FundersClub Weekly Newsletter - November 3, 2016
FundersClub Portfolio News
Shippo announces an integration with Stripe, so now any merchant using Stripe for managing their e-commerce business can automatically sync their orders to the Shippo dashboard for shipping in "Stripe Connect for Shipping."
Regalii unveils two new products – Regalii xData and Regalii xChange, sparking an evolution of its platform which is designed to help the fintech ecosystem transform bill pay from a cost center to a profit and new-user activation center while modernizing the customer experience in "Regalii Evolves its Platform to Transform the $1.2 Trillion U.S. Bill Pay Market."
Bellabeat, the company that makes health trackers designed to look like jewelry, has developed an app for expecting parents, called Shell, that together with a phone add-on, allows users to record and playback fetal heartbeats in "Bellabeat's new Shell app can capture the sound of your womb."
Sourcery, a digital payments and commerce platform focusing on the food and hospitality industry, helped Genuine Article achieve 7x growth with the adoption of their automated invoice management software in "Hospitality Consulting Firm Genuine Article Achieves 7x Growth using Sourcery's Automated Payments Platform."
SeamlessMD partners with Saint Peter’s Healthcare System to launch its new enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) program and extend the support of the hospital into its patients’ homes in "Saint Peter’s Partners With SeamlessMD To Implement Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Program."
drchrono releases a new version of its software that is targeted for larger medical practices and provider groups in "drchrono ratchets up EHR for larger medical practices."
Investor Thoughts
FundersClub offers an educational guide which explores securities that investors typically use to fund early-stage startups, including equity investments, convertible notes, and SAFEs, when each is used, and how they impact investor returns in "Understanding Startup Investments."
Christopher Steiner of FundersClub discusses some acute investor biases within the realm of startup investing that can lead an investor to pass on an deal, and suggests that while applying a template to every investment may be comforting, it can also be detrimental to a portfolio in "Biases: The Biggest Force Holding Back Startup Investors."
Benedict Evans and Steven Sinofsky of Andreessen Horowitz explain how new devices are changing the future of work by looking at where they are on the “S-curve” of innovation in "a16z Podcast: So Where Are We on the ‘S-curve’ for PC Devices?"
Alex Clayton of Spark Capital analyzes the 49 Salesforce company acquisitions over the past 10 years to see how active they are and how much they typically pay in “Salesforce M&A in Context.”
Adley Bowden of PitchBook answers the questions of how big an employee option pool should be for a startup, and how this changes over the course of a startup’s life in "How big should an employee option pool be?"
Ethan Zoubek of OpenView Venture Partners gives a framework for sales professionals on answering the question of how much what they are selling costs in "How to Handle the "How Much Does It Cost" Question."
Jean de La Rochebrochard of Kima Ventures attempts to provide a real solution to the complex problem of how to effectively run a board meeting in "How To Run Great Board Meetings."
Leo Polovets of Susa Ventures gives a list of common startup-related risks and offers some mitigation tips in "How to De-Risk a Startup."
Founder and Operator Thoughts
Branding expert Julie Supan explains how she helps her customers identify their target user, how to find them, and why every startup needs to speak directly to the people who will really care in "What I Learned From Developing Branding for Airbnb, Dropbox and Thumbtack."
Cadran Cowansage of Y Combinator discusses with a group of female engineers about how startups can make the workplace more parent-friendly and what are some of the opportunities and challenges that come with starting a family in "Ask a Female Engineer: Employees with Kids and Relationships at Work."
Justin Bariso of Insight analyzes a comment by Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook that the number one thing she looks for in someone who can scale a company is someone who takes feedback well in "It Took Sheryl Sandberg Exactly 2 Sentences to Give the Best Career Advice You'll Hear Today."
Tucker Max of Book In A Box shares entrepreneurship lessons (and where you can read more) that can teach you the method of "doing entrepreneurship right" in "The Only Entrepreneurship Lesson You Need (with Do/Don’t Reading List)."
Anna Kulawik of The Rectangle presents the User Centered Design Canvas and describes how it can help entrepreneurs set up a company in "Develop Your Startup with User Centered Design Canvas."
Tony Aubé of The Startup explains why he believes self-driving cars are one of the most transformative upcoming technologies for our society, and explores the ways these cars will impact our everyday life in "The Unintended Ways Self-Driving Cars Will Change Our World."
In Other News
Facebook reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat analyst expectations, with adjusted earnings of $1.09 per share on revenue of $7.01 billion, but shares of the stock wavered after hours in "Facebook shares fall 7% after hours amid guidance."
Instagram is now showing shoppable tags on photos from 20 retail brands like Kate Spade and JackThreads to iOS users in the US, where users see an in-app details page with a specific product’s price, description, additional photos, and a “Shop Now” button to buy it on the web in "Instagram tests shoppable photo tags."
Did You Know?
Did you know that San Francisco cable cars are the only National Monuments that can move?