European micromobility startup Dott grabs $70 million - TechCrunch

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Urban mobility startup Dott has raised an extension to its Series B round. Originally announced in the Spring of 2021, the company raised an $85 million Series B round — it was a mix of equity and asset-backed debt financing. And today, the company is adding another $70 million to this round —once again, it’s a mix of equity and debt.

Dott is a European micromobility startup that is better known for its scooter-sharing service. More recently, the company also added an electric bike-sharing service in some cities.

abrdn is leading the Series B extension with Dott’s existing investor Sofina. Other existing investors put more money on the table, such as EQT Ventures and Prosus Ventures.

Dott competes with several micromobility startups in Europe. Its most direct competitors are Tier, Lime and Voi. There are quite similar when it comes to pricing and scooters — most of them work with Okai to design their scooters. But they don’t necessarily operate in the same markets.

Right now, Dott covers 36 cities across nine European countries. The company manages 40,000 scooters and 10,000 bikes. While Dott isn’t sharing revenue numbers, the startup processed 130% more trips in 2021 compared to 2020.

Two other differentiating factors between micromobility operators are logistics and regulation. When it comes to logistics, Dott tries to internalize its processes as much as possible. It doesn’t work with third-party logistics providers and it has its own warehouses and repair teams to take care of its fleet.

When it comes to regulation, the company has won several permits to operate in highly coveted markets, such as Paris and London. However, Paris is currently trying to heavily regulate scooter-sharing services in Paris with a new top speed of… 10 km/h (that’s 6.2 mph). There are currently 700 slow zones in Paris with a top speed of 10 km/h.

There are two key takeaways here. First, building a micromobility company requires a ton of capital. It shouldn’t come as a surprise as buying scooters is expensive, charging batteries is expensive and hiring people to make everything run smoothly is expensive.

Second, the regulatory landscape is still evolving and there are still some uncertainties for scooter startups. Dott is diversifying its product offering with electric bikes — and that seems like a smart move. It’s also going to be interesting to see how it plans to optimize battery charging even more to make its service more cost effective.

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Walmart-backed financial startup buys companies - Journal Record

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A Walmart location in Philadelphia. (AP photo/Matt Rourke)

NEW YORK – The financial technology startup that Walmart is backing will acquire two financial companies as it tries to create one app where shoppers can do different financial activities from getting paid to borrowing and saving money.

The venture called Hazel will purchase Even, a financial benefits platform that enables employees to access their earned wages early. It’s also buying ONE Finance Corp. which combines saving, spending and borrowing in one account and also lets customers apply for a debit card. The combined business will operate under ONE. The transactions are expected to close in the first half of this year.

Omer Ismail, a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. veteran, will lead ONE as CEO. Walmart recruited him last year.

The announcement, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, comes a year after Walmart said it was creating a fintech startup with Ribbit Capital, one of the venture capital firms behind Robinhood.

Walmart said Wednesday that many Americans can’t access credit, build savings or wealth and are left to manage their financial lives through multiple disconnected apps. It estimated that nearly a quarter of U.S. adults are unbanked or underbanked and roughly 80% of users of financial technology rely on multiple accounts to manage their finances.

Walmart’s moves show how the nation’s largest retailer is stepping up the pace in throwing its weight around in the banking world. Walmart says its financial products and services will be made available directly to consumers and through employers and merchants, including access to its 1.6 million U.S. employees and 100 million-plus weekly shoppers.

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What 20 years in Silicon Valley’s security sector teaches you about launching a successful startup - VentureBeat

Kangarootime startup gets bounce from $6 million investment - Buffalo News

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Scott Wayman has watched Buffalo's startup ecosystem develop since moving his company here several years ago.

Now the child care software business he founded, Kangarootime, is in the middle of that growing startup scene, recently raising $6 million from investors to fuel its growth plans.

Wayman, the CEO, brought Kangarootime to Buffalo after winning $500,000 as a runner-up in the 2017 43North business plan competition. The $6 million the business recently raised included $300,000 in follow-up funding from 43North. 

Kangarootime CEO Scott Wayman shown in 2017, when his company won a $500,000 investment from 43North that opened the door for growth.

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The funding round was led by Cultivation Capital, and included partners such as Motivate, a fund created by Buffalo native Lauren DeLuca.

"The outside capital is coming in because the ACVs, the Squires, the Circuit Clinicals are doing great things and building great businesses," Wayman said, referring to other successful startups. "I think it's proof that the ecosystem is a really efficient capital allocator. The companies that come here and that are allocated capital grow at a nice rate. They essentially get a great return on their investment."

Beyond funding, Wayman said the Buffalo Niagara region's startups have created a supportive environment for each other.

"The startup founders here, we all have each other here on speed dial," he said. "Everybody is willing to have those moments of generosity. It's really a great culture to be here.

"I think a lot of entrepreneurs in the [San Francisco] Bay area feel like that ecosystem is maybe just too big to get access to some of the players and that real foundational experience," he said.

In contrast, Wayman said, many founders in the Buffalo area are "rooting for each other."

Kangarootime has 39 employees, about 25 of whom are based in Buffalo. The company, based at Seneca One tower, is aiming to grow to 100 employees by the end of this year, with the majority of those new jobs based here, Wayman said.

Kangarootime's technology and systems help relieve the pressure on child care businesses struggling to find enough employees, by helping them operate more efficiently, Wayman said. "The business of child care has more demand that it ever has, but supply [of labor] is severely compromised."

Operators of child care centers are growing through acquisitions, and Kangarootime's technology is well suited to support businesses with multiple locations, Wayman said.

Kangarootime will channel some of its new investment toward staffing up, including hiring more engineers. "We're super focused on recruiting the best and the brightest to help us build even more of the platform," Wayman said.

Wayman's story of perseverance was featured in a TV documentary about the city's resurgence, "For the Love of Buffalo," which aired last month. In the program, he talked about how the $500,000 he won at the 43North competition over four years ago was a financial lifeline for a business whose future was in doubt at the time.

Wayman said he has seen the possibilities for startups to grow in Buffalo, after watching the online auction platform ACV blossom into a publicly traded company with market valuation of nearly $2 billion.

"Seeing them scale and then being this shining example of scale in Western New York was not only an inspiration, it was also a validation," he said. "We could see them do it."

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TechCrunch+ roundup: 2021 edtech report, UBS-Wealthfront deal, falling startup revenue - TechCrunch

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I could spend hours discussing early-stage startup operations and community-based marketing, but deal flow is my blind spot.

But when investment banking firm UBS picked up financial robot-advisor Wealthfront for $1.4 billion in an all-cash deal this week, I noticed.

“At those prices, the company’s exit price is a win in that it represents a 2x or greater multiple on its final private valuations,” wrote Alex Wilhelm in The Exchange. “But its exit value is also parsable from a number of alternative perspectives: AUM, customers and revenue,” he added.

Examining each of those factors in turn, Alex found that the deal is more than just a “next-gen push” intended “to reach rich young Americans,” as some headlines suggested.

This exit will help other fintechs set expectations, but it should give a mental boost to anyone who thinks they’re too late to start up in this space.

---

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Just over 56% of Americans own stock, but that figure is still several points lower than it was before the Great Recession more than a decade ago. With more consumers buying crypto and fractional shares today, I’d say the robo-advisor race is still doing a parade lap.

Alex, who swims through deal flow like a carefree dolphin, agrees with me — to a point:

The recent declines in active users on platforms like Robinhood, and the success of fintechs like M1 in the last few years could point to a market more open to robo-advising, but the question is whether their lower-cost model can prove sufficiently interesting to investors.

Wealthfront, for example, takes a 0.25% cut of consumer funds. Robinhood I think was doing a bit better when we considered its PFOF incomes against lower-value customer accounts that were actively trading.

Can the robos present a financial picture that is similarly strong? If they can, they will likely prove less volatile than Robinhood has to date.

We’re essentially in agreement: it’s never too late for a good idea.

Thanks very much for reading TechCrunch+ this week!

Walter Thompson
Senior Editor, TechCrunch+
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European and North American edtech startups see funding triple in 2021

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Pre-pandemic, VCs were notoriously reluctant to invest in education-related companies. Today, edtech startups are seeing higher average deal sizes, more seed and pre-seed funding from non-VC investors, and an influx of generalists.

According to Rhys Spence, head of research at Brighteye Ventures, funding for edtech startups based in Europe and North America trebled over the last year.

“Exciting companies are spawning across geographies and verticals, and even generalist investors are building conviction that the sector is capable of producing the same kind of outsized returns generated in fintech, healthtech and other sectors,” writes Spence.

Here’s how far VCs have lowered revenue expectations for seed through Series B

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Valuations are soaring, but revenue averages for SaaS startups “have seen a recent and rapid decline,” according to a Kruze Consulting report Alex Wilhelm studied yesterday.

The revenue growth goalposts for early-stage startups wanting to fundraise have moved closer in the past couple of years, which means investors are now willing to pour money into companies with slower growth than they were earlier, Alex wrote.

“In all, startups are getting paid better, faster for less work than before. It’s a great time to raise, but a pretty awful time for venture capitalists trained in an era when they got more equity for their dollar.”

Dear Sophie: 3 questions about immigration and naturalization

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Dear Sophie,

My F-1 OPT will run out this June. My employer has agreed to register me in the H-1B lottery in March.

What are my options if I’m not selected in the lottery?

—Gritty Grad

I’m in the U.S. with an L-1A visa that will max out later this year. My wife has been with me during the whole period on an L-2. Can my wife apply for H-1B this year?

Would she need to leave the country to activate it?

—Helpful Hubby

I have a 10-year green card that will expire later this year. I’ve been married to a U.S. citizen for 11 years, but we are in the process of divorcing.

Can I apply for U.S. citizenship even after my divorce?

—New Year, New Life

IBM shrugs off investor EPS concerns, sells growth story

Madrid headquarters of IBM International Business Machine, the American multinational of informatics and technology consulting services, Spain, November 2012. Image Credits: Cristina Arias/Cover/Getty Images

IBM’s earnings report was received positively, but when CFO Jim Kavanaugh declined to share the company’s earnings per share expectations on a post-earnings conference call, the stock quickly tanked.

The stock recovered the following day, but the blip was newsworthy, since a narrow focus on offloading some assets, expanding growth and free cash flow puts IBM on track for further growth, analysts told Alex Wilhelm and Ron Miller.

“Good to see IBM finding back the growth that has eluded the vendor for longer than any investor would have liked,” said Holger Mueller, an analyst at Constellation Research.

“But a small ship can sail faster, and with Kyndryl and Watson Health assets being offloaded, it will help make IBM sail faster.”

In blow to unicorns, the global IPO market continues to soften

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It’s still a great time to be a startup founder. Specifically — an early-stage startup founder.

WeTransfer’s parent, WeRock, delayed its IPO earlier this week, becoming the latest major software firm to shelve its plans to go public after JustWorks.

Before that, a bevy of SPAC IPOs that many hoped would shoot to the moon instead drifted off course after launching.

These signals, taken with several others, suggest that this might not be the best time to go public, wrote Alex Wilhelm and Anna Heim in The Exchange.

“Are the good times ending?”

Edtech startups flock to the promise and potential of personalized learning

Image Credits: Getty Images/smartboy10/DigitalVision

Everyone learns differently, but parents, teachers and schools tend to forget that vital fact in the classroom.

The enforced changes brought by the pandemic, however, have led some teachers and parents to realize that personalized learning is key to education, especially in the case of neurodiverse students.

As a result, a new wave of startups have appeared that promise to deliver curricula that adapts to a student’s emotional or educational state, reports Natasha Mascarenhas.

“The pandemic’s extended stay has caused edtech entrepreneurs – and society – to view learning outcomes as broader than job placement and exam scores,” she wrote.

3 views: How should startups prepare for a post-pandemic dip?

Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch

If the public markets were a swimming pool, it would still be open for business, but there’d be signs warning newcomers that the water has gotten a bit chilly.

Natasha Mascarenhas, Mary Ann Azevedo and Alex Wilhelm, the trio behind the Equity podcast, shared their predictions about what’s in store for startup funding and due diligence in 2022:

• Natasha Mascarenhas: ‘The Lean Startup’ has aged with an asterisk
• Alex Wilhelm: Money over bulls**t
• Mary Ann Azevedo: Don’t try to be all the things

Crypto pioneer David Chaum says web3 is ‘computing with a conscience’

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In 1982, computer scientist David Chaum wrote a dissertation that described a blockchain protocol, along with the code for implementing it.

Since then, his cryptologic research has led to developments like digital cash and anonymous communication networks. This week, he launched xxmessenger, which the company describes as the first “quantum-resistant” messaging app.

When we asked him what has changed in the past few years, Chaum said, “Seems to me that Bitcoin and the like have created something that could no longer be ignored. Now the question is: How can it be brought to the general public in a way that they can readily adopt this next generation of information technology?”

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Monos Raises $10 Million for Luggage: Travel Startup Funding This Week - Skift

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Skift Take

Travel startups that recently raised money include Monos, a Canadian luggage maker, and Anyplace, a brand that offers furnished housing designed for remote workers and that's backed by investor Jason Calacanis.

Sean O'Neill

This week, travel startups announced more than $20 million in funding.

>>Monos Travel, a gear maker based in Vancouver, said it had raised $10 million (about $12.6 million Canadian) in a Series A funding round.

Venn Growth Partners led the round, with significant participation by Strand Equity.

Monos sells suitcases, bags, and accessories with a sustainability theme. It’s profitable, said CEO and co-founder Victor Tam.

>>Anyplace, a marketplace for flexible-term furnished housing, said it had raised $5.3 million in Series A financing.

GA Technologies led the round. Jason Calacanis, Launch Fund, Keisuke Honda, and East Ventures also took part.

Remote workers looking for lodging that has good Wi-Fi and comfortable workspaces often struggle to find places to stay.

“That’s why we created accommodations specially designed for remote workers called Anyplace Select,” said co-founder and CEO Steve Naito. The product is currently in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, and New York City.

“Every Select apartment has a height-adjustable standing desk, an ergonomic chair, an ultra-wide monitor, a professional microphone, a webcam, a collapsible green screen, a laptop stand, a docking station, and a gigabit internet connection,” Naito said.

The company also aggregates flexible housing that isn’t set up specifically for remote workers.

Rival startups include Zeus and Hello Landing.

>>Hospals, a search service for medical travel, has raised $3.5 million in its pre-Series A round.

Inflection Point Ventures, 9Unicorns, Wavemaker, and Venture Catalysts participated in the current round.

The Delhi-based startup has served more than 22,000 patients from 38 countries, CNBC TV18 reported.

>>Little Heron Tourism, a smart tourism company in China, has raised a seed round of about $1.6 million (10 million yuan).

Gongxin Capital led the round, according to 36 Krypton.

The startup is the exclusive provider of digital guides at 800 scenic spots, providing kiosks that help visitors understand a scenic attraction. It has been adding other services, such as stroller rentals for parents.

The company, currently based in Beijing but originally from Nanchang, plans to offer a range of tourism services. Within a year, Little Heron will launch an online shopping mall to let people buy goods from scenic tourism spots.

Company	Stage	Lead	Raise
Monos	Series A	Venn	$10m
Anyplace	Series A	GA Technologies	$5.3m
Hospals	Seed	Inflection Point & others	$3.5m
Little Heron	Seed	Gongxin Capital	$1.6m

Seed capital is money used to start a business, often led by angel investors and friends or family.

Series A financing is typically drawn from venture capitalists. The round aims to help a startup’s founders make sure that their product is something that customers truly want to buy.

Series B financing is mainly about venture capitalist firms helping a company grow faster. These fundraising rounds can assist in recruiting skilled workers and developing cost-effective marketing.

Series C financing is ordinarily about helping a company expand, such as through acquisitions. In addition to VCs, hedge funds, investment banks, and private equity firms often participate.

Series D, E and, beyond These mainly mature businesses and the funding round may help a company prepare to go public or be acquired. A variety of types of private investors might participate.

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Should You Stay on After Your Startup Is Acquired? - Entrepreneur

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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

So your company is about to be acquired. When deciding if you should stay on, put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. One of their biggest fears is acquiring a startup that turns out to be a dud or too niche or complex to run without the founder. Okay, most entrepreneurs know to only acquire startups they have de-risked and understand. But when you make that transition easier, you could find them a little more sympathetic to your purchase price goals.

Remember those ‘70s IBM mainframes on which half the world’s banking infrastructure relies? Only a handful of people know how to program them — and it can be the same with founders and their startups. They know how to operate, maintain and develop their companies, how their unique components interact and what special care and attention they need. 

Unless a buyer intimately knows your industry, tech stack, customers, employees, vendors and everything else involved in your business, they’re going to need a little help from you before they’re confident enough to take the reins. This, perhaps paradoxically, shifts the balance of power in your direction: The buyer could potentially need you for the acquisition to work. 

In other words, staying on after acquisition is a point of negotiation that could net you a higher purchase price if you play your cards right. Of course, it all depends on what your goals are, but stalling your post-acquisition plans for a year or even 18 months if it means a five or 10 percent uplift in your purchase price might be a good idea. 

But before you offer staying on to a buyer, consider the following points first. You probably won’t retain as much control as you did before the acquisition, and if you and the buyer butt heads, that transition period could feel very long indeed. But if you predict a sunny outlook, by all means, negotiate a longer transition period to boost your payout. 

Related: Before My Startup Launched a Single Product, I Spent Every Dollar We Had Acquiring a Competitor

Do you like the buyer?

Although these considerations aren’t in any particular order, I’ve put this one first as it’s super important. Regardless of how much the buyer pays for your startup, it probably won’t be enough to compensate for an intense dislike of them. Trust me: Working with them will be a nightmare, and you don’t want your opinions of each other to deteriorate to the point of litigation or worse.  

But if you get on well together, it might be fun to stay on. You might even learn something from the buyer. The early part of your entrepreneurial career is all about learning from those around you. Staying on could be a master class in post-acquisition growth strategies (assuming the buyer has some) that you could apply to your own acquisitions later. 

Do your goals align? 

There’ll be nothing worse than watching the buyer bury your business or take it in a direction you think is wrong. You should’ve asked about the buyer’s goals while negotiating your acquisition, so you should know what their intentions are. Now imagine, as best you can, how you’ll feel helping the buyer fulfill those intentions: Happy? Sad? Frustrated? Inspired? Scared?

Once you’ve done this simple thought experiment, you’ll have a good idea if you want to stay on post-acquisition. Your goals don’t have to match, of course, and you might need to internally compromise, because the buyer has free reign to do as they please with your startup. But the transition will be a lot easier if your goals align more than they don’t. 

Related: 10 Ways to Negotiate a Higher Purchase Price for Your SaaS Startup

What will you do? 

Chances are, you’ll be educating the buyer on how your startup works, introducing them to your teams and transferring your responsibilities to them. But after that, what comes next? If you stay on for a year, consider what work you’ll be doing. What does the buyer expect from you? Will you need to go into an office, for example? Will you set your hours? What about vacations? 

You were probably a leader before, but with a new owner on board, you’re very likely going to be demoted to some other capacity, such as operations (unless you’re lucky enough to score the coveted consultant role). Imagine walking into the office on Monday morning and not being in charge anymore. If you can handle that, the transition won’t be such a drag for you. 

Will you work with the same people?

Another thing to consider is your colleagues. Who will you be working with? It might be fun collaborating with your old team. But then again, you might be working with the buyer’s team — whom you probably don’t know. The success of a long transition then depends on how well you get on with them. Before you decide to stay on, research who you’re going to work with, and if possible, spend some time with the new team to get to know them better.

Related: No Big Startup Idea? No Problem. Here's How to Buy a Business.

What are your long-term goals?

Before agreeing to anything during negotiations, consider what you want to get out of the acquisition. What are your long-term life and career goals? How will staying on after acquisition impact those goals? For example, you might want to start a new business, retrain or even acquire a startup yourself. But as these are time-critical aspirations, consider how a long transition would affect your career. 

Equally, you might excuse a change of role in the new entity if it helped you learn or practice a new skill. Perhaps you’ve wanted to experiment with paid marketing or optimizing your operational model but never had the time to do so in the past. You might even excuse poor leadership if it meant you could start or continue working on something you’re passionate about. 

Would the buyer compensate you adequately?

The buyer expects a transition period in which you help them settle in as part of the purchase price, negotiated during the final stages of your acquisition. But if you decide to stay on longer than three months, say, you should also consider negotiating a salary or stipend that reflects your contributions to the company post-acquisition. Money isn’t everything, but shares in the new business would keep you motivated if something else was missing. 

The transition period in most cases helps to de-risk the acquisition for the buyer, but don’t forget that although they’ve acquired your business, you are not (necessarily) part of the deal. When a private equity firm acquired my first business, in 2017, I stayed on for one month. Granted, the firm knew what to do with my business (we’d prepared an extensive operation manual), but even so, I think it would be odd for a buyer to ask you to stay on longer than, say, six months. 

If the buyer is willing to pay your asking price only if you stay on for 12 months post-acquisition, it’s only fair that you ask to receive a salary during that period. If they refuse, ask yourself whether your consideration (what M&A professionals call the money you walk with when the deal closes) is adequate compensation for your time after the business changes hands. 

I can’t tell you whether or not to stay on with your company after it’s been acquired, but I can say this: Most things in life are a compromise, but that needn’t mean capitulating to the buyer’s every whim. Consider your goals first, decide if you can spare the time for a longer transition, and whether or not the compensation is worth it. 

Related: 7 Examples of When You Should Acquire a Startup Rather Than Build One

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Stealthy digital health startup Measure Labs raising cash for remote care tech - GeekWire

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Stealthy digital health startup Measure Labs raising cash for remote care tech  GeekWire

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Most popular startup per state since the start of the global pandemic - WIAT - CBS42.com

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This Google Veteran's 'Nudge Engine' Startup Wants To Build Better Managers—And Has New Funding To Help Do It - Forbes

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Laszlo Bock still remembers his first day at Google back in 2006, when the management team sat down to review candidates who were up for a job. 

“We rejected somebody because one of my colleagues said they had a ‘stupid major,’ ” Bock recalls, who led human resources, or “people operations” as Google called it, from 2006 to 2016. “And this was somebody, by the way, who was at Stanford with great grades. I was just appalled at the bias.” 

That distrust of gut-based talent decisions helped inspire Bock to launch Humu with former Google colleagues Wayne Crosby and Jessie Wisdom in 2017. Bock is CEO of the company, which uses AI technology and the “nudge” theory introduced by economist Richard Thaler and Harvard Law professor Cass Sunstein to help organizations keep employees engaged and effective in their jobs. On Tuesday, Humu announced a $60 million Series C round led by the venture capital firm TCV, bringing its total funding to $110 million. 

Humu’s raise may not be eye-popping in an HR tech sector that attracted $12.3 billion in venture capital deals last year, according to PitchBook, but the investment—and Humu’s model—speaks to the growing need for technology that helps with what a recent KPMG report described as “difficulties associated with managing remote or hybrid workforces.”

As TCV partner David Eichler says, “people are realizing the cost of maintaining and managing your employee force is non-trivial and really critical.”

Humu works something like a virtual personal coach, using artificial intelligence to mine employee surveys and other data inputs to identify which behavioral changes could help workers and employers reach their goals. It then sends workers tailored “nudges” which appear in email, Slack or Microsoft Teams and are aimed at changing behaviors, often with explanations or links to research about why these matter. As people say they’ve improved—and the people around them do, too—machine learning helps the system move on to additional goals.

“The thing that got me, as a CHRO, is that [Humu’s customers said] they saw behavioral change. Every single customer cited that,” says Jessica Neal, a former talent chief at Netflix who is now a TCV venture partner and will join Humu’s board. Many platforms offer record-keeping or worker surveys, she says, but “the one thing that you don’t have in your suite is a platform to help you figure out what to do.”

Humu’s “nudges” send reminders for things like giving co-workers credit in meetings, checking in on other teams’ project deadlines or getting quiet teammates to speak up. Nudging multiple people on similar issues helps drive change, Bock says: A manager might get a reminder before a meeting to urge quiet workers to say something; at the same time, coworkers get suggestions to seek colleagues’ input.

Bock says Humu won’t disclose revenues or an overall valuation. But he says the company works with two of the top three companies in several major industries, which include pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, technology and chemicals. Its client list has grown by about six times in the last two years, he says, and includes Virgin Atlantic, Vodafone and Fidelity Investments. 

The new capital raise will be used, Bock says, to adapt Humu's platform to work better for “deskless” employees, such as front-line retail workers and delivery drivers. The company will also invest in creating more tools for managers, such as automating meeting invites and other routine tasks, allowing more control over which nudges are sent and notifying them when teams have low morale.

“The challenge with a lot of H.R. issues and people challenges inside companies is every single person has their own intuition about what the right answer is,” says Bock. “Unless you actually run the experiments and work in the field, whose opinion is more valid than anyone else’s?”

“The challenge with a lot of H.R. issues and people challenges inside companies is every single person has their own intuition.”

Laszlo Bock, CEO, Humu

That Bock finds himself an H.R. tech entrepreneur amid boom times for the sector is fitting for someone who’s had a knack for working at companies that have shaped the business world’s approach to talent management in recent decades. Bock worked as a consultant at McKinsey during the late dot-com boom; in the mid-2000s, he worked in H.R. at General Electric when it was still considered a leadership “academy” vaunted for its management succession machine. 

Then Google came calling, and he helped scale it from post-IPO tech darling to industry colossus over the next decade, building a culture fueled by free lunches and onsite dry cleaning that other companies tried to mimic. He’s also known in H.R. circles for building Google’s PhD-stocked “people analytics” team and chronicling their work in a 2015 bestseller.

But the road to that pedigree wasn’t a straight one, or one Bock thinks should open doors. For Bock, whose parents fled communist Romania when he was two, his first post-college years included an acting stint (he briefly appeared as a lifeguard on “Baywatch”) and working for a construction materials manufacturer, where a mentor taught him how to tie dress shoes for the first time. At Yale, a McKinsey consultant said his resume wasn't “distinctive enough,” though he later got a job. 

Bock interviewed with nearly 20 people at Google and initially declined the job he was up for; he only got the top role after writing a three-page memo to Google’s founders about the post-IPO issues he thought they would face. 

Few former big company CHROs lead tech startups—H.R. experts point to former Goldman Sachs H.R. chief Dane Holmes, who cofounded DEI platform Eskalera, as another. Bock sometimes talks like one, too, saying a consumer version is on Humu’s “roadmap” over time: “Eventually what we want to do is not just make work better for people today, but really transform people's careers and lives over time.”

Some who know Bock say such lofty talk is genuine. Steve Patscot, who leads the H.R. practice at executive search firm Spencer Stuart and worked at GE the same time as Bock, says he would sometimes call Bock for a candidate reference. “He said something to me I’ll never forget. ‘I am always happy to give you a reference on anybody who I’ve ever worked with, I just need you to do me a favor,’ ” Patscot recalls Bock saying. “ ‘I believe I hired great people, and I just need you to make sure the job you’re putting them in really matters.’ ”

Still, some analysts say Humu faces an increasingly crowded competitive landscape, with tech giants like Microsoft and Workday moving into the space. Helen Poitevin, an analyst at Gartner, says she’s struggled to be able to speak with customers who are using Humu’s product, and that there’s a lot of “buzz” about AI and nudges that she doesn’t yet see leading to customer demand.

Meanwhile, an obstacle for any company trying to use AI to coach employees, says Forrester analyst Betsy Summers, is how much data clients are able or willing to put into their systems to make such software more valuable. She says Humu has a “cool value proposition,” but cited a survey where H.R. leaders said they have less confidence in their own internal AI capabilities than anything else.

Bock and Crosby, one of Humu’s cofounders, say the company does more than just survey employees of its mostly large enterprise customers about engagement, and that its customized, science-backed nudges are different from off-the-shelf notifications. “What we really are is a behavioral change platform,” Crosby says.

Expedia Group chief people officer Arch Singh wrote in an email to Forbes that the travel company has used Humu since 2020, “a time when everyone was adjusting to remote work and coping with uncertainty.” It’s used Humu to gather feedback on employees’ experience during the pandemic and send tailored nudges a couple times per month, saying it has seen higher retention rates among those who use it. 

For Bock, the pandemic has reinforced how much employers must treat their people better. And even if there’s some irony in managers needing tech to remember something like a work anniversary, “we as human beings have a really hard time doing that because we're fallible and flawed,” Bock says. “There’s actually a moment for the right kind of humane technology to transform that, to just give us that little bit of help so we know how to make time and space for other people.” 

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On-chain raises are the future of startup funding - TechCrunch

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Parker McCurley Contributor

Parker McCurley is the co-founder and CEO of Decent Labs.

Web3 is owned by the VCs, Jack Dorsey says. Well, I’d argue that web3 is whatever we make it – and the VCs only own it if we allow them to. We are building web3 right now and we have the power to control where it goes and how it is funded on the way there.

If we take decentralization and autonomy seriously, there is no good reason we must follow outmoded venture capital standards. Other means exist, such as smart contract-controlled, on-chain funding, which is more intuitive for projects to utilize, more equitable, completely transparent, and more adaptable for investors and developers alike.

This is why I consider entirely on-chain methods to be the future (or at least the next great evolution) of fundraising.

The long, winding road

If web3 is set to be owned by VCs, let’s agree that Web 2.0 is already owned by billionaires, conglomerates and multinational corporations with cultural influence, political power and the largest allocations of wealth humanity has ever seen. Fine then, no use raging against the dying light – but herein lies the rub: Literally everything we do on the Internet is designed to generate more capital for them while further monopolizing their power. Every time we log on, we’re actually clocking in.

With that in mind, is it any wonder that seasoned Web 2.0 players like Jack Dorsey are cynical about the future of web3? The main thing we should all remember moving forward is that web3 stands alone – it doesn’t replace Web 2.0 – that sandbox continues to survive as-is.

Web3 will exist concurrently, independent of Web 2.0. Believe it or not, some of us look at this opportunity as an ethical imperative, and think it is necessary to iterate upon the concept of the Internet, correct the sins of the father, and perhaps begin influencing the way our society functions at its most fundamental. Rather than empowering companies, we should be empowering communities.

If we take decentralization and autonomy seriously, there is no good reason we must follow outmoded venture capital standards.

At the end of the day, that is precisely what web3 is: An open source way to give the same platform to individuals that corporations currently dominate. Our new framework’s entire reason for existing is to empower individuals and to be more equitable and accessible to all people, regardless of age, race, sex and nationality. The status quo will not disrupt itself, so somebody has to do it.

The future is ours to write

How exactly does this disruption occur? The starting point is entirely on-chain. The majority of developers currently building the protocols and DApps of web3 are a new generation of creators who come to their work with a philosophical bone to pick.

They know how the old models work, who they service and how it is designed to stay that way. Coming from traditional startup accelerators where the experience consists of building a company, raising capital, forming a board, and hiring employees provide us a solid foundation to work from and improve upon.

Blockchain technology already provides us with open source, immutable ledgers that we can use to facilitate all our funding needs in a way that directly aligns with the ethos that has driven web3 from its inception. Utilizing self-executing smart contracts, we can control the open and closing points of a raise and make every investment and their terms open and verifiable to everyone.

Transparency is vital to any web3 project worth its salt, so by utilizing these on-chain, publicly verifiable fundraising methods, we can ensure there is no favoritism. This model doesn’t allow for back-room deals because everything is out in the open and everyone can see that all investors are on the same playing field. Better still, share deals and structures are revealed every single time an investment is confirmed on the blockchain.

Another tactic we can utilize is whitelisting, which can ensure the people who are genuinely passionate about a project and involved with the space end up holding the most economic influence.

By pre-selecting crypto addresses, all the vetting and due diligence can be completed beforehand and streamline the process. Funding contracts are generic and can whitelist any address for any reason, so the power rests entirely with the team issuing the smart contract. This is granular-level control over a process that tends to be messy and time-consuming.

Conscientious creation

On-chain funding models also offer a more equitable approach to developers, allowing them to circumvent certain socio-economic barriers like education, employment, credit, connections, etc. These models let developers get their projects off the ground even if all they have is the project they are building. The entire framework offers a more meritocratic way of functioning, where all that matters is the project and its potential.

Smaller projects can save resources and time by eliminating the need for building a pitch deck, opening a bank account, and actively seeking out investors in the traditional sense.

This is the community-driven spirit that the blockchain industry was born from. We can put simple tools in place to help foster growth and funding in a way that makes sense for each project, and that is what will enable web3 to be owned by the developers, the enthusiasts and the users.

And still, more remains

On-chain raises are not meant to kill the traditional VC model altogether, because after all, working with sophisticated investors offers builders valuable perspectives. VCs are experts at analyzing business and financial models, planning for scaling, and evaluating execution risk and where companies stand in a market. VCs who prioritize these traits will remain as valuable as they are today. Every project wants and needs people who have a proven track record of helping companies grow and succeed.

On-chain funding is not a magic bullet — it is simply the best framework we currently have to align the funding process closer with the mechanisms the developers find most useful while keeping the process open and equitable.

We should pay close attention to these new innovations and welcome them to help this new Internet realize its full potential.

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Walmart invests in indoor vertical farming startup - North Bay Business Journal

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NEW YORK — Walmart said Tuesday it has taken a stake in agriculture startup Plenty, becoming the first large U.S. retailer to significantly invest in indoor vertical farming as a way to deliver fresher produce to its stores.

Vertical farmers tout their high-quality produce that brings higher yields while using less water and land. The method also doesn’t use pesticide, and the produce can be grown year round near the point of distribution, increasing the reliability of supply.

Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, declined to comment on the size of its investment or the financial terms of the deal. But the retailer based in Bentonville, Arkansas, said that it will join Plenty’s board at the close of the transaction.

The deal comes as grocery stores are under pressure to have more environmentally friendly practices. Plenty, based in San Francisco, is one of many players in the fast-growing field of indoor farming. Others include Morehead, Kentucky-based AppHarvest, and New York-based Gotham Greens.

In a recent global survey, consulting firm Agritecture — which works with urban farmers — found that at least 74 indoor farming companies were founded in 2020 alone.

Plenty, which was founded in 2014 and has a vertical farm in South San Francisco, also operates an indoor plant science research facility in Laramie, Wyoming. It is now building in Compton, California, what it says will be the world’s highest output vertical indoor farm, due to open in the second half of this year.

Plenty said its vertical farming towers are designed to grow multiple crops on one platform in a building the size of a big box retail store. Its systems feature vertical plant towers, LED lighting and robots to plant, feed and harvest crops. It says its farms use 1% of the land that an outdoor farm requires while delivering anywhere from 150 to 350 times more food per acre.

Walmart said that under the deal, Plenty’s Compton farm will send leafy greens to Walmart's California stores beginning later this year. It said the vertical farms will supplement, but won't not replace, traditional farming practices, while helping increase the food supply in a sustainable way.

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Startup Battlefield Winner Cellino grabs $80M Series A - TechCrunch

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Cellino Bio’s founder Nabiha Saklayen didn’t initially intend to enter TechCrunch Disrupt 2021’s Startup Battlefield – it was her PR advisor who threw the startup’s name in the ring as a wildcard entry. But after a busy weekend for the team, Cellino walked away with the prize anyway. Just a few months later, Cellino has more momentum in the form of a $80 million Series A. 

Cellino is looking to automate the process we use to create human cells, most specifically, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). IPSCs are made from other cell types, like blood cells,  and transformed back into stem cells, which can eventually differentiate into many different cell types. TechCrunch’s Sarah Perez covered Cellino Bio’s initial pitch and overview here, but in short, their autonomous process would allow scientists to produce large quantities of high-quality iPSCs and scale-up studies in the regenerative medicine space. That’s a novel area of medicine in which new cell-based therapies help the body regrow tissues damaged by disease and aging. 

This series A was led by Leaps by Bayer, 8VC and Humboldt Fund. The round also includes Felicis Ventures, other unnamed investors and existing investors The Engine and Khosla Ventures. Cellino’s total funding is $96 million to date, per a company press release. 

There are some scientific areas where regenerative medicine is showing interesting progress. For instance, embryonic stem-cell derived islet cells have been able to restore insulin producing capabilities to one man with diabetes, per a clinical trial conducted by Vertex Pharmaceuticals. But iPSCs, which are not derived from embryos, have also made remarkable progress. For instance, scientists have implanted iPSCs into one patient with Parkinson’s. So far, there haven’t been signs of immune rejection and scientists reported that certain Parkinson’s symptoms had improved – but there was no control group for this study, so these findings are extremely premature. 

Meanwhile, at the National Eye Institute, a team of scientists led by Kapil Bharti have been manufacturing induced pluripotent stem cells from patient blood samples, and have shown, in animal studies, that these cells can integrate with the retina. That suggests they may be able to restore certain types of vision loss that currently have no treatment. 

But, there’s still a problem that seems to dominate the regenerative cell research landscape: where do you actually get the cells? 

Cellino is looking to massively scale-up the way that iPSCs are made. Manufacturing a few cells by hand for animal or even early stage human studies is one thing. But as larger Phase III trials near, researchers will need methods to make many of these cells in a reliable way. 

Cellino’s key invention is a laser-based cell-editing system that can help eliminate cells that aren’t up to the task of regenerating tissues, or deliver biological cargo needed to advance manufacturing. Meanwhile, the company is developing machine learning algorithms with the ability to pick out subpar cells. 

All together, Cellino is looking to create a closed-loop system that can manufacture IPSCs, and eliminate the unusable  – all without human intervention. The dream is to build a truly autonomous human cell foundry by 2025. 

“You’re really running into a manufacturing bottleneck,” Saklayen tells TechCrunch. “So as we were engaging with investors – a lot of them were passionate about the iPSC space and have invested in other companies working in the space – what drew them to Cellino was our ability to automate these complex processes.” 

Since Disrupt, Cellino has been working on a collaboration with Bharti’s project at the National Eye Institute. It represents the first clinical trial intended to transplant personalized iPSCs into patient retinas, with the hopes of treating age-related macular degeneration. 

Cellino will be manufacturing the iPSCs for this upcoming trial, and Bharti’s group will test those IPSCs to ensure they meet FDA safety requirements. In the long term, Cellino is aiming towards developing a iPSC-derived retinal pigment epithelium product. (Bharti is also a part of Cellino’s scientific advisory board, says Saklayen). As of now Cellino is “in the process of getting this collaboration formalized,” she says. 

As for the Series A, Saklayen articulates clear goals when it comes to hiring. She’ll plan to to expand the machine learning capacity of the platform – a key part of making Cellino’s platform truly autonomous. On the science side, the company will measure its progress by creating a robust dataset comparing its stem cells to those derived from existing, but slower techniques. 

“We will be doing head-on-comparisons of ourselves with the [cell] lines that are already going into clinical trials,” said Saklayen. “So it’s really a comparability data set that we’re going for to show that the cells coming off of a single platform are safe and high quality.” 

Cellino founder and CEO Nabiha Saklayen joined our ‘Found’ podcast recently, be sure to check it out to learn more about her and the company.

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Looking for startup funding? Here are 28 terms you need to know - Technical.ly

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Want to launch a startup but have no idea how to fund it?

Lucky for you, Technical.ly wants to help you solve that problem. While we report on startups, nonprofits, government and more as they pertain to local tech economies, we also recognize that much of our financial reporting centers on venture capital, plus the occasional philanthropic grants. The former has become one of the most common financial tools used in the startup world — check out the record-breaking VC numbers for 2021. But that doesn’t mean it’s right for everyone.

So, in honor of January as Startup Health Month, below is a short glossary of terms related to all routes of funding for the early-stage entrepreneur. From debt financing to bootstrapping to sweat equity, here are the terms you should know to understand raising money for your company.

Have more in mind? Email sophie@technical.ly and we’ll add it to the list.

Accelerator

An organization that accelerates the go-to-market strategy of an established early-stage company. Companies in accelerators typically already have a defined product and business plan, and will use an accelerator’s resources to grow further. Accelerators often provide a small amount of funding in exchange for equity. In Pittsburgh, Innovation Works‘ AlphaLab programs are examples of accelerators.

Accredited investor

An individual who is allowed to trade securities that don’t always have to be registered with financial authorities. In the US, requirements for someone to become an accredited investor include an annual income of at least $200,000 or a net worth of more than $1 million. Accredited investors are able to access investment options like venture capital, hedge funds and angel investments.

Angel investor

An individual typically with high net worth who uses their own money to invest in early-stage companies. Angel investors are usually actively involved in providing guidance and help in growing the startups they invest in.

Board of directors

A group of individuals elected to represent shareholder interests. The board of directors typically plays a role in decisions around key hiring, firing and compensation of top employees at a company, as well as determination of dividend policies and payouts.

Bootstrapping

A form of funding that involves launching and running a company based on the use of personal finances or reliance on the general operating revenue of the company, as opposed to infusions of outside cash. Though this option on its own has the potential to create personal financial difficulties if the company doesn’t produce enough of its own revenue, it might be a good idea for young companies looking to maintain founder control, as it doesn’t involve debt or equity.

Business loans

A form of debt financing from a bank or other entity or individual that must be paid back.

Capitalization table

A document that breaks down a company’s shareholders’ equity across common equity shares, preferred equity shares, warrants and convertible equity as relevant. This table can help a company determine its market value and aid in decisions around equity ownership.

Common stock

A type of security and equity representative of ownership of a company. Shareholders of common stock are take a greater risk than those of debt or preferred stock, as common stock is only paid off after creditors, bondholders and preferred shareholders in the event of company bankruptcy.

Convertible notes

A form of funding that starts as short-term debt and later converts into equity, often after certain company milestones such as a future funding round. Convertible notes are essentially a loan from investors to grow the company, but the return for the loan will be equity. Because of this, convertible notes often have very specific terms around interest rates, maturity date, valuation cap and valuation discount. This form of funding is typically used in early-stage raises.

Crowdfunding

A form of funding that involves raising small amounts of money from a large number of people to support a company. Crowdfunding usually takes place online, with links that can easily be passed around a network through social media. This gives anyone the chance to invest as little or as much as the want to, depending on some restrictions. Examples of popular crowdfunding sites include Kickstarter, Indiegogo and GoFundMe. (Note: If a crowdfunding campaign involves equity, it will be regulated by the SEC in the US.)

Debt financing

Debt financing involves taking a loan from a bank or other lending entity or individual with the promise to pay it back in full. Debt financing leaves control in the hands of business owners, rather than lenders, but puts companies on the hook for repayment, which can be a difficult commitment for risky early-stage companies.

Dilution

A reduction in current stockholders’ equity ownership of a company with the issuance of new shares, typically occurring with a new equity-based funding round.

Equity financing

Equity is the opposite of debt. Instead of lenders, equity financing involves investors, who provide capital for a company in exchange for equity, or partial ownership, of that company. Whereas debt financing puts the company on the hook for repayment, equity financing puts all of the financial risk on the investor. However, because investors incur that risk, their partial ownership of the company often entitles them to input on larger company decisions, and gives them a long-term financial tie to the company.

Exit

An event that enables a company’s founders and/or owners to sell full or partial ownership in the company to investors or other firms. Common exits include initial public offerings (IPOs), special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) deals, and mergers and acquisitions.

Friends and family round

Often one of the earliest sources of capital for a startup or young company, a friends and family round involves the founders asking for investment in a company from those communities in exchange for a stake in the company. A friends and family round is typically seen as a good option when a startup is too early to attract capital from accredited investor or firms. (Read Pittsburgh-based serial entrepreneur Michele Migliuolo’s advice on making the investment ask of friends and family.)

Grants

A financial gift to a company, individual or organization such as research funding or donations from philanthropic organizations, which do not need to be paid back. Grants can sometimes include vesting or waiting periods before recipients are given access to the full amount of the money.

Incubators

An organization that provides startups or early-stage ideas with the resources needed to grow into companies with solid business models. Incubators will typically charge a fee for their services or take an equity stake in the companies they help to grow. In Pittsburgh, Ascender is an example of an incubator.

Lead investor

A lead investor is the individual or organization leading a funding round for a company. Typically, the lead investor provides the largest amount of money in a round and sets the basic terms of the deal.

Pitch competitions

Somewhat self-explanatory, a competition for business pitches is often a good chance for networking and company exposure as well as financial awards for winners. However, winnings from these competitions are typically nowhere near the sums of average VC rounds.

Preferred stock

A type of security and equity similar to common stock, but with a greater claim over dividends and asset distribution. The combination of dividends and potential for stock price appreciation make preferred stock a combination of both debt and equity, which can be attractive to more risk-averse investors. Preferred stockholders are paid off ahead of common stockholders but after bondholders in the event of company bankruptcy.

SAFE notes

Created by prestigious accelerator Y Combinator in 2013, a simple agreement for future equity (SAFE) note is a sort of contract between a company and an investor where the investor promises to purchase a certain number of shares for a previously agreed upon price at a given point in the company’s future. Originally advertised as an alternative to convertible notes, a SAFE note doesn’t include the accrued interest and maturity dates involved with convertible notes. A SAFE note is considered one of the quicker and easier ways to get early-stage funding into a company, and was the financial tool used by Pittsburgh’s own Agot AI in a $10 million raise last year.

Seed round

A seed round is typically the first equity-based funding stage for a company, sometimes preceded by pre-seed funding from family and friends or a founder’s own money. A seed round is followed by Series A, B, C and more trajectory growth funding rounds as needed, each typically larger than the previous one.

Silent partner

An alternative to venture capital, a silent partner is someone who is involved with a company largely for the purpose of providing capital. A silent partner is typically not involved in daily operations, but can play a role in providing big-picture guidance.

Startup studios

Similar to incubators and accelerators, a startup studio helps grow startups, typically at the idea stage, into stable companies with solid business plans. But startup studios often take a partial founder position in the companies they work with and take larger equity stakes in return for larger sums of capital in early-stage investments. In Pittsburgh, brand-new org Hooman is an example of a startup studio.

Sweat equity

Unpaid or minimally compensated work that employees and entrepreneurs put into a business venture in exchange for a stake in the company. Sweat equity is common among early-stage companies with limited cash but high growth potential, so that employees are willing to work at lower or no salary in exchange for a potential financial return on their efforts.

Trajectory growth funding

Following a seed round, this funding involves the continuation of funding Series A, B, C and more equity-based rounds, each typically increasing in capital.

Valuation

The economic value of a company. This is typically an important calculation in equity-based fundraising as it plays a part in determining dilution, eventual share price and more.

Venture capital

A form of funding through private equity provided to startups and early-stage companies with expectations of high growth and return on investment. Venture capital funds, like 412 Venture Fund or Black Tech Nation Ventures in Pittsburgh, manage a pool of money from accredited investors. While venture capital is a popular funding option in the startup world, its use of equity means that investors gain some control of the company, thus causing the founders to relinquish some.

---

Sophie Burkholder is a 2021-2022 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Heinz Endowments. -30-

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Ann Arbor company launches program trading free rent for startup equity - MLive.com

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ANN ARBOR, MI -- Ann Arbor startups can now trade equity in their company for a free rent for a year, thanks to new program launched by an Ann Arbor real estate company.

OXIO SAFE, announced by Oxford Companies on Jan. 18, gives startup companies up to a year’s worth of rent in exchange for future equity in the company. OXIO SAFE is an extension of the company’s Instant Office program, which provides ready-to-use offices at Oxford Companies properties.

“Ann Arbor has earned a reputation as a vibrant tech hub, and Oxford recognizes the immense impact that new businesses have in our community,” said Jeff Hauptman, Oxford’s CEO, in a statement announcing the new program. “We’re proud to provide additional options for innovators and entrepreneurs that continue to rely on Ann Arbor office space to facilitate development and team building.”

The program is open to companies currently working Ann Arbor SPARK, U-M Innovation Partnerships, Desai Accelerator, TechArb or another company incubator in the area.

Related: Developer envisions more walkable, livable Briarwood Mall area in Ann Arbor

Paul Krutko, president and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK, praised the program, saying it can help attract new business to Ann Arbor.

“Growing startups need flexibility and a range of options to fit not only their budget, but also the size of their operations, both of which have the potential to change quickly,” Krutko said in a statement. “…The team at Oxford recognizes the importance of these emerging businesses and this new program is a great way to meet them where they are now to support their future potential.”

The program currently has no enrollments, an Oxford Companies representative confirmed.

“The new OXIO SAFE program will deepen our organization’s commitment to furthering economic growth in the Ann Arbor area,” said Wonwoo Lee, the company’s director of asset management, in a statement. “We want startups to know that Oxford is here to support them and get them into their perfect office space.”

Read more from The Ann Arbor News:

Drivers urged to stay off snowy Washtenaw County roads

An underwater hotel in Lake Superior? Mayor hawks dubious project

Coast Guard canines: Cool vintage photos show dogs at work

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