networks, Scaler, and CrowdStrike are showing strong revenue multiples, reports Alex Wilhelm.
But there doesn’t seem to be a halo effect for corporate-backed cybersecurity startups. According to Crunchbase, funding for companies in this sector fell 58% in Q1 2023 compared to Q1 2022.
“As valuations are down across the board, current cybersecurity stock prices have been significantly depressed, even as they remain more expensive than other tech subcategories,” Alex writes.
Profitability over growth: 5 investors explain their mantra for South Korean startups
Picture credits: Bryce Durbin / Tech Crunch
South Korea has seen a unicorn boom in recent years, but like the rest of the world, it is feeling the effects of a global market correction.
“Venture capital funding in Asia in Q1 2023 was down 33% from Q4 2023 and 57% from Q1 2022,” reports Kate Park, who interviewed five investors to get their forecasts for 2023 and find out how they advise their portfolio companies. :
- Han Kim, General Partner, Altos Ventures
- Tim Chae, Managing Partner, 500 Global
- JP Lee, CEO and Managing Partner, SoftBank Ventures Asia
- Yeemin Chung, Managing Director, BRV Capital Management
- Eunse Lee, Founder and Managing Partner, 541 Ventures
Ask Sophie: What are my options if a company rescinds my OPT job offer?
Picture credits: Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch
Dear Sophia,
I am an international student graduating this month, but the company I was supposed to start working for on OPT canceled my job offer.
What are my options?
— Graduate Grappling
3 things businesses need to do to secure their apps in the age of AI
Picture credits: Henrik Sorensen (Opens in a new window) /Getty Pictures
Enterprises with AI-enabled applications provide malicious actors with a wider attack surface for phishing, bots, and other attempts to gain access to customer accounts.
“We are already seeing examples of AI-powered reverse engineering sites to get free AI computing,” says Reed McGinley-Stempel, co-founder and CEO of Stych, an identity management platform and Customer Access (CIAM).
Risky Leasing: The Unsung Hero of Hardware Startups Struggling to Raise Capital
Picture credits: bagi1998 (Opens in a new window) /Getty Pictures
Hardware startups have always been challenged with high initial capital expenditure and open R&D timelines.
Fortunately, subprime leasing creates “a happy medium between expensive debt loans and venture capital financing that works especially well,” says Felipe Chávez Cortés, CEO and co-founder of robotic food delivery company Kiwibot.
To get products to market faster while avoiding dilution, his company entered into a $10 million leasing deal.
“Hardware companies shouldn’t feel limited to venture capital funds to fund their high-risk, high-growth operations,” Cortés said.
Pitch Deck Teardown: Faye’s $10 Million Series A Deck
Picture credits: fay
Insurtech startup Faye has shared a redacted version of the 19-slide deck its founders used to land a $10 million Series A round.
“Let’s put that aside from the start,” says Haje Jan Kamps. “It’s a really excellent pitch deck.”
- cover slide
- Summary slide
- Team slide
- problem slide
- Merchant size zipper
- Insurance market presentation slide
- Product presentation slide
- Product features slide 1
- Product features slide 2
- Product features slide 3
- Product features slide 4
- Go-to-market slide
- Financial Growth Indicators Slide
- Slide of customer growth indicators
- Customer validation slide 1
- Toboggan Competitive Landscape
- The Ask Slide
- Customer validation slide 2
- Closing slide with mission statement
