Aug
06

Dutch startup hub Utrecht emerges from Amsterdam’s shadow

Apparently, a lot of people realize at the last minute that they don’t have either beer, wine or liquor in their home when they need it.

It’s certainly the most obvious explanation for a sizable new round of funding into Drizly, a six-year-old, Boston-based on-demand delivery app for alcohol that works with roughly 1,000 brick-and-mortar liquor stores across the U.S. and Canada to deliver spirits to customers in what it says is less than an hour. Indeed, according to a new SEC filing, the company has just locked down $34.5 million in funding, which roughly doubles the company’s previous $33 million in funding. Investors include Polaris Partners, which led the company’s Series B round a couple of years ago, along with Baird Capital. Altogether, shows the filing, 17 investors took part in the offering.

The Drizly app shows shoppers different prices on the beer, wine and liquor that they’re looking for at local shops, along with different delivery or pick-up options. There have been some recent changes behind the scenes as the company has grown, too. In late summer, co-founder and original CEO Nick Rellas moved into an advisory role, while his co-founder and cousin, Cory Rellas, who had been the company’s chief operating officer, took over as chief executive. (Nick Rellas remains on the company’s board.) Drizly published a statement at the time, stating: “Having taken on a more critical role in the operations of the company over the past few years, coupled with his experience at Bain Capital, Cory is poised to lead Drizly through the next stage of its growth.”

Drizly also added a CMO, CFO and head of HR to its leadership team over the past year, as the Boston Globe reported in August.

Another sign that the company is maturing: it made its first acquisition in July, absorbing Buttery, an on-demand alcohol e-commerce company that was only active in four cities but whose backend technology and employees were integrated into Drizly. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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Nov
27

1Mby1M Deal Radar 2019: LeanDNA, Austin, TX - Sramana Mitra

At the heart of the lightweight augmented reality glasses that you’ve been promised is a display engine that a handful of tech companies are racing to improve.

WaveOptics is one such startup looking to expand the capabilities and shrink the form factor of waveguide displays.

The U.K.-based company has just raised $26 million in what it’s calling the “first stage” of its Series C. The money is coming from Octopus Ventures as well as IP Group, Robert Bosch Venture Capital, Gobi Partners, Goertek and Optimas Capital Partners.

Late last month, Sunnyvale-based DigiLens announced they has raised new funding from Mitsubishi and Niantic. The increased movement comes just months after it was reported that Apple had acquired a waveguide display manufacturer, Akonia Holographics.

For so many of the companies, the mass market promise of AR is that they can eventually deliver something that everyday consumers can use as a replacement for their smartphones.

Here’s a rundown of waveguides from WaveOptics:

The backbone of these AR systems are the increasingly shrinking waveguide displays. The display engines are incredibly complex and they’re both the most expensive component for most of today’s hardware and the piece of tech that is driving the bulky form factors we’re seeing today.

There will be some more iterative executions of the tech on the consumer side before things shrink down too much, but there are also quite a few existing industries where this tech already makes sense, particularly in the automative and enterprise workforce spaces where fashion is a distant second to utility.

While a lot of the players in the AR display race have been pushing up against the same shortcomings of this display type, there was some uncertainty for a bit as so much excitement rallied around Magic Leap and the giant leaps forward that they were talking about with fiberoptic scanning light field photonic chips and all.

Turns out it was mostly smoke and mirrors in terms of what appeared in the first-gen product, though Magic Leap has promised more advances are on the way for subsequent releases. Nevertheless, the looming presence subsiding is probably welcome news to more skirmish investors who want to be sure they’re backing the right horse.

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Dec
11

1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Kara Weber of Brilliant Ventures (Part 2) - Sramana Mitra

Sramana Mitra: What do you like to invest in? Kara Weber: We invest in companies transforming the future of commerce. Those companies need to be led by brilliant and diverse leadership teams. When we...

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Original author: Sramana Mitra

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Dec
11

Thought Leaders in Cloud Computing: George Gallegos, CEO of Jitterbit (Part 2) - Sramana Mitra

Sramana Mitra: What are the key trends in your space? George Gallegos: There’s an explosion of cloud applications. About 150,000 SaaS apps are on the market today. There’s big...

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Original author: Sramana Mitra

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Dec
11

The Moment Your Realize You Aren’t Comfortable With What You Wrote

I just spent the last 30 minutes writing a blog post around a simple phrase that I like. I built out my thought process around it, used a handful of examples, and then filled in some additional ideas. I was proofreading it when I decided to go try to find the original source of the phrase.

The first page of Google’s results surprised me. There was nothing on the phrase I liked, but there was a wall of vitriol and controversy around a phrase that is close but had a few different words in it. When I read a few of the articles, I quickly was able to tie it back to something someone at Breitbart said. And then I vaguely remembered the controversy around the phrase.

I realized that it would be easy to misinterpret the phrase I liked as the phrase that had all the controversy around it. I said them both out loud and slowly a few times, and concluded that the post needed a lot more work if I were to publish it. Basically, if someone read what I wrote and thought about it, they’d likely separate what I was saying from the other quote that I found objectionable. Or, if they didn’t know about the other quote, they’d just be tracking what I said.

But, if they knew the other quote, the controversy, and they felt strongly one way or another about it, then what I wrote would likely be lost is the soup of the previous controversy.

Normally, when I write, I just hit publish after I’m done. I learn a lot from writing and it helps me work out my thoughts and ideas, which is the main reason I do it. I don’t try to get everything right the first time through (if you are a long-time reader of this blog, you’ll notice the iteration of lots of stuff as I refine it with different examples, evolve my thinking, or respond to other challenges and stimulus.)

In this case, I was worried that my thoughts would be judged because of the linkage to the controversy around this other phrase. Given the two phrases, this is deliciously ironic (kind of like capers, which I despise.) So, I hit save draft instead of publishing the post, wrote this post instead, and am now heading out for a run to contemplate what just happened, since I think this may be the first time in about 5,000 posts that I experienced this hesitation to just publish something I wrote.

Also published on Medium.

Original author: Brad Feld

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Mar
30

Amid concerns that startups could be left out of COVID-19 bailout, investors step up lobbying

According to a Market Research Future report, the global big data analytics market is estimated to grow at 12% CAGR to $275 billion by 2023. German data analytics startup Celnois recently joined the...

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Original author: MitraSramana

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Dec
11

Bootstrapping to $5 Million: Under30Experiences CEO Matt Wilson (Part 2) - Sramana Mitra

Sramana Mitra: What did you do when you came out of college? Did you start a company right away? Matt Wilson: I had a few job offers, but I was just not interested in going in that direction. It just...

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Original author: Sramana Mitra

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Dec
10

1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Kara Weber of Brilliant Ventures (Part 1) - Sramana Mitra

Responding to a popular request, we are now sharing transcripts of our investor podcast interviews in this new series. The following interview with Kara Weber was recorded in November 2018. Kara...

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Original author: Sramana Mitra

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Dec
10

Category Collapse

It’s the second week of December, which is about the time that all of the predictions for 2019 start occurring. Last week’s announcements of the confidential S-1 filing of Lyft, Uber, and Slack helped prime the pump for some of these. By the way, did anyone other than me think it was a strange turn of events that companies are now announcing their confidential S-1 filing?

Fred Wilson’s post Thinking Ahead To 2019 is worth reading. Unlike the endless stream of predictions that are about to come out, it’s an analysis of the spread between the public market and private company valuations. Fred is not predicting anything in particular but makes several useful observations, including the following:

“And yet storm clouds are on the horizon for the capital markets in 2019. Rates have risen significantly in the last eighteen months, pulling capital out of the equity markets and into the fixed income markets. There are some leading indicators that suggest a business slowdown is on the horizon, which would be the first one in the US in a decade. And, of course, the situation in DC is getting dicey and that will weigh on markets as well.”

Last week I was talking to a friend who is a growth investor. He and his firm see most of the bay area growth deals (e.g. the unicorns stampede to their front door). He made an observation that a number of deals he’s now seeing are for flat rounds with companies that need to raise more money to keep going and he’s feeling the slow down of investor interest at this level. This dynamic is reflected in the article Scooter Firm Chases Funding to Staunch Losses about the current Lime and Bird financings.

Any student of history knows that there is a linkage between the push to the public markets, demand dynamics of the public markets, and the availability and attractiveness of capital in the private markets. If you lived through the Internet-bubble between 1999 and 2002 you know this cycle well. And, you know that the companies that survived it were the ones with very strong fundamental businesses (e.g. Google), regardless of whether they were private or public at the time.

At the same time, entire categories collapsed. The web hosting business – lead by Exodus – almost entirely went bankrupt or was restructured. Out of this mess came several long-term companies and a huge number of pennies on the dollar type acquisitions. If you were on the winning side of this, it was incredibly lucrative, because even in a massive collapse there is a huge long-term opportunity. But you had to be thinking about the economics and capital structure of the business, versus just chasing growth with more equity dollars.

I have no interest in predicting anything, including how any specific category or company will perform. I also have no idea what the timing of anything is. I do know that if you are an entrepreneur or investor, you should pay attention to the context but be very focused on building a durable long-term business. And this moment in time is one that feels like you should be aware of how much capital you have, how you are spending it, and when (or if) you will need to raise more.

Remember – it can all go to zero (a post I wrote when Bitcoin was at $12,000.)

Also published on Medium.

Original author: Brad Feld

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Dec
10

Thought Leaders in Cloud Computing: George Gallegos, CEO of Jitterbit (Part 1) - Sramana Mitra

Jitterbit focuses on integrating cloud applications and caters to the non-technical users. Read on to understand the space better. Sramana Mitra: Let’s start by introducing our audience to yourself...

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Original author: Sramana Mitra

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Dec
10

Bootstrapping to $5 Million: Under30Experiences CEO Matt Wilson (Part 1) - Sramana Mitra

Matt has built a fan business using content marketing to sell travel experiences to a millennial demographic. Very cool! Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your journey. Where are...

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Original author: Sramana Mitra

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Dec
10

Indian Music App Gaana Topping the Charts - Sramana Mitra

According to the Ficci-EY media and entertainment industry report 2018, the Indian music industry was worth $179 million in 2017 and is expected to grow to $434 million by 2020. Digital channels...

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Original author: Sramana_Mitra

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Sep
02

Addressing the cybersecurity talent gap: New programs from (ISC)2

Waggel, a new ‘insurtech’ startup in the U.K., is officially launching today to offer what it describes as “fully digital” pet insurance.

Founded by Andrew Leal, and Ross Fretten (a contestant of The Apprentice 2017), the company wants to offer more transparent cover for your pet, where you’ll know exactly how much you’re paying and for what provision, as well as offer rewards for improving the care of your animal.

“The biggest problem in pet insurance and insurance in general is the lack of value that customers get with a policy,” says Leal. “You pay a monthly fee and get nothing in return except maybe a promise to pay out a claim in the future. On top of this, pet insurance has become extremely complicated for users with confusing policy names and jargon-rich wording. The industry is still largely paper based, slow and terrible at communicating with customers and as a result falling well short of todays consumer expectations. Insurance is very much a grudge purchase”.

Leal says that Waggel is attempting to solve this by offering a fully digital solution that puts the customer experience first “to alleviate the stress that is typical of insurance”.

You are able to get a quote within 30 seconds that explains in simple language what you’re getting for your money. You can also make a claim within the app and track that claim in real-time, while Waggel promises to be transparent on how much it is paying out and why.

“All without having to hear another minute of hold music!” quips the Waggel founder.

In addition to the startup’s core insurance product, Waggel offers a rewards programme that Leal says makes it easier and more affordable for customers to take preventative care of their pet through feeding them higher quality nutrition. This comes in the form of “discounts with our hand-picked quality pet food partners,” he says.

In terms of competition, Leal says there are numerous incumbents in the pet insurance space but cites PetPlan and Animal Friends as the main two.

“Pet insurance has gotten stuck in a vicious cycle,” he adds. “The market has developed in that competitors offer an extremely homogenous product. With not much separating the different offerings, price has become the main differentiator. On the other side, the average vet bills have continued to rise. This means that insurers are getting squeezed for profits and having to offer less and less value to their customers, whilst being stricter and stricter on claims.

“We want to bring a new fresh approach to the market in that we want to see our policyholders as members and their premium as a subscription, for which they can get continuous value for their monthly fee through our rewards programme”.

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Dec
09

Catching Up On Readings: Best Books of 2018 - Sramana Mitra

This feature from The New York Times looks at the best fiction and non-fiction books of 2018 chosen by the editors of The Times Book Review. For this week’s posts, click on the paragraph links....

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Original author: jyotsna popuri

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Dec
09

One Form of Regenerative Energy: The Kaizen Feedback - Sramana Mitra

By Guest Author Marylene Delbourg-Delphis We all know about the natural tendency of systems toward their degradation. It’s called entropy. In her new book, Everybody Wants to Love Their Job:...

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Original author: jyotsna popuri

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Dec
08

Thought Leaders in Healthcare IT: Mark Redlus, CEO of Tridiuum (Part 4) - Sramana Mitra

Sramana Mitra: What is the competitive landscape around you? Mark Redlus: We’re in a really interesting space. We’re in a convergent space of a bunch of different tech players and competitors. I...

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Original author: Sramana Mitra

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Dec
07

1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator Investor Forum: With Ray Chan of K5 Ventures (Part 3) - Sramana Mitra

Sramana Mitra: How many companies have you invested in so far? Ray Chan: Over the last seven years, we have invested in over a hundred companies. Of course, a lot of them disappeared. Some of them...

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Original author: Sramana Mitra

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Dec
07

Thought Leaders in Healthcare IT: Mark Redlus, CEO of Tridiuum (Part 3) - Sramana Mitra

Sramana Mitra: There are a couple of trends questions that I want to ask you. What are the adoption trends in your hospital system customer base? What percentage of the hospitals are doing something...

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Original author: Sramana Mitra

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Dec
07

2 Milly files a lawsuit against Fortnite maker Epic Games over dance move

Rapper 2 Milly is suing Epic Games over Fortnite’s use of his dance move, the Milly Rock.

The lawsuit claims direct infringement of copyright, contributory infringement of copyright and violation of the Right of Publicity under California Common Law, among other things.

From the filing:

Defendants capitalized on the Milly Rock’s popularity, particularly with its younger fans, by selling the Milly Rock dance as an in-game purchase in Fortnite under the name “Swipe It,” which players can buy to customize their avatars for use in the game. This dance was immediately recognized by players and media worldwide as the Milly Rock. Although identical to the dance created, popularized, and demonstrated by Ferguson, Epic did not credit Ferguson nor seek his consent to use, display, reproduce, sell, or create a derivative work based upon Ferguson’s Milly Rock dance or likeness.

Unless you live under a rock, you’ve seen the Milly Rock. Rock dwellers can check it out below:

On Fortnite, the dance is called the Swipe It, and it looks like this:

Back in July, around the time that Fortnite unveiled the Swipe It dance, Chance the Rapper pointed out that Epic Games tends to use in the game dance moves popularized by famous artists. These emotes cost money, and heavily contribute to the hundreds of millions in revenue that Epic Games pulls in on a monthly basis via its free-to-play game.

Fortnite should put the actual rap songs behind the dances that make so much money as Emotes. Black creatives created and popularized these dances but never monetized them. Imagine the money people are spending on these Emotes being shared with the artists that made them

— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) July 13, 2018

Moreover, the default emote on Fortnite is the relatively famous little routine from actor Donald Faison on the show Scrubs.

Dear fortnite… I’m flattered? Though part of me thinks I should talk to a lawyer…

— Donald Faison (@donald_faison) April 1, 2018

This lawsuit is particularly complicated considering that it’s over a dance move, which is difficult to lock down with copyright. The Verge reported that this lawsuit is the first of its kind, in that it challenges the gaming industry’s use of pop culture as for-profit virtual items. NPR reports that the U.S. Copyright Office “can’t register short dance routines consisting of only a few movements or steps with minor linear or spatial variations, even if a routine is novel or distinctive.”

That doesn’t mean there is no way to protect choreographic works. Those works, however, must be defined as “a series of dance movements or patterns organized into an integrated, coherent, and expressive compositional whole,” according to NPR.

Concluding the 22-page filing is a request for injunctive relief, which would bar Epic Games from using 2 Milly’s likeness in the game, as well as financial compensation for the use of the Milly Rock dance.

We reached out to Epic Games and will update the story if/when we hear back.

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Jan
31

Juniper Square raises $6M for its real estate investment platform

I’ve been in San Diego with Amy for a while but we are returning to Boulder in a week. San Diego has been great, but I miss my dogs, my friends, and the Colorado vibe.

When people ask me about the Colorado vibe, I often talk about GiveFirst. Soon there will be a book (by me) on this, but for now there’s an increasing amount of content on the web building up to explain it. This article in the Colorado Sun – How Techstars’ “GiveFirst” mantra became a road map for the startup community in Colorado and beyond – was excellent and had numerous short examples of how GiveFirst works and influences a startup community.

Next up is a fun article by my co-author of Startup Communities Way (my new Startup Communities book – coming up mid-year 2019) Ian Hathaway. A few days ago he cranked out a post titled Colorado is for Founders. I love that phrase and he led off the post with this great tweet from Phil Weiser.

Excited to work with our new Governor and my client to be, @jaredpolis. pic.twitter.com/5jOv1K0gDL

— Phil Weiser (@pweiser) December 5, 2018

He goes on to explain Jared and Phil’s huge accomplishments and impacts around startups and the startup community. The punch line in the post is:

“By many measures, Colorado is the most entrepreneurial state in the country, a fact that I discovered in 2013 when studying high-technology business formation around the United States. I was struck by just how many places across the state had a high proportion of startup activity occurring—a finding that has been extended to looking across other types of high-growth entrepreneurship as well. Something special is happening there, and it has been for many years.”

I’ll end with the Holiday Gift Guide from Techstars. If you want to give someone you know the gift of something from a Techstars company this holiday season, here are the choices all in one place.

Happy Friday Colorado. See you in a week.

Also published on Medium.

Original author: Brad Feld

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