FundersClub Weekly Newsletter - May 5, 2016
FundersClub Portfolio News
Eden, the on-demand tech support company turned office support service, expands to Oakland, meaning that it's service now covers all of the Bay Area, from Oakland to San Francisco to the Peninsula, in "Eden on-demand office management service launches in Oakland".
Scentbird is a perfume subscription service where members have a 30-day supply of their chosen designer perfumes and colognes delivered directly to their doorstep in "Try over 450 designer fragrances with Scentbird perfume subscription".
Shark Tank investor Robert Herjavec says the Smart Vent maker from Keen Home is one of the most successful investments he’s made on the show in "Shark Tank: One Of Robert Herjavec's Best Bets Could Save You Money On Utilities".
ShipBob, which began in September 2014 as a low-cost consumer package delivery app then moved to fulfillment services for small businesses, is seeing gains by targeting successful crowdfunded operations in "ShipBob finds a place serving crowdfunding success stories".
Virool, a programmatic video distribution company, is planning a vertical video ad unit called Vertical Reveal to best match up with how we hold our mobile devices day-to-day in "Snapchat Led the Way With Vertical Video. Will Virool Make It the New Standard?".
ShapeShift.io, a cryptocurrency exchange platform, has restored its services following a recent hack, noting that no customer money was lost or ever at risk in "Cryptocurrency Exchange ShapeShift Restores Services Following Hack".
Investor Thoughts
Benedict Evans of Andreessen Horowitz weighs in on the mobile phone industry and believes we are at the end of an era, and something will need to change to accommodate the growing world population in "The era of a mobile wave".
Mark Suster of Upfront Ventures explains why he uses Snapchat, noting that when you publish into a network like theirs where users tune in every single day to watch content, you have a natural audience in "Why on Earth Would Anybody Post Business Videos on Snapchat?".
Simon Rothman of Greylock Parners says that although many startups used cash as a weapon to literally buy growth and scale between 2010 and 2015, the same tactics will not work in the future in "The Steroid Era of Startups Is Over".
Nicholas Chirls of Notation Capital highlights a few quotes that are indicative of what founders should currently expect from “seed” investors when raising their first institutional round of capital in "The Current State of “Seed” Investing".
Adam Marcus of OpenView Venture Partners requests that VCs and entrepreneurs both admit that valuations were too high, and now focus on making deals where everyone benefits in "Here’s why we only did three deals last year".
CB Insights analyzed on-demand deal activity by sub-industry to see which areas are still seeing deals and which ones slowed down after the rush in 2015 in "On-Demand Heatmap: What’s Still Hot And What’s Not In The On-Demand Economy".
Founder and Operator Thoughts
Brian Rothenberg of Eventbrite answers some of the hardest questions he frequently gets asked, and shares his solutions for reaching more users, capturing more value, and making sure the best come back in "Answers To Your Tough Questions About Growth — Learned While Scaling Eventbrite’s $5B+ Growth Engine".
Entrepreneur Michael Troiano breaks down what he thinks is the secret to Andreessen Horowitz's success after spending a few days in their offices in "What’s So Special About Andreessen Horowitz?".
Jon Westenberg gives advice to founders on what not to do when pitching to investors, and highlights that "VC’s fund people and products. Not pitch decks" in "There are 5 factors a VC will give a shit about".
Ali Mese of Pick Crew highlights the importance of side projects in helping your business connect with only those that matter by creating lasting value, and mentions that side projects actually make up 62% of their profits in "Find Side Project Ideas".
Brandon Chu of Shopify looks back at his time as a product manager and notes that although product management is the intersection of a diverse skill set, he wishes he had focused his learning instead of trying to learn everything in "MVPM: Minimum Viable Product Manager".
Ago Cluytens of RAIN Groups believes that consultative selling is undergoing an exciting, thorough transformation and breaks down the seven key ways in which consultative selling will transform in the near future in "The Future Of Consultative Selling: 7 Shifts That Make Sales Success Inevitable".
In Other News
Tesla just reported its first-quarter results showing a loss of 57 cents per share on $1.6 billion in revenue, but said it is on track for production and delivery of its Model 3 mass-market car in late 2017, with Elon Musk guessing they will have 1 million in annual production by 2020 in "Tesla pops 4% on results, production outlook".
India has rejected a plan by Apple to import used iPhones, two telecoms ministry officials said, a blow to the U.S. tech giant that has been seeking to revive waning sales of its flagship smartphones in "India rejects Apple's plan to import used iPhones".
Did You Know?
Did you know that if you put a can of Diet Coke in water, it floats, while regular Coca-Cola sinks?