After sales software startup TigerEye closed its Series A and established a board of directors, the co-founders informed them:
One thing we never want to do is the three-hour, too-in-the-weed, non-strategic board meeting.
“Every board deck I’ve made and seen is over 80 pages long,” said Tracy Young, co-founder and CEO of TigerEye. “I am not exaggerating.”
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In this TC+ article, she explains how to structure a one-hour board meeting that creates real value for founders and investors. Step One: Replace your massive deck with a three-page memo.
We’re taking Monday, May 29th off to celebrate Memorial Day, so I’ll be back in a week with another round of TC+.
Have a fantastic weekend!
Walter Thompson
Editorial Manager, Acutely.info+
@your protagonist
Why don’t venture capitalists flock to fund cybersecurity startups?
Image Credits: RobertAx (Opens in a new window) /Getty Images
The accelerated shift to digital has been great for mature cybersecurity companies: Palo Alto Networks, Scaler and CrowdStrike are showing strong revenue multiples, Alex Wilhelm reports.
But there doesn’t seem to be a halo effect for enterprise-backed cybersecurity startups. According to Crunchbase, funding for companies in this sector fell 58% in Q1 2023 compared to Q1 2022.
“As valuations have fallen across the board, current cybersecurity stock prices have fallen dramatically, even as they remain more expensive than other tech sub-categories,” writes Alex.
Profitability over growth: 5 investors explain their mantra for South Korean startups
Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/Acutely.info
South Korea has seen a unicorn boom in recent years, but like the rest of the world is feeling the effects of a global market correction.
“Venture financing in Asia was down 33% in Q1 2023 from Q4 2023 and 57% from Q1 2022,” said Kate Park, who surveyed five investors to share their forecasts for 2023 and to find out how they advise their portfolio companies:
- Han Kim, Managing Partner, Altos Ventures
- Tim Chae, Managing Partner, 500 Global
- JP Lee, CEO and Managing Partner, SoftBank Ventures Asia
- Yeemin Chung, General Manager, BRV Capital Management
- Eunse Lee, Founder and Managing Partner, 541 Ventures
Ask Sophie: What are my options if a company withdraws my OPT position?
Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/Acutely.info
Dear Sophie,
I am an international student graduating this month, but the company I was supposed to work for at OPT has withdrawn my job offer.
What are my options?
– Grappling Grad
3 things companies need to do to secure their applications in the AI era
Image Credits: Henry Sorensen (Opens in a new window) /Getty Images
Companies with AI-based applications give adversaries a broader attack surface when it comes to phishing, bots and other attempts to gain access to customer accounts.
“We are already seeing examples of AI-powered sites being reverse engineered to get free AI computing,” said Reed McGinley-Stempel, co-founder and CEO of Stych, a customer identification and access management (CIAM) platform.
Venture leasing: the unsung hero for hardware startups struggling to raise capital
Image Credits: bagi1998 (Opens in a new window) /Getty Images
Hardware startups have always been challenged when it comes to high initial capital expenditures and open R&D timelines.
Fortunately, venture leasing “creates a happy medium between expensive debt and VC financing that works particularly well,” said Felipe Chávez Cortés, CEO and co-founder of Kiwibot, a food delivery company.
To get products to market faster and avoid dilution, his company entered into a $10 million lease.
“Hardware companies should not feel limited to VC funds to finance their high-risk, high-growth businesses,” said Cortés.
Pitch Deck Teardown: Faye’s $10 Million Series A Deck
Image Credits: Faye
Insurtech startup Faye shared a redacted version of the 19-slide deck the founders used to clinch a $10 million Series A round.
“Let’s get this out of the way right away,” says Haje Jan Kamps. “This really is an excellent pitch deck.”
- Cover slide
- Summary slide
- Team slide
- Problem slide
- Market size slide
- Insurance market overview slide
- Product overview slide
- Product features slide 1
- Product features slide 2
- Product features slide 3
- Product features slide 4
- Go-to-market slide
- Shifting financial growth metrics
- Customer growth metrics are shifting
- Customer validation slide 1
- Competitive landscape slide
- The Ask Slide
- Customer validation slide 2
- Closing slide with mission statement
