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| |  Image Credits: Richard Drury / Getty Images | | Not to brag, but in addition to being Senior Editor of Extra Crunch, I’m also a no-code software developer. And so are you, most likely; Zapier and Airtable are platforms that let non-programmers automate functions, create custom workflows and much more. In a previous job, I used Zapier and GIPHY to send customized Slack reminders to members of our team when it was their turn to choose a lunch spot. Today, I use Airtable to manage our editorial calendar. Forrester Research reports that spending on custom software will reach $500 billion this year, a 100% increase from 2015. But consider: instead of paying an outside firm to adapt someone else’s enterprise software, you could create custom applications and put those funds to better use. If you’re curious about this new frontier, click through. The enterprise tech stack has gotten even more complicated in recent years, but “no code dramatically increases the addressable user base of technical software,” and CIOs are starting to notice.
I’m taking a vacation next week, so we’ll resume the Extra Crunch newsletter on Tuesday, July 21. Until then, take care of yourselves. Walter Thompson
Senior Editor, TechCrunch
@yourprotagonist Read more | | | |
| |  Image Credits: Nigel Sussman | | The valuations of public software companies have more than doubled since reaching lows in March, according to the Bessemer Cloud Index. Even though we’re facing record unemployment and economic uncertainty due to the pandemic, “startup layoffs have declined and software churn has recovered to the point that business and enterprise-focused SaaS companies are on the bounce,” writes Alex Wilhelm in today’s The Exchange. One possible reason: the total addressable market for software may be larger than anyone expected. As COVID-19 caused companies across the board to accelerate their digital transformation efforts, “the demand for digital tooling and cloud infrastructure rises.” Read more | | | |
| |  Image Credits: franckreporter / Getty Images | | London is about 2,000 years old, but the COVID-19 era will be a notable chapter in its history. More than 6,100 people have succumbed to the virus in London alone and many who have the means to leave the City have done so. Still, as Europe’s largest city, its status as a major tech hub is secure, according to the VCs Mike Butcher polled for our latest survey. Here’s who he spoke to: Ruth Foxe-Blader, partner, Anthemis
Yana Abramova, partner, Pretiosum Capital
Leila Zegna, co-founding partner, Kindred Capital
Rob Moffat, partner, Balderton Capital
Nic Brisbourne, managing partner, Forward Partners
Sean Seton-Rogers, general partner, PROfounders Capital
Simon Murdoch, managing partner, Episode 1 Ventures
Nenad Marovac, founder and managing partner, DN Capital
Andrei Brasoveanu, partner, Accel Partners
Jan Lynn-Matern, founder and partner, Emerge Education
Rob Kniaz, founding partner, Hoxton Ventures
Harry Briggs, partner, OMERS Ventures
Hussein Kanji, partner, Hoxton Ventures
Eileen Burbidge, partner, Passion Capital Read more | | | |
| |  Image Credits: Connect Ventures | | More on London: Connect Ventures, a seed-stage VC firm announced its new $80 million fund last month, and Steve O’Hear spoke to partners Sitar Teli, Pietro Bezza and Rory Stirling to learn more about their “product-first” founder focus. “We're looking for companies that have an original product idea in a potentially large market that either already exists or that they're going to create,” said Teli. “It's worth digging into what we mean by product, since not everyone has the same definition.” Read more | | | |
| |  Image Credits: Ford | | When I think of “Mad Men,” my mind always jumps to the episode where Don Draper waxes fondly on the power of nostalgia in advertising: “It's a twinge in your heart far more powerful than memory alone.” Following that thread, Matt Burns wrote an article about Ford Motor Co.’s relaunch of its iconic Bronco, which leans heavily into the nameplate’s history and imagery. “Ford is going to use the old Bronco to sell the new Bronco, just like Nintendo uses past games to sell new games,” he says. Read more | | | |
| |  Image Credits: Nasir Kachroo / NurPhoto / Getty Images | | The world’s most populous countries are engaged in a border dispute, and now TikTok — and a number of other China-based apps — is no longer available to Indian consumers. The ongoing tensions have created an opening for Indian entrepreneurs: Manish Singh reports that VCs are scouring the country for social startups and platforms like Instagram and YouTube may be able to sweep up displaced influencers. But for other startups who have Chinese investors on their cap tables, “the growing anti-China sentiment is not good news at all,” reports Manish. Read more | | | |
| |  Image Credits: masterzphotois / Getty Images | | Uncertainty breeds creativity. For many entrepreneurs looking to spin up a new enterprise, lunch with a VC is no longer an option. Some are using direct listings, many have turned to crowdfunding and some are using Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) to get to market. “Some of these tools have existed for a while and are newly popular,” writes Jon Shieber, but “these somewhat arcane and specialized financing vehicles” can be risky bets for retail traders. Read more | | | |
| |  Image Credits: TechCrunch | | Ron Miller spoke to former Chess World Champion and human rights activist Garry Kasparov about his role as Security Ambassador for Avast and the potential impacts of AI on privacy and cybersecurity. “So AI is like a mirror, and if you don't like what you see in the mirror of course, you can start to look for some distortions, or you can look at yourself and start changing your behavior,” said Kasparov. “But I think it sets the wrong expectations that AI can fix things in society, because at the end of the day, AI should analyze data.” Read more | | | |
| |  Image Credits: AYDINOZON / Getty Images | | The nature of work has changed dramatically in recent months as companies balance the need to protect workers against the cost of doing business. As a result, “the robotic invasion has already begun in earnest,” writes Brian Heater. “Robots don't get sick, tired or emotionally burnt out, and unlike us, they aren't walking, talking disease vectors.” The COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating change in myriad ways, including automation. The fact that this public health emergency has no end in sight might just speed things up, Brian concludes. “‘Uncertainty’ is the scariest word of all when it comes to both economics and epidemiology, and this moment is nothing if not uncertain.” Read more | | | |
| |  | | Steve O’Hear interviewed investor Jaime Novia at early-stage firm K Fund to find out more about its second fund, recently announced at €70 million. Completely agnostic when it comes to business models and industry sectors, K Fund focuses exclusively on Iberian startups ranging from travel to fintech. “Since our focus is, for the most part, Spain, we do not believe that the Spanish market is big enough to build a vertically focused fund, either in terms of business model or sector,” says Novoa. Read more | | | |
| |  Image Credits: Alexander Spatari / Getty Images | | SoftBank-backed travel platform Klook was seeing 30 million user sessions a month in March, but that metric plummeted to 5 million the following month. To keep its footing, the company turned from offering overseas trips and curated experiences to staycation product offerings like DIY cooking kits and virtual tours. "At the end of the day, we are in the business of fun things to do. There are things to do at home, as well as local things to do when people could travel," said Klook co-founder and CEO Eric Gnock Fah. "Now [the pandemic] is giving us an opportunity to add a new aspect to it." Read more | | | |
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