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Criticizing the value of a startup accelerator and demo date has been a decades-long conversation in the tech world. Programs that promise founders at the napkin stage will help with everything from finding their cofounders to assessing product-market fit to raising critical first checks. there. Led by worldwide programs like Y Combinator, Techstars, and 500 Global, the startup accelerators have spawned multibillion-dollar companies like Coinbase and Stripe and have become synonymous with the promise. on activation energy.
Yet every few months, entrepreneurs ask the same questions: Is capital worth accessing a network? Is the real value of the program just a precious stamp of approval? Is the demo date outdated? Is the best outcome for founders in the accelerator just a new round of funding? Is YC’s lot size too big to stand out?
We keep trying to reinvent startup accelerators, and that in itself tells me that the organization is still relevant, even if imperfect. Asking questions is, after all, the first step to changing the way things are done.
In January, I wrote an article about how boot accelerator is overdue for refresh in how they think about value-added services. A few days later, Y Combinator announced that it is increasing its check size to $500,000, up from $125,000 previously. With Y Combinator Winter 2022 Show Day happening next week, we’ll see the first cohort affected by these changes – and YC has gone further, more international and more ambitious about the impact it wants to have.
This year, as you’ll see, we’re changing the way we give Demonstration Days to better reflect what we think is the most important part of the accelerator: a way to see how a large group startups are thinking oriented about the biggest issues in a given sub-industry. It seems that demo days have completely moved away from a traditional pitch and presentation for investors, and moreover, provide a snapshot of a startup and its growth plus character of the first days.
Next week, but for the rest of this newsletter, we’ll talk about the exotic fintech world, Instacart discounting, and crypto nonprofit overlap. As always, you can support me by forwarding this newsletter to a friend, follow me on twitter or Subscribe to my personal blog.
Trading of the week
Ramp confirms that it has increased, but again, but this time at a valuation of $8.1 billion. The approaching decacorn valuation comes after the company achieved unicorn status less than a year ago due less than a year ago. Oh man.
Here’s why it’s important: Ramp, and more broadly, fintech, is like an outsider from the market turmoil we reported on this past quarter. Is the financial services sector protected from a broader venture pullback or a valuation adjustment? On Equity this week, Alex and Mary Ann updated a key point: It’s a fintech world, and we live in it.
Honorable mention:
Image credits: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch
Instacart’s biggest discount
Instacart is cutting its valuation by almost 40%, give us another data point in larger market correction Happened with many success stories in pandemic times.
Here’s why it’s important: Like Alex Wilhelm shown, DoorDash, another food delivery company, has seen its price-to-sales ratio drop from the previous year’s high while Uber is hoping to expand its food delivery service. Instacart, still private, slashing its valuation on paper ahead of its stock market debut could save it another tough response.
I guess eggs and ham are not so green:
- I learned the Instacart growth plan
- Mary Ann’s Weekly Fintech Newsletter Coming Soon! Registration this to get it in your inbox.
- Remind Evergreen to take advantage of the code “EQUITY” when signing up for TechCrunch + for discounts and gratitude.
Image credits: jayk7 (Opens in a new window) / Beautiful pictures
Why web3 rich people donate crypto instead of cash
Crypto reporter Anita Ramaswamy looked at web3’s tendency to donate in crypto, rather than cash. The story specifically explores how a crypto donation to support Ukraine this month could spark wider interest in the community to support causes through coins.
Here’s why it’s important: Beyond the cultural overlap in donations and crypto’s view of a more democratic way to support causes, there is a technical benefit. Change founder Sonia Nigam, who is building a donation API with Amar Shah, explained the difference between traditional philanthropy and creator utility:
Smart contract technology allows the impact to live in the product itself and then give it a permanent effect… we will see NFT collections go live and they will set goals; [for example] of all secondary sales, 2% goes towards fighting climate change for life. Now, on every resale, the creator’s original intent is never lost, which is what gets them really excited. And for nonprofits, unlocking recurring channels for giving is always the number one goal.
Chain reaction
Image credits: Bryce Durbin
In Week
We can hang out live! Early! TechCrunch Early Stage 2022 is April 14, aka close, and it’s in San Francisco. Join us for a day-long founders summit with teachers Terri Burns, Greylock’s Glen Evans, and Felicis’ Aydin Sekut. The top team of contributors is looking to get in touch directly, so don’t be surprised if the dashboard is a bit worse than usual.
Here is the full agendaand Get your launch ticket here.
Follow our new senior crypto reporter: Jacquelyn Melinek! She asked the big questions, on the stage and on the Web.
Finally, if you missed Last Week’s Kick-offRead it here: “Failure is complicated, especially in the world of startups.”
Seen on TechCrunch
Alphabet just spun off its quantum tech team, launching it as an independent company
Musk reveals plans to scale Tesla to ‘extreme size’
Sequoia launches Arc, a London/SV program to find and mentor exceptional startups, $1 million each
Okta says hundreds of companies affected by security breach
Seen on TechCrunch +
The Product-Driven Growth Handbook
Despite the drop, the value of crypto assets in DeFi protocols has tripled from a year ago
It’s time to hold investors accountable and abolish rates
Dear Sophie: How long does it take to get International Entrepreneur Parole?
Until next time,
