The Flowlie Times #8
Greeting from the VC world! Today's edition talks about SAFEs, digital creators, and more. Enjoy!
Hi Friends,
This is Mike from Flowlie again, coming in your inbox with 2 minutes of jam-packed, no-noise content that's guaranteed to make you smarter. So let's go to it.
This is our short bi-weekly newsletter curated by the Flowlie team. It includes the top recent articles about VC & PE, ranging from operations, tech and tax advice to trends and notable guides as well as news on recent capital raises.
We hope you enjoy and find some value! If you do, make sure to share it with a friend.
Today's reads
First, let’s dive into a recession… rather, Twitter threads on how startups can survive and thrive in a recession. Thread #1 by Ali Partovi, good quote: “If you're early-stage, don't stop hiring. ... You can't save your way to becoming a unicorn. Hire an awesome team to build an awesome product and sell it.”
Thread #2 by David Sacks of Craft Ventures. Includes a video. One of the highlight: “You have to honestly assess your ability to fundraise in a downturn. The bar has gone way up. Give yourself time to fix any problems in your business. Cut burn asap to give yourself that time.”
Finally, to lighten the mood, reply of the week about recession for startups: here.
News from Venture
First, good news! Tusk Venture Partners closed its third fund with $140M, double its predecessor fund. “A few of its greatest hits include … Coinbase, … insurance platform Lemonade, … FanDuel, which was acquired in 2020 by the sports betting, gaming and entertainment company Flutter.”
Second, not so good news. Fintech Giant Klarna is looking for new funds at a lower valuation. “A deal that could value it in the low $30-billion-range ... That would represent a roughly 30% drop from the previous round.”
Finally, crypto: despite the recent market downturn, crypto deals are still happening. For example: “Elwood Technologies, a digital asset platform for institutional crypto trading, has closed a $70 million Series A funding round co-led by Goldman Sachs and B2B investor Dawn Capital.”
Flowlie feature highlight
Today’s highlight is Smart Match. Smart Match shows the percentage quality of the match between an investor and a startup. It is used across the application: in deal flow management, Investor Discovery, and more. What a powerful way to see which connections to prioritize!
As always, feel free to email us with any questions. We are glad to chat!
Thank you,
Mike from Flowlie