The sectors “where there is reason to be particularly vigilant to counter espionage and sabotage” are telecommunications, electricity supply and the transport of “critical material,” von Essen said. She didn’t elaborate on what she meant by the latter.
Tech News
Meta’s main content moderation partner in Africa shuts down operations
Meta’s main subcontractor for content moderation in Africa, Sama, earlier Tuesday announced the closure of its content moderation arm at its hub in Kenya, citing the need to streamline operations.
This comes months after Sama and Meta were sued in the East African country for union busting, and exploitation, and just weeks after another lawsuit called for Meta to increase its content moderation capacity in Kenya.
Following the announcement by Sama, 200 employees, representing 3% of its team, will be let go as the company exits content review services, and concentrates on labelling work (computer vision data annotation).
The company sourced moderators from across Africa, and the closure of the arm is said to leave a section without work permits. Sama’s moderators were required to sift through social media posts on all its platforms, including Facebook, to remove those perpetrating and perpetuating hate, misinformation and violence.
Reports indicate Sama encouraged staff affected by the closure to apply for other job opportunities at its Kenya and Uganda offices.
“The current economic climate requires more efficient and streamlined business operations,” said Sama, according to a report by the Financial Times, which said that the social media giant has contracted Luxembourg-based Majorel to fill up the gap.
The decision to drop Meta’s contract, which expires end of March, comes months after a lawsuit was filed by Daniel Motaung, a South African national and ex-Sama content moderator, in Kenya last year accusing the two firms of forced labor and human trafficking, unfair labor relations, union busting and failure to provide “adequate” mental health and psychosocial support.
Sama’s decision also comes at a time when Meta is facing another lawsuit in Kenya over claims that the social media giant failed to employ enough safety measures on Facebook, which has, in turn, fueled a conflict that led to deaths, including of 500,000 Ethiopians during the recently-ended Tigray War.
The lawsuit claims the social site amplified hateful content, and failed to hire enough personnel, with an understanding of local languages, to moderate content.
Meta’s main content moderation partner in Africa shuts down operations by Annie Njanja originally published on TechCrunch
A government watchdog spent $15,000 to crack a federal agency’s passwords in minutes
A government watchdog has published a scathing rebuke of the Department of the Interior’s cybersecurity posture, finding it was able to crack thousands of employee user accounts because the department’s security policies allow easily guessable passwords like ‘Password1234’.
The report by the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of the Interior, tasked with oversight of the U.S. executive agency that manages the country’s federal land, national parks and a budget of billions of dollars, said that the department’s reliance on passwords as the sole way of protecting some of its most important systems and employees’ user accounts has bucked nearly two decades of the government’s own cybersecurity guidance of mandating stronger two-factor authentication.
It concludes that poor password policies puts the department at risk of a breach that could lead to a “high probability” of massive disruption to its operations.
The inspector general’s office said it launched its investigation after aprevious test of the agency’s cybersecurity defenses found lax password policies and requirements across the Department of the Interior’s dozen-plus agencies and bureaus. The aim this time around was to determine if the department’s security defenses were enough to block the use of stolen and recovered passwords.
Passwords themselves are not always stolen in their readable form. The passwords you create on websites and online services are typically scrambled and stored in a way that makes them unreadable to humans — usually as a string of seemingly random letters and numbers — so that passwords stolen by malware or a data breach cannot be easily used in further hacks. This is called password hashing, and the complexity of a password (and the strength of the hashing algorithm used to encrypt it) determines how long it can take a computer to unscramble it. Generally, the longer or more complex the password, the longer it takes to recover.
But watchdog staffers said that relying on claims that passwords meeting the department’s minimum security requirements would take more than a hundred years to recover using off-the-shelf password cracking software has created a “false sense of security” that its passwords are secure, in large part because of the commercial availability of computing power available today.
To make their point, the watchdog spent less than $15,000 on building a password-cracking rig — a setup of a high-performance computer or several chained together — with the computing power designed to take on complex mathematical tasks, like recovering hashed passwords. Within the first 90 minutes, the watchdog was able to recover nearly 14,000 employee passwords, or about 16% of all department accounts, including passwords like ‘Polar_bear65’ and ‘Nationalparks2014!’.
The watchdog also recovered hundreds of accounts belonging to senior government employees and other accounts with elevated security privileges for accessing sensitive data and systems. Another 4,200 hashed passwords were cracked over an additional eight weeks of testing.
Password cracking rigs aren’t a new concept, but they require considerable computing power and energy consumable to operate, and it can easily cost several thousands of dollars just to build a relatively simple hardware configuration. (For comparison, White Oak Security spent about $7,000 on hardware for a reasonably powerful rig back in 2019.)
Password-cracking rigs also rely on massive amounts of human-readable data for comparison to scrambled passwords. Using open-source and freely available software like Hashcat can compare lists of readable words and phrases to hashed passwords. For example, ‘password’ converts to ‘5f4dcc3b5aa765d61d8327deb882cf99’. Because this password hash is already known, a computer takes less than a microsecond to confirm it.
According to the report, the Department of the Interior provided the password hashes of every user account to the watchdog, which then waited 90 days for the passwords to expire — per the department’s own password policy — before it was safe to attempt to crack them.
The watchdog said it curated its own custom wordlist for cracking the department’s passwords from dictionaries in multiple languages, as well as U.S. government terminology, pop culture references, and other publicly available lists of hashed passwords collected from past data breaches. (It’s not uncommon for tech companies to also collect lists of stolen passwords in other data breaches to compare to their own set of customers’ hashed passwords, as a way of preventing customers from re-using the same password from other websites.) By doing so, the watchdog demonstrated that a well-resourced cybercriminal could have cracked the department’s passwords at a similar rate, the report said.
The watchdog found that close to 5% of all active user account passwords were based on some variation of the word “password,” and that the department did not “timely” wind down inactive or unused user accounts, leaving at least 6,000 user accounts vulnerable to compromise.
The report also criticized the Department of the Interior for “not consistently” implementing or enforcing two-factor authentication, where users are required to enter a code from a device that they physically own to prevent attackers from logging in using just a stolen password. The report said that nearly nine out of 10 of the department’s high-value assets, such as systems that would severely impact its operations or the loss of sensitive data, were not protected by some form of second-factor security, and the department had as a result disregarded 18 years of federal mandates, including its “own internal policies.” When the watchdog asked for a detailed report on the department’s use of two-factor authentication, the department said the information did not exist.
“This failure to prioritize a fundamental security control led to continued use of single-factor authentication,” the watchdog concluded.
In its response, the Department of the Interior said it concurred with most of the inspector general’s findings, and said it was “committed” to the implementation of the Biden administration’s executive order directing federal agencies to improve their cybersecurity defenses.
Read more:
Hackers stole passwords for accessing 140,000 payment terminals
LastPass says hackers stole customers’ password vaults
Passwordstate customers complain of silence and secrecy after cyberattack
A government watchdog spent $15,000 to crack a federal agency’s passwords in minutes by Zack Whittaker originally published on TechCrunch
Six crypto investors talk about DeFi and the road ahead for adoption in 2023
The crypto venture capital industry has become more selective thanks to the general market downturn and wavering trust caused by a slew of scandals and market disruptions, but investors at major firms are still writing checks in the space.
Amid market volatility, decentralized finance, or DeFi, is an area that continues to be in focus in both the crypto VC world and across the community as new use cases, protocols and projects arise.
Anywhere from 20% to 50% of crypto-related pitches today are DeFi-focused, several investors we surveyed said. That shows there’s a vast number of DeFi projects looking for funding.
“To stand out in this crowded space, founders should focus on highlighting unique technology and a clear advantage for a specific use case, as well as a defensible moat,” Alex Marinier, founder and general partner at New Form Capital said.
Ultimately, DeFi is a mirror reflection of traditional finance (TradFi), and founders who have deep sector expertise in TradFi, coupled with a fundamental understanding of blockchains will stand out from the other teams, Paul Veradittakit, general partner at Pantera Capital, shared.
Last year, the crypto world faced a handful of massive industry-changing events like the Terra/LUNA ecosystem collapse in May and the cryptocurrency exchange FTX collapsing in early November. Both events brought down a lot of smaller startups and big players who intermingled with those now defunct market players.
As the market looks toward the future, some venture capitalists are revamping their investing strategies, while others are holding to their current plans, with perhaps a small tweak or two. Read on to find out how active investors are thinking about DeFi, how they’re advising their portfolio companies amid the lack of funding, the best way to approach them, and more.
We surveyed:
Michael Anderson, co-founder, Framework Ventures
Alex Marinier, founder and general partner, New Form Capital
Samantha Lewis, principal, Mercury
Paul Veradittakit, general partner, Pantera Capital
David Gan, founder and general partner, OP Crypto
Mike Giampapa, general partner, Galaxy Ventures
Michael Anderson, co-founder, Framework Ventures
How big is the DeFi market today? How much do you expect it to grow in the next five years?
When thinking about the DeFi market, we look at the total market cap of DeFi assets, total value locked (TVL), and trading volume. While total value locked (TVL) as a metric certainly has its flaws, we think it’s still a decent measure of activity in the sector. As TVL increases, we also think it’s possible that total market cap could follow.
We’re keeping a close eye on the sector’s relative activity, like trades, volumes and users, compared to centralized alternatives like exchanges. Despite the negative sentiment surrounding crypto today, we still believe activity will eventually return to the industry. However, in the aftermath of all of these dramatic centralized finance (CeFi) explosions, we think that the next time users decide to enter the space, they’re going to think twice about trusting a CeFi exchange or company, and instead opt to use decentralized protocols.
What were the biggest challenges your firm faced in 2022? What steps are you taking to better prepare for 2023?
As with most investors in the space, our biggest challenge has been navigating the seemingly endless CeFi blowups and failures that have rocked our industry. We were able to avoid the vast majority of these blowups, as we passed on several FTX ecosystem projects.
As a result, Framework wasn’t hit nearly as hard as many of the big VC firms in the space, and we’re in a pretty strong position to continue deploying capital in this new market.
These CeFi incidents have caused plenty of collateral damage across the industry, so a major priority over the last 12 months has been making sure all of our portfolio companies are sound, liquid, well-capitalized, and can survive the next 1-3 years. This means helping the founders in our portfolio cut costs, prioritize high growth activity, and providing advice on product, growth, and future fundraising strategy in a less friendly funding environment.
In general, our position is a validation of our core theses over the last 3 years, and we’re going to continue doubling down on DeFi, web3 gaming, and more. Given that a lot of the other firms aren’t actively investing at this time, we see this market as a great opportunity for Framework to selectively deploy capital.
How are you advising your portfolio companies going into 2023?
We’re working with them to cut costs and focus on surviving the next 1-3 years. We believe in crypto long-term, but we don’t know how quickly the market could bounce back, and so survival should be the top priority.
We’re also encouraging founders to think more strategically about project development. If a team was focusing on three different areas, we’re encouraging them to instead prioritize the highest-growth activity only.
Of all the pitches you get, what percentage are DeFi protocols or projects? What can they do to stand out in the broader crypto landscape?
These days, around 30%-35% of the pitches we receive are firmly DeFi-focused.
If a DeFi project wants to really stand out, we want to see that they’re thinking about where the puck is going. We’re looking for projects that have the potential to be regulation-friendly. It’s a non-starter if the team is not thinking about regulation, or thinks they can just figure it out down the line.
Additionally, we’re interested in projects that have direct connections to institutions or at least a compelling growth strategy that involves institutions. We don’t think that retail will offer projects a large enough market in DeFi over the next two years, so creating something attractive to institutions should be more of a core focus than previously.
We also want to see that the project is differentiated from a product perspective. We’re not interested in another Uniswap clone, or an Open Sea copycat of the flavor of the week alt-L1.
What is your current strategy for investing in DeFi protocols and projects? How has that changed from past quarters?
In 2020, during the height of DeFi summer, the market was big enough that projects courted retail and DeFi degens [a nickname for people interested in risky, niche, speculative crypto projects]. The market is totally different now.
Unfortunately, retail was blown up more than a dozen different ways last year, and they’re unlikely to come back for a few years. As a result, we’re focusing more on projects that are thinking about addressing new, more institutional users and markets.
We understand that regulation is likely coming down the line, so we’re very interested in projects that are pro-regulation, or at the very least, regulation-friendly.
What types of DeFi use cases do you think will gain more mainstream adoption going forward? Which areas of DeFi are now perceived as more significant than they used to be?
With the Merge officially behind us, liquid staking has become a big area of excitement for us. We think liquid staking projects will receive much more attention after Shanghai goes live and users have the opportunity to withdraw their assets without worrying about illiquidity.
How can the gap between traditional finance (TradFi) and DeFi be bridged?
We need to see more DeFi products and services that more realistically accommodate institutions. This means projects that have pro-regulatory elements baked into the products themselves, including KYC, the ability to limit certain assets, and more. Projects that institutions will be able to transact with won’t look and feel like the traditional DeFi we’re accustomed to and will co-exist as a relatively different ecosystem.
How do you think regulatory frameworks can affect the DeFi space? Which country or region seems to be going in the best direction?
At some point in 2023, we’ll have the landmark crypto regulation that everyone has been waiting on for years. More clarity could be very positive.
We don’t have a firm position, but on the surface, it looks like the UK is rapidly becoming one of the most open, from a thought-leader perspective.
How do you like to receive pitches? What’s the most important thing a founder should know before they talk with you?
We really like a good storyline. We want to know why you’re working on this problem, why it needs to be solved now, and why you think you can beat everyone else. Competitive advantage is key for us.
Alex Marinier, founder and general partner, New Form Capital
How big is the DeFi market today? How much do you expect it to grow in the next five years?
The DeFi market is currently around $50 billion in TVL. In the next five years, we expect the market to bifurcate into two categories: permissioned and permissionless.
Permissioned DeFi will gain traction among institutions, because it marries the benefits of blockchain technology with the compliance standards of traditional finance. If just a small percentage of traditional finance activity moves on-chain, it could create a market opportunity worth more than $1 trillion.
When you add in permissionless DeFi, which is more geared towards individual users and makes up most of DeFi today, the combined market has the potential to become worth anywhere from $500 billion to $2 trillion by 2028.
That said, DeFi’s growth will depend on more than just an increase in use cases. It will also be influenced by developments in infrastructure, regulation and financial innovation.
What were the biggest challenges your firm faced in 2022? What steps are you taking to better prepare for 2023?
Navigating the high-profile collapses (Terra, Celsius, FTX) was certainly the focus of 2022. We had to take more time to support our founders and ensure they have sufficient runway to endure an extended bear market.
This year, our focus is on helping founders find creative ways to grow through this market and position themselves for the next bull market. We’re also focused on sourcing opportunistic investments at attractive valuations and incubating more projects in-house.
Six crypto investors talk about DeFi and the road ahead for adoption in 2023 by Jacquelyn Melinek originally published on TechCrunch
Scale AI cuts 20% of its workforce
Scale AI, the San Francisco-based company that uses software and people to label image, text, voice and video data for companies building machine learning algorithms, laid off 20% of its workforce this week.
The decision, which was announced by founder and CEO Alexandr Wang via a company blog post, was made after rapid hiring in 2021 and 2022 came crashing into present-day macro economic challenges. The company did not say how many people work at Scale AI. However, back in February 2022, the company told TechCrunch it employed about 450 people.
Scale AI, which was last valued at $7.3 billion and is backed by a slew of investors such as Tiger Global, Coatue Management and Founders Fund, has been a rising starin the AI industry.
The seven-year-old company got its start supplying autonomous vehicle companies with the labeled data needed to train machine learning models to develop and eventually commercialize robotaxis, self-driving trucks and automated bots used in warehouses and on-demand delivery.
In 2020, that changed as e-commerce, enterprise automation, government, insurance, real estate and robotics companies turned to Scale’s visual data labeling platform to develop and apply artificial intelligence to their respective businesses. The company has since expanded into synthetic data to enhance its real world data sets. Its customer base is vast and varied, including the Department of Defense, Pinterest, Nuro, Zoox and General Motors.
Interest from enterprises and governments in AI grew rapidly in the past few years, according to Wang.
“As a result, I made the decision to grow the team aggressively in order to take advantage of what I thought was our new normal,” he wrote in the blog. “For a time, this seemed to prove out–we saw strong sales growth through 2021 and 2022. As a result, we increased headcount assuming the massive growth would continue. However, the macro environment has changed dramatically in recent quarters, which is something I failed to predict. Many of the industries we serve, such as e-commerce and consumer technology, have been buoyed by the pandemic and are now experiencing a painful market correction. As a result, we need to prepare ourselves for a very different economic environment.”
Wang said he takes “full responsibility for the decisions that have led us to this point.”
Workers who are affected will receive a minimum of eight weeks of severance and three months of healthcare. The company is also waiving the one-year equity cliff for employees with less than one year of tenure and is providing immigration support for those on visas that require continued employment.
Wang added that Scale AI is also cutting its expenses, adjusted its hiring practices and is re-assessing new offices.
Scale AI cuts 20% of its workforce by Kirsten Korosec originally published on TechCrunch
Comcast’s Xfinity Stream app adds support for Apple’s AirPlay
Xfinity announced today that customers using the Xfinity Stream app can now use Apple AirPlay to stream and share content directly to Apple TV 4K and other AirPlay-supported devices, such as Samsung smart TVs, LG, Sony, Vizio, and smart speakers like Bose and Sonos.
AirPlay functionality is important for a pay TV streaming app, so it’s about time Comcast finally added the capability. Charter, one of Comcast’s biggest competitors, has supported AirPlay on its Spectrum TV app for a few years now.
The Xfinity Stream app launched in 2017 and gives Xfinity TV subscribers access to live broadcast channels, such as ABC, CBS, CW, FOX, NBC, PBS, Univision and Telemundo, as well as linear TV channels, video on demand and more.
Starting today, Xfinity TV customers will finally be able to switch devices more smoothly, moving a title from their phone to their compatible smart TV or speaker.
The announcement comes on the heels of Comcast launching the Xfinity Stream app on Apple TV devices in June 2022. Comcast also rolled out the Apple TV+ app across Xfinity platforms in March of last year, including Xfinity X1, Xfinity Flex and XClass TV.
Last week, Comcast announced “Free This Week,” a year-long promotion that gives Xfinity customers free programming from streaming services and networks like HBO Max, Showtime and Lifetime Movie Club, among others.
Comcast’s Xfinity Stream app adds support for Apple’s AirPlay by Lauren Forristal originally published on TechCrunch
Salesforce turmoil continues into new year, as recent layoffs attest
Salesforce has been in the news a lot recently, and largely not for positive reasons. It has been an unusually dramatic and turbulent period for the cloud CRM leader, and the first of the year brought little relief: The company announced last week it was laying off 10% of its approximately 80,000 employees.
Layoff news is never good, but it comes on the heels of a slew of other negative reports. There have been key executive exits, like co-CEO Bret Taylor announcing he was leaving the company and Slack co-founder and CEO Stewart Butterfield departing as soon as his two-year post-acquisition commitment expired.
On top of all that, Salesforce announced at its most recent earnings that it would not be projecting revenue for the next fiscal year for the first time in its history due to an uncertain economic environment.
Then there was the business of activist investor Starboard Value, which took a stake in October. One of the firm’s demands was more operational discipline, and perhaps the layoffs are part of that — or at least a convenient excuse to cut back.
If that weren’t enough, after positioning itself as Digital HQ throughout the pandemic (a big reason for its purchase of Slack), company chairman and CEO Marc Benioff sent out confusing signals last month that newer employees weren’t as productive because they didn’t benefit from the office culture.
Perhaps Benioff was just frustrated about spending all that money on fancy office space that so few employees were actually using: Salesforce is cutting back on office expenditures at a time when fewer workers are spending significant time there, with Fortune reporting that some offices had as low as 10% occupancy.
But why layoffs now? Perhaps it was simply time to pump the brakes amid mixed economic signals. We spoke to several industry analysts who follow Salesforce to get their opinions.
Salesforce turmoil continues into new year, as recent layoffs attest by Ron Miller originally published on TechCrunch
Roblox may arrive on Meta Quest later this year
It appears that Roblox, a major player in the metaverse space, could be getting its moment to shine on Meta’s virtual reality headset. According to The Verge’s Command Line newsletter, sources say that Roblox might be planning to come to Quest in late 2023.
Roblox declined to comment to TechCrunch. Meta was not immediately available to comment.
This isn’t the first time someone has mentioned Roblox coming to Quest. During an investor call in 2021, CEO and co-founder of Roblox, Dave Baszucki, said that Quest makes “perfect sense for Roblox,” which was a hint that the company had VR plans for the future.
While Roblox is already compatible with various VR headsets, including Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, gamers currently need to connect their PC to a VR headset to play. The virtual world gaming platform isn’t available as a Quest game. If Roblox were to get support for Meta Quest, it would be a significant move for both companies.
If the rumor turns out to be true, it will likely satisfy investors as well. Roblox and Meta both reported disappointing earnings results, with Roblox experiencing a loss of $297.8 million and Meta’s virtual reality division losing $3.67 billion. Meta anticipates more losses in 2023.
However, Meta also confirmed in its earnings call that a consumer-grade follow-up to Quest 2 is coming in 2023. So, with Meta’s new VR headset arriving sometime this year, it’s possible Roblox could be the launch title.
The company announced Quest Pro at Meta Connect 2022, so it’s likely we’ll learn more about the new VR headset at Meta’s next Connect conference in fall 2023. The price of the upcoming headset is expected to be around the same as Quest 2, which increased by $100 to $500 in August 2022.
Roblox may arrive on Meta Quest later this year by Lauren Forristal originally published on TechCrunch
Qonto plans to move Penta customers to its platform by the end of 2023
Last year, French startup Qonto acquired its German competitor Penta. Both companies offer business bank accounts for small and medium companies as well as freelancers. Today, Qonto shared some details about the integration process.
At the time of the acquisition, Penta was serving 50,000 companies in Germany while Qonto had 300,000 customers in France, Spain, Italy and Germany. While Penta is no longer accepting new customers, new German companies looking for a bank account can sign up to Qonto directly.
As for existing customers, Qonto now expects to move all Penta customers to Qonto’s banking platform by the end of 2023. Once this is done, the company will operate under a single brand — Qonto.
Similarly, there are some internal changes. The Qonto and Penta teams are going to merge with Penta’s co-founder Lukas Zörner acting as the new VP of Germany for Qonto. And just like that, Qonto is going to add tens of thousands of customers to its platform.
“Germany was Qonto’s fastest growing market in both 2021 and 2022 and we’ll keep building on this momentum in 2023. The union of Qonto and Penta is a starting signal for a new era of consolidation in the European fintech industry. By integrating Penta, we’re combining the strengths of two companies to enhance Qonto’s position as the digital business finance leader European SMEs and freelancers expect and need,” Qonto co-founder and CEO Alexandre Prot said in a statement.
So if you’re a Penta customer, keep an eye on your email inbox as you will soon receive an invitation to move your account to Qonto. Customers will still have a German IBAN. Qonto also offers virtual and physical corporate cards, several ways to export and sync your bank statements with your accounting solution (including Datev support), instant SEPA transfers and more.
When it comes to pricing, freelancers should pay more or less the same subscription fee as both Penta’s and Qonto’s plans started at €9 per month. Bigger companies with multiple users could end up paying more though as Penta’s enterprise plan offered 15 cards for €49 per month. Companies on the cheapest Qonto plan (€29 per month) have to pay another €5 per card per month to get more than two cards.
In January 2022, Qonto announced a massive €486 million Series D funding round ($522 million at today’s exchange rate). It was a different time for the tech industry as there are a lot less late-stage rounds.
This acquisition is probably the first one of a long series of fintech acquisitions. There will be more consolidation moves in the fintech industry in 2023 due to the current slowdown in venture funding and overaggressive expansion plans in 2021 and early 2022.
Qonto plans to move Penta customers to its platform by the end of 2023 by Romain Dillet originally published on TechCrunch
TechCrunch+ roundup: New success metrics, M&A timeline, 5 cloud trends for 2023
You don’t need to be an economist to appreciate the myriad forces placing downward pressure on startups today.
Setting aside the legions of investors keeping their powder dry, is your yearly revenue growing faster than the inflation rate? What percentage of your sales team has experience working during a downturn?
Amidst the angst, there’s some good news: Investors are adjusting expectations to meet the new reality, which means “crisper methods for evaluating success will emerge,” predicts Lonne Jaffe, managing director at Insight Partners.
Instead of chasing growth like a plant reflexively bending toward the strongest light, he says founders should prioritize more meaningful “efficiency metrics,” such as:
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Gross retention rates
Lower CAC
Average revenue per sales rep
High gross margins
Looking ahead, he recommends that founders start considering M&A options now before a predicted wave of consolidation hits the private markets in the coming months and also examines why startups in “areas of tangible innovation” like generative AI will have a “relatively” easy time fundraising.
“We’re entering 2023 with a great number of known issues and a constrained ability to forecast what’s ahead,” says Jaffe. “One thing’s for certain, though: This year will be more about nailing it than scaling it.”
Thanks very much for reading,
Walter Thompson
Editorial Manager, TechCrunch+
@yourprotagonist
A timeline for startup M&A processes: Key steps and factors to consider
Image Credits: Siriporn Kaenseeya / EyeEm (opens in a new window) / Getty Images
I’ve worked with many early-stage founders, and they all had one thing in common: Each was absolutely, completely convinced that they could successfully build and scale our company.
In reality, “not all companies are best positioned to go it alone, and that’s okay,” writes Vishal Lugani, general partner and co-founder at Acrew Capital.
In a detailed guide to the M&A process, Lugani offers a week-by-week deal timeline that breaks down every step between sourcing offers and post-close integration.
A lot can happen over the months it can take for a deal to close, so the article includes strategies for selecting an acquirer, maintaining product momentum and managing your team (and investors!).
How can fintech startups outlast the VC winter?
Image Credits: Peter Cade (opens in a new window) / Getty Images
“Everything else being equal, embedded banking startups and new fintechs will live and die on the basis of the user experience they provide,” says Peter Hazlehurst, CEO and co-founder of Synctera.
Because so many fintech investors are seeking startups that already have “concrete customer traction,” Hazlehurst shares proven tactics for gathering user feedback that can help companies get an MVP out the door in weeks instead of months.
“By drilling down to a lean, mean, meaningful MVP, startups can position themselves to reach the next leg of their journey,” he writes.
5 cloud trends to track in 2023
Image Credits: Peter Dazeley (opens in a new window) / Getty Images
Despite the downturn, Gartner estimates that global IT spending will reach $4.6 trillion this year, a year-over-year increase of 5.1%.
Josh Berman, president of C2C Global, has identified five trends that cloud technology startups should keep in mind as they create product, fundraising and hiring plans for the new year.
“The promise of these technologies is too significant to ignore,” writes Berman.
A flat year for crowdfunding isn’t a bad sign at all for early-stage startups
Image Credits: Getty Images
The global equity crowdfunding market slowed in 2022, but it certainly did better than venture funding, reports Rebecca Szkutak.
Even though crowdfunding fell from $486 million in 2021 to $426 million last year, “I’ve seen a lot more Y Combinator companies, Techstars and venture-backed companies,” said Krishan Arora, CEO and founder of the Arora Project.
“They look at it for getting another $2 million, $3 million, in a bridge round,” he said. “There is more higher quality deal flow trickling into this space.”
TechCrunch+ roundup: New success metrics, M&A timeline, 5 cloud trends for 2023 by Walter Thompson originally published on TechCrunch