FundersClub Weekly Newsletter - April 28, 2016
FundersClub Portfolio News
ClearTax, the company that makes filing taxes online in India easier, raises $1.3 million dollars of funding in "ClearTax nabs $1.3M to make filing taxes online in India less stressful".
Starting today, users of Coinbase in the US can purchase Bitcoin using their debit cards in "Coinbase users in the US can now buy Bitcoin with debit cards".
CloudMedx, a big data health analytics company, has acquired Gyrus Labs to extend its CloudMedx Analytics Platform, which is designed to help improve patient care through data insights in "CloudMedx acquires Gyrus Labs with an eye on deeper insights into clinical data".
Teespring partners with Eventbrite, a San Francisco-based company that provides ticketing services for event organizers, to allow users to design their own custom apparel when purchasing event tickets in "Eventbrite and Teespring Team Up to Bring Custom Shirts for Events".
Instacart's Senior PM of Growth Fareed Mosavat offers advice for anyone looking to start a career in growth/product as well as how to cultivate a culture of data no matter where you work in "Instacart's Fareed Mosavat on ‘being a product person through and through’".
Zum, which provides scheduled or on-demand rides and care for kids 5-15 years old, picks up new customers and focuses on the Bay Area in "Zum picks up customers and drivers after Shuddle’s closing".
Unocoin announces the launch of its point of sale payment services for merchants that will allow traders to accept bitcoin at their physical shops in "Unocoin Launches Unocoin PoS for Indian Merchants".
Investor Thoughts
Alex Mittal of FundersClub discusses the shift of value creation from the public market to the private and what to do about it in "Why You're Missing 95% of Gains When Investing in Public Tech Companies".
Mark Suster of Upfront Ventures highlights how focusing on a large LTV/CAC ratio can be a trap in "Why Misunderstanding Startup Metrics Can Cost You Your Business".
Tomasz Tunguz of Redpoint Ventures recognizes that Silicon Valley is not the only place for tech innovation, but it is simply the largest and advises to keep an eye out on what is happening elsewhere in "Silicon Valley Is Not Always The First Mover".
Joe Lonsdale of 8VC believes that the best practice is to place the cap of your investments at a valuation in which you are very confident you can hit that is likely below your next round in "Practice safe financing".
Angela Tran Kingyens of Version One Ventures thinks we are happiest with and engaged in our work when our personal learning profile matches that of our jobs and tasks at hand in “Understand Learning Profiles Before Hiring”.
Teddy Citrin of Greycroft Partners says that while work background and performance may help you get a job, being a good VC is much more art than a science in “The Background Myth in Venture Capital”.
Founder and Operator Thoughts
Tradecraft interviews 11 top Silicon Valley growth marketers about emerging channels/ platforms that are interesting to them in "Emerging Growth Channels — Spring 2016".
Brett Kopf of Remind unpacks what customer obsession involves and how they have deliberately designed their process to never stray far from customer needs and experiences in "Your Users Deserve Better".
Gregory Ciotti of HelpScout believes that great teachers make for great leaders because they have already earned attention and respect without demanding it in "Those Who Can’t Teach".
Gary Vaynerchuk of Vayner Media reminds entrepreneurs to focus on their happiness while building their business in "Reframing the Narrative on Entrepreneurship".
Alex Chuang of Launch Academy says that the companies that survive the current volatile markets will be the ones that have equalized all three growth levers of acquisition, retention, and monetization masterfully in "Step Aside Unicorns, The Water Bears Are Preparing For A Big Comeback".
In Other News
The Federal Bureau of Investigation doesn’t plan to tell Apple how it cracked a San Bernardino, Calif., terrorist’s phone, leaving the company in the dark on a security vulnerability on some iPhone models in "FBI Plans to Keep Apple iPhone-Hacking Method Secret".
Amazon is expected to post slightly higher revenue for its retail business, while Amazon Web Services could grow by 50% or more in "For Amazon, Expect 'Very Very Modest' Earnings Growth On 'Very Solid' Revenue Growth".
Did You Know?
Did you know that Pac-Man was once the symbol for Google’s homepage and it took up over 5 million hours of people’s work time?