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Welcome to Startups Weekly, a new human look at this week’s startup news and trends. To receive this in your inbox, subscribe here.
In April 2020, NextView VC launched its first accelerator in the midst of the pandemic, while historic incubators like Y Combinator and 500 Startups similarly rethought their independent strategies. Key tweaks like creating fully remote lots and removing the cohort model gave us insight into how some of the more active pre-seed and seed investors are re-thinking their work.
Fast forward perhaps too many months, NextView partner Melody Koh tells me the Accelerator is launching its third cohort with a few key tweaks, again signaling some interesting changes for the early stage startup scene.
The first big change is for NextView to increase the size of its check from $ 200,000 for an 8% stake to $ 400,000 for a 10% stake. The big checks in this economy are anything but surprising, but Koh’s point of view is that the money “will arm businesses with just a little more ammo that can really set them up.” Beyond market pressure, the company realized that it was the sole source of funding for many cohort startups, which meant it had to make larger upfront investments to really bring these companies to follow the financing.
“It just gives a little more flexibility and the ability for teams to really experiment and execute and sort of take the next step of the milestones that this market is looking for now,†she added. So far, more than 50% of NextView Accelerator alumni identify themselves as under-represented founders and come from cities like Miami, Seattle, Boston, Birmingham, San Diego and New York.
Given its distributed format, the firm had to update its mentoring. This time around, he’s pairing each of his six to eight startups in batches with a primary partner for weekly meetings and a secondary partner for monthly meetings. The former will give the business a more continuous resource while they’re in the weeds and is a result of the feedback NextView has seen from previous cohorts. The more involved partnership model could give startup founders more activation energy when they need it most.
And finally, the company doubles its no-demo day rule. Part of the argument here is that the idea of ​​a flashy annual event may no longer be necessary for founders to grab the coveted attention.
“We don’t feel like we’re the artificial kind of deadlines, and the demo’s today’s date format is the best use of your time,†Koh said. “The way we engage with each business is… ‘OK, each of you has a different set of milestones that make sense to you,’ so we don’t really focus on demo day as the right way to go. spend its energy or our energy. “
NextView isn’t alone in rethinking the demo days and its broader investment strategy. Companies like Contrary Capital and startups like Launch House are also looking for smarter ways to close deals and propel startups.
Even in a world where capital is a commodity, investors are preparing – perhaps even more – to find innovative ways to make their money even more interesting to founders. The “value added†chatter can be creepy at times, but to me it just means that an emerging class of investors determines what they’re best at (beyond spotting ambitious founders). It’s fun to see, and even something as small as a small tweak to the throttle format can give us some food for thought.
For my full take on this topic, check out my TechCrunch + column: The definition of “value added†for startup accelerators needs updating.
In the rest of this newsletter, we will explore the trends of CES 2022, a fintech startup with a contrarian vision of the CAC and an article on the future of the Black Girls Code. As always, you can follow my thoughts on Twitter. @nmasc_ or listen to me and my friends on Equity.
Soft yet smart vital signs ampoules and cat collars
Image credits: TechCrunch
From smart cat collars to color-changing cars, CES never fails to surprise us. While the TechCrunch team has chosen to cover the annual tech conference remotely due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, our reporters have nonetheless browsed through the latest and greatest technology insights. All of our CES coverage can be found on this nifty link, but I’d recommend starting with Brian Heater’s CES 2022 themes just to wet your palate.
Here’s what you need to know: Landmark announcements so far include BMW’s plan to turn cars into rolling theaters, a paper-based toothbrush scaling mission and, on a more serious note, a statement of importance. a cushion that tracks your child’s temperature.
Other ‘wait, what’ moments include:
And the startup of the week is …
Image credits: Peshkova (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images
Bankaya! As our own Mary Ann Azevedo reports, this Mexican fintech opts for a non-traditional strategy when it comes to acquiring customers: going offline. The new, early-stage company targets 50 million underbanked people with face-to-face advertising: think street sales and strategically placed debit card kiosks at vaccination centers.
Here is what you need to know: Just one year after the launch, Mauricio Cordero, CEO of Bankaya’s co-founders, Ramón Chedraui and Diego Vargas, claim to have won 450,000 clients. And, in addition to their counterintuitive strategy, the company is fully primed by now.
Honorable mentions:
Kimberly Bryant and the future of the Black Girls Code
Image credits: Sean Mathis / Getty Images
During the holidays, news broke that Black Girls Code co-founder and CEO Kimberly Bryant had been “indefinitely suspended” from the nonprofit she launched nearly a decade ago. I spoke to the nonprofit board that decided to put her on leave, former employees who allege growing tensions between Bryant and the organization, and of course, Bryant herself to get the whole thing out. ‘story.
Here’s what you need to know: There are too many nuances in this story to sum it all up in a perfect blurb, so I would definitely recommend anyone interested to read the full story. For now, the board says it has formed a special committee to review complaints against Bryant from former and current employees and put Bryant on paid administrative leave last week “to ensure a process of full and fair review â€.
Starter Cards 101:
Around TechCrunch
Our calendar of events has been leaked (by us), so now is your chance to check out our legendary lineup for this year. I’m excited to share that TechCrunch Disrupt, our flagship event, will be back as an in-person event. Three days, lots of startup chatter and over-caffeination. Buy your tickets as soon as possible
All week long
Seen on TechCrunch
Elizabeth Holmes convicted of 4 of 11 counts of fraud in Theranos trial
FinTech Specialist Ribbit Capital Raises $ 1.15 Billion in Seventh Fund, SEC File Says
MVP versus EVP: Is it time to introduce ethics into the agile startup model?
The 2022 forecasts of the Equity team
Memes, Money, and Madness: 2021 in Tech
Seen on TechCrunch +
3 views: How due diligence will change in 2022
VCs and Founders Extremely Bullish as Public Markets Issue Warning Signs
How to be one of the “haves” of SaaS
Sectors where New Zealand startups are set to win
What are the “jobs to do†of an investment manager?
Ah, friends, it’s good to be back,
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