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| |  Image Credits: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch | | A year ago, we surveyed a group of well-known venture capitalists about trends in entertainment, media and gaming. Given the radical changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, we reached out again to more top VCs who back companies with business models focused on advertising and content creation: - Gigi Levy-Weiss (Managing Partner, NFX)
- Pär-Jörgen (PJ) Pärson (General Partner, Northzone)
- Jana Messerschmidt (Partner, Lightspeed Venture Partners)
- Kevin Zhang (Partner, Upfront Ventures)
- Vasu Kulkarn (Partner, Courtside Ventures)
- MG Siegler (General Partner, GV)
- Matthew Hartman (Partner, Betaworks Ventures)
Many showed enthusiasm for esports and gaming, but no one seemed to expect advertising to bounce back in the short term. Said Kevin Zhang of Upfront Ventures, “there are only more shiny objects to chase after now.”
On Thursday, Hunter Walk of Homebrew joins us for another Extra Crunch Live Zoom call; the conversation is open to all, but Extra Crunch members will have an opportunity ask questions — sign up today! Thanks for reading; have a great week. Walter Thompson
Senior Editor, TechCrunch
@yourprotagonist Read more | | | |
| |  Image Credits: Gary Hershorn / Getty Images | | Scooters are expensive, and widespread shutdowns are keeping riders at home and off the streets, leading industry leaders Bird and Lime to scale back their operations. Uber has bought its way into the micro-mobility market, but its recent investment in Lime may indicate plans to acquire the entire company. In today’s column, Alex Wilhelm ponders “why Uber would want to buy Lime's operations when it already has its own scooters.” Read more | | | |
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| |  | | Dear Sophie: I was recently laid off but found another position at a growing biotech company. My new employer just submitted the H-1B petition before the end of my grace period. I would like to stay permanently in the United States. How long do I have to apply for a green card? If my employer isn't willing to sponsor me, I heard I can self-petition for an EB-1A or EB-2 NIW green card? —Hopeful in Hayward Read more | | | |
| |  | | Join Managing Editor Danny Crichton and Senior Editor Alex Wilhelm on Thursday for a live video chat with Hunter Walk, an investing partner at Homebrew. The conversation will cover seed-deal pace, changing valuations, which verticals are performing the best (and the worst) and many other topics. Sign up for Extra Crunch today so you can join the conversation in real time. Read more | | | |
| |  Image Credits: Ridofranz / Getty Images | | The coronavirus made distance learning the norm, but educators and students are still figuring out how to use edtech: can you stop students at home from cheating? What if you don’t have a reliable internet connection? Should teachers take questions during a lesson? Unexpected use cases are spurring innovation in edtech, reports Natasha Mascarenhas, who spoke to several founders working in the sector. Read more | | | |
| |  Image Credits: Juan Silva / Getty Images | | Veteran early-stage investor Jamie Goldstein shared a new tool with Extra Crunch his firm developed that lets them “compare different term sheets or help characterize whether a term sheet is good or evil.” The term sheet grader uses nine key terms related to economics, control and decision-making that can help you evaluate deal terms and potentially, “reveal the true motivations of your new partner,” Goldstein says. Read more | | | |
| |  Image Credits: Spencer Platt / Getty Images | | In his column last Friday, Alex Wilhelm recapped a lively week of news that exposed major cracks in the advertising industry, saw a16z raise a new crypto fund worth $515 million, widespread layoffs, and an IPO filing he described as “a hot mess.” Read more | | | |
| |  Image Credits: Charleen Chao / Getty Images | | Smartphone manufacturers had high hopes for 2020: widespread 5G rollouts would bring new models to market that gave jaded consumers strong reasons to buy. “And then COVID-19 disrupted everything,” writes Brian Heater, who looked at industry data to get a sense of what the next two quarters might have in store. Read more | | | |
| |  | | Matt Burns spoke to Schwazze CEO Justin Dye to learn more about how the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified uncertainty in an already shaky sector. "This next reset in the cannabis industry will not only be aspirational, but it's going to be coupled with a requirement for performance in terms of executing against a plan and driving profits,” says Dye. Read more | | | |
| |  | | In an Extra Crunch Live interview, Mark Cuban shared his thoughts on, well, pretty much everything. Should venture-backed startups take PPP funds? How is he advising his portfolio companies during the pandemic? Does he have any plans to run for president? What’s the right way to pitch him? Click through to read highlights from our chat or watch the entire episode on YouTube. Read more | | | |
| |  | | In her weekly roundup of all things mobile, Sarah Perez reported on different countries’ efforts to create protocols for apps that trace coronavirus infections, along with the latest stats on TikTok’s growth, Facebook’s new “virtual dating” video-calling option and much more. Read more | | | |
| |  | | European correspondent Steve O’Hear spoke to Riku Seppälä, co-founder and partner at Icebreaker, the most active pre-seed VC firm in Finland. Because Icebreaker recently announced the launch of its second fund with an initial €50 million close, they discussed how the coronavirus shapes their thinking when it comes to dealmaking and the sectors where they plan to invest. Read more | | | |
| |  Image Credits: TechCrunch/Bryce Durbin | | Nigerian fintech unicorn Interswitch was rumored to have been working toward a public offering in the first half of 2020, but if the pandemic scuttles those plans, the repercussions will be felt throughout Africa’s startup ecosystem, Jake Bright reports. Read more | | | |
| |  Image Credits: Treedeo / Getty Images | | In his weekly security column, Zack Whittaker reports on major breaches at LabCorp and Chegg, the ongoing debate over contact-tracing privacy and a look at two startups in the space that have snagged funding — and another that’s pulled the plug. Read more | | | |
| |  Image Credits: bombuscreative / Getty Images | | How much is the economic downturn benefiting companies that help consumers save and invest? Alex Wilhelm looks at data from App Annie and Crunchbase to see how well consumer-focused fintech companies are faring. Read more | | | |
| |  Image Credits: franckreporter / Getty Images (Image has been modified) | | Jackbox Games has been entertaining people since the 1990s, but since millions of us began sheltering in place, the company’s games have become even more popular. Beyond entertainment, Jackbox Games offer real lessons for product teams hoping to boost engagement or dial up customer delight that need “some inspiration on how to make something simple, fun and memorable.” Read more | | | |
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