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Hello, humans and the hundreds of AIs who are probably reading this too. May your day be full of joy. If you can’t feel joy today, be kind to yourself. Maybe tomorrow is the day of joy. This is true for both humans and AIs, come to think of it. — Christine and Hey
The TechCrunch Top 3
- I hope you have a great Meta Day: That’s right, we had a group watching the cast of today’s Meta Connect developer conference, where we’re sure Mark Zuckerberg was talking passionately about how to make the metaverse “a real boy” and his next big bets. See the Big Tech Inc. section. For more.
- Help us help you: HR technology has seen a lot of action in recent years as companies have gone remote. Factorial is one of the companies reaping the benefits. Ingrid reports that the company has brought in $120 million in new funding that doubles its valuation in the unicorn region as it develops enterprise-grade human resources for small businesses.
- And in this corner…: NocoDB is throwing its hat into the ring as a viable candidate for Airtable, offering an open source, no-code platform that connects to production databases. Paul it has more.
Startups and VCs
NextView Ventures today announced that it has raised a $200 million venture fund, its largest to date, split between an early stage vehicle at $135 million and an opportunity vehicle at $65 million. Natasha M References. The fund also brings on board Stephanie Palmeri, founding partner of All Raise and former Uncork partner, as an equal partner.
Indian startups raised $3 billion in the quarter ended September, down 57% quarter-on-quarter and 80% year-on-year. The data is remarkable for several reasons, Manish References. The most obvious is that startups are struggling to raise capital at a time when most of India’s top funds have raised record funds this year.
And we have another handful of stories. I know I usually only do five, but our little writer bees have been extra busy the last 24 hours, so here’s five plus a few bonuses.
- Pious wishful thinking at best: Blue-chip VC firm Matrix Partners is a long-time software infrastructure investor Now, Connie reports, has some questions about web3. He describes many of the works as “wishful thinking”.
- Better, happier, more productive: Ron reports that Quantori is building an application development platform focused on the life sciences.
- Money smarts, gamified: This company wants to improve your credit by gamifying financial literacy, reports Christine.
- On the sunny side of the road (yeah): Solestial promises solar panels in space for one-tenth the cost and anticipates $10 million in funding, Devin reports.
- Moar data, moar funds: Nigerian data and intelligence firm Stears raises $3.3M, reports Tage.
- Look, you just can’t do it: Hey clapping hands too loudly on the OG app, I wonder what the fledgling startup’s end game was.
- Last chance salon: Want to come to Disrupt? Well, Lauren S wants to remind you that it’s your last week to save on tickets to TechCrunch Disrupt.
How to go from popular to profitable during a recession
Image Credits: Patrick Giardino (opens in new window) / Getty Images
Product-driven development startups are like a manual transmission car that needs a push to start: a driver just can’t do it all by himself.
According to Nick Mills, whose sales experience includes stints at Stripe, Facebook and CircleCI, “all companies ultimately face a similar challenge: To keep growing, they need to hire sales teams and build a pipeline.”
After explaining how to calculate the repairable market, aka “the slice of that pie you can earn now,” Mills shows how to identify product-qualified leads that will get the sales engines firing on all cylinders.
“Telling investors about your user growth is no longer enough,” says Mills. “They want to know how it translates into revenue, durability and runway.”
Three more from the TC+ team:
TechCrunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can register here. Use code ‘DC’ for 15% off an annual subscription!
Big Tech Inc.
We hope you’re having a Meta and Google day so far, but if not, we think the stories below will cheer you up. These are just a few of the gems you’ll find in our event center:
Not to be outdone, Google announced a bunch of news that the team was also here for:
For those of you ready for some more company news, we’re here to give you:
- And just like that…: General Motors has entered the energy business, Kirsten writes. The new automotive business unit offers a range of energy products aimed at residential, commercial and charging applications.
- Why take a taxi when you can take a helicopter?: Joby Aviation, an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft startup (whew!), is partnering with Delta Air Lines to offer home-to-airport transportation for airline customers, starting in New York and Los Angeles. Rebecca it has more.
- I’m in a buying mood: Thoma Bravo continues to be in a buying mood this year, and Ron has kept up with all the action. This time, Thoma Bravo acquired its third ID company this year with a $2.3 billion ForgeRock deal.
We’re pleased to meet you — now you have a Google day.
