Thursdays at Abnormal Returns are all about startup and venture capital links. You can check out last week’s links including a look at the most active VCs by state.
Quote of the Day
"I have never understood why founders want to run a lightning fast process to select business partners who they may have to “live with” for the next seven to ten years."
(Fred Wilson)
Companies
- The Athletic is attracting subscribers, but can it turn a profit? (bloomberg.com)
- Root Insurance is using technology to tackle the auto insurance space. (axios.com)
- Better.com wants to streamline the mortgage origination process. (fortune.com)
- DoorDash is investing in self-driving talent. (news.crunchbase.com)
WeWork
- The WeWork IPO is the poster child for a world of unlimited capital. (stratechery.com)
- Fred Wilson, "Probably the biggest change I have seen in my 30+ years in VC is the huge amounts of capital that are available to “big ideas” like WeWork, Uber, Bird, etc" (avc.com)
Customer acquisition
- Acorns is using an influencer-based strategy to grow its user base. (wsj.com)
- How Morning Brew built a powerful referral funnel. (medium.com)
Venture
- A look at the new wave of Revenue-Based Investors (“RBI”). (techcrunch.com)
- Why "beach money exits" are a threat to VCs. (institutionalinvestor.com)
- Cleo Capital is raising a small scout fund focused on female entrepreneurs. (axios.com)
- Brick and Motar Ventures aims to bring technology to the construction industry. (institutionalinvestor.com)
Startups
- Jad Naous, "The sooner you can put together a standard contract and a strategy for negotiating with your customers, the better." (a16z.com)
- A definitive guide to equity compensation. (upstartwealth.com)
- How being a founder can be a lonely existence. (news.crunchbase.com)
- If you drowning and someone throws you a lifeline, take it. (pointsandfigures.com)
- A good example of when patience is a virtue. (avc.com)
- Research shows fewer young people makes for less company formation. (papers.ssrn.com)
- Atlanta has become a hub for African American entrepreneurs. (fastcompany.com)
